It's been a busy week for anyone obsessed with operating system upgrades. Microsoft released Windows XP SP3 to manufacturers, Canonical launched Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron, and OpenSUSE 11 came one step closer to release. But this week's software news wasn't all operating systems, all the time. Here are a few of our favorite stories from the week that was:
In case you haven't heard, DRM kind of stinks. Sure, copyright holders want to be able to profit from their music by making sure you don't make copies for all of your friends. But when companies like Microsoft come out and tell you they won't support your licenses after August, it just means you can't listen to music you've already paid for on multiple devices anymore.
Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? Well, lots of people. But anyone who's tried AVG Free knows there is such a thing as a good anti-virus application. The latest version adds a bunch of new features like anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, and linkscanning protection.
A few months ago, Grisoft updated its AVG anti-virus suite to version 8 and bundled linkscanning, anti-spyware, and anti-rootkit software to boot. Now Grisoft's popular freeware anti-virus application is getting some of the same features. AVG Free 8 is out, and not only does it protect your system from viruses, but you get spyware detection as well.
AVG Free 8 doesn't have all of the features you get in the commercial version of the application. There's no rootkit protection or linkscanner. And there's no email or instant messaging integration. For those features you'll have to shell out $35 or $55 for the standard or "internet security" versions. But as freeware antivirus applications go, AVG is packed with features like real-time protection, daily updates, and complete system scans at regularly scheduled intervals.
Update: As several readers have pointed out in the comments, when you install AVG Free 8, you will likely find a bunch of advanced features like linkscanning and email protection. The AVG web site has a comparison chart showing that these features are included in the commercial version but not the free version. It's not clear if Grisoft is including free trials of these functions or if the chart is wrong.
Avira has released AntiVir Personal 8.1, a free antivirus appliation. Like popular free antivirus applications from Grisoft and Avast!, Avira offers a free basic security suite in the hopes of convincing some users to spring for a commercial version. The main difference between Avira and the competition, as far as we're concerned, is that Avira AntiVir will occasionally pop up nagware asking you to upgrade.
Pop ups aside, Avira AntiVir is pretty powerful, and the latest update brings a few improvements like increased scan speed and a redesigned visual interface. Another new feature, which isn't available in the free version, is the ability to create a system rescue CD.
Unlike some other antivirus applications, you can install AntiVir without uninstalling or even turning off your current antivirus program, which is always a plus.
AVG is ready to pull the trigger on their new Anti-Virus suite, AVG Anti-Virus 8.0. From first looks, it's going to be a pretty major update. For starters, AVG Anti-Virus 8.0 will offer more than its standard Anti-Virus protection. Popular tools AVG Anti-Spyware, AVG Anti-Rootkit, and LinkScanner, previously stand-alone applications, are now integrated into AVG Anti-Virus 8.0. The code base has seen a significant overhaul as well, in the hopes that inevitable system slowdowns caused by AVG's real-time protection will be lessened.
AVG Anti-Virus remains one of the most popular free Anti-Virus solutions on the market, and this update will no doubt solidify their dominance. At the time of this writing, however, it's not exactly clear if the free edition will be updated at the same time as the paid edition, so if you aren't one for waiting, you might have to pay to see 8.0.
The full version of AVG will continue to offer an enhanced feature set, including tech support, greater scheduling capabilities, and support for newer multi-processor core chips.
The time between Christmas and New Year's is what folks in the biz typically like to call a slow news period. But in the fast-paced world of technology (cue the Quantum Leap-them song styled synth pop), the news never stops. Here are some of the stories you might have missed if you were spending too much quality time with the family this week.
Flipping the Linux Switch: The GNOME Desktop Environment So there's this operating system called Linux. You may have heard of it. It's kind of like Windows or OS X, but it's highly customizable, stable, and runs on all kinds of machines. Linux has come a long way since the days when you had to understand and love the command line in order to use it at all. But unlike Windows or OS X, Linux presents users with a choice of graphical user interfaces. Our resident Linux guru Kristin Shoemaker will help you decide which desktop environment is right for you. In part one, she looks at GNOME. Stay tuned for part two, an in-depth look at KDE coming soon.
