AntiVir Updater "Hardball"!

I just came back from my little sister's house where I spent several hours attempting to update her Version 6 AntiVir. :

At first I was really pleased -- it seemed as though the request to exclude the Version 7 update had been heard, and they had taken it out -- the problem is:
Even though the program says that it is offering only the 'VDF file, 187' and the 'AVRep.dll 180' -- and it states that it is transmitting it -- then a screen comes on and states that it has been installed etc.

When you exit the bloody program -- the "updates" are not installed at all -- they are sitting in the 'update' section of the "program files" in zip form -- but they have NOT been unzipped nor installed!

I unzipped the bloody things and attempted to manually update to no good -- each attempt at updating failed -- where upon, sister was so upset and flooding the room with tears -- I just deleted the program and installed AVG for her for now.

So, I would say that things are really going down hill at AntiVir in a 'handbasket'!

 

Just relax, it's not like AntiVir6 is obsolete now.

 

Hay it's me Mr. Paranoid! I don't know if your sister's system will take it or not, but do give AVAST a try. After years of trying to find a good "free" virus protection program and not fully understanding on how to set all the options, I have finally found one that I think is top notch and AVAST is it.

Thanks
Wildman

 

Antivir7 needs some improvements (Gui, updater) but its no need to keep on hammering the same points.
The progam is free and as they say you can`t look a given horse in the mouth.
I hope Stefan and his team will implement the suggestions made in this board by loyal Antivir users.

 

HiAvFriends, I actually have to disagree. Being freeware that is not an excuse for not fixing bugs and having improvements faster. But in spite of Wildman's claims, the people here at H+BEDV are very dedicated to their work.

And yes, we do listen to the user requests, but when the GUI to-do wish-list has over 200 entries it just takes some time to work it up. Also realize that we have server/gateway/other OS products and you have to excuse if we focus a bit more on those - but they are paying our bills, not the free edition.

 

What about AntiVir Personal Edition Premium? Does it also suffer the same problems?

Also @Stefan: What is the renewal price for AntiVir Personal Edition Premium?

 

Stefan, thank you for making AV7 better and listning to our suggestions.
Antivir Classic has made many fans maybe thats why some people are so vocal about their dissapointment.
I hope that H+BDEV will make the new Antivir a good free antivirus solution like before.

 

The Permium is basicly the same as the Classic (so possible bugs in the classic are in the premium too), the update servers are different though, when I tested it the Premium servers are faster to access and deliver the highest download speed at any time of the day. Also the Premium also gives you the right on support, gives you a mail-scanner and spyware/adware detection. The renewal price is the the same as the "normal" purchase price as far I know (20 Euro's).

 

I appreciate your advice and your position on this matter -- but, my little sister did not understand all the "buttons" etc. on the AVAST program -- therefore it was just "better" for me to give her the AVG, eventhough it was not my first choice -- gasoline is too high priced to make too many trips to her house to "fix" things for her on a 'regular' basis!
"Besides" - I am no computer whiz myself, I just happen to love machines and try to do what I can.

I had hoped that she would take some computer classes at the University - but, her time and interests are in other areas!
I guess that is what older siblings are for anyway!

 

I dont think having a configuration gui (version 7 premium and probably classic) which is too big for a 98 screen (800x600) ,and wanting it to actually fit should be considered a "wish" Stefan.Its a a bug ,oversight of the developer,call what you will.Please can you tell me if ever or when this may be fixed?.
tia
ellison

 

Thanks Sputnik! Seems like a nice deal to me....

 

Yup, the reason I got rid of it the first time myself, so I fully understand. I posted on the AVAST site that perhaps they should start a section on simple instructions on how to set up and use AVAST. We will see if anything develops. Once I learned how to use this product, I have to tell you it is really impressing me, and the company behind it appears to really have it's act together.

