What I Did When My Workstations Slowed to a Halt: Switched to Avg!
Claremont, NC –March 5th, 2008—Richard Becker is the IT Administrator for the Osage County School System in Linn, Missouri. When he came on board four years ago, he quickly found out that he had a mess on his hands. There were multiple different internet security solutions deployed individually across 325 workstations. Slow performance resulted, cutting student computer time back significantly. One of the first items on his to-do list was to implement one security solution for the entire school system.
“Symantec’s products were causing some of our workstations to run slower than slow,†commented Becker. “They were eating up way too much of our systems’ resources and taking away from the already small amount of time students had in the computer labs. It was also very frustrating and expensive to keep up with their annual license renewals.â€
Osage County Schools is a private school system and, because of financial constraints, the students’ workstations were already resource-limited. “Because of our tight budget, I only have one other person to help me manage these 325 machines, as well as keep up with maintenance,†said Becker. “The Symantec solution was causing my patience to wear pretty thin, what with the updating issues and constant flow of help desk calls as a result of the performance problems.â€
A couple of years ago, Becker was reading some posts on a technology listserv run by and for technology coordinators in his area, when he came across references to AVG Anti-Virus that indicated the product was becoming a preferred security product for school systems, around the country. The listserv posters were discussing exactly the same problems that Becker had run into – well-known security products were eating up all their systems’ resources and AVG was like a breath of fresh air – One poster described it as “nearly invisible†on their workstations by comparison.
When Becker read that AVG also offered two-year licenses, had a lower price point than the competition, and still provided all the necessary protection and removal capabilities, he decided he needed to learn more.
“It really sounded as if this product might be the answer to Osage County’s computer security problems,†he recalled.
Becker searched around on the Internet, read further into his state listserv, and found the recommended Education supplier for AVG, Walling Data Systems. Walling offered a 50% discount to school systems as well as Free and Unlimited US-based Phone, Remote, and Email support, things Becker could only dream of finding at Symantec at no charge.
“I contacted Walling Data Systems to learn more about AVG, and to find out more about purchasing the licenses necessary to support our district,†said Becker. “I used their free remote support offering to help me deploy AVG to all of our workstations. They couldn’t have made it any easier! In no time, we were setup and protected by AVG, with zero pain on our part.â€
Now, three years later, Becker reports that Osage County has had zero issues with the management and maintenance of the AVG Anti-Virus protection. Not only are the computers running more efficiently now that they are not bogged down by resource-hungry security products; Becker is also enjoying the more flexible licensing and the central administration tools that monitor his installation.
“AVG’s central administration tools have nice reporting features,†he said. “As all information goes to the AVG server, I can easily track down systems that may be suspect and respond to issues before the phone rings at the helpdesk. Then, I can fix the issues from my desk without having to trek across the campus, saving me time that is already very limited.â€
Why did Becker choose to purchase AVG through Walling Data Systems? The answer was simple:
“The cost to purchase AVG through Walling Data was lower than through other distributors, and the fact that they offered Free and Unlimited US-based support was a huge selling point,†he said. “The team at Walling Data Systems provides great support, from implementation, to general support on through the years of ongoing use.
Those guys are just wonderful to work with. Our renewal is coming up this spring, and you bet we’ll be renewing it,†he said with a grin.
For more information about how to purchase AVG software for education, contact Walling Data Systems toll free at 866-833-5727 (toll free in the US and Canada), online at http://www.avg-antivirus.net or by emailing to sales@avg-antivirus.net.
# # #
About Walling Data Systems
Founded in 1994, in North Carolina, Walling Data Systems is a value-added software distributor and IT Solution Provider offering innovative high-value solutions to everyday computer security problems for corporate, education, and home technology users. Walling Data was named an Authorized AVG Distributor in 2004 and is the only source for unlimited toll free phone, remote support, education discounts, and more for their AVG customers in the United States, one reason why thousands of education customers choose Walling as their supplier of choice for AVG products.
