Seventh-generation-of-bitdefender-first-antivirus-to-include-antidialer-44

BitDefender is the first antivirus to include antidialer, besides other features

BitDefender, an award-winning provider of security software and services, introduces a new version of its flagship antivirus product, BitDefender Professional, a most complex data security solution. Much more than an AntiVirus product, BitDefender Professional ensures unmatched antivirus protection as well as data confidentiality, active content control, Internet filtering and antidialer function. The Professional Edition of BitDefender protects users' data on all levels, both in an office environment and at home.

During the last year an increasing amount of complaints has been reported, regarding dialer programs that used computer's modems in order to dial different phone numbers. A great number of PC users discovered such programs installed on their computers without their knowledge. For example, during the last year edition of CeBIT, whoever was visiting the website www.cebit-2002.de was, instead of obtaining information about the famous IT fair, getting a very "expensive" sex-dialer, installed in its Windows operating system. The Internet domain was not held by the fair organizer, but by a porn trader. "The priciest dialer could cost you up to 300 EUR per minute" says the editor of PC-Tip, a website from Switzerland, adding that the exhibition organizer took legal actions against the site holder.

Usually, dialers get installed on computers running with unsafe ActiveX security settings; after getting loaded into the memory, dialer programs generally become active when the computer goes into idle status for a longer time. They activate the phone line and dial different phone numbers without user's consent. The consequences of having an unknown dialer program working on a computer are always expensive, as they refer to lost money on unsolicited phone calls, damage on infected computers, time lost for repairing that harm or moral prejudice in case the specific PC is to be used by children.

More than 85% of the computer users don't use any antidialer software and the same proportion has never modified their Internet Explorer settings, so they are exposed to dialer installation through signed ActiveX controls (source: Nutzwerk, dialerhilfe.de and computerbetrug.de).

"BitDefender previous versions were able to block dialer programs that also included malicious code behavior, meaning dialers that used dial connections in order to transmit information stored on infected computer. Such actions were detected by BitDefender on a virus definition basis" declared Bogdan Dumitru, CTO at BitDefender. "With this improved Application Firewall module, BitDefender Professional Antivirus can even detect and block viruses that use Internet dial connections, all due to its behavior blocking revolutionary technology", Bogdan concluded.

BitDefender Labs now provide you with a reliable solution for this rising menace by introducing BitDefender Professional v.7 - among the first antivirus solutions in the world to include an antidialer application in its Virus Shield, permanent scanning module. This function monitors all applications attempting to access a computer modem, immediately warning the user and prompting him to choose blocking or allowing such operation. Also, BitDefender antidialer blocks all applications trying to access certain phone numbers: the user can create antidialer rules and set them according to his necessities.

BitDefender specialists recommend users that encounter a suspect file that may attempt to access modem functions, to immediately send it to the Antivirus Lab, at virus_submission@bitdefender.com, and, in 24 hours time, they will be provided with an answer regarding the nature of such file.

For more details, please contact us or see a detailed description.
For a permanent protection, BitDefender Antivirus commercial solutions are available for sale on the Internet or at local distributors and start from USD 29.95.

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