December 22, 1999 Web posted at: 9:52 a.m. EST (1452 GMT) by Brian Fonseca

From...

(IDG) -- Network Associates on Monday announced that its new McAfee Virus Interface for Protective Early Response, or VIPER, now can be integrated into Linux-based electronic-business applications.

VIPER is a software development toolkit that scans the Internet for e-mail traffic and checks Web server downloads for malicious code, said Sal Viveros, director of McAfee Total Virus Defense at Network Associates.

Viveros said the introduction of VIPER should appease ISPs and managed-service providers who have approached Network Associates about creating a new, non-stand alone McAfee virus scanning tool that could be embedded within high-performance servers to increase its efficiency.

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Donnie Barnes, director of Technical Projects at Red Hat Linux, said that although Unix viruses are not really considered much of a threat, having another set of capable eyes to peer through Internet traffic is certainly a bonus.

"It's an extra level of protection," Barnes said. "That's always nice."

Pricing for VIPER for Linux will depend on individual user volume, said Viveros. The product will be available on Jan. 1, 2000.