Computer Associates International Inc. (NYSE: CA) will distribute to home Windows users one-year subscriptions to its anti-virus and firewall software, the company said.

In a news release, CA said it would aggressively promote the initiative in conjunction with the Protect Your PC campaign of Microsoft Corp., which makes Windows, the dominant computer operating system.

A download link for the free software, eTrust EZ Armor, can be found on Microsoft's web site, http://www.microsoft.com/security/ protect/.

The software, which usually retails for $49.95, is available to users of Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Millennium Edition and Windows 98/Windows NT. Waves of computer viruses and worms in recent months have caused havoc for both home and business users and have prompted Microsoft to issue a steady stream of security patches.

Ian Hameroff, CA's security strategist, said the computer security of corporations, CA's primary market, was compromised by viruses and worms coming out of home computers.

Hameroff said CA has about 6 percent of the enterprise anti- virus market by revenue, but had yet to make a major dent on the consumer side, where the major players include Symantec and Network Associates' McAfee brand.

The CA consumer initiative comes just days after Symantec announced it was teaming with Cisco Systems and two other companies on a program to prevent viruses from spreading in corporations.

According to the ICSA Labs Virus Prevalence Survey, there are roughly 105 virus infections per 1,000 PCs per month compared with 32 per 1,000 in 1998.

The SoBig worm cost individuals and business more than $29 billion, according to the London-based digital risk assessment firm mi2g.