'Total force with promotion'

A new generation of security software is forming, with the thought of "Total Defense". Besides updated security features, AOL's software, McAfee, Microsoft and Symantec also promise to provide both backup and anti-phishing backup services to users.

Source: centurionsoft The amount to be paid will also be calculated in a different form, another tariff.

Microsoft was the first to initiate this trend, when at the end of May, it launched Windows Live OneCare, a service that incorporates a full set of antivirus, antispyware and firewall tools with its simple interface. Windows.

In addition, OneCare also allows users to backup backup data to CDs, DVDs and external hard drives. However, with OneCare, users cannot store online.

Meanwhile, McAfee's Total Protection service trial version also adds a backup feature in addition to traditional security features. Total Protection promises you a virtual hard drive of up to 1 GB. The complete version of this service is expected to officially open later this summer.

Similarly, McAfee's rival, Symantec, plans to open Norton 360 in March next year. Norton 360 has a proprietary anti-phishing feature, capable of analyzing and dissecting suspected phishing sites.

A "heathen" AOL also jumps into the game by announcing the "Total" Total Care security service, only, if you are not a registered member of AOL, you cannot access to this service.

AOL's plan is to eventually expand Total Care's coverage to all users, but there are currently no specific schedules or rates.

Besides firewalls, antispyware and anti-virus (AOL uses MCAfee's virus scanning tool), all three new services of AOL, Symantec and McAfee have additional anti-phishing features. Only OneCare from Microsoft lacks this defensive barrier, probably because it has been integrated into IE7.

Like IE7, AOL can only block predefined websites that are phishing. Meanwhile, Symantec and McAfee services are more advanced, can analyze every website and then evaluate and rate the site's safety.

But OneCare has an advantage in price - a very important factor. The rate for this service is US $ 50 per year for a three-computer package, while traditional security packages always cost over US $ 50 for a single computer, not to mention the annual subscription fee for antivirus services. . Every time the software is updated, OneCare is free and traditional services are not.

Chris Swenson, director of NPD Group hopes that the two unreleased services, Total Protection and Norton 360, will have the same price as OneCare, though neither McAfee nor Symantec have said anything.

Obviously, the fact that the giant Microsoft jumped into the security market is causing the region to shuffle and according to Swenson, the most profitable person is the consumer.

Thien Y