Computer Associates (CA) on Monday rolled out new editions of PestPatrol, the anti-spyware technology it picked up in August when it purchased the privately-held Pennsylvania company.

Dubbed eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware r5, the software comes in versions for consumers and enterprises, with the former typically sold into the small- and medium-sized business space via multi-unit packs.

Spyware -- a term used to broadly define any software that surreptitiously collects information about a user -- has jumped to the forefront of security news in 2004 due to a surge in numbers that's increasing about 50 percent per month, according to some estimates. Spyware can slow down PCs, hijack browser home pages, fill screens with pop-ups, and if used by hackers, capture keystrokes and steal confidential information.

Like other anti-spyware software makers, CA pitches its solution as a way to reduce support calls and minimize the impact spyware has on IT security overall. And that drain on support can be significant. Major PC vendors such as Dell, for instance, have reported that up to 20 percent of their support calls are due to spyware infections on users' systems. Among the new features of version 5 are faster scanning for spyware and a radically-different user interface, said Sam Curry, vice president of CA's eTrust security management group.

"This is the next step for PestPatrol [since our acquisition]," said Curry. "The major change in functionally is that it's dramatically faster scanning through the hard drive for evidence of spyware."

Other enhancements includes more flexibility when scheduling scans, automatic updates, and a standard scan that sniffs for spyware in the most likely spots on the drive. The new standard scan examines those locales in just five to ten seconds, said Curry.

The corporate edition of PestPatrol r5 includes a management console that lets administrators schedule in-the-background scans on any desktop on the network, as well as allows for quarantining, pest removal, and event logging.

CA also made initial steps in integrating PestPatrol with the rest of its eTrust Security Management portfolio, said Curry, that include bringing the look and feel into line with other Computer Associates' security titles, adding spyware to its Security Advisor -- the advisory and alert site and service that CA provides -- and a blending of PestPatrol's spyware research team with CA's already-in-place virus research efforts.

"The integration makes Security Advisor able to address spyware now, too," said Curry. The Security Advisor site, for instance, now features a Spyware Information Center that lists the newest as well as the most prevalent, spyware.

The next versions of PestPatrol will sync with CA's eTrust naming system, said Curry, but more important, will conform to the same architectures as the company's other security products, particularly its anti-virus programs.

eTrust PestPatrol Anti-Spyware sells for $40 per node, with volume discounts available.