 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2024) |
VirusBuster Ltd. was a Hungarian IT security software vendor. The fully Hungarian owned company developed software under the brand name "VirusBuster" for the Hungarian and international market to protect users' computers from malware programs and other IT security threats. In August 2012, VirusBuster Ltd. announced the discontinuation of its antivirus products.
The legal and trade predecessor of the firm began to develop antiviral products at the end of the 1980s. At that time, it released the software product "Virsec", at a time other well known vendors appeared with similar solutions. In 1992, Virsec was renamed to "VirusBuster". At the later official formation of the firm, this name became the name of the company as well.
In 1997 the official foundation of VirusBuster Ltd took place. In the next years, the company produced mainly anti-viral products for the Hungarian market, primarily for the governmental sector.
Between 2000 and 2003 VirusBuster steadily extended its portfolio. The developments manifested in the increasing number of protected platforms and systems, also in new layered security products to target new threats, and in the management system for the firm's security products. With all of these achievements, the company could offer effective security solutions for every organizational customers.
In 2001, the Australian Leprechaun licensed VirusBuster's antiviral technology to integrate it into its own security products.[ citation needed ] However, Leprechaun ceased operations in 2004. [1]
Between 2003 and 2006, VirusBuster strengthened its Eastern European and worldwide market positions. The antiviral engine of the company became an independent product, and thus it was integrated into several other firms' security solutions. These were the years, when VirusBuster appeared on the American market.
In August 2012, Agnitum, the PC security expert and manufacturer of the Outpost range of security products, had announced the acquisition of antivirus technology and infrastructure from its long-term partner VirusBuster.
In October 2012, the owner of the VirusBuster has made the decision that the products and the services were going to be removed from the market.
VirusBuster provided customized, virus protection solutions for all customer groups. Furthermore VirusBuster Internet Security Suite provided full IT protection for its home users. The company's security products covered all mainstream operating systems, including both workstation and server platforms.
According to independent IT-professionals and international test labs[ who? ] the products of the company were pretty good solutions, in the aspects of both speed and efficiency. Some security analysts said VirusBuster's user interface is rather too "traditional", but according to others this almost "old fashioned" GUI provides better transparency and easier manageability. According to general opinions, the products of the company covered all important business platforms and protected from every IT security threat.[ citation needed ]
Aside from the retail solutions for different market segments, it was also important for the company that their antiviral engine became an independent product. Several international companies were licensing VirusBuster's technology, and integrated it into their own products. (Outpost Security Suite, Kaspersky, Proteatools)
In the beginning of 2008 VirusBuster's security researchers found a computer malware package which was using the name of the company to trick users. The worm was spreading itself as an attachment of infected e-mails under the name "virusbuster.personal.v3.20.regfile.by.arcade.exe". The analysis and the classification of the virus was not a very difficult task, since the worm was a variant of the well known and rather old "Bagle" malware family.
This was not the first example of name misuse; VirusBurst was a fake anti-spyware program in 2006. Its name was very similar to VirusBusters' name – probably accidentally, but in this case the similarity was perfect.
Also in 2008 the 29A virus-writing group announced its shut down, and one of the prominent members of the 29A team had also used the 'VirusBuster' alias.
Malware is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, deprive access to information, or which unknowingly interferes with the user's computer security and privacy. Researchers tend to classify malware into one or more sub-types.
Antivirus software, also known as anti-malware, is a computer program used to prevent, detect, and remove malware.
Norton AntiVirus is an anti-virus or anti-malware software product founded by Peter Norton, developed and distributed by Symantec since 1990 as part of its Norton family of computer security products. It uses signatures and heuristics to identify viruses. Other features included in it are e-mail spam filtering and phishing protection.
Panda Security is a Spanish cybersecurity software company. Panda Security's core offering is antivirus software and other cybersecurity software. This includes security products and services for both businesses and home users, as well as protection tools for systems, networks, emails, and other private information. As of August 2024, Panda Security reports over 600 employees.
Avast Software s.r.o. is a Czech multinational cybersecurity software company headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, that researches and develops computer security software, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Avast has more than 435 million monthly active users and the second largest market share among anti-malware application vendors worldwide as of April 2020. The company has approximately 1,700 employees across its 25 offices worldwide. In July 2021, NortonLifeLock, an American cybersecurity company, announced that it was in talks to merge with Avast Software. In August 2021, Avast's board of directors agreed to an offer of US$8 billion.
