Netgear launches Armor service to protect your home’s networked devices

Netgear is launching a new serviced — dubbed Netgear Armor — to protect your home’s networked devices. Powered by Bitdefender, the Netgear Armor service can provide network security for any device connected to a Netgear router.

Netgear Armor is currently available for two router models — the Nighthawk AC2300 Smart WiFi router (R7000P) and the Nighthawk AC1900 Smart WiFi Dual Band Gigabit Router (R6900P) — via firmware updates and a subscription fee. The idea is to protect your entire home network and all the devices connected to it.

The San Jose, California company said that cybersecurity needs to be a top-of-mind concern for all households and individuals because security breaches are so common. In 2016 alone, more than 4,000 ransomware attacks occurred every day, a 300 percent increase from the year prior, according to the FBI‘s “How to Protect Your Networks from Ransomware Guide.”

Cybersecurity Ventures‘ recent report said that an average of 1.4 million phishing websites are created every month, with fake pages designed to mimic the companies they’re spoofing. Additionally, hacker attacks occur every 39 seconds, affecting one in three Americans every year, according to research conducted by the University of Maryland.

And our homes are now filled with numerous smart devices that connect to the network to provide advanced features and remote access. With the introduction of internet of things (IoT) devices such as smart thermostats, TVs, garage door openers, refrigerators, light bulbs, and more, home networks are increasingly vulnerable.

Many of these devices are not equipped to provide proper protection against online intruders, so households will need to start adopting safeguards that used to mainly be the purview of businesses in the enterprise space.

Running directly on the Netgear router itself, Netgear Armor actively detects and protects devices from cyber threats such as viruses, malware, spyware, ransomware, phishing, and even those pesky botnets by blocking attempts to access websites, URLs, or IP addresses from intruders who could steal your information or identity.

With the Nighthawk App, you can also receive instant notifications when malicious threats are detected.

At no extra charge, customers who subscribe to Netgear Armor can also install Bitdefender Total Security software on any Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android device. The software provides additional local protection, such as the ability to remotely locate and wipe your device from the Armor portal.

Netgear Armor powered by Bitdefender is available for a 90-day free trial. After that, the annual subscription cost is $70.