Anyone heard of mks_vir 2004?

And updating is clear and fairly quick, even on dial-up!

 

There have been some tests carried out on this AV, apart from the small personal tests in this thread. These include older tests;

http://www.av-test.org/online/sites/os03.php3?js=0&test=2001-10&p=1

http://www.av-test.org/online/sites/os03.php3?js=0&test=2001-11&p=1

Which suggested that at that time, mks_vir was comparable to some of the big hitters of the AV world. Some recent tests have not, however, fared as well

http://www.virus.gr/english/fullxml/default.asp?id=62&mnu=62

http://boardadmin.funpic.de/viewtopic.php?t=21&sid=35155231bc50524ad5c9d0a900809b77

http://antivirus.about.com/cs/softwarereviews/tp/aaonline.htm

The Help file is a litle sparse as Blue mentioned and there are some Polish words scattered throughout various windows( only a few ) but the overall impression of this AV is promising. Further, the uninstall was very good and as mentioned previously I have come across no software/hardware conflicts as yet.

It’s too early to state with confidence how good an AV program mks_vir 2004 is. The English version has just been released and both support and malware detection have to be thoroughly tested. However, at the present time it would make at least a good secondary scanner to your main AV.

 

This could be due to the "sandbox". I think tbe biggest limiting factor is not the app itselt, but the signature db. It was originally tweaked for the Polish market, so the gang @ mks has some catchup to do.

 

Yes I would be interested in the total signature database.

 

They should just license the KAV DB. I bet after you look at the cost benefit, it would pay for itself versus the costs of getting up to speed in-house.

Also be sure to send that FP in cat... they definitely want to hear about them. I included a TS guy's email in a previous post.

Also, despite the high CPU usage, notice that you can still use your computer? Not bogged down like KAV.

 

To Blackcat from Firefighter!

When some older tests about Mks_Vir shows that it belongs to the same league as Panda Platinum/Titanium or eScan (= VirusP 10-2003), in my rankings that's a great priviledge. In my own tests MKS beated Panda Platinum a bit, so, I think I'm on the right tracks.

Best regards,
Firefighter!

 

To everyone from Firefighter!

Because I have not seen any new MS-DOS viruses in those new DrWeb signatures during the first quarter this year,

http://www.dials.ru/english/inf/news.php?id=754

I made a quick shot about VirusP 10-2003 test without those DOS viruses.


VirusP 10-2003

File [183]; = BeOS, FreeBSD, Linux, Palm, OS2, Unix, BinaryImage, BAS viruses

94.5 %/173 McAfee 7.03.6000

84.2 %/154 KAV 4.5.049

84.1 %/152 Norton 2004 Pro

76.5 %/140 F-Prot 3.14a

68.9 %/126 Panda Platinum 7.05.04

67.2 %/123 Pc-Cillin 2003

59.0 %/108 BitDefender 7.1.110

54.6 %/100 AntiVir 6.21.09.20

54.6 %/100 DrWeb 4.30a

54.1 %/_99 NOD32 upd 1.526

49.2 %/_90 Avast 4.1.268

36.6 %/_67 MKS_VIR 2004 Beta


Win [2131]: = Win.*.* viruses

98.3 %/2094 KAV 4.5.0.49

98.1 %/2090 Norton 2004 Pro

97.7 %/2082 McAfee 7.03.6000

93.5 %/1992 MKS_VIR 2004 Beta

90.8 %/1934 F-Prot 3.14a

82.7 %/1763 NOD32 upd 1.526

80.0 %/1705 Avast 4.1.268

79.7 %/1699 DrWeb 4.30a

79.1 %/1685 BitDefender 7.1.110

78.2 %/1666 Pc-Cillin 2003

64.2 %/1367 Panda Platinum 7.05.04

59.6 %/1270 AntiVir 6.21.09.20


Macro [6521]; = Macro and Formula viruses

99.7 %/6500 McAfee 7.03.6000

99.5 %/6488 F-Prot 3.14a

99.5 %/6485 KAV 4.5.0.49

99.1 %/6464 Norton 2004 Pro

99.1 %/6461 DrWeb 4.30a

98.6 %/6436 Pc-Cillin 2003

98.6 %/6431 BitDefender 7.1.110

98.2 %/6406 MKS_VIR 2004 Beta

98.2 %/6402 Panda Platinum 7.05.04

97.3 %/6346 NOD32 upd 1.526

94.9 %/6191 AntiVir 6.21.09.20

94.6 %/6169 Avast 4.1.268


Script [4335]; = BAT, Corel, HTML, Java, Scripts, VBS, WBS, Worms, PHP, Perl viruses