Thanks
Wildman

 

I was just on the AVAST site, and from all indications they appear very willing to help anyone to try and understand how to use the product and what all them buttons do and don't do. I asked one of the individuals to come over here and give you the technical stuff, because it is very true that I am not knowledgeable in that area. I am not trying to force you or anything of that nature, but I just feel she would be much better off with a good virus protection program, and one that is very easy to maintain. I downloaded the VDF updates today using dial-up, took 12 seconds. All that I read and see have indicated that AVAST has a better detection rate than does AVG, and while in my opinion AVG is not a bad product, the experts say that AVAST is better, as I have said many times I am no expert. I just know what does and does not work for me, and when I am wrong believe it or not I will admit it. I was wrong about AVAST in the past.

Thanks
Wildman

 

Avast is far superior to AVG. Imo AVG is like a toy compared to Avast.

 

Avast made surfing slower than with Antivir and the panel looks amateuristic.
Antivir will be the one for me again.
I unstalled Antivir 6 and Avast and installed the new one succesfully.\
Just download a new version from the site.
AVG can be a good choice if your neighbour needs an AV and doesnt know anything about how to manage antivirus software.
Updates will install automatic without any problems.
Disadvantage: looks goofy

 

Hello Firecat

I am actually using the Premium version 7, and it is really working well.

It costs 20 euros- which is about £12 UK money, around a third of which goes to a charity. If you do the math, it costs about a quid per month...

There is no problem with the speed of updating and you also get a Pop3 scanner. I would strongly recommend AVPEP for those who are having trouble with the Classic version.

best

Chris

 

How easy is it to obtain, epically outside of Europe? Why not go with one that is easy to obtain and has a dang good track record from all indications, why not use AVAST/Pro? Haven't seen any problems with their servers, can't say the same for AntiVir.

Thanks
Wildman

 

Hi Wildman,

Pc World writes this about Avast home edition:

Alwil Software's Avast Home Edition 4.6 is free and sports a slick media-player style interface, but its performance scores were bottom-of-the-barrel.
Rather than adopting the standard console window used by the other antivirus products, Avast's looks like an oddly shaped orb, which you can customize with colorful skins. Some new users may find it a little hard to figure out where features are located, but people already familiar with media players may find the interface refreshing.
Unfortunately, Avast's performance didn't match its appearance. It produced the worst performance scores among the ten products tested for "The New Virus Fighters." Avast performed poorly in heuristics tests, ranking third from the bottom. And its scan times were the slowest a??on average it took more than 13 minutes and 11 seconds to perform a scan of our test PC.
Upshot: The price of zero is hard to beat, but Avast Home Edition's bottom-ranked performance is not.

New av test from PC World:

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,124475,00.asp

 

Re: Andover Updater "Hardball"!

This has been discussed on others threads, and if I am understanding them correctly the test from PC world was found to be bias, and not to be trusted. Other perhaps more reliable tests and test sites have found AVAST to be one of the top performers. Do your home work before making such statements, and don't just site one questionable test and test site. AVAST's own forum has generously indicated they are more than willing and able to help anyone understand how to use any and all options for the product. We all know that each product is going to have it's own quirks, that should be expected. It is up to the individual if he/she can deal with them. Over all, if again one does a little spade work they will find that a vast number of professionals state for a "free" virus protection program AVAST ranks very high, so I question your qualifications.

Thanks
Wildman

 

Re: Andover Updater "Hardball"!

wildman, I agree, but I'm not so sure these pc magazine tests are "biased" as they are "incompetent". However one interprets the problem: agreed that they aren't very well done or trustworthy.

For example, for a long long time those bozos gave KAV very low ratings. CNET used to use "simlulated viruses" rather than a real malware testbed; etc. I remember upon reading their review of KAV, going away thinking: "Honestly this reviewer hasn't a clue of what he is talking about." I put in the "laugh" smiley but really it is sad to read reviews that are so off-based, inaccurate, and misrepresentative of the true quality and detection power of a product like KAV. I'm sure if they could screwup the KAV reviews so badly, the same goes for their reviews of other less well-known products. By "less well known'" I don't mean the products aren't well known and recognized on boards and forums like this one, I am referring to market share: "less popular" or "less used" products amongst the user community at large. Everyone probably knows that I tend to defend NAV against attacks on this board but I also believe in being fair to ALL products.

