New ESET Online Scanner

Scan and disinfect viruses with ESET online scanner

This new online scanning service allows users to scan and disinfect systems and emails without uninstalling existing antivirus solution.

ESET has announced the availability of a new online scanning service that allows users to scan and disinfect systems, hard disks, compressed files and email - without uninstalling their existing antivirus solution.

Powered by ESET NOD32 Antivirus software, the ESET Online Scanner is a free Web-based service that allows non-ESET users to identify hidden threats, get a "second opinion" on the health status of their computers and determine the strength of their current malware solution.

Based on ESET's heuristic detection technology, ThreatSense, the ESET Online Scanner provides a comprehensive analysis of a computer's malware infection status. It not only detects both known and unknown forms of malware, including viruses, worms, Trojans, phishing and spyware, residing on a computer, but it also cleans the system and allows the end-user to troubleshoot and repair many malware-related problems.

Additional ESET Online Scanner Benefits:

• Fast and Easy-to-Use: The scanner is installed and activated by a single button
• Always Up-to-Date: Uses the most current threat signatures and heuristic detection algorithms available from the ESET Threat Lab
• Deep Scans: Scans inside archive files, runtime packed executables and email messages
• Anonymity: The Online Scanner can be used anonymously as contact information is not required to use the service.

"Not all antivirus and anti-malware products are as effective as they should be and users are starting to understand that the AV solutions that come with their computers may not catch existing malware or protect them from emerging threats," said Paul Brook, Managing Director of ESET UK.

"Despite this realisation, users still rely on these limited solutions for protection, which may lead to potential disaster for them if they become infected and misery for others if their machine is used to distribute malware. Our new online scanner allows any computer user to see very quickly if they have a problem and in many cases help them rectify it too," added Paul Brook.

The ESET Online Scanner is available now.

Security Vendors Challenge Antivirus Tests

Security Vendors Challenge Antivirus Tests

Antivirus software is frequently tested for performance, so picking a top product should be straightforward: Select the number-one vendor whose software kills off all of the evil things circulating on the Internet. You're good to go then, right? Not necessarily.

The increasing complexity of security software is causing vendors to gripe that current evaluations do not adequately test other technologies in the products designed to protect machines.

Relations between vendors and testing organizations are generally cordial but occasionally tense when a product fails a test. Representatives in both camps agree that the testing regimes need to be overhauled to give consumers a more accurate view of how different products compare.

"I don't think anyone believes the tests as they are run now... are an accurate reflection of how one product relates to the other," said Mark Kennedy, an antivirus engineer with Symantec Corp.

Representatives of Symantec, F-Secure Corp. and Panda Software SA agreed last month at the International Antivirus Testing Workshop in Reykjavik, Iceland, to design a new testing plan that would better reflect the capabilities of competing products. They hope all security vendors will agree on a new test that can be applied industrywide, Kennedy said.

A preliminary plan should be drawn up by September, Kennedy said.

One of the most common tests involves running a set of malicious software samples through a product's antivirus engine. The antivirus engine contains indicators, called signatures, that enable it to identify harmful software.

But antivirus products have changed over the last couple years, and "now many products have other ways of detecting and blocking malware," said Toralv Dirron, security lead system engineer for McAfee Inc.

Signature-based detection is important, but an explosion in the number of unique malicious software programs created by hackers is threatening its effectiveness. As a result, vendors have added overlapping defenses to catch malware.

Vendors are employing behavioral detection technology, which may identify a malicious program if it undertakes a suspicious action on a machine. A user may unwittingly download a malicious software program that is not detected through signatures. But if the program starts sending spam, the activity can be identified and halted.

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