99.3 %/4306 KAV 4.5.0.49

99.2 %/4302 Norton 2004 Pro

98.4 %/4264 McAfee 7.03.6000

92.1 %/3994 MKS_VIR 2004 Beta

91.9 %/3983 DrWeb 4.30a

88.9 %/3852 BitDefender 7.1.110

88.8 %/3851 F-Prot 3.14a

85.0 %/3685 Panda Platinum 7.05.04

81.0 %/3512 Pc-Cillin 2003

80.6 %/3493 NOD32 upd 1.526

78.8 %/3414 Avast 4.1.268

72.3 %/3132 AntiVir 6.21.09.20


Backdoor & Trojan [11909]; = Trojan and Backdoor viruses

99.5 %/11851 KAV 4.5.0.49

94.5 %/11251 MKS_VIR 2004 Beta

93.4 %/11127 F-Prot 3.14a

92.1 %/10965 McAfee 7.03.6000

83.3 %/_9914 Norton 2004 Pro

80.4 %/_9575 BitDefender 7.1.110

75.7 %/_9011 Panda Platinum 7.05.04

75.3 %/_8965 Avast 4.1.268

72.4 %/_8616 Pc-Cillin 2003

70.9 %/_8437 DrWeb 4.30a

69.7 %/_8302 NOD32 upd 1.526

49.2 %/_5861 AntiVir 6.21.09.20


Malware [8984]; = DoS, Constructors, Exploit, Flooders, Hoax, Jokes,
Nukers, Sniffers, Spoofers, Virus Construction Tools, VirTools,
Corrupted, Droppers, Intended, PolyEngines

99.1 %/8907 KAV 4.5.049

97.1 %/8720 McAfee 7.03.6000

95,6 %/8590 Norton 2004 Pro

93.8 %/8423 F-Prot 3.14a

87.1 %/7829 BitDefender 7.1.110

85.9 %/7721 Drweb 4.30a

83.9 %/7539 Avast 4.1.268

82.3 %/7395 Pc-Cillin 2003

80.0 %/7187 MKS_VIR 2004 Beta

79.3 %/7124 Panda Platinum 7.05.04

79.0 %/7100 NOD32 upd 1.526

78.5 %/7054 AntiVir 6.21.09.20

=====================================

Summary without MS-DOS (= MS-DOS and HLL*.) viruses [34063]

99.2 %/33797 KAV 4.5.049

96.0 %/32704 McAfee 7.03.6000

93.8 %/31963 F-Prot 3.14a

92.5 %/31512 Norton 2004 Pro

90.7 %/30897 MKS_VIR 2004 Beta

86.6 %/29480 BitDefender 7.1.110

83.4 %/28421 Drweb 4.30a

81.9 %/27882 Avast 4.1.268

81.4 %/27744 Pc-Cillin 2003

81.4 %/27715 Panda Platinum 7.05.04

79.6 %/27103 NOD32 upd 1.526

69.3 %/23608 AntiVir 6.21.09.20

MKS was ranked totally only as 19:th in VirusP 10-2003 test, but the main reason was an average DOS detection, even though that it was a bit better than NOD has.

After this test I would say that Mks_Vir 2004 is a damn good av, although the tested version was the Beta one.


PS. Just added BitDefender and some other scanners on the table because of they are so widely used.

Best regards,
Firefighter!

 

Just a couple of additional observations on mks_vir 2004....

1. Scan speed is quite fast, on par with any of the AV solutions considered light on resources.

2. In a fully loaded configuration (real time monitor with e-mail scanning, etc.) mks_vir has 4 running processes (mks_menu, mks_scan, mksmonsv, netmonsv). Total memory used is about 40 MB on my system. So it's not necessarily light in RAM usage. This shouldn't be a problem on most machines

