Endpoint security is changing at a breathtaking pace. For more than a decade, signature-based antivirus was sufficient for most companies. A couple of years ago, spyware emerged as a business-level threat, and pure-play companies like Webfoot and PestPatrol (now CA) scrambled to bring centrally managed products to market, while traditional antivirus vendors played catch-up.

That was just the start of the endpoint security revolution. While, spyware was initially considered more of a production and help desk issue than a security concern, the criminal world has turned the threat environment on its ear.

"From two years ago, there was a 180 in how malware and virus writers--kids working out of their basement seeking notoriety--approached the industry," said David Frazer, director of technical services at Helsinki-based AV firm F-Secure Corp. "Now we have professional virus writers, they have quality assurance, R&D, developing blended threats, targeted attacks aimed at specific users."

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