Facebook Partners With McAfee to Chase Out the Rat

Facebook has partnered with McAfee to improve the social network's security measures.

The arrangement will have McAfee remotely clean up Facebook subscribers' PCs if the social networking site detects that the computer is infected. These subscribers will also see an ad for a six-month free subscription to McAfee's Internet Security Suite software.

Both companies will codevelop educational materials that will be posted on Facebook's site for its subscribers.

What the Deal's About

McAfee created a custom scanning and repair tool for Facebook that will be made available to the social networking site's more than 350 million users. Any infected PCs detected by Facebook will be cleaned up remotely at no charge.

"We have dedicated a lot of time and resources to protecting users and the network, but the one thing we don't have control over, which is an integral part of the network, is users' PCs," Facebook spokesperson Barry Schnitt told TechNewsWorld. "So we looked for someone to help fill that gap."

The system includes a custom package that deals with malware on users' PCs. McAfee was selected after a competitive process, Schnitt said.

Infected PCs that log on to Facebook are quarantined. The custom-designed tool, McAfee Scan and Repair, then freezes the account and cleans the PC remotely using a client on McAfee's servers, Brent Remai, McAfee's vice president of consumer marketing , told TechNewsWorld.

During the process, Facebook subscribers will be shown McAfee's free subscription promo as they are walked through five or six screens that show them how to clean their account, Remai said. Subscribers who don't take up the offer are sent back to their Facebook accounts.

"We've found that about 80 percent of all users don't have proper security protection on their PCs," Remai explained. "They've either let their security lapse or didn't get it in the first place or are under-protected, having only basic antivirus software and lacking antispyware, anti-phishing or firewall applications."

Facebook will remain responsible for security on its own back end servers, which are not covered under the agreement, Remai said.

source: tech news