Anti virus toolkit

Get Started. Download Now. Price Free. Compatibility For bit and bit versions of Windows. Help Visit our support forum. Sophos Endpoint. English Languages. Privacy Privacy Notice Cookies. By setting files to 'execute-only', the network supervisor can ensure that users are able to run software without being able to change it; and if the user is unable to change software, then so is the virus [this may also be done for data files, by setting them to 'read-only'].

The situation is different on the workstation itself: here the user is able to change file attributes, using routines made available by the operating system; and if the user is able to do this, then so is any virus which is memory resident on that user's PC. It is important that your organisation is equipped with the right tools with which to implement an effective anti-virus strategy. Such a strategy should be based on the prevention of virus infection, the earliest possible detection of any virus which breaches your organisation's outer defences and, should a virus spread within your organisation, recovery and a return to normal business as quickly as possible.

You should consider the following when selecting which tools to use. The tools described below are designed both for prevention and early detection of viruses. If a 'sheep-dip' [or 'footbath'] PC is used to check incoming floppy disks and CDs, this will provide early detection of a virus, before the infected floppy disk or CD is used within the organisation's main system.

The 'sheep-dip' PC should be stand-alone [to avoid the risk of a virus infecting the network]. In a large organisation, it may be advisable to use several 'sheep-dip' PCs [one per building, one per department, etc.

The on-access scanner will scan disks and files before they are used. The on-access scanner runs in the background [requiring no action on the part of the user]. The user will be given a pop-up warning, to identify the virus; and the user will not be able to use the infected disk or file. VirusGuard and WinGuard provide protection for floppy disks, local hard disks and network drives. They are fully-configurable, to enable greater or lesser security [for example, checking files which are written to disk may be selected for those PCs which are downloading software, documents, etc.

WinGuard may be configured to auto-disinfect, so that disks and files may be cleaned automatically, on detection. This makes anti-virus management easier [virus removal is carried out automatically, rather than by a member of the IT Department].

WinGuard may be configured to log all virus incidents, allowing the IT Department to monitor all virus incidents. Network servers should be effectively protected [programs and documents may be located on shared network drives; if they become infected, a virus will be able to spread via the network]. At the very least, network drives should be scanned regularly from a system administrator's PC.

However, Dr Solomon's offers server-based protection for Novell NetWare and Microsoft Windows NT servers; that is, anti-virus programs are designed to run directly from the server. This adds a second layer of protection 'in-depth'. It also makes it easier to manage anti-virus protection, since scanning of network drives [and other functions, such as distribution and configuration of anti-virus programs, logging of virus incidents, virus alerts, etc.

The increased use of e-mail systems [and the threat from e-mail attachments [mainly infected Word for Windows documents] ] means that a virus can spread very quickly throughout an organisation. If an organisation has an e-mail connection to the Internet, this threat increases dramatically. Although WinGuard will prevent access to infected e-mail attachments, this still leaves the logistical problem of removing the infected e-mail attachment from the mail-server [and the possibility of an unprotected workstation becoming infected].

This risk can be minimised by scanning e-mail as it enters [or leaves] the organisation. This adds an additional layer of protection, at the perimeter. However, it does not eliminate the need for VirusGuard and WinGuard on the workstations; remember that e-mail is not the only method by which viruses can enter an organisation [floppy disks, direct dial-up to the Internet].

If the worst happens, and a virus does get through your defences, it is important that you are able to recover from the infection [and make good any damage which may have been caused] with the least possible disruption to your organisation's normal business. The following should be considered as essential. NEVER attempt to carry out a clean-up operation if there is a virus in memory.

ALWAYS power-off [to clear memory] and boot from a clean disk, to avoid running anything from the hard disk. It is wise to ensure that you have a system disk for PCs within your organisation. However, you should consider the following.

You may need to load one or more device drivers in order to access some PCs in your organisation [for example, if the PC is compressed using Stacker, SuperStore, etc. If this is the case, your system disk should contain clean copies of these device drivers; and you should create a CONFIG. SYS with the commands necessary to load them. If you have a network, you should create a disk containing clean copies of the relevant network drivers; to enable you to connect to the network without running any programs [which may be infected] from the network.

The virus loads into memory from the partition sector and re-installs drive A [thus 'faking' a clean boot] ]. Your system disk s [and other utilities] should be created in advance of any virus outbreak; a clean-up is not the occasion to discover that you lack the tools necessary to deal with a virus outbreak. We would recommend that you put together a set of 'emergency tools', in advance of any virus infection: these tools should be kept up-to-date by the IT department. The default settings scanned our small VMware partition in just under 2 minutes.

You can save or view the log file at this point and clear it anytime from the main window. Finally, a "Virus List" can view or generate from the main window. It seemed to freeze the app unless you wait, so it seems evident that eScanAV AntiVirus Toolkit uses a locally generated virus database to speed up scanning. We can't be sure how effective it is, but we can say that about all antivirus apps. To clarify some confusion about the prior sentence, we have no way to effectively test against millions of infections, and new ones appear every day.

Most of these tools can clean some that others can't. Hence, it's another scanner from a reputable company that might remove something your other tools can't and vice versa. We felt this was more subtle than most and didn't deserve to be tagged as Ad-Supported, so we opted to leave it as Freeware.

Some posts are auto-moderated to reduce spam, including links and swear words. When you make a post, and it does not appear, it went into moderation. We are emailed when posts are marked as spam and respond ASAP.