http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2003/11/18/rtr1151891.html NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Software security vendor Computer Associates International Inc. said on Tuesday that it will offer anti-virus software for free to Windows software users for one year, in a bid to expand its consumer market.
Computer Associates (nyse: CA - news - people) said in a statement that it will supply a subscription to its eTrust EZ Armor software, a consumer version of its business-class anti-virus and computer firewall software, at no charge to Windows users for one year.
CA, of Islandia, New York, is one of the leading suppliers of anti-virus software in the corporate market but is a minor player in the consumer desktop anti-virus market. A spokesman said the consumer push will help improve overall Internet security as most viruses spread from poorly defended home PCs.
The company said it will aggressively promote this special offer as part of Microsoft's "Protect Your PC" campaign. Microsoft itself has made computer security a top priority after years of failing to ward off damaging virus attacks that have crippled millions of computers.
Windows users can download the eTrust EZ Armor software from Microsoft's "Protect Your PC" site located at
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/ .
The company cited industry data from a recent ICSA Labs Virus Prevalence Survey, that found there are now an average of 105 virus infections per 1,000 computers per month, up from 32 per 1,000 just five years ago.
ETrust EZ Armor normally retails for $49.95. The one-year, free offer is available to users of Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Millennium Edition and Windows 98/Windows NT who sign up before June 30, 2004.
Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service
Topic: Computer Assocs offers free anti-virus for Windows (Read 3179 times)