Norman Virus Control

Norman Virus Control 5.8 Publisher's description

Norman Virus Control 5.8 uses the revolutionary technology to detect new viruses before pattern files are available. As a part of the Norman Virus Scanner, the Norman SandBox inserts any suspicious file into a simulated computer, complete with emulated network connections, where Norman monitors the actions of the file in real-time, enabling it to behave as if it were in a live environment. If virus behavior is detected and confirmed, Norman will prevent the virus from spreading and causing harm to your system. This unique technology brings protection against viruses, worms and Trojans to new levels, by identifying and stopping malware during the period of time when a new virus begins to circulate before pattern files are available. This goes far beyond how other products can protect you against new virus threats. Norman Virus Control performs both on-access and on-demand scans. This means data and files are scanned as they come into your system, and as you use them, while you can also initiate scans on individual files or your entire system at any time. Norman Virus Control also scans incoming and outgoing e-mail traffic, as well as postings to newsgroups. And if a virus is identified, in most cases the product will remove the virus and clean your files without requiring you to do anything. Further, NVC 5.8 offers attachment blocking functionality that you can customize. Then add Norman Internet Update, an automatic Internet update mechanism that ensures that your Norman Virus Control installation is always up-to-date, including incremental updates of definition files, makes Norman Virus Control the obvious choice for particular users that require real protection from computer malware.

Requirements: Any Pentium class PC running Windows 95/98/Me or Windows NT/2000/2003/XP.

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PC Tools

Since 1998 PC Tools, formerly known as WinGuides.com, has developed and distributed PC security and optimization software for the Microsoft Windows platform.

Products include:

• Spyware Doctor — an anti-spyware and malware removal product
• Registry Mechanic — a repair and optimization product for the Windows registry
• PC Tools AntiVirus — an antivirus program
• Privacy Guardian — a privacy product to clean up internet and PC usage history
• File Recover — a file recovery and undelete program
• Spam Monitor — an antispam program
• PC Tools Firewall Plus— a firewall program
• ThreatFire — a threat protection program
• PC Tools Internet Security — a full internet protection software

Download here.

Avast! Antivirus

Avast! Antivirus is an anti-virus program developed by ALWIL Software based in Prague, Czech Republic, first released in 1988. Avast! was one of the first on-access antivirus programs to be released for Windows x64 edition. Since its release, Avast! 4 Home has become one of the most popular full-featured freeware anti-virus applications for Microsoft Windows users. As of December, 2007 it has had over 14 million downloads on Download.com.[4] As of March 7, 2008 Avast! (Home version) has had 50 million registered users.[5]

Avast! is aimed at preventing several types of computer threats, including those that are not technically computer viruses such as spyware and even rogue anti-spyware, and can also make a virus Recovery DataBase which is used to recover files when they are infected (instead of deleting them). The program is available with text and voice translations for 27 languages.

Features

Screenshot of Avast! home edition with the aVist skin created by Sasha-Z-Creations

• Standard Shield — Real-time protection
• Anti-rootkit — Built-in protection
• Anti-spyware — Built-in protection
• IM shield — Instant Messenger protection
• P2P shield — P2P protection
• Internet Mail — E-mail protection
• Outlook/Exchange — Microsoft Outlook/Exchange protection
• Web Shield — HTTP protection (localtransparent proxy)
• Script blocker — script checker (Pro version only)
• Network Shield — basic protection against well-known network worms. Acts as a lightweight Intrusion Detection System
• Audible alarms — vocal warnings such as "Caution, a virus has been detected!"
• Boot-time scan — through the program interface, a user can schedule a boot-time scan to remove viruses that load during Windows startup and are therefore difficult to remove. A very important feature especially for viruses written to shut-down the virus protection as soon as Windows starts.
• Self-Protection — Prevents malware from terminating Avast! processes and damaging Avast! files.
• Skinnable — Program is skinnable GUI.

Virus Chest

The Avast! Virus Chest is a folder where infected files can be stored when detected. Placing them in the chest causes the files' usage to be disabled and prevents them from causing any harm. The virus chest also stores vital system files to prevent them from virus damage. They still can be run, but the access to the file by any source or other program is blocked until it is removed from the chest.

Registration (Home Edition)

Avast! needs to be registered after the first 60 days of use. After registering, a license key is e-mailed and can be used for only one year. After one year, the user is required to re-register. Despite registration, the program is still free for home use.

