PCVIREX.RVW 930903 Comparison Review Company and product: Datawatch Corporation Triangle Software Division P. O. Box 51489 Durham, NC 27717 formerly Microcom Software Division 3700-B Lyckan Parkway Durham, NC 27707-9904 PO Box 51489 Durham, NC 27717 USA 919-490-1277 Fax: 919-490-6672 Fax: 919-419-8312 73407.1751@compuserve.com FJBX40A@Prodigy.com vpctech@datawatch.com BBS: 919-419-0284 BBS: 919-419-1602 Virex for the PC Summary: VPCSCAN is one of the the fastest scanning products reviewed. Virex for the PC vaccine is customizable with multiple options and allows "protection" of specified files as well as alerts on "formatting" and "program modification" and is recommended for "expert" users. Documentation is an excellent overview of viral and PC operations. Cost U$49 Rating (1-4, 1 = poor, 4 = very good) "Friendliness" Installation 3 Ease of use 4 Help systems 2 Compatibility 3 Company Stability 4 Support 3 Documentation 4 Hardware required 4 Performance 3 Availability 4 Local Support ? General Description: VPCSCAN is a virus detection and disinfection product. It will remove some viri from files or optionally delete the file if it cannot be disinfected. Disinfection or deletion is at user control. Two "levels" of TSR protection are available: VIREX is a resident scanner and change detector; VIREXPRO has, in addition to those features, activity monitoring capability. Ross Greenberg was the original author of Virex-PC, and one of the first to produce an anti-viral product, Flu-Shot. Microcom's Virex product for the Macintosh is also well established. VIRx, is an associated file available on electronic bulletin board systems. It was formerly a "scan only" demonstration product, but is now a "shareware" distribution of the program, missing VIREXPRO and registration data. Comparison of features and specifications User Friendliness Installation Disks shipped writeable but protected. Documentation stresses the importance of write protecting the disks, suggests making "working copy" of the original disk, and checking the computer system with VPCSCAN before making installation onto the hard disk, but the suggested procedure could leave the "working copy" infected. In earlier versions effective installation was impossible without reading the documentation and understanding the concepts and system configuration thoroughly. This has been improved. The documentation is complete and quite clear, but "naive" users may find the number of functions and features, and the explanations, daunting to tackle. Ease of use Once installed, the system operates without intervention, unless viral activity is detected. The alert screens are clear and informative. The decisions necessary, and the usefulness or "hindrance" of the system depends largely on the installation, which should be "matched" to the experience of the user. VPCSCAN's screen display shows the files checked individually, but continues to display the directories checked until the screen is full, so that a number of directories can be seen at once. This is much clearer than the practice of other programs which only display one file at a time, or only the directories checked, especially given the speed of VPCSCAN's operation. Help systems Alert screens contain somewhat esoteric, but very complete information on the activity taking place. This will be very helpful to expert users, but even novices will find it easier to make an "informed" decision on whether or not to allow an operation. Compatibility VPCSCAN has substantially improved its position with regard to identification of viral programs. Current versions are roughly equal to the performance of the SCAN program, although identification is more accurate than SCAN. Company Stability Microcom is a stable and diverisfied company, if somewhat smaller than a Lotus or Microsoft. Virex for the Mac has been around for some time, although it is not one fo the current "leaders" among Mac antivirals. Ross Greenberg was one of the first to write an antiviral program for MS-DOS (Flu-Shot) and it is still a viable program. The program has been recently purchased by Datawatch. The level of support would not seem to have suffered by the change. Company Support The support provisions have increased since Datawatch purchased the product. Support is available through the sources listed above, and also on AppleLink, America Online and GEnie by contacting DATAWATCH. The manual states that updates are made quarterly, and that registered users will receive "notification" of updates. The price of updates has been reduced to $15 from $25 each, or you may receive a year's "subscription" for $50 as opposed to $75. Updates may be downloaded free for two years from the date of purchase if the company's bulletin board is called directly. At the time of my first review update notices were delayed, but this has improved since. Documentation Very good (clear, concise) section on general virus information. The installation procedure, which previously could have resulted in an infected "working copy", has been improved. The installation "prompts" are no better or worse than others reviewed, but the documentation explains all options very clearly, both in terms of the options available, and the reasons for the options. Hardware Requirements There are no special hardware requirements. Performance VPCSCAN is amazingly fast. File checking is at least twice as fast as either FPROT or SCAN across all platforms tested. Virex for the PC has more options than other vaccine type programs, as well as change detection capabilities. An earlier weakness in detecting Stoned infections in memory and Stoned infection activity has been corrected. Although Virex for the PC will make a checksum of disk or diskette boot sectors, it does not checksum partition boot records. Local Support No provisions. Support Requirements The installation and operation of Virex for the PC and VPCSCAN should not be beyond the average intelligent user who is willing to spend time with the manual before installation. However, in supported environments, it would be best to have the support staff perform installation. General Notes A very solid product with an excellent scanner. Of the "multi-layered" commercial antivirals, this one may still have some weaknesses in the matter of unknown boot sector infectors. However, it will give superior defence against the currently common viral programs. copyright Robert M. Slade 1991, 1993 PCVIREX.RVW 930903 ====================== roberts@decus.ca rslade@vcn.bc.ca rslade@vanisl.decus.ca "Internet, the information network you _can't_ outgrow." - Ido Dubrawsky Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)