Panda Looks at AI to Stop Virus Attacks
Declaring that heuristics and rules are the trappings of a bygone era of antivirus scanning, Panda Software has freed itself of those generally accepted methods and turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to detect "zero day attacks". Panda's TruPrevent 2.0 technology uses AI to recognize unknown malware without requiring updated signature files that inoculate systems against those threats.
Panda has deemed its approach "neural scanning." Neural scanning uses AI to attempt to distinguish between code that is safe and code that has malicious intent, or if a computer is being controlled remotely. This, says the vendor, protects systems during the "attack gap" that occurs between when there is an outbreak of malicious software and when security patches are distributed to protect against those threats.
"The antivirus industry has been hiding a dirty little secret - the eight to 24-hour 'Attack Gap' that leaves consumers and businesses extremely vulnerable to the very real threat of instantaneous information warfare attacks," said Jean Jacques Schoch, Sr. VP of Strategic Marketing for Panda.
"Competitive technology completely fails to protect users during this critical time between when a virus appears, it's discovered by research labs, the update is available, the users learn about the threat and they finally update their PCs."
Like many new antivirus solutions, TruPrevent is designed to be non-invasive and quietly remove malware in the background. Virus definition updates are not required by design.
The AI is powered by patent-pending algorithms, which Panda says "learn" and become "smarter" over time, sending data to Panda's centralized Malware Behavioral Knowledgebase from over 500,000 worldwide computer nodes. The nodes monitor behaviors and conditions involving emerging threats.
TruPrevent scored a 98 percent effectiveness rating in tests conducted by the ICSA testing lab without returning any false positives. The full text results of the tests may be viewed at the ICSA Web site. Fifteen security software developers are certified for detection by ICSA for their desktop and server antivirus solutions.
Panda has equipped its entire 2005 consumer product line with TruPrevent technology. Products include Panda Titanium Antivirus 2005, which retails for $49.95 USD, Panda Platinum Internet Security 2005 at $79.95 USD; and a stand-alone product, TruPrevent Personal 2005. TruPrevent Personal 2005 is priced at $59.95 USD.