Avira Appoints New CTO

Tettnang, Germany --- June 5, 2012 – Security expert Avira announced today that it has appointed Oliver Auerbach as Chief Technology Officer.

Oliver joined Avira GmbH nearly 15 years ago as an apprentice in Avira’s award-winning anti-virus research lab. Later he moved to Bucharest to start up – from scratch – another research lab for Avira, and to head Avira’s Web Services and Business Applications teams. Oliver has also managed Global Marketing operations for the company, and most recently he was instrumental in growing Avira’s social media presence.

In his role as CTO, Oliver will be responsible for all R&D activities in Europe and USA, as well as for defining a global vision for Avira’s security technology research.

“Oliver has immersed himself in all aspects of company operations for the past fifteen years, and he knows this business inside and out. He is ready to take on the CTO challenge,” said Tjark Auerbach, founder and CEO of Avira. “Moreover, Oliver brings to Avira the perspective of the socially-networked generation of computer users. He will make sure that Avira continues to reinvent what ‘security’ means to our customers and keep us relevant and fresh.”

Avira has grown dramatically to become the world’s second largest vendor of free antivirus software, with customers in every country except Antarctica. Avira’s anti-virus Protection Lab uncovers more than 150,000 malicious websites each month and analyzes an average of 81,790 suspicious files each day. Avira’s data centers handle more than 1.3 million connections each minute in order to protect customers from new viruses and malware.

“As son of the company founder, I feel that all eyes are on me to prove myself in the CTO position,” said Oliver Auerbach. “Avira is my father’s baby and still his passion, and I’m delighted that he is trusting me to lead our technology efforts into the future.”

Media Contacts:

USA:

Rocket Science PR, for Avira
Rich Mullikin, APR
Tel: +1 415 464 8110 x216
Mobile: +1 925 354 7444
Email: rich@rocketscience.com

Europe:

Flutlicht GmbH, for Avira
Veit Kollera
Fon +49-911-47495-17
Fax +49-911-47495-55
Mobil +49-170-2252603
Email: v.kollera@flutlicht.biz

About Avira

Avira wants its customers to ‘live free’ from spyware, phishing, viruses and other internet-based threats. The company was founded more than 27 years ago on Tjark Auerbach's promise to "make software that does good things for my friends and family." More than 100 million consumers and small businesses now depend upon Avira’s security expertise and award-winning antivirus software, making the company the number-two market share leader globally. Avira provides IT-security protection to computers, smartphones, servers and networks, delivered as both software and cloud-based services.

In addition to protecting the online world, Avira promotes well-being in the offline world through the Auerbach Foundation, which supports charitable and social projects. The philosophy of the foundation is to help people to help themselves.

For more information, please visit www.avira.com or join the community at www.facebook.com/avira.