ThreatFire FAQs

• What is ThreatFire?

  ThreatFire is zero-day security software designed for the average consumer. ThreatFire protects in real-time against viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware, rootkits, keyloggers, and buffer overflows. It is designed to be used alongside your current antivirus to protect you between antivirus updates. Because it is behavior-based and not signature-based, ThreatFire protects against both known and unknown, or zero-day, threats. It is easy to install, painless to use, and immediately effective against today's computer security threats. And best of all, ThreatFire is free to all home users.

• What does it mean that ThreatFire offers behavior-based protection? And why is this type of protection so effective?

  Behavior-based protection actively defends a PC by examining and monitoring the actual behavior of files, background tasks, and processes in order to block and prevent any behavior consistent with that of malware such as viruses, worms, trojans, or rootkits. This behavior-based approach is superior to traditional signature-based antivirus software because these traditional programs offer strictly reactive protection. They can only protect you from a new threat after it has been discovered and new signatures to protect against it are developed, tested, and then released for download. ThreatFire does not rely on signatures to protect you; instead, it proactively shuts down any activity or behavior that might compromise the security of a PC. Your system is always protected, no matter how new the threat.

• How is ThreatFire different or better than other products with behavior-based protection?

  The key reasons why ThreatFire is superior to other behavior-based solutions are the following:

  • ThreatFire does not require any user setup or configuration. It is fully configured out-of-the-box and does not require any difficult tuning or technical knowledge on the part of the user.
  • Our patent-pending ActiveDefense™ technology offers the highest level of intelligence in determining what constitutes a threat and what does not. This results in a very low incidence of false positives, which is typically quite difficult for behavior-based solutions to achieve.
  • While ThreatFire does employ a whitelist to reduce the number of potential false positives, it does not blindly trust applications on this whitelist. ThreatFire will still always examine all the behaviors being performed on a system and if something suspicious is occurring, regardless of whether it is from a whitelisted application or not, it will alert you. Since any application can be compromised, trusting any single application is a fundamentally dangerous and ineffective approach for any security software.
  • ThreatFire is specifically designed to have a minimal impact on computing resources - far less than other behavior-based solutions, and less even than typical antivirus and anti-spyware programs. Since it is so low on resources it makes running it alongside your other resource-heavy security programs as an added layer of defense an easy decision.

• Is ThreatFire just a consumer product, or is there an enterprise version as well?

  ThreatFire is currently only available as a consumer product.

• How does ThreatFire work?

  ThreatFire does not rely on signature files to protect, but instead offers a better solution. ThreatFire's advanced ActiveDefense technology intelligently analyzes the behavior of processes and programs on a system and immediately halts any malicious action. The patent-pending ActiveDefense technology is the most intelligent behavioral analysis technology available today. It continuously monitors all activities on your PC at a very low system level and uses a proprietary combination of analytics, risk algorithms, program histories and tolerance thresholds to identify and shut down threats. It proactively paralyzes any activity or behavior that might compromise the security of a PC so the PC is always protected, no matter how new the threat.

• What are the primary benefits of ThreatFire?

  • ThreatFire offers immediate out-of-the-box real-time protection against both known and unknown threats, including viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware, rootkits, keyloggers, and buffer overflows.
  • It provides the perfect complement to your other signature-based security products (like your antivirus or anti-spyware software) since ThreatFire uses behavioral detection. It will not conflict with your signature-based products.
  • It is extraordinarily easy to use and install, so even novice users can have high-level security and protection.
  • Best of all, ThreatFire Free Edition is completely free for personal home use.

• What is the difference between ThreatFire Free and ThreatFire Pro?

  ThreatFire Pro includes the following features in addition to what's included in ThreatFire Free Edition:
  • ThreatFire Free is only for personal home use; business or commercial users must use ThreatFire Pro.
  • Advanced settings options for Automatic Updates and Community Protection participation.
  • Premium telephone support available, in addition to online community support.

• If I use ThreatFire does that mean I can uninstall my antivirus protection?

  Since no single application is currently foolproof, a layered defense provides the most complete protection. ThreatFire is the perfect complement to your existing antivirus, and will protect you between antivirus updates. It is fully compatible with most traditional antivirus programs, and can run side-by-side with these programs without conflict. While the traditional programs will protect only against known threats included in their signatures, ThreatFire goes beyond and protects against new or unknown zero-day threats as well.

  Certain types of security software, such as a firewall or security suite, may require that you configure the other program to allow ThreatFire to run. This is typically accomplished in a few quick steps and our technicians are always available to help you out if you need assistance.

• Why is ThreatFire free? Will it always be free?

  Everyone should have the right to a safe and secure computing experience. The rampant growth in malicious threats and spyware over the past few years has proved to be a challenge for even experienced computer users. The vast quantities of new malware being created make it very difficult for traditional signature-based software to keep up. All these new and unknown threats pose a greater risk because they are faster spreading and more dangerous. With ThreatFire, the average consumer can now fight back and fill the gaps between antivirus signature updates. And even though we now offer a paid version ThreatFire Pro the base behavioral protection included is not any different than what you get with ThreatFire Free and most home users should do just fine with the free version. Business users, however, must purchase and use ThreatFire Pro.

• What is the ThreatFire Secure Community?

  The ThreatFire Secure Community is a worldwide network of active users who volunteer to aid in identifying new threats. Any time a suspect alert is triggered in ThreatFire, information related to this event is automatically back reported to PC Tools for analysis through a secure connection. Any information collected is held completely confidential and is used solely for the purposes of researching new or previously unknown threats, gaining an understanding of their behaviors, and developing new protection against them. Information collected may include the ThreatFire alert that fired, the history of relevant events leading to that alert, the decision taken, and a copy of the file that triggered the alert. This immediate confidential feedback on potentially dangerous new threats allows PC Tools to advance its ActiveDefense technology to block these threats. So as threat strategies evolve and new security penetration tactics emerge, ThreatFire technology will remain at the forefront of the solutions that defeat those threats. Participation in the Secure Community is voluntary and even if you elect not to participate, you'll still receive full protection from ThreatFire.

• What makes ThreatFire so easy to use?

  ThreatFire was designed with average, non-technical users in mind. It is straightforward and easy to install so even novice users will not be intimidated when using the software. Out-of-the-box ThreatFire is fully configured to provide the most comprehensive protection available without any interaction from the user. Users do not have to go through any complicated configuration screens to be fully protected. When program alerts are triggered, they are easy for the user to understand and they provide clear information about how to proceed. Over time, fewer alerts should trigger as the program becomes even more intelligent. Program updates providing advances in technology are done automatically in the background, again without user interaction, so the program is always up to date providing the best protection available.

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