PC Tools releases new Malware assessment software

By Steve Ragan Feb 4, 2007, 19:47 GMT

PC Tools is known for some of its assessment software, including Spyware Doctor. Spyware Doctor is used by many security researchers and vendors to assess in real time the threat of any new or 0-Day spyware threats. Based on new trends in internet security, PC Tools has gone one step further and created a decoder to examine and completely reverse engineer Malware. They call it Threat Expert.

Threat Expert is an automated technology that will decode suspected Malware, giving security companies, search engines, and CSOs (Content Sharing Organizations) information needed to stop new threats.

“This sophisticated technology makes a significant difference in fighting emerging spyware and virus threats for both consumers and security vendors,” said Simon Clausen, CEO of PC Tools. “We radically save time cracking complex spyware and virus codes by automating this detection process and giving real-time threat information to consumers and vendors.” 

Often unknown Malware threats or 0-Day threats will require a thorough evaluation to determine if they pose a serious threat. It can take hours or days to reverse engineer and completely decode the Malware before producing the reports needed to either release information or develop a patch.

“With Threat Expert a sophisticated analysis can typically be completed in less than 5 minutes. Our team of highly trained analysts can then offer signature updates to our customers in less than an hour. We are seeing an explosion of new threats and variations that major anti-spyware and anti-virus companies can’t handle. The time it takes to manually decode these dangerous threats means consumers and social networks are vulnerable until threats are decoded and fixes are made,” Clausen said.

Threat Expert is a hosted environment application. Users will send a sample to PC Tools, and a report is returned within minutes. 

“Threat Expert is embedded with sophisticated behavioral search technology that analyzes previously unknown threats, including rootkits. It knows the specific behavior of Spyware, Malware, Adware, dialers, downloaders, worms, viruses, etc. It even looks for virus-like behavior that includes: mass mailing, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), exploiting Windows bugs, backdoors, and network distribution/replication,” said Michael Greene, Vice President of Product Strategy.

More information can be found on the PC Tools website.