SAN JOSE, CA — (Marketwired) — 05/29/13 — What is the greatest software innovation over the past 25 years? 61 percent of people say the World Wide Web. The greatest hardware innovation? 43 percent say the smartphone. And for 63 percent of people, the most annoying computer problem over the past 25 years is viruses and malware.* This month marks 25 years since F-Secure-s founding, 25 years of fighting malware.
“When F-Secure was founded, viruses were still quite rare. Most companies had yet to be convinced that they even existed,” said , Chief Research Officer at F-Secure and a 22-year veteran of the company. “In the early days of F-Secure, most viruses traveled on floppy disks. Today, of course, they are distributed via the Internet, making this industry much more complex — and always interesting.”
1988 was the year of the Morris worm, the first worm to spread extensively via the Internet. It was also the year that a company named Data Fellows was founded in an apartment building in Finland. Now known as F-Secure, the company globally protects millions of people, their identities and their content from today-s sophisticated forms of malware.
Founders and envisioned two ideals for the company they were establishing: to build a truly great company, and to build first-rate products that would surprise and delight the users. 25 years, 1,000 employees in 20 countries, and numerous product awards later, that dream is a reality.
F-Secure-s 25 years have been rich in innovation. F-Secure established the world-s first computer security website, created the first real-time antivirus product for Windows laptops, and developed a heuristic virus scanner and the first integrated, policy managed security solution. It released a mobile security product for a Nokia phone as early as 2002. It was the first antivirus company to release rootkit detection technology, has pioneered Security as a Service for businesses, and has become the world leader in the operator security service market. Now F-Secure is trailblazing safe content cloud services.
“Over the past 25 years we have built the best Internet security in the world,” said , CEO of F-Secure. “But that-s really just the beginning of our story. Security is moving to the cloud, where people are storing their content, and the future is mobility. We-re staying out in front of the trends to make sure the next 25 years are the best yet.”
F-Secure-s success has partly been in the passion that inspires its people to dig a little deeper. Hypponen, for example, recognized another 25-year anniversary two years ago, that of Brain, the first PC virus. Hypponen-s interest in the origin of the virus took him on a 2011 trip to Pakistan to find the virus writers, a journey chronicled in the video “Brain: Searching for the First PC Virus in Pakistan.”
This same passion is what has been driving F-Secure to extend its security expertise past traditional antivirus to personal content protection, Facebook profile protection, banking protection, patch management features for business, and many more exciting products to come.
Look back with us on the last 25 years of fighting viruses, and help us jump into the next 25, by visiting .
*Based on a survey of 495 Internet users contacted 2-31 December 2012 through Facebook, Twitter and the F-Secure Safe and Savvy blog and conducted through Surveygizmo.
Brain: Searching for the First PC Virus in Pakistan
While you concentrate on what is important to you, we make sure you are protected and safe online whether you are using a computer or a smartphone. We also backup and enable you to share your important files. Our services are available through over 200 operators around the world and trusted in millions of homes and businesses. Founded in 1988, F-Secure is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.
| |
For more information, please contact:
Melanie Lombardi
LEWIS PR for F-Secure
+ 1 (415) 432-2400
You must be logged in to post a comment Login