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PC Gamers Warned About 64-bit Virus Protection

by Rainier on Dec. 19, 2005 @ 9:09 a.m. PST

With shipments of 64-bit machines expected to make their way into the homes of the nation's gamers this holiday season, global provider of security software for enterprises and consumers ESET issued a warning today that most of the machines being shipped could be vulnerable to significant threats without appropriate protection.
"The availability of threat protection for 64-bit machines is still very limited," says Rick Moy, vice president of marketing and sales at ESET. "64-bit systems boast advanced speed and performance features that are ideal within the gaming community, where milliseconds can mean the difference between winning and losing; however, given the abundance of Trojans, spyware, worms and viruses roaming the Internet, it is important that consumers investing in this innovative technology protect themselves accordingly."

In a recent study of antivirus solutions compatible with 64-bit systems for the December 2005 Virus Bulletin newsletter (www.virusbulletin.com), Matt Ham, who conducted the review, expressed surprise at the lack of vendor submissions, ultimately receiving just nine solutions from companies world-wide.

The review tested Windows Server 2003 x64 running on AMD Athlon 64 processors, which are the most commonly used machines with 64-bit operating systems. Ham notes in the review that detection was at its usual high levels for ESET's NOD32 and awarded the product Virus Bulletin's VB 100% award for its collection of threats. This is the 35th VB 100% award NOD32 has received from the organization. It is the only solution worldwide that has not missed a single "In-the-Wild" virus in the rigorous testing conducted by Virus Bulletin since May, 1998.

With system speed a priority for positive gaming experiences, consumers seeking an antivirus solution for their 64-bit systems should note that the December Virus Bulletin tests showed that NOD32 performed twice as fast as the nearest competitor. Additionally, one of the world's largest antivirus companies required four seconds per file scanned -- over 1,000 times slower than the other products tested.

"Threat protection is ESET's number one priority," continued Moy. "However, gamers looking for an antivirus solution will appreciate NOD32's unmatched speed and performance. The product was built from the ground up to ensure the footprint is minimal and speed would be optimized. For the nation's competitive gamers, that is an added gift for the holidays. As we head into 2006, ESET's product development team will continue to anticipate our customer's needs and will consistently deliver solutions ahead of the curve."

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