Anti-Virus Comparison

[f1do]

I still have over a year left on my licence for NOD32 so I do not rely upon the antivirus package in OSSP for my main PC but I am just using OSSP in a second PC that my children tend to use. (If the anti-virus in OSSP worked out I would consider it for all PCs but as it stands I will be renewing the NOD32 licence next year).

I have two issues with the antivirus package in OSSP and these are;

(1). the antivirus only updates on an Administrator account.

With regard to the antivirus update issue; it is totally ridiculous that an Administrator account is needed for the antivirus to update. I very rarely connect to the second PC ad since I am the only Administrator account the antivirus in never up to date. The thing is that my children’s accounts may be more vulnerable to viruses than my own and in any case it would probable be better if we all generally used limited accounts as that would add to the security of a system. Months ago, I contacted Agnitum about the update issue and they said that may change this but it has not been corrected up to now.

(2). the antivirus package has not appeared in the top group packages in the comparison site that I use.

With regard to the antivirus comparison issue, I tend to use;

http://www.av-comparatives.org/

As they are independent and compare all the antivirus packages in the same way I have some faith in the results that display. I expected the antivirus package in OSSP to appear in the August results but there is no entry for it. I do not know why but it may be that the OSSP results were so low that they did not appear on the list.

An anti-virus package is like an insurance policy - you do not know how good/bad it is till you need to make a claim and a comparison site is useful to assess what experts think of it.

I would well opinions on the way that the antivirus only updates through an Administrator Account and when the antivirus test results will appear on the http://www.av-comparatives.org/ forum.

[Kurt W]

Hello,

So long the Suite the virus scanner used, which develops on the VirusBuster, I no if on its viruses recognition rely.:rolleyes:

The test results speak actually for itself.:(

http://blog.chip.de/0-security-blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/anti-virus-test-2007.png

Is in German, but I think that can one recognize also in such a way.

Best Regards Kurt

[smith2006]

I am currently using Outpost Firewall Pro with NOD32.

How nice if Outpost Security Suite could come with a better anti-virus engine (for example Kaspersky, NOD32 etc).

[Kurt W]

I forgot, I use as virus scanner AntiVir completely.;)

Regards Kurt

[hayc59]

Not really a fair poll say you!!
In some areas NOD32 is not considered
the greatest...so this poll is 'Null' and Void for me.

[f1do]

Hello,

So long the Suite the virus scanner used, which develops on the VirusBuster, I no if on its viruses recognition rely.:rolleyes:

The test results speak actually for itself.:(

http://blog.chip.de/0-security-blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/anti-virus-test-2007.png

Is in German, but I think that can one recognize also in such a way.

Best Regards Kurt


Kurt W,

Many thanks that is just the sort of quantative data that I was hoping for.

Regards,

[Kurt W]

Kurt W,
Many thanks that is just the sort of quantative data that I was hoping for.


Hello,

Still short info to this test.The scanners on 874.822 different mark commodity files, among them Trojaner, worms, Bots and Backdoors were tested. On Demand!!
If one takes then the result of VirusBuster, means that, which did not recognize these nearly 175000 viruses files.:eek:

Regards Kurt

[f1do]

The poll question is to discover if any of us actually trust the antivirus in the OSSP package?

I have not yet voted and I have left the poll open ended so that if the antivirus improves the votes can reflect that development.

I have a lot of doubts about the antivirus in OSSP.

I never said that NOD32 is the best antivirus but it is without doubt one of the best and I trust it. (Who wants an antivirus that does not make the top half of an objective comparison list). Previously I have used Kaspersky, Norton, McAfee, F-Prot and the free versions of Anti-Vir and although some were too heavy for my liking on resources I had confidence in them. (I do not know if the antivirus package in OSSP is one that I can trust in my main PC).

Next year, when my NOD32 licence is due for renewal I would like to believe that I could avoid that replacement cost due to the quality of the anti-virus part of the OSSP Suite but up to now that is unlikely.

Since, I have paid for the OSSP licence I want the whole OSSP package to be worth using as the whole point of a suite is that that product alone is all that is all that is installed so that no conflicts arise.

Although I have paid for it I do not trust the anti-virus element in OSSP. (My hope is that the independent test data will prove that I am wrong or that Agnitum either change it or make it worth having).

