TECHNOLOGY : Western Digital Disk Drives to Have Virus Protection Built In
Blurring the line between computer hardware and software, Western Digital Corp. in Irvine is competing with software makers by selling disk drives that have built-in protection against viruses that destroy computer data.
The technology, called Immunizer-Ready, detects both known and unknown viruses--strings of computer code designed to destroy data on computers.
Western Digital’s technology is incorporated on a computer’s mother board and checks to see how data is recorded on a hard-disk drive, detecting any code that acts like a virus.
The technology is available for higher-performance PCs based on the 386 or 486 microprocessors, or roughly half the PCs on the market. It can also be used with anti-virus software that offers an added layer of protection.
Companies such as Symantec Corp. and McAfee Associates have carved out big niches in the software industry by marketing such programs.
Charles Haggerty, president of Western Digital, said the built-in virus protection will be better able to find viruses that haven’t been previously detected.
Haggerty said the company has applied for patents on the technology. Western Digital did not disclose a price for the technology, which could be licensed to software developers. Products based on the technology will be available in the first quarter of 1993, he said.
“What you can do here is prevent viruses as well as detect them,” he said. “We have spent a lot of time on this, and we feel it is very important to the company.”
A. Padgett Peterson, a virus expert at Martin Marietta Corp. who discovered the so-called Michelangelo virus last spring, said he has been waiting for a product such as Immunizer.
“For at least three years, I’ve been telling people this is the only way to solve the problem,” he said.
Western Digital also announced that it will begin selling a graphics chip that accelerates the performance of Windows, the popular graphics interface for portable computers. The company already sells such a chip for desktop computers. The chip will cost $50 for suppliers.
