Avast! 6 final wants you playing in their sandbox

[nsane.forums]

New security features designed to keep its more than 110 million users safe debut in Avast 6, released today exclusively from CNET Download.com. They also have the added benefit of raising the competitive bar in computer security by pushing more and better free options to users. Avast Free Antivirus 6, Avast Pro Antivirus 6, and Avast Internet Security 6 all feature the new AutoSandbox and the WebRep browser add-on.

The debut of the AutoSandbox makes Avast the second antivirus to offer a sandboxing tool for free. Comodo introduced a sandboxing tool in January 2010. Avast's sandbox probably works differently, as Comodo has a pending patent on its version. And certainly, one of the most frustrating things about sandboxing technology is that there are some indications that it doesn't work perfectly.

All that being said, Avast's version automatically places programs into a virtualized state when it suspects them of being threats. It walls off suspicious programs, preventing them from potentially damaging your system while allowing them to run. Avast's sandbox allows the program to run, while keeping track of which files are opened, created, or renamed, and what it reads and writes from the Registry. Since permanent changes are virtualized, so when the process terminates itself, the system changes it made will evaporate.

The company hasn't said whether the virtualized state begins after the program already has access to your system, so it's theoretically possible that it could be compromised. There's not a single security feature in any program that hasn't been been compromised at some point, though, so "theoretically hackable" is true of all security features.

You can access the AutoSandbox settings from the new Additional Protection option on the left nav. It defaults to asking the user whether a program should be sandboxed, although you can set it to automatically decide. There's a whitelist option for programs that you always want to exclude from the sandbox, and you can deactivate the feature entirely.

Avast 6 also marks the debut of the program joining (or succumbing to) the browser-security add-on. Security add-ons have a long-standing word-of-mouth reputation for decreasing browser performance, although Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate's impact meter pegs Avast's plug-in at 0.07 seconds. Avast calls its add-on WebRep.

WebRep works with IE and Firefox out of the box, and plans for a Chrome version soon, according to company representatives. It supports a search result ranking and Web site reputation service that uses a combination of data from Avast's virus labs and user voting to determine a safety score for a site. User voting is a crapshoot of a gamble for many security vendors, although Avast is known for its vast user base and their passionate support of the program, so the company's plans to incentivize user voting could easily work in their favor.

It's important to note that the add-on installs to both Firefox and IE as you install Avast 6. If you don't want it, it's surprisingly easier to remove from within Avast instead of within the browser. Currently, removing the add-on using the browser's interface will cue Avast to re-install the add-on the next time the computer is rebooted.

Many of Avast's small changes are worth noting as well. The Troubleshooting section now comes with a "restore factory settings" option, which makes it easier to wipe settings back to a familiar starting point, and comes with the option to restore only the Shields settings. There's a new sidebar gadget for Windows 7 and Vista, and you now can set automatic actions for the boot-time scan. Two features that have trickled down to the free version are the Script Shield and site blocking. The Script Shield now works with Internet Explorer 8 and 9's protected mode. Meanwhile, the paid versions have gained some new features, such as SafeZone, a virtualization feature for secure online banking. Avast has said that the installer has shrunk for all three versions by about 20 percent.

Avast 6 has done much to quash bugs since its release about a month ago. For a look at where it was, you can check out my hands-on take on Avast 6 here.

The heightened competition between Internet security vendors is that both free and paid-only suites are continually struggling to provide the next big thing. Avast 6 looks at both improving its feature set and leveraging its massive anonymously contributed user data base to enhance security, both of which are sensible steps towards stronger home computer security.

View: Original Article

[RadioActive]

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, February 23, 2011 – While industry testing shows that avast! Free version 5.0 handily beats most paid-for antivirus products, AVAST Software is pushing the envelope even further with the new avast! 6.0 – launching today.

"With our new avast! 6.0 Free Antivirus, we've added advanced capabilities that aren't in any mainstream AV product. Once again, we are providing a free antivirus that often exceeds the protection offered by other paid-for products," said Vince Steckler, CEO of AVAST Software. "In these tight economic times, there is no reason for people to keep paying for the overpriced AV that they have on their computers."

There are six good reasons why computer users should remove antivirus products such as Norton or McAfee and install the new avast! Free Antivirus 6.0.

1. AutoSandbox - The first automatic virtualization feature in a major antivirus package.
   AutoSandbox identifies suspicious applications and automatically prompts users to run them in a safe virtual environment. "If the item is dangerous, the virtual computer is shut down and the user's real machine remains safe. And, if the item is safe, there is no hassle from a false positive," stated Ondrej Vlcek, CTO of AVAST Software.
2. WebRep - The first reputation guide for malware and website content incorporated into a free antivirus application.
   "WebRep interfaces directly with search engine results, combining CommunityIQ data on infected websites with user-submitted information on the content and reputation of individual sites," added Mr. Vlcek. "Thanks to our more than 120 million active users, our WebRep has the deepest support of any web reputation option on the market."
3. More internet protection - Additional internet security options have been added to the new avast! 6.0 Free Antivirus.
   "As 85 percent of malware is now transmitted through the internet, we've extended our protective features to all avast! users," remarked Mr. Steckler. Avast! Free Antivirus now includes both Web and Script Shields, protecting users at both the http level and the browser level. Site Blocking, another new feature in avast! Free Antivirus, allows users to block selected websites.
4. Knows what's bad – Recognizes and stops malware attacks in the billions, thanks to CommunityIQ sensors.
   avast! stopped 1.2 billion viruses in January of this year, a significant increase from the over 900 million viruses stopped in the previous January. avast! also prevented over 32 million users from visiting infected sites in the past 30 days. "We get over 12,000 unique samples sent daily to the Virus Lab – which then enables us to fine-tune our detection abilities," said Mr. Vlcek. Thanks to its massive CommunityIQ network of user-sensors, avast keeps the largest – and freshest - list of infected websites in the security industry.
5. Great ratings – Consistent high reviews in independent product reviews.
   Avast! Free Antivirus is a regular top performer, placing at or near the top for its malware detection, fast scanning speed, and its performance – even when competing against the leading paid-for products. New avast! 6.0 features are set to continue this trend. "It looks like avast! 6 will land far closer to the high end of the spectrum thanks to its new WebRep browser add-on and sandbox environment, unique in the free antivirus marketplace," wrote Seth Rosenblatt, senior associate editor at Download.com in his review.
6. It's free – Light on computers, even lighter on the wallet.
   avast! Free has a well-deserved reputation for its light demands on computer resources. As a free application, it has an even lighter impact on users' financial resources. With avast! Free Antivirus, users pay less and can get more protection.

"Put these new 6.0 features together and avast! is again setting the standard for what an antivirus software should provide," said Mr. Steckler. "And, we haven't stopped with that. For users that want extra security features, we have added SafeZone, a new virtual desktop for safe online banking and shopping to our paid-for products." SafeZone shuts out malware like keyloggers, enabling secure financial transactions – even with an infected computer. The SafeZone feature is available only in avast! Pro and avast! Internet Security.

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[DKT27]

Staff Note: Threads merged. :)

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[dizzyangel]

strong+free=my selection^.^