Bakersfield, Calif. (Sept. 8, 2009) – Virus activity has significantly increased in 2009, according to several IT industry reports, wreaking havoc on computers and networks around the world. Protecting the school network from the increasing number and complexity of cyber threats is a top concern for administrators and IT staff. Lightspeed Systems Inc., a leader in network security and management software for schools, has created the Anti-Virus (AV) Strike Force, a new customer support team of security experts, to improve virus and malware detection and response. The specialized squad responds quickly to virus-related issues to help school network administrators stay apprised of threats and protect computers and files.

“Viruses, worms and malware are a critical and constantly evolving threat to schools and districts and can cost them significant time and resources,” said Scott Garrison, president of Lightspeed Systems. “We created the AV Strike Force to be proactive in helping our customers identify and prevent viruses from causing damage, or minimize their impact once detected.”

Customers can submit suspicious files by email to virus@lightspeedsystems.com or online at virus.lightspeedsystems.com. Customers will be alerted to any further action taken and given details about the file. If the file has not been identified previously, or it appears to be a variant of another known virus, the file is flagged for review by the anti-virus research team and analyzed within one hour. Once a file is deemed a virus or other threat, it is added to the database for all customers and the public to access.

Lightspeed Systems’ databases of Web sites, programs, viruses, malware, and other known threats are available at www.erating.com.

According to the company’s security experts, the anti-virus industry has seen a large increase in malware activity. Although the new malware uses old methods and viruses, there are enough modifications and new tricks to qualify it as new infections. The majority of these infections come from games, audio and video files, and social networking sites as well as sites hosted in China and Eastern European countries.

Lightspeed Systems’ anti-virus software, Security Manager, enables schools to easily maintain the health of computers across their network by stopping known and unknown threats to servers and desktops. Security Manager is part of the company’s integrated solution, Total Traffic Control, a sophisticated, easy-to-use application that provides a full range of network security and management features in a single, cost-effective application. Total Traffic Control combines content filtering, mobile filtering, spam management, bandwidth management, anti-virus protection, e-mail archiving, desktop and gateway security, and extensive reporting capabilities.

More Information

The Inc. 5,000 profiles are available on www.Inc.com.

Contact Lightspeed Systems at 661-716-7600, or go to www.lightspeedsystems.com.

About Lightspeed Systems

Lightspeed Systems Inc., founded in 2000, develops comprehensive network security and management solutions for the education market. Lightspeed is committed to helping schools operate their networks effectively and efficiently, so educators can provide a safe online teaching and learning environment. The company’s flagship product integrates content filtering, mobile filtering, antivirus, spam management, bandwidth management, email archiving, and extensive monitoring and reporting features into a single interface. Lightspeed’s software is used in more than 1,000 school districts in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia to protect more than 5 million students. For the past two years, Lightspeed has been recognized on the Inc. 5,000 list as one of fastest-growing private companies.

Contacts

Lightspeed Systems
Crystal Cochran
661-431-1649
crystal at lightspeedsystems dot com
www.lightspeedsystems.com

C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Kristen Plemon
608-839-9805
kristen at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com

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