I am active in updates here and one thing I do often is peruse the list of new malware detected by varioius products: Sophos, Avast!, etc. Here is the VPS History page for Avast: http://www.avast.com/eng/vps_history.html -- by perusing that, one can get a feel for the numbers of signatures being added on a daliy basis.

 

Re: Andover Updater "Hardball"!

I'm a little confused. I'm not saying you're right or wrong but is or isn't AV-Test.org (the firm who did the testing--PC World didn't do the testing) considered reliable, using valid scientific methods to test, etc.?

The following was taken from PC World's description of the testing methods:
AV-Test, a German security firm, evaluated how well the programs could detect 1518 WildList threats, and 136,250 threats from its own zoo of backdoors programs, bots, and Trojan horses. AV-Test evaluated each program's heuristics by using one-month-old and two-month old versions of the programs, which wouldn't have the benefits of subsequent malware signatures. In the one-month-old heuristic tests, AV-Test saw how well the programs could detect 244 backdoor programs and 37 worms. In the two-month-old heuristic tests, AV-Test saw how well the programs could detect 555 backdoor programs and 101 worms.

AV-Test evaluated how well the programs could detect and clean 110 macro viruses affecting Microsoft Office applications. AV-Test also compiled data on how quickly software companies released virus signatures for 16 new outbreaks over a period of eight months in 2005. PC World tested how quickly each program ran a system scan on a test set of files and folders.

Performance results are a weighted average of WildList tests (30 percent), zoo tests (15 percent), one-month-old heuristic tests (20 percent), two-month-old heuristic tests (10 percent), macro virus results (10 percent), outbreak-response-time tests (10 percent), and scan-speed tests (5 percent).

I guess what I'm asking, is what makes this test more or less valid than any other test?

 

AV-Test.org is a project of the Business-Information-Workgroup at the Institute of Technical and Business Information Systems at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (Germany) in cooperation with AV-Test GmbH. In regularly intervals we test anti-virus, anti-spyware and personal firewall software on behalf of the producers and for magazines. Within the scope of product certification we're working together with the tekit Consult Bonn GmbH (TÜV Saarland group).


You can question the research if you don`t like the results.
But PC Wolrd did the test with AV test.org wich is affiliated with Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg.
TUV is known for independent research in Germany.
Avast made my surfing slow so i will not use it anymore.

 

This is a really interesting debate about these two free antivirus programs!

I suspect that there is just about as much controversy about the merits of the various testing labs and so called experts, as there is about these two antivirus programs themselves

I have used both Avast 4.6 and AntiVir 6, and during this time my home PC didn't suffer any major infections! However, I too agree with Wildman the download problems with Antivir 6 really got to me in the end and I dumped it. Okay, what good is it if you tell me in the controlled tests that AntiVir out performs Avast, if I can't update the latest definitions for at least two days after release

Avast is not the best antivirus program in the world, but its definitions are now being updated almost daily and yes you can "set and forget". I believe that most home users will be adequately protected using either product, but for me, strange thing I felt more secure using Avast (personal opinion not based on any controlled tests!)

 

I would most likely have to agree with Thorny that AVAST is properly not the best virus protection program on the planet, but for a "free" one, I kind of sort of think it may be hard to find a better one. Many a time I have told you all that I am no technical expert, so I try and look at as many places that I think are safe and reliable to get and over all consensus on any given subject and product. I have to say that thus far all the places that I have looked have had very favorable comments about AVAST. Is one going to find descent, yes, but again look at the over all picture not just one portion. This is what I tried to do, and after having done so, and through the generosity of another, I have come to use the Pro version of AVAST. I am happy to report that after having learned how to use this product, I am very well pleased with it thus far.

Thanks
Wildman

 

Isn't GmbH associated with H+BEDV the company behind AntiVir? If this is indeed the case, I can only conclude that what you have posted here could be very questionable.

Thanks
Wildman