June 11 - 9:35am EDT   Microsoft late Wednesday said it's nearing the release of its first self-made antivirus software. Although mentioned in the past under its Morro codename, the new software is now known to compete directly with software from Kaspersky, McAfee, Symantec and other relatively low-cost apps. It will only focus on removing spyware, trojans and viruses as the company already has a built-in firewall for Windows. [full story]

May 18 - 11:50am EDT   Both McAfee and Symantec have confirmed work on iPhone-related software, according to Reuters. McAfee says it is specifically working on new security programs, described as part of a "comprehensive suite for the Apple family," including its usual Mac focus. Though the company has declined to provide specific details, including even a release timeframe, it is best-known for anti-virus software, and was last year spotted working on an iPhone app called iVirusScan. [full story]

November 10 - 4:00pm EST   Seagate on Monday announced it has teamed up with virus-protection software developer McAfee to develop its self-encrypting notebook PC hard drives from its Momentus Full Disk Encryption (FDE) line, in both 7200RPM and 5400RPM versions. Both are now available in 320GB capacities, or the highest of any FDE drive on the market, and Seagate promises to introduce even larger, 500GB versions soon. [full story]

October 21 - 4:30pm EDT   Flash memory maker SanDisk and software security developer McAfee have teamed up on a new USB drive, the SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise, that automatically scans for, detects and keeps harmful malicious software, or malware, out. The secure USB drive is being demonstrated this week at the Foucs 08 security conference and promises to prevent file transfers to the drive when it detects the PC it is connected to is infected, even without a firewall. Malware includes viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other malicious software, for which the Cruzer Enterprise scans and keeps from being copied onto the drive. [full story]

July 2 - 4:00pm EDT   Microsoft today has announced it would launch Equipt, a new software package that will let it experiment with subscription services. The suite gives users both a copy of Office Home and Student 2007 as well as the company's OneCare anti-malware and backup service; in exchange for an immediate discount on both services, customers will pay $70 per year to keep the full service active. Office is believed to remain active regardless of when the subscription ends. [full story]

November 29 - 10:35am EST   Security specialist McAfee has released a new update for VirusScan for Mac, v8.6. Crucial to the latest edition is official support for Mac OS X Leopard, guaranteeing maximum compatibility; also included, however, is improved performance in file caching, using on-access and on-demand techniques. This will cache previously scanned files, sometimes reducing total scanning time from minutes to seconds. ePolicy Orchestrator 4.0 allows VirusScan management via the web, and signature file updates can now be incremental, so that downloads are often in kilobytes rather than megabytes. The program costs a minimum of $37 for a single license. [full story]