Mobile malware is malicious software that targets mobile phones or wireless-enabled Personal digital assistants (PDA), by causing the collapse of the system and loss or leakage of confidential information. As wireless phones and PDA networks have become more and more common and have grown in complexity, it has become increasingly difficult to ensure their safety and security against electronic attacks in the form of viruses or other malware.
Adaware, previously known as Lavasoft, is a software development company that produces spyware and malware detection software, including Adaware. It operates as a subsidiary of Avanquest, a division of Claranova.
CARO is an organization that was established in 1990 to research and study malware.
Rogue security software is a form of malicious software and internet fraud that misleads users into believing there is a virus on their computer and aims to convince them to pay for a fake malware removal tool that actually installs malware on their computer. It is a form of scareware that manipulates users through fear, and a form of ransomware. Rogue security software has been a serious security threat in desktop computing since 2008. An early example that gained infamy was SpySheriff and its clones, such as Nava Shield.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus is a proprietary antivirus program developed by Kaspersky Lab. It is designed to protect users from malware and is primarily designed for computers running Microsoft Windows and macOS, although a version for Linux is available for business consumers.
Webroot Inc. is an American privately-held cybersecurity software company that provides Internet security for consumers and businesses. The company was founded in Boulder, Colorado, US, and is now headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, and has US operations in San Mateo and San Diego, and globally in Australia, Austria, Ireland, Japan and the United Kingdom.
VBA32 is antivirus software from the vendor VirusBlokAda for personal computers running Microsoft Windows. It detects and neutralizes computer viruses, computer worms, Trojan horses and other malware in real time and on demand.
VirusTotal is a website created by the Spanish security company Hispasec Sistemas. Launched in June 2004, it was acquired by Google in September 2012. The company's ownership switched in January 2018 to Chronicle, a subsidiary of Google.
AVG Technologies B.V. is a brand of cybersecurity, privacy, performance and utility software applications for desktop computers and mobile devices developed by Avast, a part of Gen Digital. AVG was a cybersecurity software company founded in 1991 and it merged into Avast following an acquisition in 2017. It typically offers freeware, earning revenues from advertisers and from users that upgrade to paid versions for access to more features.
Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is a discontinued antivirus software (AV) product that provides protection against different types of malicious software, such as computer viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojan horses. Prior to version 4.5, MSE ran on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, but not on Windows 8 and later versions, which have built-in AV components known as Windows Defender. MSE 4.5 and later versions do not run on Windows XP. The license agreement allows home users and small businesses to install and use the product free of charge.
The Virus Information Alliance (VIA) is an international partnership created by the Microsoft Corporation in association with various antivirus software vendors. Alliance members exchange technical information about newly discovered malicious software (malware) so they can quickly communicate information to customers.
Malwarebytes Inc. is an American Internet security company that specializes in protecting home computers, smartphones, and companies from malware and other threats. It has offices in Santa Clara, California; Clearwater, Florida; Tallinn, Estonia; Bastia Umbra, Italy; and Cork, Ireland.
Kaspersky Lab is a Russian multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider headquartered in Moscow, Russia, and operated by a holding company in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1997 by Eugene Kaspersky, Natalya Kaspersky and Alexey De-Monderik. Kaspersky Lab develops and sells antivirus, internet security, password management, endpoint security, and other cybersecurity products and services.
Dr.Web is a software suite developed by Russian anti-malware company Doctor Web. First released in 1992, it became the first anti-virus service in Russia.
Trend Micro Internet Security is an antivirus and online security program developed by Trend Micro for the consumer market. According to NSS Lab comparative analysis of software products for this market in 2014, Trend Micro Internet Security was fastest in responding to new internet threats, but as of June 2024 based on the chat support there is no known mechanism as with Microsoft Defender Antivirus to submit false positives like "Incorrectly detected as malware/malicious" or "Incorrectly detected as PUA " which may point to cutting corners and be the cause of application mislabeling e.g. as ransomware, while the mechanism for detecting real threats is not specified.