AOL Launches Free Active Security Monitor

AOL is offering its Active Security Monitor software free to Windows users a way to assess and enhance online security.

AOL today launched its Active Security Monitor, free software for Windows users which evaluates a system’s online security and offers recommendations for how to better protect systems against online threats.

“The secret to security is information,” said John McKinley, President of AOL’s Digital Services division. “Most people don’t have all of the core security protections they need and, worse, don’t realize how vulnerable they are. Not having updated virus, spyware, and firewall protection is like locking your front door, but leaving your windows and back door wide open. Active Security Monitor takes an entirely new approach to computer security by regularly checking to ensure that all of the core protections are active and up to date, and it extends that critical information to home networked environments.”

Active Security Monitor assesses and continually checks the status of security-related programs on Windows computers, including antivirus software, firewalls, spyware protection, P2P software, wireless security, PC utilities, and software updates. The software then offers a Security Score for each PC on a user’s network, assessing the computer’s relative vulnerability to viruses, intrusion, and identity theft, and offering specific recommendations for shoring up any potential problems it finds.

AOL’s free Active Security Monitor follows on the heels of Microsoft’s new Live OneCare paid subscription offering, which offers automatic, self-updating PC security and care services direct from Microsoft.