September 1, 2009 | Eli Freund - School of Engineering

Alumni Profile: James Hormuzdiar, Technology Entrepreneur

Reprinted with permission from UConn magazine (“Forty Under Forty”), Vol. 9, No. 3 – Fall/Winter 2008 Short for malicious software, “malware” – which includes computer viruses, worms and spyware programs – is designed to damage data or disrupt systems. Malware is typically installed onto a computer from the Internet, often without the knowledge or consent […]

Reprinted with permission from UConn magazine (“Forty Under Forty”), Vol. 9, No. 3 – Fall/Winter 2008

Short for malicious software, “malware” – which includes computer viruses, worms and spyware programs – is designed to damage data or disrupt systems.

Malware is typically installed onto a computer from the Internet, often without the knowledge or consent of the computer user.

Malware can generate annoying pop-up ads, crash computers or steal confidential information and cost companies around the world billions of dollars in repairs, lowered productivity and lost revenue.

Thanks to people such as James Noshir Hormuzdiar ’94 (CLAS, ENG), defenses against malware are becoming increasingly more effective.

Co-founder and chief technology officer of California-based startup Robot Genius, Inc., Hormuzdiar is responsible for leading the development of the technologies behind Robot Genius’s products, which are used by search engines, Internet service providers and computer manufacturers, among many others.

Since its founding in 2005, Robot Genius has focused not only on developing advanced technology to detect and prevent malware attacks before they happen but also on providing users the ability to reverse malware infections.

Hormuzdiar, a veteran of Web-based security technologies, previously co-founded SafeWeb, Inc., which was acquired in 2003 by Symantec Corporation, a leader in information security for businesses and consumers worldwide.