McAfee.com Acquires Leading Anti-Spam Technology to Attack Fast Growing Internet Problem
‘SpamKiller’ Creator and Anti-Spam Expert to Join Company
SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ —
McAfee.com (Nasdaq: MCAF), a leading provider of Web security services today announced the acquisition of the leading anti-spam technology known as “SpamKiller.” McAfee.com intends to make available this highly-rated anti-spam solution to its global customer base while concurrently attracting new customers searching for an effective anti-spam solution that offers the ability to block unwanted e-mail messages (“spam”) from entering their e-mail boxes. The company plans to add SpamKiller to its line of managed security solutions that includes anti-virus protection, firewall and privacy protection. The company also announced that leading anti-spam expert and creator of SpamKiller, Thor Ivar Ekle, will join the company to lead future development of this new product line.
“I am delighted to include SpamKiller in the McAfee.com family of best-in-class managed security services,” said Thor Ivar Ekle, creator of SpamKiller. “By combining SpamKiller technology with McAfee.com’s unique system of delivering Web services, Internet users will have a powerful and always up-to date solution to prevent the spread of the growing spam problem.”
“Spam e-mail is the fastest growing nuisance on the Internet and we believe that spam protection is as significant as protection against viruses and hacker attacks,” said Srivats Sampath, president & CEO, McAfee.com. “Today, e-mail boxes are constantly being polluted with spam messages and billions of dollars are being lost in wasted time and lost productivity. We expect SpamKiller to be an important addition to our anti-abuse line of products.”
The spam e-mail problem is growing to almost epidemic proportions. According to Gartner Inc., Type 1 (pure-trash e-mail, fraudulent schemes, invalid senders) and Type 2 (chain letters, urban legends, hoaxes) spam will account for as much as 25% of all e-mail messages on the Internet through 2002.(1) Furthermore, eMarketer, a leading provider of Internet statistics, estimates that nearly 76 billion spam e-mails will be delivered over the Internet in the year 2003.
The company plans to make a McAfee.com branded version of SpamKiller available in the second quarter 2002.
About McAfee.com
McAfee.com Corporation is a world-leading provider of managed Web security, optimization and maintenance services. Using a patented system and process of delivering software through an Internet browser, McAfee.com has redefined how software is developed, delivered and experienced by PC users at home and at work, virtually eliminating the need to install, configure and manage the technology on a local PC or network. McAfee.com hosts software application services on its vast technology infrastructure and provides these services to users online through its Web site www.mcafee.com. McAfee.com has signed up more than 1.3 million paid active subscribers, making it one of the largest paid subscription sites on the Internet. The company estimates that 30% of its subscriber base is international.
For more information, contact McAfee.com at 408-992-8100 or visit http://www.mcafee.com .
(1) Gartner Inc., “Keeping Spam out of your email,” J. Graff, December 2001
NOTE: McAfee is a registered trademark of Network Associates, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other registered and unregistered trademarks in this document are the sole property of their respective owners.
Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute “forward-looking statements.” These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including projections of earnings; revenues, or other financial items; any statements of plans or strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning proposed new products, services, or developments; any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; any statements of belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. More information about potential factors that could affect McAfee.com’s business and financial results can be found in McAfee.com’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 25, 2002.