VirusBuster

Last updated

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.

Contents

History

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.

Products

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 ]

Technology licenses[ 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)

International partnerships[ citation needed ]

Name misuse

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.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malware</span> Malicious software

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antivirus software</span> Computer software to defend against malicious computer viruses

Antivirus software, also known as anti-malware, is a computer program used to prevent, detect, and remove malware.

Sophos Group plc is a British-based security software and hardware company. Sophos develops products for communication endpoint, encryption, network security, email security, mobile security and unified threat management. Sophos is primarily focused on providing security software to 1- to 5,000-seat organizations. While not a primary focus, Sophos also protects home users, through free and paid antivirus solutions intended to demonstrate product functionality. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Thoma Bravo in February 2020.

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 more recently has expanded into providing and developing 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. Panda Security employs around 458 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avast</span> Czech security software company

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 is 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogue security software</span> Form of malicious software

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaspersky Anti-Virus</span> Antivirus solution

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vba32 AntiVirus</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitdefender</span> Romanian cybersecurity technology company

Bitdefender is a Romanian cybersecurity technology company headquartered in Bucharest, Romania, with offices in the United States, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VirusTotal</span> Cybersecurity website owned by Chronicle

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AVG Technologies</span> Brand of cybersecurity, privacy, performance and utility applications

AVG Technologies 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.

A zero-day is a computer-software vulnerability previously unknown to those who should be interested in its mitigation, like the vendor of the target software. Until the vulnerability is mitigated, hackers can exploit it to adversely affect programs, data, additional computers or a network. An exploit taking advantage of a zero-day is called a zero-day exploit, or zero-day attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Security Essentials</span> Free antivirus product produced by Microsoft for the Windows operating system

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is an 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. It replaces Windows Live OneCare, a discontinued commercial subscription-based AV service, and the free Windows Defender, which only protected users from spyware until Windows 8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malwarebytes</span> Internet security company

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaspersky Lab</span> Russian multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider

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; Eugene Kaspersky is currently the CEO. Kaspersky Lab develops and sells antivirus, internet security, password management, endpoint security, and other cybersecurity products and services.

MS Antivirus is a scareware rogue anti-virus which purports to remove virus infections found on a computer running Microsoft Windows. It attempts to scam the user into purchasing a "full version" of the software. The company and the individuals behind Bakasoftware operated under other different 'company' names, including Innovagest2000, Innovative Marketing Ukraine, Pandora Software, LocusSoftware, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cylance</span> American software firm

Cylance Inc.,is an American software firm based in Irvine, California, that developed antivirus programs and other kinds of computer software that sought to prevent, rather than reactively detect, viruses and malware. Cyber Secure India described it as "the first company to apply artificial intelligence, algorithms, and machine learning to cyber security."

References

  1. "Leprechaun sets Trend before shutting up shop". www.arnnet.com.au. Retrieved 2023-06-06.

Original site, archived