The company said it would offer the EZ-Armor anti-virus program and a firewall to qualified Windows home computer users.

"The widespread embrace of PCs and the Internet has put extremely powerful technology in the hands of consumers," said Toby Weiss, senior vice president at CA.

"To ensure the safety and integrity of the Internet experience, we are making CA's powerful enterprise-class security technology readily available to home computer users while supporting Microsoft's 'Protect Your PC' campaign."

The company cited a study showing there are roughly 105 virus infections per 1,000 PCs per month. This has increased steadily from 32 per 1,000 in 1998.

The announcement was made at the Comdex computer industry trade show.

TERRA.WIRE