Tuesday, 17 August 2004 20:45 EST

Panda Software, a world leader in virus and intrusion prevention, today announced plans to support Network Access Protection technology from Microsoft, a comprehensive infrastructure that allows system administrators to monitor and control system access to corporate networks based on their level of compliance. Through the collaboration, Panda Software customers will be able to enforce policy compliance before connecting to Microsoft environments, ensuring that malicious code threats are prevented from entering networks.

This new technology decreases the risk of introducing viruses from any computer that links to corporate networks through external or internal accesses. Panda Software customers will be able to reinforce policy compliance of Panda Corporate product line: Panda BusinesSecure, Panda EnterpriSecure and the TruPrevent Corporate solution. This is designed to ensure that non-secured systems are effectively isolated.

Network Access Protection is an extensible, standards-based platform architecture that will serve as the foundation for development of new and complementary applications. Through this partnership with Panda Software, this technology will deliver a comprehensive, end-to end solution that protects and controls the spread of viruses and ensure policy compliance.

"IT administrators have told us that managing user access to their corporate resources in a safe and secure manner is a major concern," said Steve Anderson, director in the Windows Server Group at Microsoft Corp. "Network Access Protection has garnered broad industry support because it will help customers lower the cost of access management while simultaneously providing them with more control", Steve Anderson added.

Pedro Bustamante, chief marketing officer at Panda Software, explains: "Our corporate products will integrate with Network Access Protection from Microsoft to ensure that clients connecting to the network use the correct version of the antivirus software and that virus signature files are always updated".

Panda BusinesSecure Antivirus is a hassle-free and highly effective solution for protecting small and medium-sized businesses. Panda EnterpriSecure Antivirus is a security solution for large corporations which includes specific modules to provide optimum antivirus protection for every computer in the network. Finally, TruPrevent is Panda Software's revolutionary response to the growing proliferation of new and dangerous threats, being the most intelligent technologies to combat unknown viruses and intruders. All these solutions will be supporting the Network Access Protection Technology from Microsoft, and availability will be confirmed later this year.

About Panda Software

Panda Software (), a world leader in virus and intrusion prevention, offers unrivalled proactive security solutions for all types of users, from the largest corporations through small and medium-sized companies to home users. Its corporate products offer hassle-free automatic and centralized administration and provide network-wide protection, via multi-layer security technology, to ensure uniform protection across the enterprise, from remote users and workstations to mail gateways and internal and perimeter servers. Panda Software's solutions have received awards and quality certifications from the sector's most widely-respected organizations, including ICSA Labs and Checkmark and its commitment to customer service, innovative products, and the pioneering concept of 24h-365d tech support have revolutionized the IT security industry.