About AVG
Founded in 1991 and with offices in the US, UK, and Czech Republic, AVG is a leading international developer of Internet threat protection solutions for consumers and SMBs. AVG is one of the fastest growing companies in the industry with more than 60 million active users around the world. The company employs some of the world’s leading experts in Internet security, specifically in the areas of threat research, analysis and detection. AVG’s award-winning products are distributed globally through resellers and over the Internet as well as via third parties through Software Developer’s Kits (SDK).
Contact:
Kristin Bostic
kbostic@wallingdatasystems.com
(919) 459-8165
AntiVirus Warning
It is a sad day when the antivirus software
messes up your computer more than the @#$& virus
you got in yesterday’s email. The more complex
antivirus software gets, the more it becomes
like a virus itself. In honor of my recent
discovery of a new problem with my antivirus
program, here are a few pitfalls of popular (and
not so popular) programs:
1. “Norton Crash Guard crashes my computer.”
This is the first problem I noticed with
Symantec’s popular suite of computer protective
software. Norton Crash Guard immediately forced
my brother’s new Compaq computer even with
errors that would normally just shut down the
program involved. (That was just the worse case.)
On other computers, loading Crash Guard slowed
down the computer so much I felt compelled to
take it off.
2. “Norton AntiVirus is keeping me from
accessing the internet.”
When I first installed Norton AntiVirus, I had
to call our internet service provider AND Eudora
in order to access email again. It turns out the
program tries to route all email through their
server to check for viruses. You have to go into
your preferences and reset them in a way that
will work with your internet service provider.
I’m not the only one, either! I recently
received a message from a direct mail guru who
said he was offline for almost 12 hours because
he loaded Norton AntiVirus to delete a virus he
inadvertently picked up from an email message.
3. “Norton Systemworks is slowing down my
computer.”
My Dad recently took a computer in because it
was having some problems. The technician told
him they recommended everyone uninstall the
Norton Systemworks computer monitor (the little
window that tells you how much your drive is
fragmented, how much of your CPU you’re using,
etc.).
They claim the little box does nothing Windows
doesn’t already and slows your computer down
10%! (I believe them. I remember how much faster
the computers were before we loaded it, and my
computer at home has been fine without it.)
4. “Internet Explorer (IE) won’t work!”
This was my big problem for over a year. It
started (coincidentally) about the same time I
loaded Netscape 4.7. I’ve heard of other people
having problems with Netscape and IE on the same
computer, so I assumed Netscape was the problem.
I tried installing Netscape and re-installing
it. I tried uninstalling IE and re-installing
it. Nothing worked.
Sunday night, my antivirus program (Aladdin’s E-
Safe Desktop) gave me an error when IE
accidentally popped up. I unloaded the program,
and IE started to work! I don’t know why I
didn’t think of it before. I uninstalled the
program and now IE works fine.
IE has ActiveX, a language that has been found
capable of delivering viruses, and Microsoft is
constantly using it to send update information
to users. My virus protection software shut down
the program for my computer’s own good!
5. “What about McAfee?”
Well, maybe McAfee is better. It’s been working
okay on my computer for about a week now.
However, I’ve heard horror stories about them
from some of my subscribers as well! In the
past, I’ve had problems with updates.
“There’s always hope!”
I polled my subscribers about the best antivirus solutions, and Trend
Software’s PC-Cillan won. You can download their software (priced competitively
with Norton’s AntiVirus and
McAfee’s Virus Shield at http://www.trend.com/
One subscriber also recommended a free solution: AVG anti-virus from
http://www.grisoft.com
Good luck!
About the Author
Dawn Gray writes Busy Marketing Tips! Subscribe
today by emailing
subscribe@busymarketing.com and get free
Search Engine Tips.
Free Antivirus or Commercial One?
Many solutions are available to counter the threat of viruses. Some of them are free, but most of them are commercial products.In this article I am going to talk about the differences in quality and performance.
