Dont know if these are to nontech questions?

Prevxs offline session protection?

If PrevX needs connection to the cloud to offer its best protection? If my laptop is 80% connected and 20 not, but during offline I import data via USB and CD and I dont know how safe/malwarefree these imported files are. Will Prevx be useless for me during these offline sessions?

Best Regards

 

Re: Prevxs offline session protection?

Once you go 'online' Prevx will detect the malware. Also, the SafeOnline module will always protect you when doing for instance errands in your online bank even if you're infected.

Joe will have to give you a more detailed explanation to this.

 

Re: Prevxs offline session protection?

Yes, this is all correct. Prevx 4 is including substantially more advanced offline protection but in Prevx 3, newly introduced programs are monitored closely and if they are later determined to be malicious, the changes they make on the system are automatically undone through the cleanup process.

Hope that helps!

 

Re: Prevxs offline session protection?

So if I am out working with customers I could be infected at customer no 1 when jmporting his file from an trojan infected USB and then at customer no 2 I could be the one spreading this trojan because Prevx will not clean up my PC until I get connected?

Best Regards

 

No necessarily as you are also running an AV

 

If thats the only answer, then Prevx needs a powerful more conventional AV by its side to be able to contribute to keep me and my customers safe all the time. Prevx in itself can not supply full protection under the circumstances I described above. I would appreciate some clear answers on this one - must I buy a conventional AV also?

Best Regards

 

Correct, but that's the same for all cloud solutions, that i'm aware of, and is IMO their major flaw no matter how good they might be online.

No you don't have to buy one, in fact i can see you have Antivir Free as well as another clouder Hitman Pro Free, which will also be subject to the previously mentioned restrictions

If you're concerned about nasties etc being transferred from one comp to another, you could use something like the free Panda USB Vaccine

 

Thanks for concret advice. For business use its not fair to use free Antvir in the long run. Is their an AV out there that is free for business use and has a protectionrate/ability that is worth some respect?

Would Panda USB vaccin also protect from the potentially infected CDs?

Edit: Maybe in a not to far future I can add a couple of bucks to my Prevx license and get a Webbroot Antivirus that works as a standalone app that is co existing nicely with Prevx and protecting me well enough when I am off line? I offer you 5 bucks a year extra for the Webbroot AV when I am an Prevx license holder - deal?

Best Regards

 

Microsoft Security Essentials is free for up 10 business users

 

Allthough I was joking a bit about the price, my question about buying Webroot AV as a standalone product to e reduced price was serious and during the circumstances - as I see it - relevant. So I hoped for some kind of answer from the Prevx support.

Best Regards

 

I am personally not familiar at all with Webroot's AV but it may be worth writing into our customer support inbox to see if they can do something like this. However, Prevx 4 will have offline protection and in the meantime, something like the Panda USB autorun blocker is definitely a good tool to use.

Even if you are using an AV with local signature databases, if you are copying files between two arbitrary PCs and both PCs are offline, both of their AVs will be out of date (by the time you connect back online, the AV will be outdated as new threats will have been released in the meantime). The best approach here is to either block USB auto run or to disable the autorun.inf functionality on the drive itself to prevent infections from entering. Otherwise, conventional AVs or cloud AVs are both only marginally useful as they'll be unable to fully protect the system without access to the internet.

 

Thank you. Is something similar to Panda USB CD drive autorun blocker the kind of offline protection that will be included in Prevx4?

I want to run as lean as I dare. Is it likely I can uninstall the free Antivir if I install the Panda USB thing?

When I talk about offline work its seldom more than 1 day I am offline.

If the Prevx 4 comes in January and offline protection is good enough - maybe I should wait. I would love to run only Prevx and maybe Hitman Pro. It sounds like lean and fast.



Best Regards

 

No, the Panda USB tool is just to prevent a single USB from being able to carry infections (as far as I know). I haven't looked at it in particular but I believe it works quite well. The offline protection in Prevx 4 will provide detection based on signatures as well as local warnings if needed.

 

Signature based offline protection and still a small footprint - as that possible?

 

Yes I'm not going into too many details yet but we'll certainly be covering offline protection more than sufficiently!

 

That sounds interesting and with that little smiley included - you sure seem confident. So I will wait for v4 and not bother ro change anything with Antivir vs Panda USB protection in the meantime - thank you.

 

@ CloneRanger
I managed to set free Antivir up so it doesnt allow autoruns on USB or CD/DVD. Seems to work nicely - gave me a clear pop with sound - nice. This will do until Prevx4.

 

The only thing I really wish for in terms of user interface is some sort of clarification to the user that scanning is being done without the community.

For example, if you start a scan and are offline, I wish it would say in yellow letters, NOTICE: Cannot connect to community database or something like that.

 

This is definitely a good feature to add.

 

Hi, that's good to hear