Antivirus software

Home Office Computing, July, 1998 by Philip Albinus

When we tried to transfer the trio of viruses from a floppy to the folder on our desktop, the Doctor stepped in. The program detected both Word macro viruses, flashed a cartoon-bug warning screen, stopped the file transfer, and offered to clean both files.

When it came to the AOL Trojan Horse, we thought we had fooled Dr. Solomon: The program allowed us to transfer the file to our hard disk. But when we launched America Online, the program nailed the virus before we logged on.

Like the other programs in this review, Dr. Solomon's includes a scheduler to set the frequency of virus hunts on your PC and a comprehensive virus-reporting tool that logs the bugs it finds. Although we miss the British sentry icon that the previous version placed in our Windows 95 system tray, we feel safe and secure with Dr. Solomon's Anti-Virus.

Network Associates

*** DOS/WIN/WIN 95

If you need solid virus protection, consider VirusScan from Network Associates, formerly McAfee. At press time, the firm was hard at work on a major update, version 4.0. Although we had a sneak peek at the new edition, the publisher couldn't provide beta software in time to make this roundup, so we reviewed version 3.1.

The new version, slated to hit computer store shelves by the time you read this, has been redesigned. Although nearly all of these programs are fairly dull looking, version 4.0 has a GameBoy-like design with animated buttons, hightech readouts, and intricate graphics to view as the program scours your system for viruses.

Behind all the bells and whistles works a strong virus fighter that's ready to defend your computer on every PC operating system. VirusScan 3.1 was the only product to ship on both CD-ROM and seven floppy disks: four disks for Windows 95, two disks for Windows 3.1, and a single disk for DOS users. Unfortunately, we didn't find a boot disk for restarting our computer in the event of an emergency.

Despite a skimpy 26-page manual, VirusScan 3.1's directions for curing a discovered virus were crystal clear. During the speedy installation, you are prompted to create an emergency boot disk. Unfortunately, the CD-ROM ships with video tutorials that spend more time explaining how to view the videos than showing how VirusScan works. They make Norton AntiVirus's video clips look like a Hollywood blockbuster.

Despite this minor flaw, VirusScan 3.1 found all of our viruses and offered to clean the files instantly. Registered users can receive free monthly updates to new virus pattern files from the company Web site. Although it may not have the polish and ease of Norton AntiVirus 4.0, VirusScan 3.1 offers reliable protection from unwanted intruders.

Norton AntiVirus 4.0

***1/2 DOS/WIN/WIN 95

No other virus protection program caught our attention like Norton AntiVirus 4.0 (NAV). Before installing NAV, we had the option of either viewing instructional videos that explained the program, computer viruses, and more; sampling trial versions of other Symantec titles; or installing the program. We thought we'd learn more about viruses, so we watched the video lessons. Although director James Cameron won't lose any sleep over these clips, the tutorial offers a quick education on the danger of viruses and how to protect yourself. We especially liked the video that explained what we should do when NAV finds a virus. No other program in this roundup offered such rich multimedia education tools.