Commercial Antivirus
Commercial antivirus solutions, use the money that you pay to make contact around the world and try to keep up with the ever evolving threats. Because the product is commercial, they can afford to hire people, who will do this all day long. Hackers are always trying to find new exploits to take over your pc. With a 24-hours-a-day team ready, they can push out updates, as soon as they notice a thread. Sometimes, commercial products have a free subbranch, like AVG-Anti Virus. AVG Free updates will be pushed out somewhat later, leaving you vulnerable for a longer period. Commercial products ussualy consist of anti-virus,anti-spyware and even of a firewall. Zone-alarm for example. While zone-alarm is mainly a firewall, the proffesional version is also bundled with anti-spyware.
Free Ones
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The best anti virus solution is a commercial one, but if you are not willing to spend any money on it, a free subbranch of a commercial product becomes the best choice. This is because the same team is working on the updates and signatures, instead of hobbyist, or a group of free-time-computer-experts. Free anti virus does not offer sufficient protection, while only the most dangerous threats can be found and removed.It does often not offers protection against smaller threats. Free anti-virus software does have a smaller and more optimized gui
<a href=”http://allowsurfing.info”>Review On Good Antivirus</a>
Seeing is Believing: Anti-virus’ Stellar Performance Creates a New Die-hard Avg Fan
More than 80 million people across the world trust AVG Anti-Virus to protect their computers. One of them is Clyde Leslie of Miami, Florida.
Leslie is like most people: He wants an effective security software product to protect his computer from dangerous viruses and spy-ware. What he does not want, is to spend a fortune on the product or support.
“For years, I was running Norton on my computer but I got viruses all the time. On top of the hefty price tag, it was not worth it for me to continue using it anymore. So, I started to look for something else,” states Leslie.
Leslie said he consulted with friends about the alternatives.
“Some friends said that AVG was much better than Norton, so I looked it up on the Internet and found out that there were a lot of people out there who agreed. I installed the Free Edition on one my computers to test it out,” he remembered. “The Free Edition automatically caught dozens of viruses that Norton never detected so I hopped online to buy the full product from an Authorized AVG Distributor in the United States.”
The Road to Walling
Through online research, Leslie discovered that Walling Data provides free and unlimited product support for the entire AVG Anti-Virus product line. He admits that added benefit made his decision to purchase from Walling Data an easy one.
Walling Data is the longest-standing and highest-volume distributor of AVG Technologies solutions in North America, and also the only distributor to offer all its customers free, unlimited, U.S.-based pre- and post-sales support.
“With some fantastic help from the guys at Walling Data, I got AVG installed on one of my computers and I’ve never had one single threat to my computer since. AVG detects threats then quarantines and then deletes them every time” replied Leslie.
Leslie continued, “Seeing is believing for me. I’ve seen what AVG can do so I would feel comfortable telling anyone, family member or stranger, to use AVG. It’s the best antivirus software available.”
Today Leslie has three laptops and though only one of them is running AVG, he admits it won’t be long before all of them will.
“The computer that runs AVG operates so much better than the other two that are still using Norton. I cannot wait for my subscriptions to Norton to run out because I’m moving them over to AVG that instant!”
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Fighting Off Viruses: Advancements In Antivirus Software Suites – Part 1
Remember how it used to be, prior to the introduction of downloadable and Internet programs? Remember those, “good old days”? The computer virus scene then was comparatively simple. Since the main source of virus transmission was floppy disks, it was far easier to isolate and eliminate any sources of infection. It also, used to take a while for a virus to fully infect the computer and slow down the system, but today’s viruses are much faster. Antivirus software, that was available at that time, was usually able to find and get rid of viruses before they were able to weak too much havoc. Plus, computer users who exchanged floppy disk’s, usually knew that they needed to scan them before installing their contents in order to protect themselves.
