America Online has launched AOL 9.0 Security Edition which includes a comprehensive suite of safety and security features.
Building on AOL 9.0 Optimized, AOL 9.0 Security Edition is the first version of America Online to focus specifically on safety and security and is especially beneficial for people who use a basic high-speed Internet connection. It offers online consumers a convenient and easy-to-use package of essential safety and security protections, among them: McAfee VirusScan Online, AOL Spyware Protection, Simplified Spam Control tools, McAfee Personal Firewall Express, Pop-up controls, Money Alerts, and Parental Controls.
“More often than not when a member faces a performance issue with the computer, they think they just have a performance problem, but what they really have is a virus or spyware,” stated Danny Krifcher, executive vice president for the AOL service.
As part of its multi-faceted “Commitments to Members” marketing campaign, America Online will promote AOL 9.0 Security Edition through online promotions, television advertising, and will make the newest version available to consumers online and soon through CDs distributed in a wide range of retail stores and other outlets.
“First among our commitments to our members and the online community is that ‘AOL will always help our members feel safer and more secure,’ ” said Jon Miller, Chairman and CEO, America Online, Inc. “One example of how we’re making the commitment real is that we’re giving our members advanced virus protection software at no additional charge. And we’re making it easier to stay safer online by giving AOL members the essential safety and security protections they need – anti-virus and anti-spyware coverage, controls for pop-ups, spam and spIM, a broadband firewall, parental controls and safety alerts – in one package with AOL 9.0 Security Edition.”
Mr. Miller continued: “Safety and security have never been mere buzzwords here. They are, quite simply, the foundation of the America Online service and mission, and essential to improving our members’ peace of mind. The Internet is a wonderful place, filled with endless possibilities – but our work won’t finish until all our members get everything they want out of it, and less of what they don’t want.”
In addition to these protections, America Online’s technology works behind the scenes to continually help protect members’ online safety and security. This includes: server-side spam filters; automatic scanning and blocking of virus attachments from incoming and outgoing e-mail and embedded jpeg images; targeted blocking of virus links in instant messages and IM rate limiting to help protect against spIM; automatic identification and securing of accounts with unusual and unauthorized activity; and monitoring and blocking of password cracking efforts.
For bilingual households, this version provides the ability to set English or Spanish language preferences for each individual Screen Name so that members can easily choose between the AOL service in English or the AOL Latino service in Spanish. America Online is the first and only national Internet Service Provider to offer this level of integrated functionality for a bilingual experience.
For another layer of security, AOL recently launched the AOL PassCode which offers members a second level of AOL account protection through the use of a keychain-sized device that generates and displays a unique six-digit numeric code every 60 seconds. To access their account, AOL members using PassCode must enter their normal account password and the current code on the PassCode device.
murdok | Breaking eBusiness News
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