Regards,
Fido

[chrisclu]

Not a good question. Moot point as OSS noticed AVG on install and disabled itself. I like and am used to AVG and do not intend to disable it.
AVG scans email for me and OSSs AV only works for outpost ( I use TBird)
So whether I have "faith" in OSSP AV package or not doesn't apply

[f1do]

Hayc59 and chrisclu,

By not being willing to use the antivirus in OSSP and your only antivirus you have voted with your feet and you have voted NO.

You are both moderators and neither of you have indicated that you have enough faith in the antivirus in OSSP that you will use it as a stand alone package in your own main PCs. :eek:

Are all the moderators willing to use the antivirus in OSSP as their only antivirus?

Is just ONE of the moderators willing to use the antivirus in OSSP as their only antivirus?

Perhaps, if the moderators removed their usual antivirus packages and came back to us saying how effective they found the anti-virus in OSSP to be and that you would not use anything else that would be valid.

I am not confident about the present antivirus and would prefer that Agnitum used NOD32, Kaspersky, Antivir or one of the more effective antivirus packages as part of the OSSP Suite.

[chrisclu]

That was ridiculous. As soon as Thunderbird is supported for scans, I'm there
As far as using NOD, KAP or one of the more effective antivirus packages as part of the OSSP Suite, that's really up to those companies and not Agnitum.

[hayc59]

I also agree with Chris and use Thunderbird and have NOD32
running as we speak..tested the OSS 6.0 BETA without NOD32 and am happy with the results...time will tell, I am not a great suite lover but Outpost smokes everything out there!!!! so I will be running it until my very very
old age :)

[kronckew]

i am using the current v4 OSS as my only resident av/as software. so far so good. i also periodically manually scan with other well known av/as products and so far none of these have found anything. the OSS scan engine also has been modified by agnitum, so we cannot be sure if the tests above reflect the results on the current oss version, or even if it reflects the current virus buster version as no version numbers or test dates, or even test conditions are given.

[Manny Carvalho]

It's true that VirusBuster is not in the top 15 performance wise as NOD is. Although OSS uses the VB engine they have enhanced it with their own antispyware (derived from Tuscan) engine. So combined it should perform better then the VB engine alone.

Where it actually performs is too early to tell since it's a new product. It hasn't undergone the third party tests necessary to actually determine its reliability. As such, nobody here can point to actual data - good or bad - to indicate how well or poorly OSS works. Let's face it, we just don't know until such independent third party tests are conducted. Until then it's not possible to provide an answer to this poll.

Certainly one shouldn't rely on faith but on data to determine the effectiveness of any AV product.

[f1do]

i am using the current v4 OSS as my only resident av/as software. so far so good. i also periodically manually scan with other well known av/as products and so far none of these have found anything. the OSS scan engine also has been modified by agnitum, so we cannot be sure if the tests above reflect the results on the current oss version, or even if it reflects the current virus buster version as no version numbers or test dates, or even test conditions are given.

It is good to know that at least one of the moderators has enough faith in the present antivirus in OSSP to use it.

Due to the OSSP antivirus only updating in an Administrator account I have decide to disable the OSSP antivirus in my second PC and have installed a free version of AntiVir in its place. (I have used the free version of AntiVir before when I used normal Outpost Firewall and they worked OK together. I have disabled the real time protection in the OSSP Suite and have added the recommended exclusions).

Let's hope that the antivirus in OSSP either proves itself by getting into the top 10 of the independent tests or it gets replaced by an anti-virus package that is one we can all use with confidence.

Until then I will probably stay with NOD32 as my main antivirus or I may choose a totally different suite.

Regards to all,

[smith2006]

It's true that VirusBuster is not in the top 15 performance wise as NOD is. Although OSS uses the VB engine they have enhanced it with their own antispyware (derived from Tuscan) engine. So combined it should perform better then the VB engine alone.

How about this combo - Antispyware (from Outpost Firewall Pro) + NOD32?

[Manny Carvalho]

How about this combo - Antispyware (from Outpost Firewall Pro) + NOD32?It would be a great combo but unfortunately ESET is coming out with their own suite and is unlikely to make such deals.