Due to the Internet, much has changed. With the Internet connecting many potential hosts, viruses could move among them like lightning. Floppy disks were no longer the sole point of entry; a user had to worry about emails and their attachments, instant messaging, as well as, files shared over peer-to-peer networks or downloaded from the Internet. Modern viruses are able to come from many different places, reproduce independently, and capitalize on the weak spots of a system or program. Potential new threats have increased with technology advances, like the convergence of computers and other mobile devices.
How to Protect Your Computer
Fortunately, protecting your computer against the latest viruses is much easier with the improvements that have been made in antivirus software programs. Antivirus software is an integral part of a computer’s defense against malicious software, such as viruses and bad programs. This software can help to defend your computer against viruses, which can enter your system through e-mail, servers, or by simply surfing the internet. This software also provides a centralized control feature, to deal with deploying, updating, and configuring your settings.
Every computer user should carefully follow a simple procedure to protect them against virus threats:
1. Examine your computer’s existing security system.Because these new viruses can infiltrate your system in so many different ways, you’ll need a number of different antivirus programs to combat them all. Computer users need to be absolutely sure that all parts of their systems, including areas such as connectivity services, are secure. For the best security system, you’d want a comprehensive system that has features like antivirus protection, a firewall, content filtering, and intrusion detection. The virus will have a harder time getting into your computer with this type of system working and fighting for you.
2. Never install antivirus software, unless you are sure it comes directly from a reputable source.
It is vitally important for you to update your antivirus software regularly so that you are protected against the viruses that are unleashed on a daily basis. Learn how to use the real-time scan feature, and set it up to start each time you start your computer. This will give your computer automatic protection, scanning it each time you turn it on.
3. As a general practice, scan every new program or file even if it comes from a source you consider trustworthy. If you received binary, Word or Excel documents from an unknown source, especially via online chat or as an email attachment, exercise extreme caution when attempting to open them.
4. Schedule and perform regular system backups to ensure that you do not lose any vital data due to a possible system corruption. There may be no other option for recovering your information if your system is compromised.
5. Recommended Antivirus Software:
There are a number of antivirus software applications available today. You can identify the best program for your needs, if you just do a bit of research. Often you can download a trial version of the program so that you can try it out. But keep in mind that uninstalling some anti-virus programs can prove to be difficult. To be on the safe side, it is a good idea to establish a System Restore point prior to installation. The following programs are notable for their affordability, support services, effectiveness, and intuitive interfaces.
6. By giving you long-term support and downloadable updates, the Shield Pro 2005 â„¢ can deliver comprehensive protection against viruses and hackers. When a virus does hit your computer, the Shield Pro 2005 â„¢ will make sure that you have a patch for it in three hours, and a complete fix within five hours. Your computer can be set up to update virus definitions each week, and then it will run a complete scan with the new definitions.
7. One program, BitDefender 9 Standard, defends your computer by protecting its interaction with other computers, through its Peer-2-Peer and e-mail defense mechanisms, as well as virtual environment heuristics. This offers extra security against newly-released viruses, by scanning for pieces of code that do not match any released virus signature, but are nonetheless malicious.
8. Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0 program is easy to set up and navigate. Three levels of protection are available for the user to select from. It can be set to update as often as once per hour, but is guaranteed not to disrupt your computer. You will also get two-tier email protection and 24 hour technical support, with this program.
9. PC-cillin Internet Security protects the user from viruses and other dangers that abound on the web, including worms, hackers, and Trojans. Spyware is detected, removed and spam is blocked. It also protects you from identity theft since it blocks phishing and pharming attempts.
10. AVG Anti-virus Free Edition, a free downloadable antivirus program, received praise for reliability. Previously, free readily available anti-virus programs have been viewed as unreliable. However, one of the best free anti-virus programs is Grisoft’s AVG. Though AVG isn’t available for servers it is still a reasonable selection for home computer users. You can try it for free, and you have no obligation to buy anything!
