ArcaVir, mystery AV solution?

Right now I am looking for a cheap AV solution and I could't find anything detailed about this AV suite or its Polish developers.

Which engine it uses? How many viruses does it protect against? 20k, 50k, 100k+? There is also nothing on their sites, both stormybte.com or arcabit.com, about renewal fees. Nothing that I could find at least. It's included in comparison tests at virus.gr where it scores in 80%+ range, detection wise. Which is good I guess. It comes with a DOS scanner, Registry monitor, and Firewall, all for $29. Anyone know anything about this one?


eXtendia seemed like a nice choice, but their support is non-existent. I emailed them but received no response for over a week now. Their AVK suites, AVK single engine for $9.95 with an outdated KAV engine, and AVK Pro for $29.95 also with outdated KAV and RAV engines seemed like affordable choices. But their registration page is down and has been for quite a bit now. Apparently, their online payment processing merchant "Authorize.net" dropped them. Not exactly a sign of sophistication, nor does it inspire confidence. Both AVK, and AVK Pro could be picked up for under $10 anywhere on the net and their renewal fees are low as well. Shame that eXtenida appears to be dead in the watter at the moment.

Another cheap solution would be Safeworld Anti Virus 2003, which is based on Command AV, which is not really a solid AV, from what I have seen on this forum and elsewhere. Although, you can get it for under $10 as well.


KAV 5 seems expensive, and the their renewal strategy is dubious. Nowhere do they state the difference between their Personal and "Personal Pro" versions. Pricing fluctuates often.

F-Secure, is probably one of the most expensive AV solutions out there. Annual renewal/upgrade fees are around $100. Their 3-engine setup sounds impressive, but for the price you could easily buy three separate AV solutions, or more.

Command AV, $19.95 for a single Home User license seems fair, but renewal fees are not mentioned anywhere on their site. Also, it seems lacking in configuration department. Only configurable option is the "On/Off" check box for real-time monitoring. Corporate gunk.

Gdata AVK, at $40+ is a bit expensive, has KAV engine which makes it more expensive than KAV itself. I guess their excuse is that it has bit defender engine in there too. Buggy. Dubious renewal fees.

e-Trust EZ AntiVirus, fluctuating prices, offers 12 month trial for Windows users, renewal fees range anywhere from $20 to $40, all depending on what cost marketing department decides that week. Absolute lack of configurable options. Butt ugly. Corporate gunk. I used their InoculateIT free version until they drooped it few years back.

F-Prot, $29, with annually $29 renewal fees. More like buy-new-version-every-year fee. I use their free version of DOS scanner. Great AV solution it seems, but there is that expensive renwal fee, ummm...buy-new-version-every-year fee that is.

eScan, Indian KAV clone? Price?

AVG, Prices and renewal fees fluctuate often. Poor detection performance according to virus.gr. I used their free version of AVG (v6) for a year, until they did something really stupid. Disabled the free version completely under the guise of a regular signature update. Basically leaving my computer defenseless. What was wrong with just disabling future signature updates for v6 and forcing users to upgrade in that way? Nope, they had to disable the whole package. A big no-no in my book. Could not detect a Parite infection. Luckily F-Prot for DOS took care of the infected files, some 1700 at the time, (largely thx to AVG ), and repaired them all. Not bad for a free DOS scanner.

Right now I use ClamWin, which has no real-time monitoring, and piss-poor detection rate, and F-Prot for DOS. Any ideas?

 

Looks like you haven't tried free avast!...

 

ArcaVir uses its own engine. I think most of the topics on it are under the original name mks_vir, instead of the newer name, ArcaVir, for I guess more specifically English markets.

 

RejZoR, I tried Avast Free last year. Kept crashing at startup on my Win98SE box, with an error related to Avasts skins. That's a big no-no right there, nor did it infuse me with confidence. Why does an AV app need skins anyway? Never tried it on my Win2k box.

 

Japper Sika,

mks_vir = ArcaVir, I knew that.


"mks_vir" is as mysterious as ArcaVir.

 

Ideas anyone?

 

Try VBA32, in the sub $30 range, free to try. As long as you don't want network scanning use the personal version.

 

About ArcaVir,

It uses its own engine, and has quite good malware protection. The heuristics are good against Trojans, but not anything else. It updates daily except for weekends. Renewal prices are available at ArcaBit.

If you want more specific details, please feel free to PM Grzsiek from ArcaBit (username at Wilders' - 'gmichale' without the quotes)

About eScan - Yes, Its indian and a KAV engine based scanner. It costs USD 29.95 for the AV-only version. There have been no new releases for some time now, and I really wouldnt recommend it much, if you have other options, dont consider eScan.