From...

February 2, 2000
Web posted at: 1:26 p.m. EDT (1326 GMT)

by Nancy Weil

(IDG) -- Network Associates has been known for years as a provider of antivirus software through its McAfee division. Now, the company wants to make sure that people are actually using it. On Monday, Network Associates launched myCIO.com, an application service provider offering network security and availability services, including an offering designed to ensure that employees are regularly updating antivirus software and running the virus detection agent.

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Antivirus protection is "a notoriously difficult area to manage," says Zach Nelson, president and chief executive of myCIO.com. "In any company, show me any desktop and I'll show you an antivirus [agent] that's six months out of date," Nelson says. With that in mind, Network Associates decided to turn its antiviral attention to the booming ASP market.

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MyCIO.com offers a service called VirusScan ASaP, which costs $3.50 per month per user for a maximum of 25 users. For companies with more than 25 but fewer than 500 users, the price is $2.50 per user. Companies with more than 500 users should contact myCIO.com for a price quote because the vendor will offer them a more customized service, Nelson says.

Customers who sign up for this service will receive a Web address that users can access for automatic McAfee antivirus downloads that can be automatically updated.

The antivirus agent will update automatically when a user boots up a computer, or according to a schedule of updates determined by the IT administrator. The agent will let users know which viruses have been found and eradicated.

IT administrators can access a Web site to find out the number of viruses killed within the company and on whose desktops. That aspect of the service will give IT users centralized virus management, which is something that hasn't been offered before, Nelson said.

Up against the firewall

The second primary service that myCIO.com offers is called CyberCop ASaP. This service will use known hacks to try to break through corporate firewalls, provide reports on weak spots in firewalls, and recommend remedies.

Pricing is based on a one-year contract with six scans for $500. Customers can also buy 12 scans for slightly less than double that price, Nelson says.

The service can be set to scan daily, weekly, or monthly; and will automatically add holes and hacks to its database as they are discovered.

Besides taking external shots at firewalls to assess vulnerabilities, the service can scan internally using virtual private network tunneling to assess potential dangers to corporate Web servers and internal file servers.