The world ends on January 19, 2038: Thank Unix! Remember how the world ended in Y2K? You know, power went out around the world, airplanes fell from the sky and all the nuclear warheads stored in government bunkers just up and exploded. Oh right, yeah, that never happened. But if you're looking for another potential disaster to worry about, look no further than 2038. That's when Linux machines will start to party like it's 1901. Of course, there's about 30 years to fix this problem, so you might not need to invest in a bomb shelter just yet.
We wouldn't be surprised if you only know AVG for its free anti-virus software. Along with Avast!Avira, and a few other companies that don't start with the letter A, AVG provides a full-fledged virus protection suite free of charge. But AVG also provides a "professional" version of its software that comes with some advanced features like extra scanning and scheduling options.
For example, the free version only lets you schedule a single virus database update per day, and one computer scan a day. You can schedule multiple events with the Pro version. You also get higher speed downloads with the Pro version.
You know how most anti-virus/anti-spyware software can take up to an hour to run, bogging down your computer in the process? Turns out there's a faster (if slightly less thorough) way to give your computer a quick checkup.
Panda NanoScan is a browser-based program that scans for viruses, trojans and spyware. Since the database sits on Panda's servers, there are definitions for you to download. You just need to install a 400kb plugin the first time you run NanoScan with Internet Explorer or Firefox.
NanoScan doesn't search every single file on your computer for malware. Instead it takes a look at all your active processes and a set of crucial files and folders. The result is a blazing fast inspection, which takes just about a minute to run. If you want a more complete scan, you can run Panda TotalScan, which is larger, takes longer, but performs a more thorough search.
Now the downsides. There's no support for Vista yet, although it's in the works. Also, NanoScan and TotalScan find problems, they doesn't fix them. Obviously these browser-based solutions also don't offer real time protection if you download an infected file. So they're not replacements for a PC-based anti-malware program like AVG Free.
Edit: TotalScan does have a disinfect feature. You have to register (free) in order to activate it.
What Anti-Virus software do you use? McAfee, Symantec, or one of the wide-spread commercially available AV programs? Perhaps you are a bit more savvy and you use something else, Avast, Kaspersky, BitDefender, Windows Defender, or F-Secure. If you use AVG Free Edition (which includes an email scanner and free daily virus definition updates), a new upgrade is out now, version 7.5, which is a major update to the very-good AV system brought to you by Grisoft. I've been using AVG and have had my parents, friends, and family using AVG for several years now. I find that it has everything I want, and not much I don't want. If you need a new AV client or a good one that installs quick and updates itself for someone you know (like grandma), AVG really isn't bad. If you have a free Anti-Virus client you like better than AVG, I would love to find out why.
What's the best anti-virus solution? Well, I dunno, but CNet does-it's running a review round-up of six major anti-virus apps: AVG Anti-Virus 7.1 Professional, CA eTrust EZ Antivirus 7.1, F-Secure Internet Security 2006, Kapersky Internet Security 6, McAfee VirusScan 2006, and Trend Micro PC-cillin 2006. The results may surprise you (I always wonder if I should put spoiler warnings on these things): PC-cillin comes out on top with a score of 7.8/10, followed by Kapersky and F-Secure in the low sevens. McAfee is surprisingly low, coming in fifth with a 6.0, and AVG brings up the rear with a 5.8. Head over to CNet to see full reviews for each product.
"With its
growing popularity, it is only a matter of time before the Linux operating system becomes more widely targeted by virus
and malware writers." That's how the press release from Grisoft announcing AVG Free for Linux starts. While perhaps a bit
premature, it's free and probably welcome protection for the most paranoid sysadmins.
It's been a busy week for anyone obsessed with operating system upgrades. Microsoft released Windows XP SP3 to manufacturers, Canonical launched Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron, and OpenSUSE 11 came one step closer to release. But this week's software news wasn't all operating systems, all the time. Here are a few of our favorite stories from the week that was:
