Thoughts about PrevX

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by Templar, Dec 31, 2009.

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  1. Jav

    Jav Guest

    hmm..
    Because people use it in different ways.
    Because system and software is unpredictable.
    Because it depends on a lot more factors.

    Another example:
    My own PC.
    I have never had problem with it watching Divx videos online.

    My brother same PC, same browser watching Divx video online from the same site, he somehow manages to crash it.

    Even I can't explain what's happening, on my own PC.
    I do it open browser, enter site and play video.
    Several hours. He does it (I am watching him, he is doing the same thing ) but Google announces that divx plugin has just crashed :doubt:

    System is unpredicteble.
    And there are things called bugs and errors.
    It will happen for some people but will not happen to other.
    It's just like luck or fate. :doubt:

    So 2 people doing the same thing on the same system will experience different things.
    And it's not the fault of any of them. It just happens and that's it...

    EDIT: And in our case with Prevx. It's not even like this. (on my exemple it was the same PC, system, browser, plugin, website and even maybe video)
    But with Prevx. NO
    Different PC, different System (ok, maybe some did it on the same one, OS s aren't too many), different programs.
    And most importantly different time and even different PREVX itself.
    why? Because PREVX is software and it's on active development (pathces, database, detection methods and so on). It changes.
    Maybe I got it on bad time, or you got it on good time.
    So it's possible that one software can work different for different people even if they do the same things on the same environment.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 31, 2009
  2. Templar

    Templar Registered Member

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    There are good and bad experiences with all products. I agree one shouldn't blindly make a decision on a product based on test as they vary a lot in quality however consistant testing does show the better performers with time and as such cannot be ignored.

    Simon
     
  3. JohnnyDollar

    JohnnyDollar Guest

    I am running it alone as a standalone with Win7 firewall and everything is just fine here. I like it, it is nice and light with excellent scanning times. I don't really have many infection issues any more (knock on wood), so I haven't put it through the gauntlet yet, but I kept an eye on their forum for a while before purchasing it and people have seemed really pleased with it. I also really appreciate the courteous and helpful responses that you get from their mods over there. It is good to see a security company place a premium on customer service.
     
  4. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    I think its always wise to run something else as a back up, not overkill though.
    I run prevx on its own but just in case anything slips through I have shadowdefender on all the time just in case anything slips through or the kids delete anything important:)
    Running on win 7 64 bit without problems and very fast and responsive.
    I hope that helps
     
  5. vijayind

    vijayind Registered Member

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    PrevX is a good product. Its easy to use and its free version has usually caught most malware samples I throw at it. FPs, yes they are more common than most other products, but its not insanely bad.

    My biggest gripe with PrevX is not with their product but with their marketting & PR. They are yet to be tested by any reputed lab or tester. Plus they claim that their product detects stuff others miss but without any neutral verification of those claims.

    Although impressed by PrevX, I am also anstonished and suspicious of why such a good product never wants to get its claims verified.
     
  6. ako

    ako Registered Member

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    For some reason Prevx is doing badly at MRG.
     
  7. Baz_kasp

    Baz_kasp Registered Member

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    Things I like about prevx:

    1. They have some excellent individuals working for them in terms of support and research.

    2. Their web console is absolutely spot on and allows to you quickly see what is going on with the computers you are managing/protecting from anywhere that has a web connection...see any alerts or detections etc.

    3. Their product has a very light footprint and is easy to install/uninstall. (Great for netbooks with always on connection)

    4. The interface is very simple to navigate and there are no scary warnings that need expertise to answer, so it really is a set it and forget it program.

    5. Their technical support will remote in and "fix" malware that cannot be removed automatically.

    6. It has some very good heuristic detections for new malware, and they have some novel detection/protection methods.

    7. The price is generally very reasonable.

    Some things/disadvantages that I think could do with improvement:

    1. The licensing model- Prevx impose strict restrictions on the number of files that can be scanned with a license, and you will have to manually activate/deactivate a license when reinstalling or reimaging a computer. I can understand that prevx need to protect their intellectual property, but problems with this system mean some pretty unexcusable headaches for their customers.... (and it shouldn't matter whether that customer is an experienced user or a novice, and thus "very unlikely" to run into such a problem).

    2. The advertising on their website is still, in my opinion, very misleading and alarming. The fact that they use WSC data to base their judgement on which products "detect" or "miss" threats is very sad....almost the same as using virustotal to detect which files each vendor catches as there are far too many local issues to be able to accurately conclude that a competing product which is installed "misses" a malware that Prevx catches. There also isn't a chart detailing what prevx misses that those other products catch, naturally...so it is nowhere near an accurate and unbiased account of how "effective" prevx is ;)

    3. Because prevx is an in-the-cloud application, the amount of protection will almost certainly depend on the number of users "populating" the cloud to some extent....and also the lack of an offline database means if you are on the move, your computer may be at more risk.
     
