MANILA, Philippines - Online threats abound every day, and some 30,000 new malware emerge daily such that there is a higher risk now of getting malware whenever you go online.

This was revealed by Alex Ng, regional product manager for Southeast Asia of Kaspersky Lab, a developer of secure content management solutions, at a press conference held in Manila recently.

Citing a report published on www.securelist.com, Ng revealed that the top target countries for cyber attacks for the first quarter of 2010 are China, Russia, India, United States, and Vietnam. The Philippines is 19th on this list.

Given this online threat, Ng underscored the need to protect the family from cyber attacks, especially since the Internet plays a significant role in today's society.

Kaspersky Lab just launched in the country two new anti-virus products that promise to provide "more accurate detection and an even faster response to any IT threats."

Unlike other anti-virus products, the Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 kick into action in real time --on background mode--to provide proactive protection, "constantly monitoring the system to detect any type of potential threats and prevent any destructive activity."

Unique features

According to Kaspersky Lab, the new products employ a System Watcher technology that monitors all system events in full, from creation and modification of files to changes in system registry. Any unwanted change to the system made by malicious programs can be rolled back with just a few mouse clicks.

The products also employ reputation rating services which give real-time information about a website or file without the need to have it scanned. Access to URLs considered "dangerous," meaning with high probability of malware, is blocked automatically, and users are asked if they want to go back to the previous page or continue anyway.

The two software products also have a new Windows Gadget feature which displays the computer's security status. It allows a file to be scanned with a single mouse click, and enables an application to be launched on Safe Run mode.

A new feature is the product installation disk doubling as a rescue disk which allows for scanning or treating an infected computer without the need to download a bootable operating system.

Both products can also be installed on a machine that was previously infected, unlike other anti-virus software.

The Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 has a Safe Surf feature which allows access only to trusted resources or websites.

Parental control was also improved to help parents regulate their children's Internet activities. The parental control feature can be set up to restrict access to social networking sites, instant messaging, and specific programs on the computer; control the downloading of files and the transfer of personal data, and even limit the number of hours the computer is used.

It also has a Safe Run feature, which is helpful when one does online banking.

"Every year, we work hard to develop innovative security technology. It's our responsibility as parents to protect our children," said Jimmy Fong, channel sales director of Kaspersky Lab Southeast Asia.

“By releasing the new 2011 versions, our company has improved an already great product range still further, bringing the user a host of effective new technologies designed to protect their computers,” said Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Lab. “It’s nice to see we have achieved our goals. Now, thanks to such modules as System Watcher, Safe Surf and our fully redesigned Safe Run module, our customers will be provided with an unprecedented level of control over the processes running on their computers, providing them with the security they need while working with important personal data.”

The Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 retails for P960, while the Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 sells for P1,160.

Both products are fully compatible with the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft's operating systems, from XP up to Windows 7 versions.