Subject: Virex-PC review (PC) From: p1@arkham.wimsey.bc.ca (Rob Slade) Date: Thu, 28 Feb 91 15:51:26 PST Comparison Review Company and product: Microcom Software Division 3700-B Lyckan Parkway Durham, NC 27717 USA 919-490-1277 Virex-PC, also Virex for Mac - scanner and vaccine Summary: VPCSCAN is the fastest scanning product yet reviewed. VIREX-PC vaccine is customizable with multiple options and allows "protection" of specified files as well as alerts on "formatting" and "program modification" and is recommended for "expert" users. Documentation is an excellent overview of viral and PC operations. Cost US $99.00 Rating (1-4, 1 = poor, 4 = very good) "Friendliness" Installation 2 Ease of use 4 Help systems 2 Compatibility 3 Company Stability 4 Support 3 Documentation 4 Hardware required 4 Performance 3 Availability 4 Local Support ? General Description: VPCSCAN is a virus detection and disinfection product. It will remove some viri from files or optionally delete the file if it cannot be disinfected. Disinfection or deletion is at user control. VIREXPC is a "resident" "activity" and "change detection" program which checks for formatting calls, direct disk writes, TSR initiation, "registration" of programs, "checksum" changes or program specific (user defined) prohibited operations. (During this review, Virex-PC refers to the whole package, VIREX-PC to the TSR vaccine program only.) Ross Greenburg was one of the first to produce an anti-viral product, Flu-Shot. Microcom's Virex product for the Macintosh is also well established. SCANDEMO, a "scan only" demonstration product, is available free of charge on some electronic bulletin board systems. Please, when reading this review, note a built in bias towards Ross Greeburg's work. Comparison of features and specifications User Friendliness Installation Disks shipped write protected. Documentation stresses the importance of write protecting the disks, suggests making "working copy" of the original disk, and checking the computer system with VPCSCAN before making installation onto the hard disk, but the suggested procedure could leave the "working copy" infected. Installation requires the Virex-PC diskette in drive A:, regardless of which drive it is invoked from. If you wish to install the program onto a "boot floppy", the diskette to be installed "to" must be in drive B:. Effective installation is impossible without reading the documentation and understanding the concepts and system configuration thoroughly. The documentation is complete and quite clear, but "naive" users may find the number of functions and features, and the explanations, daunting to tackle. Subsequent to installation, the "Protection File" can be editted. However, the "README" file notes that this should not be done while VIREX-PC is active, and if you invoke VIREX-PC automatically at boot time, you will have to boot from a floppy in order to modify your protection. Ease of use Once installed, the system operates without intervention, unless viral activity is detected. The alert screens are clear and informative. The decisions necessary, and the usefulness or "hindrance" of the system depends largely on the installation, which should be "matched" to the experience of the user. VPCSCAN's screen display shows the files checked individually, but continues to display the directories checked until the screen is full, so that a number of directories can be seen at once. This is much clearer than the practice of other programs which only display one file at a time, or only the directories checked, especially given the speed of VPCSCAN's operation. Help systems Alert screens contain somewhat esoteric, but very complete information on the activity taking place. This will be very helpful to expert users, but even novices will find it easier to make an "informed" decision on whether or not to allow an operation. Compatibility VPCSCAN, in contrast to the lists known to SCAN and FPROT, finds relatively few viri. Those that it does find, however, would likely account for better than 99% of actual infections. The manual states that updates are made quarterly, and that registered users will receive "notification" of updates. (According to the registration cards, updates will be $25 each, or you may receive a year's "subscription" for $75.) However, it is now three months (one "quarter") since I registered my copy, and I have yet to receive any notification. (It is possible, although improbable, that this period exactly coincides with one "update period.") Although one of the standard alerts in the package is for "direct writes to diskette", and even though the Stoned/New Zealand virus is one which VPCSCAN will identify (although not disinfect), VIREX-PC was not able to protect against, and did not warn of, infection by the Stoned virus. Although VIREX-PC will make a checksum of disk or diskette boot sectors, it does not checksum partition boot records. Company Stability Microcom is a stable and diverisfied company, if somewhat samller than a Lotus or Microsoft. Virex for the Mac has been around for some time, although it is not one fo the current "leaders" among Mac antivirals. Ross Greenburg was one of the first to write an antiviral program for MS-DOS (Flu-Shot) and it is still a viable program. Company Support Virex-PC was the third to arrive of all the commercial programs I had requested for review. Microcom had no problems with shipping across the border, although the package did arrive crushed. Note also the lack of update notification for the period specified. Documentation Very good (clear, concise) section on general virus information. The procedure given in the Quick Start section could produce an infected "working copy" of the Virex-PC disk. The installation "prompts" are no better or worse than others reviewed, but the documentation explains all options very clearly, both in terms of the options available, and the reasons for the options. Hardware Requirements There are no special hardware requirements. Performance VPCSCAN is amazingly fast. File checking is at least twice as fast as either FPROT or SCAN across all platforms tested. VIREX-PC has more options than other vaccine type programs, as well as change detection capabilities. However, although one of the standard alerts in the package is for "direct writes to diskette", and even though the Stoned/New Zealand virus is one which VPCSCAN will identify (although not disinfect), VIREX-PC was not able to protect against, and did not warn of, infection by the Stoned virus. Although VIREX-PC will make a checksum of disk or diskette boot sectors, it does not checksum partition boot records. Local Support No provisions. Support Requirements The installation and operation of VIREX-PC and VPCSCAN should not be beyond the average intelligent user who is willing to spend time with the manual before installation. However, in supported environments, it would be best to have the support staff perform installation. General Notes Although in many respects a superior product, the inability to prevent infection by the ubiquitous "Stoned" virus must be seen as a failing. However, Virex-PC will detect the "Stoned" virus, and, with some care, recovery can take place without recourse to other specialised products. 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."