For 100’s of tips go to http://www.marketing4u.biz/computer/
Walling Data Awarded Gsa Contract for Avg Security Products
Claremont, N.C., and Orlando, FL – July 29th, 2008 – Walling Data Systems, a leading AVG distributor with more than 50,000 customers in North America, announced today that it has been awarded a contract with the United States General Services Administration (GSA) to sell the entire AVG security product line to U.S. federal government agencies.
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“This is the first time that Walling and AVG have appeared on the GSA schedule, so this contract is an important milestone for both our companies,†said Luke Walling, president of Walling Data Systems. “It opens up an entirely new sales channel and is a huge vote of confidence by the U.S. government that taxpayer dollars for government information security solutions will be well spent with Walling Data.â€
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In 2004, Walling Data became AVG Technologies’ first North American distributor, and quickly became a trusted source of information security solutions, not least because of the company’s unique approach to support. Walling Data’s help desk of seasoned, manufacturer-trained experts provides no-cost, unlimited U.S.-based product support via toll-free phone, email, live chat, and remote control “We-Do-It-For-You†support to all its customers, including government customers.
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Today, Walling Data Systems remains the highest-volume distributor for AVG in North America, with more than 50,000 customers, a large majority of them in the education and small business sectors.Â
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“Walling has a proven track record in introducing AVG to new markets and providing superior customer service, so they are well-positioned to help AVG enter this exciting new area,†said Rick Carlson, AVG Technologies’ managing director of North American operations. “We anticipate a number of government organizations will join the existing AVG user base of 70 million around the world. AVG is preferred by many organizations thanks to its robust, unobtrusive protection, low system resource use, and competitive pricing. Add Walling’s comprehensive support services and you have a very compelling offering.†Â
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GSA establishes long-term government wide contracts with commercial firms to provide access to commercial supplies and services that can be ordered directly from GSA Schedule contractors. GSA Schedules offer customers direct access to high-performance solutions and services at discount pricing including the benefits of shorter lead-times, lower administrative costs, and reduced inventories.
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The contract, number GS-35F-0410U, is effective immediately. The entire AVG product range is now conveniently available for purchase and deployment to government entities at https://www.gsaadvantage.gov/
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About Walling Data
Founded in 1994, N.C.-based Walling Data is a value-added technology distributor of technology products for resellers, small businesses, and education and government institutions. Walling Data was the nation’s first distributor of AVG Internet Security products and today is the highest-volume distributor for the product with more than 50,000 satisfied customers across the continent. The company also recently added Cymphonix Network Composer to its security product line-up, an award-winning device that helps companies control and monitor users compliance with internet usage policies. Walling Data is the only provider of free, unlimited, U.S.-based phone and “we-do-it-for-you†remote support for all its products. For more information, visit www.avg-antivirus.net
About AVG Technologies
Founded in 1991 in the Czech Republic, AVG is a leading international developer of Internet threat protection solutions for consumers and SMBs. AVG protects more than 70 million computer users around the world. The company has offices in Europe and North America and employs some of the world’s leading experts in Internet security, specifically in the areas of threat research, analysis and detection. AVG’s award-winning products are distributed globally through resellers and over the Internet as well as via third parties through Software
Development Kits (SDKs).
Further information may be found on the company’s website at www.avg.com.
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PR Contacts:
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Walling Data North America PR Contacts:
Ashlie Lanning or Kristin Bostic
919 Marketing
alanning at 919marketing dot com
919.557.7890
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AVG North America PR Contacts:
Bryan Ferraro or Julie Parayno
Dovetail Public Relations
avg at dovetailpr dot com
408.395.3600Â
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Searching For Free Antivirus Software
These are some of the best, completely free antivirus software and add-ons available on the internet for download.
Avast Home Edition: This is a completely free but one of the best antivirus applications available anywhere, which is intended for non-commercial use. You can download and register it on their website (www.avast.com) free of cost. The Avast Home Edition features an On Demand Scanner, On Access Scanner (to protect e-mail clients, instant messengers, etc). It also has P2P protection and a lightweight firewall. The NNTP Scanner can scan all Usenet Newsgroup traffic and all operations with files on PC. It also has a real-time protection feature which is rather powerful. Program and database updates are also incredibly fast.
