Subject: Virucide Review (PC) From: p1@arkham.wimsey.bc.ca (Rob Slade) Date: Fri, 01 Mar 91 11:26:44 PST Comparison Review Company and product: Parsons Technology 375 Collins Road NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 USA 319-395-9626 Virucide Summary: Menu driven scanning and disinfecting program, apparently written by McAfee Associates. Recommended for novice or intermediate users in non- critical situations, or as "first line" defence. Cost US $49.00 Rating (1-4, 1 = poor, 4 = very good) "Friendliness" Installation Ease of use 4 Help systems 3 Compatibility 3 Company Stability 2 Support 4 Documentation 3 Hardware required 4 Performance 3 Availability 3 Local Support ? General Description: A simple and relatively inexpensive virus scanning and disinfecting program. The menu driven interface provides a number of useful options, including on-screen virus information. Comparison of features and specifications User Friendliness Installation Installation is clear and straightforward, being simply the copying of the program and related files to the appropriate disk or area. Although the manual indicates installation is to be done from drive A:, it can be performed from any drive, and to any drive, including floppies. Installation takes a longer time than one might think, given the elementary copying operation, but the installation program is clear and "well prompted". Ease of use Operation is easier than the manual indicates. The default settings are well chosen, and although there are command line switches and options that can be set on screen, they merely provide alternate avenues to the same operations. All options are available as menu items, and the menu interface provides a sense of being "in command" with all functions at the user's fingertips. Prompts are clear and informative. The "3-D windowing", although attractive, does, at times, clutter the screen and distract from the functionality by overlaying and higlighting portions of the menus that are not currently being used. Help systems There is no "help" per se, but the program is easy enough to use that this should not be a problem. One decided advantage is the "Virus Info" window, which provides a list of viri, and will bring up two or three paragraphs of information on selected viri. While useful to a novice or intermdiate user, this function does not require extensive disk space, as it is simply a "boilerplate" expansion of the McAfee VIRINFO.TXT table which is supplied with the disk. (Indeed, do not make the mistake of deleting this file under the impression that it serves no purpose.) Compatibility Virucide will detect all of the most common viri, and is roughly "level" in that regard to most commercial products, although it lags behind such scanners as SCAN and FPROT. Given the association between Virucide and McAfee Associates, this is rather odd. (Version 2.0 of Virucide is dated January 28, 1991, but the copyright date on the VIRINFO.TXT file is 1989.) However, a "current" version of Virucide should prove effective against better than 99% of viri encountered. Company Stability Parson's Technology is a mid sized software distribution house, with a very wide selection of products. Company Support Of the first group of commercial vendors contacted, Virucide was the first product actually received for review. Having received the May 1990 version in December, I received the January 1991 version in mid February as a "free upgrade". I have seen numerous references by users of other Parsons' products to superior customer service. Documentation The documentation is clear and concise, but at times makes the product appear to be more difficult to use than is actually the case. There is no general discussion of viral operation. Hardware Requirements No special hardware required. Performance As above, Virucide has no particular strengths, or weaknesses, in speed of operation or numbers of viri detected. Local Support No provisions. Support Requirements For general installation and operation, Virucide should not need any support. The novice user should be able to use the system as is, and the intermediate user will be able to make better use of the options available. General Notes The only advantage that the advanced user will find in Virucide is the "Virus Info" window as a "ready reference". However, as a "quick check" for novice or intermediate users, the product deserves consideration. copyright Robert M. Slade 1991 ============== Vancouver p1@arkham.wimsey.bc.ca | "It says 'Hit any Institute for Robert_Slade@mtsg.sfu.ca | key to continue.' Research into (SUZY) INtegrity | I can't find the User Canada V7K 2G6 | 'Any' key on my Security | keyboard."