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ZoneAlarm

ZoneAlarm is a software firewall originally developed by Zone Labs, which was acquired in 2003 by Check Point. It includes an inbound intrusion detection system, as well as the ability to control which programs can create outbound connections — the latter not available in the Windows XP Service Pack 2 firewall. As of early 2008, the newest release is ZoneAlarm 7.1, the first to be compatible with Windows Vista (32 bit). It is not compatible with 64 bit Windows Vista, and may not be available in near future.

In ZoneAlarm, program access is controlled by way of "zones", into which all network connections are divided. The "trusted zone" generally includes the user's local area network and can share resources such as files and printers, while the "Internet zone" includes everything not in the trusted zone. The user can specify which "permissions" (trusted zone client, trusted zone server, Internet zone client, Internet zone server) to give to a program before it attempts to access the Internet (e.g. before running it for the first time) or, alternatively, ZoneAlarm will ask the user to give the program permission on its first access attempt.

True Vector Internet Monitor

"True Vector Internet Monitor", also known as "TrueVector Security Engine", is the core of ZoneAlarm. It is a Windows service which runs as "vsmon.exe" in the processes list. This Monitors internet traffic and generates alerts for disallowed access.

Operating System Firewall

Operating System Firewall, OSFirewall for short, is a feature in ZoneAlarm paid versions only. This monitors programs and generates alerts when they perform suspicious behaviors.

SmartDefense Advisor

SmartDefense Advisor is a service only available in premium versions of ZoneAlarm that helps the user with certain types of alerts. This utilizes a large database of trusted program signatures in order to provide the user with further advice upon requests from the program in regards to allowing or denying access to the Internet.

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Comodo Anti Virus

Comodo offer several free products through their website available to download. Notably is their Comodo Firewall Pro freeware program, along with other freeware security tools such as Anti Virus, Anti Malware, a Verification engine and a Memory Firewall. A 'A-VSMART' warranty is purchasable for real-time security help.

Comodo is also a leading SSL certificate provider, which they offer freely for 90 days.

Other products Comodo offer are EV SSL Certificates to a Non-Corporate Business Entity during May 2007. Later, it introduced PCI Compliancy & Daily Vulnerability Scanning Solutions and a free solution that protects against over 90% of buffer overflow attacks. Comodo launched Usertrust earlier in 2008, as a customer feedback platform for online merchants that gives them a clearer picture of an eMerchant's key constituents, what motivates them, and how customers can be better served. Also it launched Memory Firewall to protect against Buffer Overflow attacks.

Comodo's Testmypcsecurity provides a user-driven testing resource to let users assess the effectiveness of their desktop security solutions.

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AVG Antivirus

AVG Antivirus has been an up and coming virus scanner for many years. Its free version is one of the most downloaded files on the Internet in the Computer Security sector. The new interface is clean and intuitive while still remaining useful.

AVG went through a rewrite of their virus scanning engine and included two of their stand alone products with AVG Antivirus as well. AVG Antispyware and AVG Antirootkit were both integrated with the virus scanner. Also revamped was the way AVG Antivirus uses the hardware within your computer. It was changed to make better use of the multiple cores which are common in todays computers. This should speed up scanning as well as reduce slowdowns.

AVG Anti-Virus Screenshots.



Ease of Use:

Though AVG Antivirus is mostly a hands off program, there may be some instances when you may need to configure some advanced options. For 99% of the population though, the default options will be more than sufficient.

The menu's within AVG Antivirus are very simple and offer all the options and information needed to keep your system safe from Internet threats.

Effectiveness:

AVG Antivirus is one of the most complete programs we have found to date. It includes many new options to make it one of the most effective virus scanners on the market. It is still plagued by horrible slowdowns at times. Even things so simple as just typing an IM can be stopped for several seconds for some reason. If you can get past the occasional slowdowns of your computer, the scanning functionality of AVG Antivirus 8 is top of the line. With the rewrite of the scanning engine, AVG included multi processor support. That dual core processor you bought is actually going to start getting a workout now. AVG also included support for Windows Vista and the 64 bit versions of Windows XP and Vista.

Updates:

AVG Checks for updates every 4 hours by default. You can change this to any interval you wish. The updates section of AVG Antivirus also shows you which virus database version you have as well as when the last update was. It also tells you when the next update is scheduled. All of this information is also displayed on the main menu screen so that you always have the information at your fingertips.

Feature Set:

AVG Technologies, formerly Grisoft, has gone above and beyond with the new release of AVG Antivirus. Included with the virus scanner are a rootkit scanner, spyware scanner, an on-access scanner called Resident Shield, email scanner and a link scanning browser plugin. There is also a portion of AVG Antivirus called Web Shield. Web Shield is a chopped down firewall application that scans standard web ports for any threats encountered while browsing the web. It also includes protection for MSN Messenger and ICQ.