  8. dews

    dews Registered Member

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    PrevX is a good strong malware scanner but once i scan my pc online and it found some malware that was in TCP/IP and i thought they were real malware so i quarante them and deleted and then my internet connection would not work no matter what i did,
    So i re-formate my PC and then all things work as it should and i promised myself to always stay away from PrevX scan because it shows Fake files as the rest of other antivirus software but PrevX showed some important files like TCP/IP that should never deleted or warned about those.
     
  9. TonyW

    TonyW Registered Member

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    Not only that, but how they've configured the settings in the program itself. If one has the heuristics set to high or maximum, there is more chance of FPs.
     
  10. PC__Gamer

    PC__Gamer Registered Member

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    yep, personally i have mine set to High/Medium/Medium, which is one notch above defaults, and very rarely see an FP now.
     
  11. progress

    progress Guest

    I second that, PrevX is a FP machine :doubt:
     
  12. PC__Gamer

    PC__Gamer Registered Member

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    i doubt you saw these FP's while on default settings,

    the settings you choose, are your choice and nobody elses. :rolleyes:
     
  13. Pleonasm

    Pleonasm Registered Member

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    I concur. The marketing practices of Prevx are, in my opinion, somewhat “distasteful” and may be empirically unsubstantiated. For example, they claim to be the “World's strongest, fastest, most powerful security solution” -- yet, to the best of my knowledge, there is no independent evidence at all to support the assertion of being the “strongest” and the “most powerful” (whatever those terms may precisely mean). And, yes, it’s true that other anti-virus security vendors exhibit (to a greater or lesser degree) objectionable marketing practices as well, but one is not a justification for the other, of course.

    The sad part is that savvy users are unlikely to be positively influenced by the marketing practices of Prevx, and thus the effort is wasted; and, secondarily, Prevx really does not need to engage in such practices, given that it has a reasonable reputation and some positive product reviews that it could leverage in place of its current marketing initiatives.
     
  14. Pleonasm

    Pleonasm Registered Member

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    In fairness to Prevx, they do clearly state that the statistics “cannot be interpreted to compare the effectiveness of one product to another” -- even though that disclaimer is only present in the “fine print” within the “Explain this Chart” section of their home webpage.

    It’s possible that the advances being made by the competitors of Prevx may reduce the visual impact of their chart to such an extent that the chart is deleted by the company. For example, at the launch of Norton Internet Security 2010, Prevx reported 6,968 “missed threats” for Symantec on September 10th. Today, that number is 4,703 -- a drop of 33%. If Prevx reported the "missed threats" by product (e.g., Norton Internet Security 2010) rather than by company (e.g., Symantec), I suspect that the trend would be substantially magnified.

    P.S.: It's possible that the trend documented for Symantec is due to the fact that fewer users of Symantec are now also using Prevx. However, the recalcitrance of Prevx to release a simple count of the number of unique PCs corresponding to each vendor hinders an interpretation.
     
  15. Jav

    Jav Guest

    It was on default settings.
    First scan after install. :doubt:

    So we can't blame user's settings only.
     
  16. Ibrad

    Ibrad Registered Member

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    I had PrevX FREE installed on my experimental machine for a few days. I thought about putting the free version on my laptop for a backup scanner but I never did.
     
  17. Page42

    Page42 Registered Member

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    The OP asks if anyone here running Prevx as a stand alone? That's what this thread is supposed to be about. Not Symantec.
     
  18. Athletic

    Athletic Registered Member

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    I have Prevx free on default settings,Sandboxie,router firewall and Acronis backup image...

    Yes for false positives,better that than bad detection,anyway i have experience,but FPs can be problem for newbies...if they have paid version there is technical support.

    All cloud based antiviruses can't be alone because there is offline problem,you can be infected by USB or CD
     
  19. Pleonasm

    Pleonasm Registered Member

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    What part of “For example” isn’t clear? My comments referencing Symantec were made simply to illustrate the more general point articulated in post #39, which was in direct reply to a comment by Baz_kasp on the subject of the "missed threats" statistics reported by Prevx.

    P.S.: Please lighten up, Page42. Stress isn’t good for your health. :)
     
  20. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    I run free Prevx alongside of Avira Premium & Malware Defender. Prevx is light and stable and gives evidence of its real-time monitoring whenever I install something new. I relish its position in my layered protection!
     
  21. Ibrad

    Ibrad Registered Member

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    Does the Free PrevX include Safeonline?
     
  22. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    No. (I surf inside Shadow Defender.)
     
  23. Osaban

    Osaban Registered Member

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    Bellgamin, out of curiosity, which gave you more prompts between Prevx and Avira? I presume that Malware Defender would alert you more often being a HIPS. One more thing, having Prevx, Avira and Malware Defender within Shadow Defender isn't it a bit overkill?
     
  24. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

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    A bit of overkill? Yes, perhaps it is. I only just bought Shadow Def -- it's on sale as of this very moment.
     
  25. egghead

    egghead Registered Member

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    Prevx works very well for me; I think it is a great proggie. I use it in combi with VIPRE.

    What I don't understand is that they don't offer a full functional trial version for 15/30 days. IMO they shoot themselves in the foot with this kind of policy.

    When I considering buying a software I want to see if it works (in this case protection AND removal).
     
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