Network Associates To Intro Latest VirusScan

VirusScan Enterprise 8.0i will include a variety of tools, such as buffer-overflow protection, file and directory protection and port blocking, said Parveen Jain, executive vice president of marketing and strategy at Network Associates.

The new product will be sold only as part of various McAfee software suites, which feature a variety of enterprise security tools, according to the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company. Suites containing VirusScan Enterprise 8.0i include Active Threat Protection (ATP), Active VirusScan (SAV), Active Virus Defense (AVD), Active VirusScan-SMB Edition (SVM) and Active Virus Defense-SMB Edition (ADM).

A typical AVD suite includes VirusScan Enterprise 8.0i and VirusScan Command Line Set for PCs, VirusScan Enterprise 8.0i and NetShield 4.6 for NetWare for servers, groupware tools such as GroupShield for Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino, gateway tools such as WebShield SMTP for NT, management tools such as ePolicy Orchestrator with ThreatScan, and Annual PriorityPlus SW Support. Licenses, including a year of support, start at $20.61 per user for 1,000 seats and above.

Jain said more integrated offerings are on the way from Network Associates. "By 2005, our goal is to be down to just one [fully integrated] product," he said. "Over the next 12 to 18 months, you'll see us evolve our solutions into one. We're looking to eliminate the need for multiple agents at a single end point."

Network Associates is well in touch with end users' increasing preference for integrated security solutions, rather than point products, said Monty Holloway, vice president of sales at Software Medium, a Network Associates partner in Dallas.

"Customers are beginning to understand that security threats are ongoing," Holloway said. "And with this [McAfee integrated security solution], they are looking for ease of management for multiple solutions."