Network Associates Granted New U.S. Patent for Software Update Technology
New Patented Technology Enables Customers to Receive Updates From Multiple Software Vendors
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Network Associates, Inc. (NYSE: NET) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted the company U.S. Patent number 6,457,076 for its technology invention in the field of updating software, such as for example over the Internet. The software updating technology described in patent number 6,457,076, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MODIFYING SOFTWARE RESIDING ON A CLIENT COMPUTER THAT HAS ACCESS TO A NETWORK,” allows a user to keep a computer maintained at the optimal level and receive the best protection against malicious code.
Network Associates new patent encompasses a variety of technologies whereby a downloadable client application is capable of scanning a client computer to identify software residing on the client computer. The client application is further capable of comparing the identified software with information in a database to determine whether a service provider has information about the identified software. The information can relate to or characterize one or more services.
Among many types of services described in and encompassed by the newly granted patent, are services that include downloading or transferring software, scanning the computer, developing an inventory of the contents of the computer, and/or providing recommendations or advertising. As an added benefit to the granted patent, users are able to shop comparatively for new offerings, upgrades and/or newer versions from multiple vendors.
“The McAfee(R) brand is well known for its industry leading anti-virus and security solutions to customers over the Internet,” said William Kerrigan, senior vice president of McAfee Security, Consumer Division at Network Associates. “Our patented technology enables us to provide customers with the most current, easy-to-manage security solutions and software to protect them from the threat of malicious code.”
Numerous innovative structures, processes, architectures, interfaces and formats of presentation are protected by U.S. Patent 6,457,076 and its parent, U.S. Patent 6,151,643, which are components of Network Associates growing patent portfolio.
With headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., Network Associates, Inc. is a leading supplier of network security and availability solutions. Network Associates is comprised of three product groups: McAfee Security, delivering world-class anti-virus and security products; Sniffer Technologies, a leader in network availability and system security; and Magic Solutions, a leader in innovative service management solutions. For more information, Network Associates can be reached at 972-308-9960 or on the Internet at http://www.networkassociates.com .
NOTE: Network Associates, McAfee, Sniffer and Magic Solutions are registered trademarks of Network Associates, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other registered and unregistered trademarks in this document are the sole property of their respective owners.