HP tools would limit virus damage

Hewlett-Packard on Friday released its newest form of antivirus software, a set of damage control applications meant to stem the spread of attacks once they've already been launched on a network.

		Related story Is your TV virus-proof? As more homes get networked, owners run a greater risk of virus infection.

Labeled HP Virus Throttle software, the package is designed to speed the rate at which companies can find and address threats present in their IT systems. HP said the tools independently search for abnormal, virus-like behavior and limit the number of connections an infected device can make with other machines.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said the product, developed by its HP Labs division, constantly monitors network connection requests and looks for new virus activity. HP claims that the faster a virus is trying to propagate itself within a specific network, the more rapidly Virus Throttle responds. The company said the tool's reaction time is typically measured in milliseconds and that it reacts without waiting for human attention.

HP says Virus Throttle also alerts system administrators to the presence of any worm or virus so they can remove the malicious software from infected systems.

"If IT systems were intelligent enough to automatically detect and shut down attacks before they spread, administrators would spend less time and money trying to catch up," Tony Redmond, chief technology officer of HP Services, said in a statement.

The software--for which the company has yet to detail pricing--will be marketed in a package aimed at users of HP's ProLiant servers and ProCurve Networking 5300 switches.

The applications will also be sold in a package known as the HP Security Containment suite, which is designed to help applications already compromised by a virus affecting access to other applications and files.

virus protection

While the efforts of HP,IBM and Microsoft to end virus intrusion and provide protection with software, is great in theory, we must all be reminded that the very definition of software means in can be corrupted.
Virus will never go away. The only sure way to protect from damage is hardware. Protection at the bus level. This technology exists!!!

real geniuses

I love how people invest so much money in these security
companies/divisions when the solution is much simpler. Stop
using windows. Im sorry, Bill, but its broken, and no matter how
much you tinker with it, its not going to get fixed. You cant fix
something that is wrotten to its very core, and convenient
though it may be, Windows is rotted more than most can
imagine.

Instead of writing all these "fancy" tools, people should just wise
up, and lose the dell, dude. Do yourselves a favor and get
FreeBSD, or one of the other *secure* OSs. When was the last
time you saw a mac virus, huh? Yah. Thats what i thought.