McAfee to Offer Cingular Wireless Customers Mobile Anti-Virus Security Services

McAfee to Offer Cingular Wireless Customers Mobile Anti-Virus Security Services

SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE), the leading dedicated security technology company, today announced that it will offer Cingular Wireless customers mobile security solutions for business-oriented devices. McAfee provides comprehensive mobile security solutions that are designed to protect against and prevent mobile threats and vulnerabilities. Its flagship product is McAfee VirusScan Mobile.

"While mobile threats have presented themselves largely as proof of concept, we think it's important for carriers to get ahead of the curve, and offer proactive and preventative solutions before a significant attack occurs," commented Todd Gebhart, senior vice president of Worldwide Consumer and Mobile Sales at McAfee, Inc. "In doing so, we believe carriers and their customers will be able to avoid serious potential implications that include loss of service and permanent or temporary loss of data. Cingular has taken a leadership position among wireless carriers in providing virus protection for mobile devices and we look forward to providing market-leading protection to its customer base."

Under the terms of the agreement, McAfee VirusScan Mobile will be available to Cingular customers for download to their Symbian Series 60, Microsoft Windows Mobile Pocket PC or SmartPhone wireless devices. Individuals will be able to purchase a one-year subscription for $29.99 from McAfee through Cingular's MediaNet^TM  Web portal. The subscription includes automatic, over-the-air updates against any newly discovered mobile viruses and threats.

Mobile malware (viruses, Trojans, and other threats) has been tracked since 2004 by McAfee's AVERT (Anti-Virus Emergency Response Team) Labs. It has appeared on smartphones-mobile devices that can access the Internet-as well as feature phones, mobile devices that do not have Internet access and are used largely to make phone calls. In the case of feature phones, rather than being vulnerable to viruses or Trojans, hackers have exploited vulnerabilities resulting from poorly written software code. (In this instance, the most common damage has been denial of service attacks.)

McAfee VirusScan Mobile provides advanced scanning, detection and cleaning of mobile data to prevent corruption due to viruses, worms, spyware, malware, and other technology abuses. It protects devices against the threats that originate from e-mail, instant messaging, and Internet downloads, and protects multiple entry points including SMS, MMS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Up-to-date protection is delivered as soon as threats are identified through McAfee's leading research organization, AVERT®. Currently McAfee supports Microsoft Windows Mobile PocketPC and SmartPhone as well as Symbian Series 60 operating systems.

With comprehensive mobile protection from malware attacks, VirusScan also protects corporate data and ensures regulatory compliance requirements for data protection. To further ensure mobile security, McAfee will introduce McAfee Firewall Mobile, which provides protection against hackers and data-stealing applications, monitoring both inbound and outbound communication for malicious behavior, in the second quarter of 2006.

"With the launch of VirusScan Mobile, McAfee is the first global security company to build an integrated end-to-end solution for real-time protection against mobile threats," furthered Gebhart. "VirusScan Mobile is the only product designed specifically for mobile protection and we will continue our diligence in ensuring that the consumer's experience is safe and secure."

About McAfee Mobile

McAfee currently supports more than 100 mobile devices that are in the hands of over 25 million consumers worldwide. With multiple years of experience gained developing mobile platforms and protocols with major operators and platform vendors, strong partnerships with mobile infrastructure providers, dedicated sales personnel, a dedicated mobile R&D organization, and a mobile threat research organization through McAfee AVERT Labs, McAfee is uniquely qualified and well positioned to meet the needs of device manufacturers, operators, the enterprise market and end-users.

About McAfee, Inc.

McAfee, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and the global leader in Intrusion Prevention and Security Risk Management, delivers proactive and proven solutions and services that secure systems and networks around the world. With its unmatched security expertise and commitment to innovation, McAfee empowers home users, businesses, the public sector, and service providers with the ability to block attacks, prevent disruptions, and continuously track and improve their security. www.mcafee.com.

NOTE: McAfee and VirusScan are registered trademarks or trademarks of McAfee, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. McAfee Red in connection with security is distinctive of McAfee brand products. All other registered and unregistered trademarks herein are the sole property of their respective owners. © 2006 McAfee, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE McAfee, Inc.