Shavlik Technologies

In the past, companies that worried about security breaches hired guards, bought canine defenders and put in "high-tech" surveillance systems. Today, criminals, information-seekers and even malicious employees can bypass physical deterrents, hide behind snippets of computer code, and access, steal or destroy a company's most private information files.

The weak link in today's security is not anything physical -- its unpatched computers and unprotected networks.

In 1993, Mark Shavlik saw this need in the business community and decided to help companies secure their computer systems. He founded Roseville, Minn.-based Shavlik Technologies and began offering a unique approach to computer security application design and development -- the first step in achieving information security.

Today, Shavlik Technologies offers easy-to-use, affordable security products to help organizations stay ahead of security vulnerabilities due to missing patches, weak accounts and passwords. It also offers software support for its family of security solutions and Shavlik Security Services Group experts work with customers to review security technology, processes and policies.

In February, Shavlik announced the latest version of Shavlik HFNetChkPro, the industry standard for security patch management. Available now, Shavlik HFNetChkPro 5 offers significant features and enhancements to provide the most comprehensive patch management tool available, while continuing to provide ease-of-use and the ability to get patched in 30 minutes or less. Other patch management products from Shavlik Technologies include Shavlik NetChk Security, Shavlik Security Agents.

According to Mark Shavlik, the two most common vulnerabilities exploited by hackers are configuration errors and software defects. Patch management tools, like Shavlik HFNetChkPro, can prevent attacks on software defects, but configuration errors are the responsibility of the security managers, information technology personnel, and even end users. In response to this security threat, Shavlik Technologies announced Shavlik NetChk Security, a security information and configuration management tool that identifies security configuration errors on Microsoft-based workstations and enables system administrators to correct the errors. Shavlik NetChk Security will be available in the third quarter of 2005.

But patch management and security management software are only the beginning for Shavlik. Spyware has become an increasingly challenging problem for businesses -- adversely impacting productivity, decreasing bandwidth and compromising network security by allowing computer hackers a foothold to systems. Shavlik recognized this problem and announced Shavlik NetChk Spyware, a new anti-spyware product, available in the second quarter of 2005. Unlike most anti-spyware solutions currently on the market, Shavlik NetChk Spyware is designed specifically for the enterprise and is not simply an enhanced version of a home user product.

The number of security vulnerabilities increases daily, and it has become imperative for businesses to protect systems to prevent lost productivity, increased IT costs, infringements on privacy and increased risk for liability. Shavlik Technologies helps companies ensure that information and systems are secure by identifying and eliminating areas of vulnerability. In turn, customers using Shavlik's products see a significant drop in network and system failures, fewer successful attacks, and a decrease in lost productivity, privacy and security infringements, and liability risk.

For more information about Shavlik Technologies, visit www.shavlik.com.