602LAN Suite (http://www.software602.com/products/ls/): This secure mail server has an inbuilt antivirus and anti-spam guard. The firewall is meant to control internet sharing and is equipped with NAT and Web content filter proxy. It also features standards based SSL SMTP/POP3 e-mail server that enables encrypted communication, junk mail protection and an integrated fax server. Access to the Web mail client, shared address book, remote administration and user home pages is provided by the integrated Web server. Other features include includes text content based Bayesian spam filter, Web Mail Client with WAP support, network address translation, attachment filter, PureSight proxy content filter, auto-update and ActiveReports.
AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic (http://www.free-av.com/): Another one of the few, but great free antivirus software available for download. The AntiVir PersonalEdition is for individual and private use on a single PC-workstation only, which can detect and remove more than 230,000 known viruses. It features a resident Virus Guard which monitors file movements automatically such as downloading of data from the internet. It scans and repairs macro viruses and protects against boot record viruses and master boot record viruses, Trojans, worms, and other malicious activities. You can easily update the database and support is free of charge through the AntiVir Bulletin Board (http://forum.antivir.de/).
AVG Free Edition: The free edition is available to home users for personal and non-commercial use on a single computer. Though it is limited in features compared to its professional counterpart, the AVG Free Edition does include useful features such as Automatic healing, Reliable scanning engine, Scheduled scanning frequency and Scheduled update frequency (both once a day only), Optional automatic update upon Internet detection, and Options to define file name extensions. There is also no technical support available.
Futureca AntiVirus Outlook: This is a special add-on designed specifically for Microsoft Outlook. It scans all incoming and outgoing mail messages for viruses in real time, and immediately alerts the user if it detects one. It is quite useful if you are a regular Outlook user, and the virus definition database can easily be updated over the internet. You can download it from http://www.futureca.com/downloads.htm.
RAV4ICQ (http://www.ravantivirus.com/): This is a free antivirus program intended to be integrated into ICQ, one of the most popular instant messengers in the world. The program checks for and removes several types of viruses, worms, Trojans and other malwares. It is easily configurable and can scan inside archives and take the desired actions for infected/suspicious files, and creates a log file for later reference.
Walling Data Protects California Private School With Avg Internet Security
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CLAREMONT, NC—June 5th, 2008— For the last seven years, Michael Restivo has acted as Technical Coordinator for Saint Phillip Neri, a private Catholic school in Alameda, California. The school has approximately 300 students from kindergarten through eighth grade, 12 teachers, and 21 workstations on a single network.
“With lots of young kids using the computers in the lab for research, there is Internet activity pretty much all day, every day,†Restivo said. “Protection against online threats from spyware, viruses and the like are definitely a priority for us.â€
Since Restivo’s technical coordinator role is a volunteer one, he doesn’t have a lot of time to troubleshoot computer problems, especially those that can be easily avoided. When he first took the position, the school was securing the network and workstations with Norton AntiVirus. It didn’t take long for Restivo to get frustrated with the program’s weaknesses, not to mention the hefty cost of renewing the protection every year. He researched possible alternatives and found that AVG Anti-Virus was being widely recommended for educational environments as a low-impact, easy-to-use solution that was also cost-effective.
“I was immediately attracted to AVG because of the relatively low price point,†said Restivo. As a small private school, cost is always an issue – AVG appeared to be much more accessible cost-wise than some other well-known security solutions. So I downloaded a free trial version, put it through its paces, and liked what I saw.â€
Restivo conducted thorough research on AVG distributors and decided to purchase from Walling Data, a specialist in supplying the educational and non-profit sectors. The fact that Walling is also the country’s longest-standing distributor of AVG Technologies solutions and is the only distributor to offer all customers no-cost, unlimited, U.S.-based support as part of every sale gave Restivo further confidence that he’d made the right choice.
