Start-up Purewire makes its debut today with a managed security service aimed at protecting enterprise users from being victimized by malicious-code attacks while online.

Purewire's approach to Web security entails having the enterprise direct its Web traffic through a proxy system available through two data centers in the United States, says Paul Judge, co-founder and CTO. "The service is between the user and the Web," he says. "It makes security decisions about user-generated content on the Web. Purewire's sand-boxing technique emulates the browser, devising what to permit the user to access in the context."

The Purewire security-as-a-service uses such techniques as reputational analysis and on-the-fly decision-making about malware that might exist on social-networking venues or even trusted Web sites that might have been compromised. (Compare Secure Web Gateway products.) The service can simply monitor and report, or block employee access to content deemed to be malicious code.

The service is scalable and latency is negligible, not surpassing several hundred milliseconds, according to Purewire.

The Atlanta-based Purewire has about 18 employees and has received $1.75 million in funding from its co-founders, including Mike Van Bruinisse, president and COO, and a number of angel investors. An additional $2 million has been invested by other sources, including Imlay Investments. 

Van Bruinisse and Judge formerly were executives with the management team at messaging security firm CipherTrust, which was acquired by Secure Computing two years ago for about $300 million. Purewire also announced today that Tom Noonan, general manager of IBM Internet Security Systems, has joined its board of directors.

The Purewire service costs $30 per user, per year. About two dozen businesses including Towne Lake Fitness in Alpharetta, Ga., now are customers.