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AOL Launches Free Software to Improve PC Security for All Internet Users

Active Security Monitor Continuously Checks Status of Key Security Features/Programs, Assigns Security Score, Offers Recommendations

AOL aunched Active Security Monitor, a free downloadable program that continuously checks the status of key security programs - including anti-virus, firewall, spyware protection, wireless security, and Windows/browser updates - on a user's home computer. Active Security Monitor assigns a Security Score to each PC on the user's network, and it offers specific recommendations based on the scan's results to improve user security.

"The secret to security is information," said John McKinley, President of AOL's Digital Services division. "Most people don't have all of the core security protections they need and, worse, don't realize how vulnerable they are. Not having updated virus, spyware, and firewall protection is like locking your front door, but leaving your windows and back door wide open. Active Security Monitor takes an entirely new approach to computer security by regularly checking to ensure that all of the core protections are active and up to date, and it extends that critical information to home networked environments."

Active Security Monitor examines each computer on a user's home network in eight important areas: firewall, virus protection, spyware protection, Windows/browser updates, wireless security, P2P software, and PC utilities. In each area, Active Security Monitor checks to see if that type of program exists, and if so, whether it is currently running and has been recently updated.

Key features of Active Security Monitor include:

-- Simple, clear display of the current security status of each computer on a user's home network.

-- Unified Security Score, a single score that offers a basic summary of each computer's risk from viruses, identity theft and network intrusion.

-- Separate evaluations of each networked computer, so users can tell if security risks exist on any machine that could compromise the network.

-- Detection of system vulnerabilities and recommendations to help users download missing security patches and free or paid products to improve their PC's security

-- Simulations that allow users to see how much their Security Score would improve by following the recommendations

-- Always-on updates and alerts inform users of security status changes, for example, if an anti-virus program's definitions are not up to date.

"When it comes to security, ignorance is a consumer's worst enemy," said Ron Teixiera, Executive Director of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a public-private partnership to improve online security. "More than two-thirds of consumers lack at least one of the core protections they need to stay safe online. There are several online tools that can serve as a great starting point for consumers to check their computers' security health and implement the necessary protections."

A study released last December by AOL and the National Cyber Security Alliance found that 81% of home PCs lack at least one of the three critical protections -- updated computer virus software, spyware protection, and a secure firewall -- necessary to help guard against viruses, spyware, hackers, and other threats. More than half (56%) of the participants either had no anti-virus protection or had not updated it within the last week, almost half (44%) did not have a properly-configured firewall, and four in ten (38%) lacked spyware protection. Yet, despite these findings, the large majority of users (83%) falsely believed that they were safe from online threats.

More information about the AOL/NCSA Online Safety Study can be found at http://www.staysafeonline.org/news/press_dec07_2005.html.

Active Security Monitor was developed in partnership with Sereniti, Inc. Users can obtain Active Security Monitor at http://www.activesecuritymonitor.com or via a variety of online download sites, including http://www.download.com. More information on Active Security Monitor including video footage and still photographs, is available at press.aol.com.

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