Avast! 5 beta 1

Will avast 5 cure inflected files using its database like the 4 version ?
or could disinfect virii like nod or kaspersky ? i don't mean the virus cleaner that cleans the more comon virii

thanks

 

Despite that it is a beta, is it stable and safe enough to use as a primary av right now? My F-PROT licence just ended and am not gonna renew it so im looking for somethingh better.

 

very stable, I am using it and nothing else on my PCs. Seems updating issue is resolved to. It is really nice.

 

VRDB has been discontinued in avast! 5. They'll be focusing on direct disinfection, but they will only use additional resources and time for file infectors that can be 100% repaired. Because what's the point in repairing if the success is questionable. I guess i have to agree on this one. There is no point in wasting resources if you can't restore the file to an original state.

As for the stability, i have mixed experience. Most of the time it works great, but there are still quirks and smaller issues, certain functions are not functional yet (or just partially). It should work fine, but remember to report any bugs you may encounter on avast! forums and always update it to the last version as soon as you see it. They're fixing lots of bugs with each build so keeping it up to date is a preferred behavior.

 

never had a problem with beta to date, stability wise its run perfect.

 

No third party software firewall, just a hardware firewall>>>Alpha Shield.

 

This might be of some help http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=50212.msg425240#msg425240

 

ive been using the avast beta as m primary AV for a while now without an issue.

 

Same here; seems to work more smoothly with each refresh.

 

Same although I am using it on a clean image without much of anything installed.

 

Do you know how effective the behaviour shield will be? Will it be as good as Threatfire / Mamutu or will it 'just' be a kind of heuristic shield?

 

unkown for now...

 

It's not known much but some data leaks out here and there. We know that certain behavior detection methods will be very unique to combat kernel level malware.

 

hey guys i don't do avast,but i found this report on another site..what do you think?

http://www.securiteam.com/unixfocus/6V00L1PPPO.html

 

They are not mentioning Self-Defense in any way, so that is weird...

 

I could be misunderstanding it but the key thing here is "A local attacker (unprivileged user) ".

A local or remote "attacker" can indeed edit or delete these files but only if they can see the Windows UI and turn off or acknowledge Self-Defense.
In our office, we call this kind of "attacker", a member of staff.

 

It doesn't matter. avast! Self-Defense is not a part of Windows and is not obliged by the Windows security rules. I am administrator with full rights, but i still cannot modify ANY avast! files. So this one is weird by definition. It's not explained well and i'll wait for explanation from ALWIL staff before jumping any conclusions.

What good is it to be a "member of staff" if you still don't know the code of the boss's vault in his office?

 

I just took a short drive of Avast 5 beta 2.

Context
I am not using an AV as a typical AV user. I am just testing with AV's to prevent us sending frozen malware (DW paralises all malware) to friends.

On this PC we sometimes have an Anti-Virus real time (with check at writes only), but mostly use an AV on-demand (since it never has happened that we have spread malware, it is allways a issue of doubt: yes or no real time AV).


Avast 5 setup
I only used the file and behavioral shields, with file shield check on file read/open disabled. I also have the on-boot Anti-rootikit scan disabled (DefenseWall V3 beta is on guard, so ..) and the program update set to manual (old 4.8 had a CPU and disk spike when it checked on program updates on my PC).

Real usage test
On the family PC a low end dual core e5200@3gHZ with 2gb RAM on XP SP3, i did some 'real world PC usage' simulation. Some observations:

- The smart on execution checks works well, you see CPU spikes (or better bumps, because it never execeeded 27%) reduce in frequency.

- Over bootups, you also noticed that it remembered the clean state of signed and safe software

- The I/O access is and keeps very low. Allthough you will see that Avast server application will continue to eat CPU time, don't draw the wrong conclusion on its 'lean-ness', even the low end multi-core's CPU power is way stronger than the new Sammsung F3 spinpoint (with is great throughput characteristcs = the F3 with its high density platters is as fast as 10.000 RPM disk).

- the turning Avast icon is cute, it keeps turning while process explorer tells me the Avast server is not doing anything anymore. From a marketing perspective it is smart (you see AV action without noticing delay). because I really do not feel any slow down. I initially though that Avast 5 was using more PC resources than 4.8, but it was only the icon


My first conclusion
- a pretty agile and lean AntiVirus, because it is more CPU bound than Disk bound, it will feel sleek and fast on most dual core PC's
- despite a history without real time AV, I will keep Avast 5 for a while on this PC, I might even go back to an old fashioned FW+HIPS (DWv3) and AV (Avast5) setup (running Admin),
- let's see what the impact of the extra behavioral/heuristics is on its effectiveness is in test


regards Kees

 

Kees - I don't think the behavior shield is even functional yet, so you may want to uninstall that also. Thanks for your report. Avast 5 looks like it will be a great program.

 

thats correct, its not implemented yet, but it apparently will be soon

 

Im running avast 5 on one of my test box's. Hoping it preforms well as I would love to recommend something different for a change.

 

Ha thanks,

The same happened with Avira 9 beta. At first I was surprised this extra feature did not eat any extra CPU cycles. When new beta's came this changed.

It does sound logical to me. After large system code changes/overhauls, it is good practise to first test the old functionality and the new interfaces without the new functionality.

I will keep you posted.

Are my first observations simular to your (or other members) experience?

 

the important thing for me that avast pro still light when its be avast pro v5
i love avast pro and buy avast pro coz its light on my computer, and i wish to see avast pro its the number 1 in AV tests

 

Is it a bug?

 

It's a known bug and it'll probably be fixed in new beta update.