Kaspersky Labs and WSKA sign pan-European Partnership
9 October, 2001 – Kaspersky Labs, an international data-security software developer, today announced the launch of pan-European retail sales of its flagship product Kaspersky Anti-Virus to be sold through retail and distribution channels provided by WSKA Editions, the leading European software re-publisher and distributor.
Soon, Kaspersky Anti-Virus will be available for purchase in all major retail stores in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Customers will have the opportunity to create the most reliable anti-virus protection for their computers, taking advantage of Kaspersky Anti-Virus / Personal and Kaspersky Anti-Virus / Personal Pro suites. These two products are powered by the same Kaspersky award-winning anti-virus engine, and provide the same level of defense against malicious code of all types, in all virus propagation sources. The products also have special extended capabilities for scanning e-mail and the Internet. Both products are equipped with Kaspersky Control Center (a built-in scheduler and management console); Kasperskyâ„? Mail Checker (on-the-fly virus detection and malicious-code removal from e-mail); and Kaspersky Updater (an automatic, anti-virus database-update down-loader via the Internet).
At the same time, Kaspersky Anti-Virus / Personal Pro is more suitable for experienced users, as it also includes Kaspersky Office Guard, the unique behavior blocker that provides 100% protection against macro-viruses, and the world’s most advanced integrity checker, Kaspersky Inspector. Kaspersky Anti-Virus customers are backed by local, round-the-clock technical support.
In the near future, Kaspersky Labs product line, sold through WSKA, will be extended with Kaspersky Personal Firewall to be released in the first quarter of 2002.
Kaspersky Labs and WSKA have also agreed to combine efforts in marketing the Kaspersky Anti-Virus product line within France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.
“We are pleased to add Kaspersky Anti-Virus to our product range,” said WSKA’s CEO Jean-Guy Ducreux. “The product is now available in France, Germany and the UK, and will be backed by a strong marketing campaign. Release of the Spanish version is imminent. We anticipate our joint venture with Kaspersky Labs to be a huge success and look forward to developing a long-term partnership.”
“The European retail market is one of our top priorities in terms of global product marketing. The availability of Kaspersky Anti-Virus in major retail stores is also an excellent opportunity to extend our presence in other market segments – chiefly small and mid-size business,” stated Natalya Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Labs. “WSKA is a strong player in the retail market and will be an asset to Kaspersky Labs’ distribution network.”
About Kaspersky Labs
Kaspersky Labs Int. is a fast growing, privately owned, international data-security software-development company with headquarters in Moscow (Russia), and representative offices in Cambridge (UK) and Pleasanton (United States). Founded in 1997, the company concentrates its efforts on the development of world-leading anti-virus and general information security technologies and software. The company markets, distributes and supports its software and services in more than 50 countries worldwide.
About WSKA
WKSA Editions was founded in 1991. With offices in Spain (est. 1998), Germany (est. 1999) and the UK (est. 2001), WSKA covers ten European markets thoroughly, in four languages. Based in France, the company publishes only 15-20 titles per year, mostly utilities; thus, spending the necessary time and money to market each one of them properly. A leading player in French-speaking Europe for years, WSKA Editions merged with German Giant Softline, a public company traded on the Frankfurt Neur Markt, in 2000; thus, confirming its European scope, and strengthening its position on the main European markets.