3. I hestitate noting the following since it is very easy to misinterpret the real magnitude of the problem - which I believe is minimal. I have been experiencing an infrequent immediate reboot issue with the mks_vir realtime monitor active - typically a few times per day when in use. The symptoms are I'm surfing away and the PC suddenly reboots - no BSOD or anything else, just an instant reboot. No uniformly common simultaneous events apparent aside from the problem starting with an mks_vir install and seemingly ending with the mks_vir realtime monitor being deactivated. It was more likely during mks_vir updates (it seems). As with any infrequent problem, tracking down the real cause can be difficult. I have this AV installed on two separate boot partitions on my PC. One's a minimal install - really just XP, Outpost, and my AV's of choice - it's the one I can easily test on. Right now, it appears that the realtime monitor of mks_vir doesn't get fully along with KAV 4.5 or 5.0 (this is fairly consistent) and possibly NOD32 (I'm really not sure on this one), even if they are configured such that realtime monitoring is disabled. I generally have my secondary scanner with an internally scheduled event scan (rather than a pure on-demand) with realtime monitoring disabled - so the second AV does have running processes. Uninstalling the second AV altogther seems to cure the reboots. Note, there appears to be absolutely no problems if the realtime monitor of mks_vir is disabled and the second AV is used in realtime mode with mks_vir as the scheduled demand scanner. If you run 1 AV - as is generally the case - mks_vir runs fine and hasn't displayed any issues with Outpost Pro or anything else on my systems. In addition using mks_vir as a secondary AV with realtime monitoring disabled appears to play well with other AV's. I've let support at Stormbyte know of this - but right now I'm assuming that it is a local issue with how I am generally configured and not a global user problem. Nothing shows up in any Event or other logs that would betray precisely what is happening. Most, if not all, potential users should not be concerned about this behavior. The few that run as I do may experience the same behavior. Sorry for all the qualifiers, but I really don't think that it is a problem that will be widely experienced.

4. The need for a passworded account to use scheduled tasks (updates, unattended scans, etc.) is really less of a problem than it first seems - just create an account for mks_vir to work out of which has a password - it will basically execute as a "Run as" process when needed under this "alias" account. There's no need have all accounts with a set password.

All in all, it appears to a very reasonable offering. Even while a system scan is in progress, the load is not noticable on my system (even with CPU usage pegged close to 100% - which is very unusual in my experience). I'll leave detailed AV performance testing to the professionals, but I'd agree with Blackcat - it is certainly at least a good candidate for a secondary AV based on what I've seen thus far.

Blue

 

No reboots here.

 

Do you run a second AV at all? Even if only in demand mode?

Blue

 

Nope, I go solo with AVs. I haven't found two that get along really well. Things work fine, program update occurs and next thing you know, the two apps don't like sitting on the same PC.

 

tazdevl,

Thanks for the info.

It's just a little more confirmation that the dual combos that I had been using (NOD32/mks_vir and KAV/mks_vir) just don't play terribly well together in certain circumstances. Not really a major problem.

My experience has been KAV/NOD32. Either one can be active, it doesn't seem matter which I have as the realtime monitor. Guess my string of luck had to halt somewhere.

In any event, mks_vir works fine in tandem with KAV or NOD32 as long as it's not the realtime monitor of the pair. Naturally, it also works fine solo. I'd devote more time to absolutely confirming the reboot causes, but it's not a severe issue to me and I'll just position my configurations accordingly.

Blue

 

FYI big, free update on the way.

 

I haven't slept much so I most likely missed it..... Anywho, has an on ran MKS_Vir with SP2 RC2?

 

Yup works fine. It isn't recognized by the security center, but the security center is a feature for folks not familiar with PC security. Too many PC savvy people place importance on that functionality. Most AVs already check for updates automatically and run checks to make sure definitions aren't older than X days old. Why is there a need to the OS to do the same? For that matter, ZoneAlarm 5.x does the same thing (LOL for 3 AVs). Can you say overkill?

With respect to compatibility I have yet to find an app that does not work with SP2. I've been testing nearly every build.

Nature of the udpate

Email SSL scan support, Full Ad-ware/Spyware engine/module implanted into the update, Optimization fixes for stability and less system resource/ram
consumption, Better English Support


Update should be out in a couple weeks. Props to the K man for the scoop.

 

Thanks for heads up tazdevl

 

thank you tazdevl..

Think I'm gonna wait a couple of weeks to trial MKS_VIR again according to stormbytes tech support, "MKS is considering including mks_update module in the trial version." That would be nice...

 

No Problemo.

 

To everyone from Firefighter!

Just scanned MKS_VIR 2004 against my new 26 findings that were new in VX sites last July. KAV 5.0.142 found them all, MKS_VIR 2004 found 19, BitDefender 7.2 Free found 12, ClamWin 0.35 and AntiVir 6.26.0.57 found 10.

No worry about MKS quick database updates. Besides MKS beated DrWeb 4.31b against my new 2033 infected archives collection a bit.

Best regards,
Firefighter!

 

Just wanted to let you guys know that we now have free online scanner available in english (at least most of it )
www.stormbyte.com


Mariusz

 

The site has come on a lot since it was first started

Good luck for the future!

 

Mariusz, do you have an ETA for the update/upgrade?

 

Almost everyday there will be something added, changed and improved.
Most of it should be done within the next two weeks.

Mariusz

 

To FireFighter from Eliot.

Have you tested the AntivirusKit 2004 by GDATA in the tests you did on mks_vir 2004? Just wondering which fared better if you have.