Facebook and McAfee Partner on Internet Security
McAfee security software, a scanning and repair tool, and educational materials are now available to Facebook users.
McAfee Inc. and Facebook have announced a partnership to provide additional security protection to the more than 350 million Facebook users-a significant portion of the Internet popularion.
Through the partnership, the two companies have jointly created security solutions that include McAfee security software, a custom scanning and repair tool, and consumer-friendly education materials that Facebook will make available. Under the terms of the agreement, McAfee is Facebook’s exclusive provider of consumer security software and Facebook users will be eligible for a complimentary six-month subscription of the McAfee Internet Security Suite software.
Following the six-month period, Facebook users will be eligible for special discount subscription pricing. Facebook is applying all financial incentives from this partnership to the benefit of its users and will not be taking a share of any revenue from user subscriptions. McAfee Internet Security Suite software protects users’ PCs from online threats, viruses, spyware, hackers, online scammers, identity thieves, and other cybercriminals, and includes McAfee SiteAdvisor site rating technology.†
If a Facebook account is compromised, Facebook has developed a process that requires users to take steps to re-secure their Facebook account and learn security best practices. As part of this partnership, this process will now also include custom McAfee technology to clean users’ computers. There is no charge for use of this tool.
To keep users educated about the latest threats, Facebook and McAfee will work together to develop educational content for the Facebook Security Page (www.facebook.com/security), Facebook’s resource for security-related information. McAfee will also continually update its own Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/mcafee), which features the offer on the “Protect Your PC” tab as well as security information on “Protect Your Kids” and “Security Notes” tabs.
Research has shown that up to 78 percent of consumers do not have updated anti-virus, an enabled firewall and anti-spyware, and 48 percent of them have expired anti-virus, the most fundamental protection. So many people without even the most basic protection for their computers are an obvious risk to themselves, but also to people with whom they interact online. The agreement between McAfee and Facebook is designed to address this problem.
“We are taking an unprecedented step towards making the entire Internet more secure and reducing the possibility of threats being brought onto our service by unsuspecting users,” says Elliot Schrage, vice president of global communications, marketing and public policy, Facebook. “Keeping the Internet secure requires that users, security vendors, and Internet companies all work together. We think we’ve developed an excellent model for this collaboration, and to ensure the greatest possible value to our users, Facebook will not accept any revenue from subscriptions. We hope this is something that other services will emulate.”
Upon launch, McAfee Internet Security Suite software will be available †to Facebook users in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Additional countries will be added throughout Q1.