“Before I made my decision, I needed a measure of comfort in the product and the level of support that would be available,†Restivo said. “Having tested the software, I was happy with the level of protection and ease of use it would provide, and my research into suppliers confirmed that Walling would be able to support the installation even if I wasn’t able to put on my Tech Coordinator hat on any occasion!â€
“The significant discounts Walling offers the education sector didn’t hurt, either.â€
Because Restivo can’t always be on hand to oversee the network, he loves AVG’s remote administration functions. Called AVG Admin, this power tool allows him to manage all the computers on the network from one central location.
“The remote management is ideal for me,†said Restivo. “I wish all software could be automated and managed remotely as easily as AVG. It’s proved to be a great investment, very reliable and requires less maintenance than other security products I’ve used. In fact, keeping our computers free of malware has been pretty much a hands-free operation.â€
Restivo said he is continuing to use AVG on his home computer, and would recommend it to friends and colleagues in a second.
“Of course, we’ve had potential threats,†he said. “But AVG has caught and quarantined all of them, every single time, so nothing’s ever gotten into the network and done damage.â€
# # #
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About Walling Data Systems
http://www.avg-antivirus.net
Founded in 1994, in North Carolina, Walling Data Systems is a value-added software distributor offering innovative high-value solutions to everyday computer security problems for corporate, education, and home technology users. Walling Data was named an Authorized AVG Distributor in 2004 and is the only source for unlimited toll free phone, remote support, education discounts, and more for their AVG customers in the United States, one reason why thousands of education customers choose Walling as their supplier of choice for AVG products.
About AVG
Founded in 1991 and with offices in the US, UK, and Czech Republic, AVG is a leading international developer of Internet threat protection solutions for consumers and SMBs. AVG is one of the fastest growing companies in the industry with more than 70 million active users around the world. The company employs some of the world’s leading experts in Internet security, specifically in the areas of threat research, analysis and detection. AVG’s award-winning products are distributed globally through resellers and over the Internet as well as via third parties through Software Developer’s Kits (SDK).
Media Contacts:
Ashlie Lanning 919-557-7890 alanning@wallingdatasystems.com
Luke Walling 828-459-5422 x225 luke@wallingdatasystems.com
Evaluating Antivirus programs – Part 1
Best Antivirus?
Today for my first blog post,we will be examining the 5 most acclaimed and popular anti-viruses, and we are going to group them based on their accessibility and usability.(Scanning speed,features,etc)
Here is a quick look at the anti-viruses we will be examining:
they will be running on an average processor, intel core 2 dou e6600 2.4 ghz
.Kaspersky 2009
.Eset NOD 32
.Symantec antivirus
.Avast pro antivirus
.Grisoft AVG 8.0.93
1.Scanning Speed
The scanning speed of an Anti-virus is perhaps the most important aspect of the Anti-Virus.Consumers seek out the fastest and the least tedious mean to scan their computers and now, we are going to unveil the *simply* the best.
1.Eset NOD 32-Revolutionary-scanned 60,000 objects(40gb) in 6 minutes 48 seconds,or 408 seconds. average speed: 98mb/s, 100%,
2.Symantec antivirus-excellent-scanned 60,000 objects(40gb) in 13 minutes 40 seconds, or 820 seconds, average speed:48.7mb/s. 49.7% speed of NOD32
3.Kaspersky 2009-good-scanned 60,000 objects(40gb) in 17 mins and 1 second, or 1021 seconds, average speed:39.17 mb/s,39.9% speed of NOD 32
4.Avast! pro-average-scanned 60,000 objects(40gb) in 17 mins 31 seconds,or 1051 seconds, average speed:38.05 mb/s. 38.8% speed of NOD 32.
