Yandex Rolls Out Proprietary Website Virus Detection System

Internet, March 1, 2010. Yandex has launched a proprietary virus detection technology based on user behavior. This anti-virus solution checks web pages for the latest malware and warns search users about potential threats.

Yandex first started scanning web pages using anti-virus technology provided by Sophos in May 2009. With about 400,000 web pages known to be infected, the search system shows about 3 million virus alerts daily.

In addition to the Sophos malware detecting technology currently used by Yandex, the new system reinforces anti-virus protection by simulating user behavior. It detects malware by performing the actions similar to those of a visitor to a web page – if a download or a program execution begins on a page automatically without user initiation, this page is very likely to be infected. This method allows to detect viruses that haven’t yet been added to any anti-virus database. Only in the first five days of beta testing, the new virus scanning system successfully detected 9% more infected websites.

Using two different malware detection techologies – the company’s own and that provided by Sophos – allows Yandex to cover a wide range of viruses, with 34% malware spotted by both systems. Both technologies work in parallel to maximize user protection. To read more about anti-virus technologies, please visit Yandex.Webmaster blog (in Russian).

“Our technology allows to identify new, only recently created malware and warn our users about potential threats,” says Sergey Pevtsov, head of the anti-virus team at Yandex. “In addition, we are happy to share the information on malware with computer security developers to help them add new viruses to their databases”.

Web-masters can keep tabs on their websites using the company’s Yandex.Webmaster service. The service will alert them of security threats to their websites so that they could find and delete malicious code. To read more about website security, website owners can go to Yandex.Webmaster, while all other web users can visit http://help.yandex.ru/common/?id=1111523 (in Russian).

Contact:
Media Relations
Vladimir Isaev, Ochir Mandzhikov
Phone: +7 495 739-7000
E-mail: pr@yandex-team.com