eScan Anti-Virus

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by Spartan, Jul 3, 2017.

  1. Spartan

    Spartan Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2016
    Posts:
    1,424
    Location:
    Dubai
    I haven't seen any recent threads about this AV, last one was in like 2012.

    I've seen it has very good results in both the File Detection and Performance results from AV-C so I decided to give it a go.

    Just installed it, first impressions are the GUI is ugly, seems to be very unprofessional (personal opinion).

    Initial update which is like 49MB took around 20 minutes on my 100MBPS download connection, not a very promising start.

    I will continue to test it to see how it fairs but anyone with a recent experience about it care to share their opinion about it?

    Which engines does it use by the way?
     
  2. Spartan

    Spartan Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2016
    Posts:
    1,424
    Location:
    Dubai
    What the heck is this garbage AV! After the update, within like 3 minutes......... the AV shut itself down and disappeared from my taskbar.

    I then restarted and got this:

    Error.png

    error 2.png

    Furthermore, I installed the AV only but it seems like it has its own Firewall, fine.........but then the Windows Security Center shows that my firewall is not using the recommended settings not like with other security suites where it says your firewall is managed by X security suite

    Firewall Off.png

    Uninstalling this right away, not even gonna bother trying to fix this mess.

    This was installed on a clean Windows 10 Creators Update with 0 AVs installed before and Windows Defender completely disabled!

    How did this AV manage to get such good ratings on AV-Comparatives? How do those people test these security products! Not gonna trust their results anymore and will just judge based on my experience with my machine

    For the record, I have installed the latest version offered on their website: eScan Anti-Virus v14.0.1400.1982
     
  3. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2005
    Posts:
    5,553
    Location:
    USA still the best. But barely.
    I was going to say. But you discovered it. Trash.
     
  4. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2006
    Posts:
    9,065
    the good results could simply be because it uses the bitdefender engine.
     
  5. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2005
    Posts:
    8,251
    Location:
    The land of no identity :D
    eScan has not been updated for compatibility with Windows 10 Creator's Update. The firewall reporting bug in Action Center is a consequence of them not using the appropriate APIs. However, eScan firewall is up and running though not properly reported in Windows.

    I have reported these bugs several times and each time they have not been heeded to. eScan is currently just a shell on top of BitDefender SDK, with a lot of legacy code left for MWL from older builds which still works and is effective, but is very poorly maintained.

    The current lead programmer at eScan is my age, passed out from my university, was part of my batch, and has 3 years experience (only). The old dev team from a few years ago was both proactive and experienced. I guess economics have forced eScan to do a salary cut and hire lower rung people.

    They'll release a new build in this month or the next to solve these issues. But I doubt they'll do radical changes to GUI or features. Mostly the protection is intact due to the SDKs used (BitDefender, Cyren --> Cloud and website blocking).
     
  6. Spartan

    Spartan Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2016
    Posts:
    1,424
    Location:
    Dubai
    I understand, too bad I was very eager to try it out after seeing how well it score but this bad start has left a very sour taste in my mouth.
     
  7. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2005
    Posts:
    8,251
    Location:
    The land of no identity :D
    I understand it's been two and a half years since the last discussion, but eScan has had at least three new versions in the meantime (though, the GUI is still the same).

    There are performance enhancements, the Behaviour Blocker is enhanced with a "purportedly" very good Ransomware protection. The latest version released October 2019 supports Early Launch Anti-Malware (finally).

    The product uses BitDefender engine along with it's own signatures (curiously, some of these are actually whitelists for the BitDefender AVC and their own system monitoring tech). The proactive blocking is based on their own eScan Cloud Network and a combination of Active Virus Control (a slightly less advanced version of Active Threat Defense without cloud support), in-house developed modules for system monitoring and application blocking, and a ransomware blocker module that eScan calls PBAE (Proactive Behaviour Analysis Engine). Supposedly, all three work in tandem and in collaboration with each other.

    It has system wide web filtering, i.e. there is no need for any browser extensions - malicious websites are blocked irrespective of browser and infected downloads are blocked terminating the connection before the file even reaches the computer. This is due to the application performing it's filtering at Winsock level (MicroWorld Winsock Layer; AFAIK eScan was one of the first to implement such technology). It is hence a disappointment that the web protection (malicious URL and phishing URL filtering) is far from great and lags behind most competitors I can think of, especially the BD clones like BullGuard and VIPRE.

    The Total Security version tends to come with a browser extension that works (at least) with Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Edge, but it was broken the last time I checked due to the extension not being updated to support the browsers' evolutions. The extension, in theory, would increase the web protection of the product, but in practice, the versions eScan chooses to submit for tests like AV-Test is the ISS version which has no such browser extensions. The company claims to have fixed this issue in the latest build, but I have not had the opportunity to check it.

    eScan appears to be regularly tested at AV-Test, and I'd wager the lower scores it attains over BitDefender, BullGuard or VIPRE are down to the simple fact that the web filtering of the product is simply not as good as any other product using BD engine. A few amateur tests in the web place the actual malware detection/remediation at about the same level as VIPRE or BitDefender itself.

    One of the more interesting features of the software is the ability to do a mobile scan, i.e. it can apparently detect Android malware in your phone's apps if your phone is plugged in.
     
  8. bjm_

    bjm_ Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    Posts:
    4,453
    Location:
    .
    @Firecat
    Thanks
    website feels okay
    https://www.escanav.com/en/online-store/antivirus-for-home-user.asp
    eScan Live Chat Support is http://

    and MWAV download is http://
    and Update via HTTP
    png_3850.png
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2020
  9. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2005
    Posts:
    8,251
    Location:
    The land of no identity :D
    @bjm_ It has some reputation in India as no-nonsense and hands-off product, many businesses and some state governments of the Union of India are using it across the organization(s).

    Outside India, it is popular mostly in MEA region (Middle East and Africa). Supposedly the company claims that its users were safe from day one of WannaCry and Locky outbreaks due to their cloud and the proactive PBAE anti-ransomware technology.

    Though, enthusiasts will see this product as being very barebones. The firewall is very old-school in the way it looks, feels and is configured, for example.
     
  10. bjm_

    bjm_ Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    Posts:
    4,453
    Location:
    .
    ~ MWAV updated database (after several checks for updates) remains 08-Jan (calendar date 14-Jan)
    png_3853.png
    and with Exit
    png_3854.png
    > advert
    png_3856.png
    Thanks
     
  11. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2009
    Posts:
    8,627
    eScan itself has definitions from today.
     
  12. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2005
    Posts:
    8,251
    Location:
    The land of no identity :D
    It looks like an update bug which I have seen in a few computers. It kind of downloads all the files but fails to update timestamp.

    There should be an offline updater released with today's date. Use that to update and then check for updates again.
     
  13. bjm_

    bjm_ Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    Posts:
    4,453
    Location:
    .
    ran MWAV today
    png_3877.png
    png_3876.png
     
  14. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2005
    Posts:
    8,251
    Location:
    The land of no identity :D
    Bummer. I can tell you that the actual eScan product updates at the same frequency or at the most one hour behind BitDefender.
     
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.