Acronis Privacy Expert Suite 9.0 Expands Privacy, Antispyware Capabilities

December 5, 2005, South San Francisco, CA — Acronis, Inc., the technological leader in storage management software, announced that Acronis Privacy Expert Suite 9.0 goes further to protect users' systems from spyware, malicious software and other threats than ever before.

Among the anti-spyware capabilities added to Acronis Privacy Expert Suite are a quarantine feature that enables the user to look through the list of the objects (files, registry keys etc.), deleted by malicious software removal operations and restore specific items the user wants to keep, daily updated spyware and malware definitions that can be downloaded manually or automatically, an improved Malicious Software Removal Wizard that provides the user with more flexibility and options on what to delete, and a newly rewritten pop-up blocker that provides the user with an extensive list of options and settings to meet their specific computing needs. The enhanced malware removal engine can identify and remove stealth malicious software, one form of which is a "rootkit," a program that can embed itself deeply into a computer, open the computer to potential security breaches and is exceedingly difficult to delete.

Additional new features include support for the Mozilla and Firefox browsers for the Internet Cleanup Wizard, an enhanced pop-up blocker that lets the user set security levels, and the redesigned Personal Shield that lets the user set their own protection level based on their specific needs.

The launch follows on the heels of the passage of Senate Bill S 687 in the Senate Commerce Committee of the so-called Spy Block Act, a bill that would make it illegal to place software on a user's computer without their permission. The bill, authored by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), is now headed to the Senate floor.

Among the prohibitions in the bill are placing software surreptitiously on someone's computer in order to log their keystrokes, deny them access to their computer, and to place ads on their computer that they would otherwise not see. It also would make it illegal to change someone's default home page or bookmarks, alter settings related to computer security or disable their computer's security. For the complete text of S 687, visit http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.687:.

"Acronis recognizes its responsibility as a provider of anti-spyware and malware software to work tirelessly to eradicate these electronic parasites," said Walter Scott, CEO of Acronis. "To that end, Acronis is offering to assist the Senate help define and identify spyware and malware. Acronis has already been in contact with Sen. Burns' office to offer our support and expertise. We see this as an opportunity to give something back no only to the American public, but to computer users everywhere who rely on Windows-based systems to be free of malicious, often dangerous software."

"Acronis has a long history of providing personal security products," added Stephen Lawton, Acronis' director of marketing. "Acronis Privacy Expert Suite, which has won PC Magazine's Editors' Choice Award two years running, is more than just an antispyware solution; it provides the best value available for a variety of must-have security and privacy tools.

"For example, Acronis Drive Cleanser securely wipes data from a disk drive using seven established international disk-wiping algorithms, including three from the U.S. Department of Defense," he continued. "Additionally, the software allows the user to eliminate traces on their hard disk that can indicate web sites they've visited, keystrokes they typed — such as log-ins and passwords — as well as the ability to wipe trace data from applications you've run. At Acronis, data security and integrity are the cornerstones for our privacy suites."

List price for Acronis Privacy Expert Suite 9.0 is $29.99 and includes a one-year subscription for antispyware updates. The product is currently being shipped.