5.Grisoft AVG-poor-scanned 60,000 objects(40gb) in 24 mins 7 seconds, or 1447 seconds, average speed:27.6 mb/s. 28.1% speed of NOD 32
2.Features and Accessibility
The Features and the accessibility of the anti-virus will pretty much be the first things you get a taste of, after you purchase the anti-virus, and if they fall below your expectations, I have no doubt that you will ask for a refund.
1.Kaspersky 2009-Perfect-Very easy to use, the interface is very well done and has Many options and features.
2.Eset NOD 32-excellent-easy to use as kaspersky, interface is outstanding,but not as many options and features as kaspersky( could not find schedule scanner).
3.Grisoft AVG-excellent-easy use, interface is OK, good amount of features.
4.Symantec antivirus-average-Outdated interface, easy after getting used to,lots of options and features.
5.Avast-poor-Interface is too stylish,hard to use and understand,moderate features and options.
3.R.A.M Usage
More Ram usage will reduce your computer speed:
1.Eset NOD 32-Revolutionary-1 process in windows task manager,Uses around 6-8 megabytes
2.Symantec antivirus-excellent-1 process, uses around 11mb ram
3.Kaspersky 2009-good-2 process,uses around 30mb ram
4.Grisoft AVG-poor-5 process,uses around 38mb ram
5.Avast! pro-Terrible-1 process,uses around 74mb ram
4.Price
1.Grisoft AVG-excellent-1 year is 34.99$
2.Eset NOD 32-good-1 year is 39$
3.Symantec antivirus-good-1 year is 39.99$
4.Kaspersky-poor-1 year is 59.95$
5.Avast! pro-Terrible-1 year is 79.95$
5.Conclusion
1.Eset NOD 32,
2.Kasperksy 2009 and Symantec anti-virus
3.Grisoft AVG
4.Avast! pro
Evaluating Antivirus programs – Part 3
I received a call on Thursday from some friends who have a small medical practice. Apparently their computers were acting a little strange. I had helped setup their system 2 years earlier. When I arrived at the office, the situation was not good. The file server would not boot and other systems were barely usable.
I quickly isolated the computers from each other and the network and went to work. All systems were running the latest commercial version of AVG Anti-virus. Not good enough as it turned out. On one system, AVG detected viruses but could not isolate them. No sooner would I clean up the files and they would reinfect. I was not happy. AVG just would not block the reinfection.
Out of desperation, I loaded trial version of NOD32. It found the same viruses but was able to isolate them and keep the system from reinfecting. Score one for NOD32. Once things settled down I found that the restoration files the Windows keeps were also infected. This left me no choice but to do a repair install. It worked. I bought NOD32.
The viruses ripped through the office net and infected all systems. On the file server it took out the Master Boot Record which is why it would not boot. The other systems suffered from other issues. It took 9 hours to clean up 6 systems.
The good news is no data was lost. They backup regularly using a system I installed. Perhaps the biggest problem was that these systems were running as Admin. The reason was that the HP printers they were using would not print in Limited accounts. This was my fault. I had tried on several occasions to get these printers to work on Limited accounts. I curse HP for the crap driver software they ship with their systems. With renewed motivation and a few hours effort I finally figured out that if I set the printer ports to use IP addresses instead of the usual device name I could print in Limited accounts. Needless to say, all systems are now running in “Limited” accounts.
In the final analysis they were lucky mostly due good practices. Had we not had Admin privileges enabled the viruses might have been defeated. I should have been more persistent on the Limited account issue. Good backups (even though we didn’t need them), regular updates and one very good software package made the difference.
As for AVG, I’m sorely disappointed. It let something in and once there, allowed it to spread. That’s a fatal mistake in my book and I’m done with them. My new best friend is NOD32. If you believe the benchmarks and reports, it’s the best thing going. It saved my bacon.
Having experienced the destructive force of computer viruses first hand has really hardened my attitude. This was a small office and it cost them almost a full day of business. I don’t know about their revenue but I suspect it cost them thousands of dollars. Random attacks like this are really malicious and evil. If not terrorism, it comes darn close.
