Qualys Offers Free Malware Testing Service

Free offer is designed to highlight managed services capabilities. Half the battle when it comes to malware is trying to find out where and when your systems are affected. Qualys, a provider of a remote management service delivered via an appliance that manages compliance requirements, is now extending that service to include a free malware testing service.

According to Qualys CTO Wolfgang Kandek, the basic idea behind offering the new service is to provide a set of security services that will serve as an introduction to the company’s compliance service. Unveiled at the RSA Security 2010 conference, the QualysGuard Malware Detection service will scan a Web site daily for malware, deliver alerts and identify vulnerable pieces of code.

The company also rolled out a commercial Qualys Go Secure service that tests Web sites for malware, vulnerabilities and SSL certificate validation. Once a site passes all four tests, Qualys will issues a certificate attesting to the security of the site that a customer can display on their home page.

While remotely scanning Web sites for malware provides a free valuable service, it also highlights a general shift towards managed services delivered via the cloud for a broad range of utilitarian applications that are much needed, but can’t justify additional IT headcount because they add no quantifiable return on investment to the business.

Separately, Qualys also announced this week partnerships with Trend Micro, Imperva and Core Security Technologies.