F-Secure
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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Helsinki, Finland |
| Products | F-Secure Anti-Virus F-Secure Internet Security |
| Website | www.f-secure.com |
F-Secure plc (formerly Data Fellows) is an anti-virus and computer security software company based in Helsinki, Finland. The company has large branch offices in the USA and Japan, where some antivirus analysis and software development work is also being undertaken. F-Secure Corp. is publicly traded on the Helsinki Stock Exchange under the symbol FSC.
Mikko Hyppönen is the Chief Research Officer.
Products
The company sells security software to fight malicious code on diverse platforms:
- F-Secure's IBM PC compatible offerings traditionally had an emphasis on protecting the Microsoft Windows platform, but Linux versions of comparable functionality have been introduced during 2004 and 2005.
- F-Secure is one of the leaders in fighting mobile malware threats. Security software for the Windows CE derived handhelds and Symbian smartphones are available. The company's public weblog closely follows the mobile malware situation and has been voted as one of the web's 500 most read blog sources. The company also claims to be the first antivirus vendor to establish a World Wide Web presence back in 1994.
- F-Secure has been building relationships with mobile phone network operators and ISPs to provide its managed security solution as blanket protection for the carriers' clients. This is a strongly growing market segment.
F-Secure products for the PC feature CounterSign, an exclusive anti-virus technology based on multiple scanning engines for malware and adware identification as well as run-time detection of root kits. F-Secure has OEM agreements with several security vendors to integrate leading detection technology in its own offerings, including a long-standing cooperation with Kaspersky Lab, Russia.
F-Secure is historically related to FRISK Software International, a company based in Iceland, which publishes F-Prot antivirus. The original F-Prot conglomerate of Icelandic, Finnish and American computer antivirus researchers fell apart during the early 1990s and the resulting companies divided the global market. For a while, Data Fellows's product was marketed as "F-Prot Professional". As of 2006, the macro-virus detection capabilities of Frisk's F-Prot scan engine are still present in F-Secure products.
Shaw Secure
In a bundle with Shaw cable internet, customers receive a program made by F-Secure, that is essentially the same as any other F-Secure application. Those who are aware of Shaw secure use it frequently, as it's one of the leading antivirus programs, and shaw secure is nearly free. This version isn't well known among many computer users, as it was only released a few years ago.
Awards
In 2006, F-Secure Anti-Virus was the recipient of the TopTenReviews Bronze Award.