CyberDefender Launches Free Early Detection Center Suite
Everything-But-Firewall PC Protection, Still In Beta

by Daniel P. Dern (dern@pair.com)

Vendor: CyberDefender Corporation
Product Name: CyberDefenderFREE 2.0, free with small adlets
CyberDefender Early Defense Center, $11.99/year ad-free
Availability: Beta now; product release target mid-November
Product URL: http://www.cyberdefender.com

CyberDefender Corporation, which recently acquired several savvy senior
folks from Panda Software, is taking an interestingly different tack.
in its everything-but-firewall CyberDefenderFREE 2.0.

The whole suite, not just one or two components, is free -- supported
by a small ad, no worse than the ones that Opera used to sport.
(A free adless version, CyberDefender Early Defense Center
-- same engine -- will be available for $11.99/year.)

Like a growing number of desktop security products, CyberDefenderFREE uses both
behavioral analysis and signature updates. Currently, the modules
include earlyVIRUS, earlySPAM, earlySCAN (anti-phishing, hijacking,
identify theft), and earlyMONITOR, providing one-screen control
over the modules, along with a cookie viewer, password alarm,
and PC tune-up advisor.

When I tried it on my test machine, earlySCAN found an MSIE "browser
helper" I was unaware of, and, per my OK, deleted it.

One major diffentiator goal for Cyberdefender will be the speed in
detecting new threats, with user copies reporting immediately
to the CyberDefender Early Alert Center for analysis (with some finessing
to minimize multiple reports). Once a threat has been identified,
CyberDefender's earlyNETWORK will distribute updates "usually within
an hour after discovery," using a secure client-to-client architecture.

EarlyDefenseCenter is in beta, evolving rapidly -- the version I downloaded
and tested two days ago was already less-than-current -- so keep an
open mind if you see any bugs, e.g. reporting "No firewall" when
ZoneAlarm is running.

Speaking of other security utilities, CyberDefense Chief Strategy
officer Patrick Hinojosa says that one of their goals is "to have
the first suite that can run and co-exist with other suites."
(There'll be a performance hit for running multiple suites, of course.)

As a new program still in beta, CyberDefenderFREE is understandably a bit raw in
spots --but it's worth keeping an eye on, especially, given the
escalating cost of keeping a computer -- or multiple computers --
healthy.