Katie DriveSentry

OMG, its alive!

 

Found it!

If you turn off the scanner to avoid conflict with your AV does DS still look-up the whitelist when installing a programme?

Ian

 

Drive Sentry is a nice program. For real HIPS fan it's default settings are not granular enough. When you use it behind Sandbox tyoe o program, it really offers the usability/user friendliness other application walls/anti executables have.

For instance Internet Explorer is by default allowed to wrote to registry, while Drive Sentry has some seperate rules on specific keys, this automatically results in IE allowing to change all you startup keys. So any malware wich is able to intrude IE, has a free go.

What should improve
1 .Drive Sentry's rule order should be changed, for instance IE is allowed to access the registry, but not automatically all the advanced rules. So access permission should be for standard rules only.

2. The limitation to add custom registry keys only from within the Software hive should be removed. Now a sunstantial auto start keys/system settings are unprotected. So they either should improve teh scope of teh default advanced rules or remove this limitation

3. You are able to add custom folder, but you do not have the option to exclude folders. Because DS automatically includes all sub directories, this is really a performance issue when you want to increase the file protection/data access scope of your PC

4. In the options menu you can allow a program for all or get a pop-up for each event, IMO this should be the split into two seperate options
a) data access
- allow all/trust program completely
- allow for file extension
- allow for directory
- allow for file
b) Registry access
- allow program completely
- allow for registry key
- allow for registry value

Conclusion
For a small amount of money you get trickle feed updates against the malware, this is nice. Its HIPS still has a way to go. Also the blacklist data base is very heavy, DS does not has the experience (like CIS for example also lacks) to create generic rules.

Cheers

 

Is it true that DriveSentry will no longer support a free version??

 

Hi All,
My name is Polly, I've taken over from Katie at DriveSentry who has moved on to pastures new.
We've been extremely busy over the past few weeks with a new product release hence the limited posting here recently.

I know you have lots of questions and I hope I can answer as many of them as possible, especially general product enquiries. If you have any specific technical questions, please head on over to our forum where you can post or see other answers (http://forum.drivesentry.com)

We have also updated our Frequently Asked Questions section with answers to many of the questions you are asking here regarding the new DriveSentry Security Suite:
http://forum.drivesentry.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=290

I'll try and pop in here as much as possible to help out, please be gentle though I'm new around here!

Regards
Polly

 

Can you enlighten us here as to the specifics regarding DS's new pricing scheme? I mean the prices for new customers as well as existing don't seem quite fair to current users? What are the new or pending changes to DS Suite?

 

Hi Polly, only a question, be sure not to flame but to understand the DS future developement: what about a future firewall to complete the suite ?

 

Polly,

If you turn off the scanner (because you already have a resident a-v) does DS still check the white-list?

Ian

 

Ian,

DriveSentry should still check the whitelist under normal circumstances when you turn off the scanner.

Regards,
Polly

 

Thanks, Polly

Anybody else having issues with the server.

I can't register accounts on new installs, and my own account shows the last update as Tuesday, 19:17.

Ian

 

Hi, my last update was on the 26/05. Their server seemed to be off-line, for a short period yesterday.
The security adviser was also off-line, but all is working well as of this post

 

Still no update since 26/5.

Reminds me of Windows Defender.

No answers to threads on DS forum.

It should be updated daily and then some.

Be interested to see if I go another sleep without an update.

Ian

 

Hmm...

According to their website the number of files in the database is 3,532,288 http://www.drivesentry.com/

My file count is 3,185,336 and was last updated Tuesday.

Hmm...

What are other DS users seeing as a file-count and when was your last update?

Ian

 

Good observation!
Not running DS at the moment but it did update every day.
Trickle updates with the paid version and it was consistant.

 

Hi Polly .. welcome.

I'd purchased access to DS some months ago.

I finally uninstalled it because, no matter what I tried, I was unable to keep the program running! The launched icon would continually disappear or the program, for whatever reason, wouldn't run at startup/re-boot. All attempts to manually "launch" the program also failed. I was trying to run DS all by it's lonesome too.

I decided to wait for further developement before re-trying DS.

Today, I've attempted to download the newly released "suite" (is a suite a suite without a firewall?) .. and, I'm continually thrown into a "purchase" dialogue. Where, on the DS website, does a link exist, for those who've already purchased, to download updates?

I've retained some older builds .. if I reinstall one of those, will it update itself to the new release?

Thanks.

 

Hi,
We don't have an evaluation of the Security Suite available yet. This is in the pipeline though, we'll post here as soon as we know when that will be.
Could you send more info about your setup to support@drivesentry.com?, it would be good to understand why you were having problems with it launching.
Many Thanks

Polly

 

Does DS Suite support Vista 64 bit?

 

Hello,

DriveSentry Security Suite does not currently support Vista 64 bit...

Regards,
Polly

 

Any experts tested the DS a-v?

I would love to run it as my only security programme but all I can see is the scanner was West Coast Labs check-marked over a year ago.

Until I see more conclusive testing I have Avast alongside with DS scanner off unless one of my learned friends says otherwise.

Ian

 

Try these for starters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Bu7PskAnI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Ew307X9zY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejW4kAPlBAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl0RwDiYbts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bNWR5xVyFA

 

Hi Ian,
A couple more links for you:

DriveSentry Editors Choice - PCPlus
http://www.drivesentry.com/pdf/drivesentry-pcplus-jan09.pdf

HIPS/Antispyware tests
http://www.virus.gr/portal/en/content/2009-04,-09-10-april-hips-antiantispyware

Regards
Polly

 

Those youtube vids are the efforts of an amateur. DS has yet to submit itself for professional testing such as AV-Comparatives.org or AV-Test.org or Virusbtn.org.

As for the quality of tests by virus.gr,as linked by Polly, do a search here at Wilders -- e.g., HERE.

 

Agree, Bill

It is a test with scanners, IDS and some ant-spyware with HIPS elemenst all juggled together. Also the test was only brought out for Comodo to promote its D+ HIPS and they forgot to include that in the test

 

I have read many links at wilders saying that these sites are not all that reliable i.e. informing their AV customers of of malware samples they missed , so they can re-submit their product before being tested again... this is reliable? Sure, money talks

Amateur or not, the threats detected are out in the wild, so to speak. Many other Highly known AV's failed these so called Amateur tests. I believe Matt does a great job

EDIT: http://www.virusbtn.com/virusbulletin/archive/2008/11/vb200811-DriveSentry#id3831177

 

That's a VB *think piece* -- not a test, per se.

The youtube efforts are based on a microscopically small sample having near-zero statistical significance in terms of representing the malware universe in any meaningful way.

Actually, I think DS is a pretty good AV, but that's just subjective opinion because -- inasmuch as DS remains untested against large databases of ITW malware -- there are presently no objective data upon which to base an opinion.