Max Secure Intros 'World's Fastest' Anti-Spyware Software for Microsoft Vista
TMCnet - Dec 6, 2006

Looking to beat its competitors to the punch, Max Secure Software has launched a new version of its anti-spyware software designed for Windows Vista. This is one of the first anti-spyware programs available for Microsoft’s new operating system.

Most impressively, the company can boast that version 2.0 of its Max Spyware Detector is “the world's fastest anti-spyware software.” The company’s proprietary scanning algorithm is said to reduce scan time by up to 20 minutes on repetitive scans. In fact, the company claims its software conducts routine scans as much as “ten times faster” than competing anti-spyware programs. With just one quick click, the software scans, detects, deletes and recovers spywares – all in one shot.

How is this accomplished?
As explained by Sanjay Pradhan, founder of Max Secure Software, in a recent interview with TMCnet, the key lies in the initial scan of the computer’s hard drive. He said because Max Secure’s scanning software does a more thorough initial scan, it “does a lot more learning” about that particular PC – i.e. how it is being used – and therefore can build on that initial scan to complete subsequent scans at much faster speeds. In addition, the company’s underlying Smart Scan software allows for much higher scanning speeds.

Speed, Pradhan said, is a critical factor in the success of any anti-spyware product. Studies show that users have a high tendency to stop anti-spyware software when it is mid-way through a scan, often rendering the scan ineffective. Speeding up the scan time, he said, makes users more likely to let the scan complete itself before moving on to other tasks.

Max Secure’s software has several advantages over its competitors. Perhaps most key to the system is the company’s Comprehensive Spyware Detection – which is carried out by a dedicated database team using state-of-the-art spyware research methods to identify and resolve new spyware threats before they are widely distributed. Using the company’s automated research system, this team offers a 24 hour patrol (for free) of all spyware circulating on the Web and, according to Pradhan, “has a through understanding” of what tactics hackers are now using, as well as a “good understanding of how to catch them.” The team studies the cyclical nature of the threats, which are currently moving increasingly toward the goal of stealing users’ personal information. Key logging spyware - which tracks a user’s key strokes and furnishes that data to the hacker(s) – is the most common form of spyware out there as of present, he said, but the spyware used for deploying spam bot networks is also proliferating at an alarming pace. Fortunately, Max Secure 2.0 offers advanced and comprehensive cleaning technology for these next-generation spyware threats.

Adding to the efficacy of the database team is the user network itself. Pradhan said Max Spyware Detector 2.0 features an “export log” function which lets users send information about their scans directly to Max Secure’s support team. This enables the company to directly track threats and in many cases stop them before they happen.

Interestingly, Pradham points out that as spam bot networks continue to proliferate across the globe, the massive amounts of spam email they generate will invariably end up having an impact on other IP services, such as VoIP and IPTV. In this sense, he sees his company as playing a vital role in the detection and elimination of illegitimate Web traffic – traffic which, if left unchecked, could potentially blossom into a major threat to the very evolution of the Web.

Other advantages of Max Spyware Detector 2.0 include “Advanced Blocking,” which blocks ActiveX, browser header objects and tracking cookies. This flexible feature lets users decide whether they want to block just bad websites or the websites they feel are not worth browsing. It also blocks the new spyware installations. “Active Monitoring” protects a user’s privacy and provides security by actively protecting against malicious processes, homepage hijackers and tracking cookies. Add to these features detailed threat analysis, an appealing and user-friendly interface, enhanced protection of online privacy and a registry fix which lets users restore their original settings, and you have one of most comprehensive anti-spyware products on the market.

But perhaps most importantly, Max Secure is offering spyware protection for a new operating system which currently does not come with any. This is obviously a key move by a company which is on the ball. Pradhan said the company – which launched Max Spyware Detector two years ago – prepared itself ahead of time and worked fast to develop the best anti-spyware product possible - ready to hit the market coinciding with the new OS’ release.

“We recognized that millions of PC users were going to need a reliable and trusted anti-spyware product for their Vista operating system, so we developed an anti-spyware solution that not only met the users’ expectations but also surpassed them by utilizing our proprietary Smart Scan technology to shorten scan times down to three minutes,” Pradhan said in a company press release. “Vista is quickly being deployed and purchased by millions of PC users without any substantial protection against advanced spywares.”

Max Spyware Detector 2.0 for Windows Vista Will Be Offered Free Until March 2007. After that it will cost $29.95 for a one year subscription - which includes a no questions asked, 30 day money back guarantee. The software is available now and also supports Windows 98 SE, 2000, Me and XP.

Max Secure’s early origins can be traced back to 1986, when Pradhan and his wife started a small software business in India. Later they “caught the entrepreneur bug” and decided to launch a new business – Max Secure – in the United States in 2003. Since then, Max Secure Software has grown to become a leading provider of anti-spyware software. Based in Santa Clara, Calif. (with an R&D facility in India), the company now has over 90,000 customers worldwide.