[chrisclu]

It seems to me that you're fretting over nothing. You can have the best of all worlds by using Outpost for your firewall and your favorite AV alongside. I like AVG and others like NOD32. However we all have Outpost in common here. I realize if you turn of the Anti-virus you also lose the anti-malware realtime scanner. I use Spybot and AdAware. BTW, I also run OSS anti malware manually. Couldn't be happier. To each his/her own. :) Lets move on to other topics now :)

[f1do]

It seems to me that you're fretting over nothing. You can have the best of all worlds by using Outpost for your firewall and your favorite AV alongside. I like AVG and others like NOD32. However we all have Outpost in common here. I realize if you turn of the Anti-virus you also lose the anti-malware realtime scanner. I use Spybot and AdAware. BTW, I also run OSS anti malware manually. Couldn't be happier. To each his/her own. :) Lets move on to other topics now :)

Had you paid for the product you may have taken a different view.

The reason that I upgraded from Outpost Firewall to Outpost Suite and I want it to work is four fold.

(1). I upgraded because I wanted the real time spyware protection; anyone can get manual spyware protection for FREE, (eg. from Lavasoft Adaware).

(2). Outpost Firewall was starting to get a few intermittent glitches that may be due to product compatability.

(3) I wanted to save the money spent on a separate antivirus.

(4). I have paid for the Suite and I do not want to feel that I have made a mistake.


Igor Pankov at the top of the Agnitum tree appears to take the view that we should just be using the Suite.

http://agnitumblog.blogspot.com/

I agree with those who would have preferred a link up with eset who make NOD32.

In both of my PCs I have a few partitions and as a backup access I have intalled bootable versions of the operating system in each of the partitions. (Microsoft allow this under the Eula as the same CPU is used in the same PC and it is only the bootable partition that changes and only one is used at a time).

Today, I installed a beta version of eset smart security in one of the partitions in my second PC - up to now that product is great. I do not know how good the eset firewall is but let's face it for a normal user, behind a router hardware firewall, the software firewall is not as important as the quality of the antivirus in the PC.

I will see how it goes.

[kronckew]

one of my main concerns is that the av must pass a real world test, not just theoretical ones that improve their test scores while making other equally practical av look bad. virusbuster has the VB100 award for detecting real-world in the field virii. VB (and it's sibling OSS) may not have all the bells and whistles that some others have, but it works. a porche may look prettier & have all kinds of neat gadgets, but a nissan will get you from a to b just as well. by all means buy a porsche if thats what you want, most of us would like one, but realise we're OK with a nissan. after all, we've got the OP firewall to go along with the as/av plugin, and it's a porsche level FW. ;)

[chrisretusn]

Cannot vote. I don't use NOD32. I do use AVG. For awhile I let OSS detect and disable the AV function of OSS.

As of a couple of weeks ago I have removed AVG and now use OSS exclusively for my AV. My message client is PocoMail so I am not using the OSS Mail Scanner. I didn't use AVG's E-Mail Scanner either. So far so good.

So... yes, I do trust the OSS anti-virus package to do the job but I cannot say it is a good as NOD32.

[smith2006]

Time will tell whether this is best that OSS can offer.

Take a look at ZoneAlarm Security Suite.

It is 1+1 Porsche( ZoneAlarm Firewall + Kaspersky Anti-Virus) now.

Previously It was also a Porsche and a Nissan.

[chrisclu]

Had you paid for the product you may have taken a different view.

Not exatctly true ;) Although I have a lifetime Outpost subscription, I would gladly pay fo it if I didn't. As far as AVG, Spybot and Adaware, I have the paid versions of each even thoughI could have kept free -just want to support good software

The reason that I upgraded from Outpost Firewall to Outpost Suite and I want it to work is four fold.

(1). I upgraded because I wanted the real time spyware protection; anyone can get manual spyware protection for FREE, (eg. from Lavasoft Adaware).
I now use OSS anti malware as my realtime scanner and I will continue to use AVG, SB, and AdAware for manual scans I practice safe computing and am behind a router anyway so I am not to concerned.If I get a virus, it will be the first in the 7 years of router use

(2). Outpost Firewall was starting to get a few intermittent glitches that may be due to product compatability.

As a beta tester, oh the stories I could tell you :D To be expected with any new software.

(3) I wanted to save the money spent on a separate antivirus.

Sorry, didn't know you didn't have a separate AV. The free version of AVG is great and would be a terrific 2nd opinion.

(4). I have paid for the Suite and I do not want to feel that I have made a mistake.

I don't think you made a mistake, for what my opinion is worth (certainly can't beat this support forum :)


Igor Pankov at the top of the Agnitum tree appears to take the view that we should just be using the Suite.

http://agnitumblog.blogspot.com/

I agree with those who would have preferred a link up with eset who make NOD32.

