IT security company Kaspersky has begun testing its latest antivirus software.

The company has announced the beginning of beta testing of its Kaspersky Administration Kit 7.0.

According to the company, the new version of the software has a revamped interface and a simplified installation mode. It also has an improved system for reporting viruses identified on a PC.

"The application is expressly designed to provide centralized management of antivirus protection on networks of any size or complexity," says Kaspersky.

Kaspersky Lab has launched a new initiative in an attempt to crack the latest version of the Gpcode blackmailer virus.

The new virus.win32.gpcode.ak was added to the company's antivirus database in June 2008 and the latest investigation aims to identify the RSA-1024 key which is used in the dangerous blackmailer virus.

Kaspersky claims that after the virus attacks the PC, it generates a message informing users that the computer is encrypted and demands payment to decrypt the machine.

Kaspersky has published a new report which analyzes the threat of malware programs being spread via instant messengers (IM).

The report, written by two of its virus analysts, says that IM can be vulnerable to attack from hackers.

Sometimes the susceptible elements can only be discovered by the program's developers after they have been compromised by the hackers.

A demonstration of the issues is highlighted in the report using the case of ICQ, which is a popular IM client across the world.

Hackers accessed ICQ numbers which stole the passwords of users of the program. People's passwords for email accounts and other secure sites were accessed together with their ICQ details.

Cybercriminals used a variety of methods to get users into clicking onto a link which spread the worm program on their computer. Users then received up to 20 unwanted messages every hour.

Kaspersky also recently released a report on the issue of botnets. It describes the commonly-known zombie networks as one of the "most serious information security threats".

Kaspersky Lab has announced its participation in the first World Cyber Security Summit.

The summit will be held by the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber-Terrorism (IMPACT) in Kuala Lumpur at the end of May.

It will be the largest ever conference on cyber terrorism and security and will be a forum for ministers, industry leaders and cyber security experts from more than 40 countries.

The company claims its founder Eugene Kaspersky has been calling for a global initiative on cyber crime for years.

He said that IMPACT was a unique initiative aimed at consolidating the efforts of government and the IT community in combating cyber terrorism.

"Like all forms of terrorism, cyber terrorism does not recognize borders or laws, even though the global economy's dependence on electronic communication means that the threat of cyber-terrorism is real," explained Mr Kaspersky.

He added that his company will use its 19 years of experience in combating malicious programs to make a meaningful contribution to protecting the world community against this new global threat.

Kaspersky Lab has published a new article describing how botnets are created and operated.

According to the company, botnets have evolved over the last ten years into one of the most serious information security threats.

Kaspersky claims that botnets have "vast computing power" and can be an "effective tool" for making money illegally.

IT security experts Kaspersky Lab has released a new report outlining the key malware threats facing the information security industry.

A new report, entitled Malware Evolution: January – March 2008, claims that the rate at which the number of malicious programs appear is continuing to increase, with thousands of new variants detected daily during the first quarter of 2008.

The company says that virus writers have started borrowing technologies from the antivirus world to combat antivirus products.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Products. Users choose Kaspersky Labs' products for exceptional detection rates, timely virus analysis, and quality services.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7.0 has been found to be one of the best bits of kit to protect against a dangerous type of malware.

The program was awarded the Gold Anti-Rootkit Protection Award from the Anti-Malware Test Lab - an independent security software testing organization.

A rootkit is a program that is designed to take administrator access of a computer without the authorization of the system's owners and legitimate managers.