Ease of Installation:

Installing AVG Antivirus 8 was easy and only took about 10 minutes including downloading the additional updates required after installation finished. We had no issues or errors during the install.

Help/Support:

With the name change from Grisoft to AVG Technologies, the support site was updated and saw many improvements over the old design. Support offerings included with AVG Antivirus 8 are a FAQ, email support, phone based technical support as well as including a support section within the program itself.

Summary:

Version 8 of AVG Antivirus is a definite improvement over version 7.5. The scanning features have been sped up and the new interface is a clean and modern take on a time tested product.

Including a link scanner and integrating AVG Antispyware and AVG AntiRootkit provides an even more effective product. An unfortunate problem that has plagued AVG products for quite some time has not been eliminated even though AVG did a complete rewrite of the virus scanning engine. The on access scanner still tends to slow down computers to the point where they are not usable at times. This isn't a constant factor and has been improved significantly, but you will notice it when it happens. Beyond the slowdown issue, AVG Antivirus 8 is a complete product that will help keep your computer clean and safe.

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ESET NOD32

Antivirus Protection with ESET NOD32

NOD32 for Windows

Antivirus protection is spelled "NOD32." Built on the award-winning ThreatSense® engine, ESET NOD32 Antivirus software proactively detects and eliminates more viruses, trojans, worms, adware, spyware, phishing, rootkits and other Internet threats than any program available.

It's the ideal antivirus for Windows XP, and also runs smoothly on Windows legacy systems, MS-DOS, file servers, mail servers, and more.

No matter what your system, there is no better antivirus protection. ESET NOD32 Antivirus was awarded the "BEST Antivirus Solution" in 2006 and 2007 by AV-Comparatives. Compare antivirus solutions here to learn more, or check out the latest virus bulletin.

ESET NOD32 Antivirus provides:

• Proactive Protection: The award winning ThreatSense technology combines multiple layers of detection protecting you from Internet threats before it is too late.
• Precise Detection: ESET accurately identifies known and unknown threats. It consistently wins top awards from testing labs and is recognized for having zero false positives.¹
• Lightweight Design: Requires less memory and CPU power, allowing your computer to run fast, making more room for games, web browsing, and emailing.
• Fast Scanning Speeds: Highly efficient program ensuring fast file scanning and product updates. It runs quietly in the background.

Version 3.0: What's New in Antivirus Protection?

Rapidly evolving threats and regularly changing system requirements mean you need a solution that adapts itself to fight the threats of the day. With hundreds of new threats released daily and regularly changing system requirements, you need a solution that evolves to take on those threats and meet those requirements.

With ESET NOD32 Antivirus version 3.0, you'll enjoy:

• Support for Windows 2000/XP/Vista
• Full integration with Windows Security Center
• Improved graphical interface
• Improved cleaning - automatically removes detected threats.
• Even faster scanning

ESET NOD32 Antivirus v2.7 was named "Best Antivirus Product of 2006" by AV-Comparatives. It brings unparalleled Internet threat protection to those running earlier versions of Windows.

While no free trial is available, you can purchase this legacy version by contacting a member of our Sales Support staff at 1-866-502-ESET (3738).

Included Documentation

• Product Quick-Start Guide (PDF for download; printed manual for boxed version)
• Integrated online help (accessible via the F1 key)

Systems Requirements

• Processors supported: 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) Intel®, AMD® or 100% compatible
• Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP (32 and 64-bit editions), Microsoft Windows Vista (32 and 64-bit editions)
• Memory: 33 - 38 MB on average
• Disk Space (download): 16MB
• Disk Space (installation): 78MB

ESET NOD32 Antivirus Business Edition

The Business Edition of ESET NOD32 Antivirus is an incredibly scalable solution, accommodating businesses with anywhere from five to hundreds of thousands of employees.

It includes all the features and benefits described above, with additional functionality and flexibility that every growing business requires:

• Server Installation: ESET NOD32 Antivirus Business Edition may be installed on servers as well as workstations (the Home Edition can only be installed on workstations). This is a critical feature for the competitive business as servers are just as vulnerable to attack as workstations. Should your servers be unprotected, one virus can take down your entire system.
• Remote Administration: Monitor and administer your security solution from anywhere in the world with the ESET Remote Administrator. This is an absolutely necessary feature for the business with more than one location, or the systems administrator who works remotely.
• "Mirror" Capability: ESET's mirror functionality enables your IT administrator to conserve bandwidth by creating an internal update server. This prevents employees from accessing the Internet for updates, conserving resources and reducing exposure to threats.

Download here.