In both of my PCs I have a few partitions and as a backup access I have intalled bootable versions of the operating system in each of the partitions. (Microsoft allow this under the Eula as the same CPU is used in the same PC and it is only the bootable partition that changes and only one is used at a time).

Today, I installed a beta version of eset smart security in one of the partitions in my second PC - up to now that product is great. I do not know how good the eset firewall is but let's face it for a normal user, behind a router hardware firewall, the software firewall is not as important as the quality of the antivirus in the PC.

I will see how it goes.

Interesting arrangement. However, if you did get a virus, couldn't it affect the other partitions? Why not make regular images of your primary drive and keep them on DVD or external harddrive? I let True Image take incremental backups every 2 days on a separate partition and copy them to an external drive every week which I then disconnect again. All email, documents and other data always go to another partition now(since I had to restore an image once and lost a lot of data, We're always learning and sometimes the hard way Thats why I love this forum. People are not ashamed to share their mistakes and we learn better. I'm sure all will go fine for you. BTW, thank you for this thread.
Regards,
Chris

[hayc59]

Also, why I love this forum Chris!!

[Manny Carvalho]

:boo: Hugs all around! :boo:

[Paranoid2000]

Are all the moderators willing to use the antivirus in OSSP as their only antivirus?Why should this be of any significance? The only criteria that should count are test results, assuming the tests are conducted properly and include a sufficiently wide range of malware. Until these appear for OSS (VirusBuster results alone don't suffice since Agnitum do add their own signatures) talk about comparisons with other AVs is a moot point.virusbuster has the VB100 award for detecting real-world in the field virii. VB (and it's sibling OSS) may not have all the bells and whistles that some others have...Interestingly enough, VirusBuster passed the latest VB100 while Agnitum (presumably OSS) failed - see Virus Bulletin's Summary (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/results.xml?display=summary) (login needed, BugMeNot (http://www.bugmenot.com/view.php?url=virusbtn.com) an option). I wouldn't consider VB100 the be-all and end-all of AV tests since it does rely on a relatively small sample size (the June 2007 WildList (http://www.wildlist.org/WildList/200706.htm) includes 1,958 entries in its main and supplemental lists - compared to about 500,000 with AV Comparatives and 800,000 for AV-Test.de) but this result isn't the most encouraging start.

[Manny Carvalho]

That is disappointing. I have a VB100 account and can see that OSS 2007 5.1214.616 failed. As I'm not a subscriber I can't read the full report and see the details. Still, as P2K points out, it's a small sample and just one result. It's not yet enough to call it a trend.

[ttrey]

Hello,

is the outpost suite good or not so good. in some foren you can read that the virus.scanner from Virusbuster is not so good how the avira virus scanner.
is this correct. sorry for my english ist not so good.


greetings

Thomas
Reply With Quote

[Manny Carvalho]

Hello,

is the outpost suite good or not so good. in some foren you can read that the virus.scanner from Virusbuster is not so good how the avira virus scanner.
is this correct. sorry for my english ist not so good.


greetings

Thomas
Reply With QuotePlease read the thread above. I'm not sure there's more new information to add to the previous discussion.

[ttrey]

Hello,

is the outpost suite good or not so good. in some foren you can read that the virus.scanner from Virusbuster is not so good how the avira virus scanner.
is this correct. sorry for my english ist not so good.


greetings

Thomas
Reply With Quote

[PlacidBlueAlien]

It would be a great combo but unfortunately ESET is coming out with their own suite and is unlikely to make such deals.

Zonealarm uses Kaspersky and Kaspersky has it's own suite. I'm not sure it'd be out of the question totally but I'm sure Outpost would have to pay a hefty sum for licensing it which may mean that it's totally unfeasible. Avira might be a better avenue since Avira is also a smaller company. Granted, I'm not sure if ESET is that huge of a company.

I'm currently debating over ESET or Avira as my AV of choice currently as I don't really see myself getting OSS. Kaspersky just slows down the system too much but I do love that they included proactive modules into their AV. Wish more vendors did this beforehand though and OPF has similar capabilities in areas.

[Manny Carvalho]

ESET is a small company and makes a great product with a light footprint. I'm sure Avira is good too. Download a free trial and run it for a while and see.