By Joris Evers
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: June 6, 2006, 6:55 PM PDT
Last modified: June 7, 2006, 11:09 AM PDT
update AOL is preparing to enter the security fray with a new software bundle
that it plans to market to the general public, not just its subscribers, CNET
News.com has learned.
The software,
dubbed "Total Care," is expected to be available to software testers
in the coming weeks, a source familiar with AOL's plans said. The product will
include security and PC care features, matching Microsoft's recently launched Windows
Live OneCare product and upcoming products from Symantec and McAfee, this person said.
Total Care marks
one of AOL's first steps in the security space, outside of tools it offers
exclusively to the millions of subscribers to its Internet service. The Dulles,
Va.-based company is also quietly running a test of a security tool--the Active Security
Monitor--that screens the security status of a computer and offers
guidance on improving protection.
With OneCare,
Microsoft says it has created an all-in-one PC care product. OneCare adds PC
maintenance tools and backup features to the security basics--a firewall, and
antivirus and anti-spyware applications. In the wake of the OneCare
announcement, all major security companies have said they would release similar
products.
AOL is not
building Total Care by itself. The company has partnered with unnamed
third-party security providers for the bundle, the source said. Currently, AOL
has deals with McAfee and CA for the AOL Safety and Security Center, which
offers a firewall, antivirus, anti-spyware and phishing protection to AOL
subscribers at no cost.
McAfee will
provide technology for at least part of AOL's Total Care, a person familiar
with the product plans said. AOL is a significant sales channel for McAfee. The
Santa Clara, Calif., security software specialist on Tuesday announced packaging for its newly integrated
consumer products, which are due out in beta this month and in final
form this summer.
Consumers
increasingly get their security software from Internet service
providers, rather than buying from a store or online, according to
Gartner research. Last year, about 14 percent of consumer security software
sales came from ISPs, up from barely 5 percent a year before, Gartner said.
"We expect
the big brand ISPs and search companies to launch their own security
offerings," said Arabella Hallawell, a Gartner analyst. These will come either
from partnerships with established players or from relabeling no-name security
products with their own brand, she said.
ISPs can become
a threat to security stalwart Symantec, which held more than 70 percent of the
consumer security market last year. "Symantec will suffer from not wanting
to embrace the ISP channel," Hallawell said. That's in addition to losing
market share to security newcomer Microsoft.
The market for
consumer PC security software continues to grow, reaching $1.95 billion last
year, up 17 percent year-on-year, according to Gartner. For this year, Gartner
expects a lower growth rate, Hallawell said.