Don't Forget About Security on the PC

Written by Bernard Lunn / February 17, 2009 6:00 PM / 19 Comments

Security in the cloud is a hot topic. But when we interviewed Peter Bell, General Partner at Highland Capital Partners, he went out of his way to emphasize the need for security on the PC. He was "sticking to the script," as Highland has a number of investments in this area, which we'll review. Nevertheless, his basic point is valid. There is little point for the data centers that serve your SaaS applications to have excellent security if your PC leaks like a sieve. To all Mac-heads, good choice, but most people still use PCs!

Not just Anti-Virus

Security on the PC has tended to mean anti-virus, whose market is very mature and dominated by a few big vendors. It is an arms race against hackers, which means that one smart hacker and one mistake by vendors is all it takes to create a big mess. Studies also show that a far bigger problem than malicious viruses are the "brown-outs" caused when legitimate programs chew up too much resource and gradually take the PC from agonizingly slow to kaput.

Three Vendors, Three Approaches

Three companies in Highland Capital's portfolio are taking new approaches to the old problem of security on the PC:

1. Bit9

Approach: Application whitelisting. This is like a whitelist for email. Only emails from known contacts get through, and only pre-approved software gets access to your PC. PCs are "locked down"; only IT-approved software can be downloaded.

Potential bumps in the road:

a) This approach is geared to large enterprises with a centralized IT department that can manage the approval and lock-down process. Peter suggested that hosting vendors could provide this service to smaller companies, but the feasibility of this is as yet unproven.

b) There is a productivity vs. risk trade-off. If an executive who makes a lot of money for a company wants to download something that makes them more productive, why stop them because of the risk to their PC, a problem that could be fixed relatively easily anyway. The reality is that people work around these policies one way or another.

2. Virtual Computer

Approach: Virtualization that allows thousands of PCs to be managed remotely. According to Virtual Computer, "NxTop isolates the PC's critical components -- hardware, operating system, applications, and user data -- allowing each to be managed independently in a highly scalable fashion without a persistent network connection."

The technology is sometimes referred to as "client hypervisor technology." Virtual Computer is aligned with the XenSource software acquired by Citrix for $500 million in August 2007, putting it in competition with the leader in virtualization, VMWare.

Virtual Computer is a more recent venture, founded in 2007 and launched in September 2008. It recently closed a Series B round for $15 million (Highland provided the Series A funding and participated in the Series B round as a strategic investor alongside Citrix). This will be an interesting one to watch.

3. Desktone

Approach: Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS). Desktone is a great name, but introducing yet another (X)aaS moniker is getting a bit tired. The idea is to move the desktop itself to the cloud, so that the data remains in the enterprise and not on the PC. This article explains the technology quite well. The technology is based on the premise that, while cloud-hosted SaaS applications have tremendous momentum, desktop apps will be around for a long time. Using the PC for local processing is good, but centralizing data management is better.

Desktone secured $17 million in Series A funding in June 2007, co-led by Highland and Softbank.

(Photo by Mess of Pottage.)

Comments

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wow. "Virtual Computer" seems like a pretty bad idea for a trademark. Shouldn't trademark's typically be somewhat unique so they're defensible? Will "Virtual Computer" be filing trademark infringement suits every other day? Is that their strategy?

curious as to what they were thinking....

kind of like naming your product "Windows".... ;)

Posted by: kayvaan | February 17, 2009 8:06 PM

There are several aspects when we talk about security. Some as simply security flaws where you need a professional but there are cases where you don't want a professional and can solve by your own.

I have written an article on 10 common security mistakes that should never be made i hope if those are followed you won't have problems.

Thanks

Posted by: Ash | February 18, 2009 4:13 AM

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Posted by: söve | March 12, 2009 7:03 AM

Most of the antiviruses are vulnerable now a days or in other words hackers are smart enough to find vulnerablities.Now a days most of attackers are targeting the new high tech mobiles which also allows several mobile softwares like antiviruses to be installed so that they can find some real personal info like credit card numbers etc.
and we know if application can be installed in any device so why don't virus cannot be installed.its very easy to just place any app specially written for target work and sitback rest of the work will be done itself

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Posted by: nusret | November 20, 2009 7:26 AM

It makes a lot of sense, especially in today's internet environment, to use a multi-pronged approach to antivirus and malware. I do like the idea of a cloud approach in this context, but the particular app outlined above seems to be reaching a bit beyond its grasp. I do appreciate these pioneers in the field and I am sure these approaches will become much more feasible and practical as time goes on.

Posted by: Mitchell | November 24, 2009 8:06 AM

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Posted by: Earn money | December 9, 2009 8:51 AM

I have 9 security cameras installed originally connected to a dedicated, LAN-connected security DVR that cost over $5k seven years ago (Dedicated Micro Digital Sprite Lite lol - imagine what the HEAVY one would have cost lol). When the unit failed I discovered a replacement unit would cost the same, so I figured I'd "waste" $1k trying to do one myself. If it didn't work, I'd have a PC I could give the grandkids lol.

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