Security Watch | Matt Hines » Robot Genius launches free anti-virus tool, RGguard

July 31, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Robot Genius launches free anti-virus tool, RGguard

TAGS: Security

AV startup Robot Genius has launched RGguard, a free browser plug-in tool that claims to actively monitor Web site activity as end users surf the Internet and provide them with warnings about potentially dangerous URLs or downloads.

Promised as an effective system for unearthing spyware, adware, rootkits and other online malware, IE and Firefox, the plug-in promises to scan, identify and store the full path URL that points to each instance of malware on the entire Web -- a pretty tall task, but one that seems believable once you chat about it with Robot Genius Chairman Stephen Hsu. (click for podcast)

Hsu and Robot Genius business partner James Hormuzdiar are best known for building SSL VPN provider SafeWeb which they sold to Symantec for $26 million in 2003.

"Rather than identifying threats by fuzzy keywords and links, RGguard attacks the most common vector for malware propagation: executable programs, the same ".EXE" files users have known for two and a half decades," Hsu said in his company's product release.

"Malware purveyors bundle harmful software with innocuous screensavers, toys, and games. These programs wait before causing trouble, making identifying the cause of the problem difficult," he said. "Using RGguard, surfers can see exactly what various scanners said about a program before downloading it, check the total installed size, or even whether it installed device drivers."

As part of the approach, RGguard provides users with a list of every executable available on a site, including details about what each piece of software actually does.

To determine just what executables are up to, the company's technology promises to recreate the human interaction needed to download and test every .EXE file it finds online, claiming the ability to understand and complete even the most complex end user licensing agreements (EULAs) to see what the programs they promise really entail.

The firm recommends using RGguard in concert with its desktop Spyberus agent -- also given away for download at no charge -- to garner the best results.

According to the RGguard launch materials:

"RGguard accesses data gathered by a sophisticated automated testbed that has examined virtually every executable on the Internet. This testbed couples traditional anti-virus scanning techniques with two-pronged heuristic analysis. The proprietary Spyberus technology establishes causality between source, executable and malware, and user interface automation allows the computers to test programs just as a user would - but without any human intervention."

In the RGguard Enterprise Edition, Robot Genius offers capabilities for IT administrators to centrally block users from downloading or browsing malware-laden URLs, including the option to do so remotely using a Java-based management server.

Robot Genius also offers its malware data directly to customers for use in cooperation with their firewalls and other desktop security products.

Posted by Matt Hines on July 31, 2007 08:50 AM

RATE THIS ARTICLE: