Under the deal, Prevx 3.0 will form part of CPP's Identity Protection Alert (IPA) package, which includes online credit report monitoring and Garlik's DataPatrol service, which scans the internet for mentions of the policyholder.

According to Prevx, it's Prevx 3.0 software is a powerful anti-malware solution that includes `SafeOnline' technology for protecting online transactions from threats such as phishing, DNS poisoning, screen grabbing, man-in-the-browser and keystroke logging.

Michael Lynch, CPP's head of identity protection, said that the internet has become a haven for identity theft, as people often unwittingly disclose personal information that can be easily exploited by complex scams created by sophisticated malware.

"It became clear that our IPA product would be further enhanced with a strong online security solution, so we evaluated the market to find the product that could offer our customers the best in identity, PC and internet protection", he said.

"Following benchmarking tests performed against a range of competitive products, Prevx 3.0 was selected because of its comprehensive protection and, particularly, its approach to securing the PC browser from online threats through the new SafeOnline component", he added.

Lynch went on to say that he and his team also liked the fact that the product has an extremely powerful integrated anti-malware component that works alongside other security solutions.

This means, he explained, that there is no impact on customers' experience because they don't have to rip out an existing anti-malware product and replace it with Prevx 3.0.

"This layered approach actually makes their PCs that much safer", he explained.

Over at Prevx, Mel Morris, the firm's CEO, said that high profile criminal investigations - such as the recent case of a Manchester couple who used the Zeus virus to steal millions of pounds worth of personal information - increasingly highlight the dangers of identity fraud.

"However, as the internet becomes more central to our lives we should have greater confidence in being able to perform simple transactions such as online banking and shopping", he said.

"Malware such as this bypasses the protection of the most popular security products on the market today, infecting thousands of PCs", he added.

According to Morris, where these products fail, Prevx 3.0 has been tested and found to be effective in terms of protecting online transactions from serious threats such as Zeus.

This is why, he said, CPP has selected the Prevx technology to protect its one million existing customers.