Check Point’s ZoneAlarm ForceField Protects against Gumblar Web Attack That Targets Google Search and Internet Explorer Users

Check Point^® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, today announced that ZoneAlarm^® ForceField protects consumers against Gumblar, a Web attack that compromises Web sites and downloads malware onto unsuspecting computers. ZoneAlarm ForceField, available separately or integrated within ZoneAlarm Extreme Security, places a two-way "bubble of security” around the browser to automatically catch and neutralize malicious Web browser downloads. The safe, virtual ForceField sandbox prevents the unwanted malware from damaging a user's PCs or accessing any information residing on a targeted machine.

Gumblar is named after the Gumblar.cn exploit, which so far targets users of Internet Explorer and Google search, delivering malware through compromised sites to infect a user’s PC and subsequently intercept traffic between the user and the visited sites. Once infected, anything the victim types could be monitored and used to commit identity theft, such as stealing credit card numbers, Web passwords or other sensitive data. Visitors encountering the compromised website also risk having their subsequent search results replaced with links that point to other malicious websites. The malware can also steal FTP credentials from the victim’s computer and use them to infect more sites, thus increasing the spread of this threat. So far, more than 3,000 Web sites have been attacked including a popular entertainment site and sports site.

"We are witnessing a tremendous increase in Web browser-based attacks such as Gumblar, which traditional security products are not able to defend against,” said Ben Khoushy, vice president of endpoint products for Check Point. "Our unique ZoneAlarm ForceField virtualized browser security solution provides additional layers of protection and helps divert users away from malicious Web sites, delivering the highest level of security needed to stop such sophisticated attacks.”

ZoneAlarm ForceField successfully protects computers against Gumblar by placing an impenetrable two-way "bubble of security” around the browser. The ZoneAlarm ForceField sandbox prevents unwanted malware such as Gumblar from damaging users’ PCs or from stealing users’ private information. ForceField also includes additional security layers that augment its virtualization capability, such as heuristic anti-phishing and site ratings, designed to analyze websites and if malicious, warn the user not to download anything from the site or enter personal information. In addition, ZoneAlarm anti-virus solution has been updated to offer automatic protection against Gumblar. For more information or to download ZoneAlarm ForceField or ZoneAlarm Extreme Security visit http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-forcefield-browser-security.htm or http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/zonealarm-extreme-security.htm respectively.

About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com), worldwide leader in securing the Internet, is the only vendor to deliver Total Security for networks, data and endpoints, unified under a single management framework. Check Point provides customers uncompromised protection against all types of threats, reduces security complexity and lowers total cost of ownership. Check Point first pioneered the industry with FireWall-1 and its patented stateful inspection technology. Today, Check Point continues to innovate with the development of the Software Blade architecture. The dynamic Software Blade architecture delivers secure, flexible and simple solutions that can be fully customized to meet the exact security needs of any organization or environment. Check Point customers include tens of thousands of businesses and organizations of all sizes including all Fortune 100 companies. Check Point's award-winning ZoneAlarm solutions protect millions of consumers from hackers, spyware and identity theft.

©2009 Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.