PCAVAST.RVW 950801
Comparison Review
Company and product:
Company: ALWIL Software
Address: Prubezna 76, 100 31 Praha 10, Czech Republic
Phone: (+42 2) 782 20 50
Fax: (+42 2) 782 25 53
Sales: +42-2-782-25-47
Contact: Pavel Baudis/Michal Kovacic
Email: baudis@alwil.anet.cz
Other: BBS: (+42 2) 782 25 50, http://www.anet.cz/alwil/alwil.htm
Product: AVAST! antiviral
Summary: Multilayered DOS/Windows package
Cost: unknown
Rating (1-4, 1 = poor, 4 = very good)
"Friendliness"
Installation 3
Ease of use 2
Help systems 2
Compatibility 3
Company
Stability 3
Support 2
Documentation 3
Hardware required 2
Performance 3
Availability 2
Local Support 1
General Description:
Multilayered scanning, activity-monitoring, and change-detection software.
Separate functions in multiple program files. DOS and Windows versions
included.
Comparison of features and specifications
User Friendliness
Installation
The programs are shipped on a single, writable but protected, 1.44M diskette.
Installation procedure recommends "booting clean" prior to installation. An
interesting feature is a test to check for the ability to write to write-
protected diskettes. The installation is in two stages: first, copying all
the necessary files under DOS and then, setting up Windows.
Two features deserve special note. The changes made to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file
are stored in a file called AVAST!.NEW. This requires that the file be renamed
in order to replace the original, but it shows a welcome respect for the user.
The other is a de-installation procedure for removing the Windows programs.
A query regarding installation of the Windows components of the packageis
possibly misleading: you still have to run AVINST in order to have the Windows
portion of the program run properly. The only change made to my AUTOEXEC.BAT
file was to add the AVAST directory to my PATH. (Twice.) The resident
programs were neither added to the AUTOEXEC file nor to any Windows groups,
including "Start Up". Initialization of the Windows portions seemed to create
some difficulty with invoking Windows in enhanced mode, and the Windows
programs would not load and execute, requesting more memory on an 8 meg system.
(According to the authors, this should not be the case.) The "de-installation"
function of AVINST appeared to work perfectly.
Ease of use
The interface is generally easy enough to figure out. Additional features of
the program, such as scanning a floppy disk, must be first entered into the
"Command Line" menu, and only then invoked with the function under the "Run"
menu. Some procedures, such as the actual invocation of the installation
process itself, are confusing, but can be determined by an intermediate level
user.
Help systems
Help is available as a command-line switch for the DOS programs, and onscreen
for the Windows versions.
Compatibility
The software can detect a significant number of viral programs, although
disinfection is more limited. My tests noted a few misses, but caught some
rare species. One scan identified a single Stoned infection as two different
variants. The modular nature of the package makes it very flexible. While not
network software as such, there is provision for testing and reporting on a
Novell network.
Company Stability
I had not heard of the company until this year, but the software is copyright
1988-1995. The program structure is thoughtful and shows mature development.
Company Support
The manual gives contact information by telephone, fax, email and BBS. An
"AVS" support package provides monthly updates and a quarterly magazine, for an
additional charge.
Documentation
The manual is quite well written for a product developed in a country where
English is not the primary language. The text is generally grammatical, though
sometimes awkwardly worded. (The "Avast" name comes from "AntiVirus Advanced
SeT".) In spite of occasional hiccups in wording, the content is solid,
honest, and realistic.
System Requirements
Only MS-DOS 3.3 or higher and 256K of RAM are stated. The program takes nearly
a megabyte of disk space and seems to require substantial Windows memory.
Performance
The product is primarily concerned with speed, and making the least impact on
the user. The default operation has some loopholes, but these are not serious,
and could be addressed in a high-risk environment by a more rigorous setup of
the program. Program operation itself is not among the faster packages.
Scanning detection does not rank with the best available software (although is
not far behind) and disinfection is limited to the most commonly found viral
programs. The scanner can detect internally infected compressed executables,
but does not check inside archives.
Local Support
None provided.
Support Requirements
Basic scanning should be accessible to the novice. Overall, though,
installation and setup probably requires a supported environment.
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 PCAVAST.RVW 950801
======================
ROBERTS@decus.ca, RSlade@sfu.ca, Rob Slade at 1:153/733 RSlade@cyberstore.ca
Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong - J. Diefenbaker
Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" 0-387-94311-0/3-540-94311-0