Monthly Archives: April 2009

Tips To Select AntiVirus (AV)

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So you made the decision to buy an AntiVirus (AV) to safeguard your system. But stuck with what to look for in the AV?

Here are some of the tips that will help you in selecting the best AV for your computer:

– Load on System

– Frequency of the definitions or updates

– Type of subscription

– Ease of Upgradation

– Technical Support


Load on System

One of the common complaints from the users is that AV is taking lot of system resources. I think the problem could be caused at the startup of the computer where the most of the programs are configured to load and slow down the system. One way to get around this is to disable or delay or the startup of other applications. Remember it is very essential that AV loads at startup and not at a later time because some of the threats tend to load at startup and if they are allowed to load, they could even disable the AV.

Some of the other tips include, increasing the system RAM or Memory. Not only does this speed up the computing, but also allows you to multitask. Here is an easy and simple way to selectively allow programs to start in Windows:

1. Go to Start > Run

2. Type MSCONFIG

3. Click on the Startup tab

4. Uncheck the programs like Adobe, Winamp, MSN /Yahoo/Gtalk Messenger and etc

5. Click OK

 

Frequency of virus definitions/updates

Well, if you think just installing an Antivirus would protect your system, hang on. You will also need to download the updates or antivirus definitions to keep up with the new threats. In this fast changing world of technology, newer threats in the form or Viruses, Worms and Trojans (Click here to read the difference between Viruses Worm and Trojans) come out each day. While it may be difficult for AV companies to keep the pace with all of them, some AV Vendors use heuristics to at least quarantine some of these. Symantec for example uses a technology called as Bloodhound to isolate the malicious threats for which complete information is not known. The common practice is this space for most AntiVirus vendors is to release the updates on a weekly basis. However, if there is an outbreak, the definitions to cure the same are released instantly to prevent any zero day attacks. Read the product information at the vendor’s site carefully to know the frequency of updates. An AV that does not get definitions on a periodic use may not be of much use.

Suggestion: Configure your AV to automatically download and install the updates as and when new updates are released.

Ease of Upgradation

The standard practice in the AntiVirus (AV) vendor space is that each year a newer version of the product is released. More often than not, you may end up upgrading to the newer version. Upgradation basically means installing a newer version over the existing version. So ensure that the AV you buy has the good track record of clean upgradation.

Some AV applications are known to have issues while upgrading from an older version to newer version. If not done correctly, they may leave traces in the registry and can cause major issues while installing. So watch out while you decide to Upgrade or Renew for Updates.

Type of Subscription

AV products generally have usage license for a period of one year. That is you pay and use for one year and after which you will have to renew it in order to receive the AV Updates / Virus definitions. Know the difference between Upgrade and Update.

An update is a periodic Antivirus definition or signature release from the vendor. This can be periodic, for example Symantec releases its Virus definition every Wednesday. Updates include Virus definitions, program improvements, patches etc.

An upgrade is the iteration in the version of the product. For example, you are using Norton Antivirus (NAV) 2008 and it is reaching its one year period and Symantec has now released NAV 2008. You will be presented an option to upgrade to the newer version or continue using the older version by renewing the subscription fees, in which case you will continue to use NAV 2009.

An upgrade normally costs little more than renewal and its better to go for an upgrade because there will bound to be improvements in the newer version.

 

Technical Support

Believe me, one factor that is going to have a major impact on your peace of mind is the Technical Support from your vendor on their product. I have seen people tear their hairs on the issues that can arise out of the blue.

Most of the problems arise while installing the product. Make sure you read the minimum hardware requirements, supported OS, incompatibility with other products before you decide to zero in on any product. Such information is published in the vendor website.

NOTE: You should Install and Use only One AntiVirus at a time. Having multiple AV to protect your system can cause all of them to malfunction and allow a threat to affect your system!

Technical support can be free or charged. Normally, free technical support is restricted to Knowledge Base Articles and Email or Chat support. KB articles are a good source of information for known issues and solutions for them. Some AV vendors even run support forum, where the solution comes from people like you and me.

Paid support comes in the form of Telephone calls. Here also you may have to go through the maze of IVRs to actually get to talk to the agent. By the time you get to talk to the agent you may be zapped, this does not end here….but to actually get the solution to your problem, you will have to shell out some money which may not be worthwhile. The charge for the paid support is almost equal to the half of the product price! (remember online search engines Google, Yahoo and MSN search are your friends!)

Last but not the least, this write-up would be incomplete without the mention of Open Source vs Commercially available AV products. Currently, there are not many Open Source products in this space except www.Clamwin.com. It’s worth a try and better than using many free version of commercial AV. I had used it briefly on a Virtual Machine running Windows XP and it was performing well. For any queries, you can buzz me at Twitter.

Buying a laptop? Things to look for..

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Buying a laptop can be pretty taxing on one’s mind and pocket, especially if you are looking for something geeky with a slightly higher end features at a moderate price. I too had my share of adventures. My weeks of research were around HP, ACER, SONY, TOSHIBA, HCL, FUJITSU and DELL and finally concluded with the latter one. I was fortunate enough to work in a R and D company sometime back and this also gave me chance to play around with almost all of the above brands and more importantly shape first hand experience and opinions.

HP was a decent choice but was little pricey for what I wanted, fujitsu and Toshiba were ruled out for lack of adequate presence in India (support and service), HCL and ACER have good configurations at the prices, but little research on the web revealed some continuing issues with HCL support. Sony was way too expensive. DELL was kind of promising because of the options to customize and there was some scope of discount too through DELL EPP scheme (some discounts if you know someone working at Dell). Though I cannot call myself a hardcore Macbook fan, but since the time I had used one at my office I was always craving for it, especially the new Aluminium Unibody one. In these times of recession, I thought it would not be wiser to invest INR 91K (for 2.4GHz) so decided to go other brands. I had read during my CISSP preparation that processing speed gets doubled every 18 months (its called Moore’s law) or so and I wanted a laptop that I could rely for atleast couple of years.

Amongst the above brands, only DELL offered what I was looking for in terms of processor (Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 @2.4 GHz Processor) which no other brand in India is offering at this point and at the price. Also the default, 256MB ATI Radeon 4570 Graphics card has got good reviews. WLED display (better, brighter lighting, improved battery life and lesser weight), 10/100/1000 Mbps Network card for Gigabit networking, 802.11 AGN networking (N stands for the latest Nitro standards with speeds around 160 Mbps )HDMI port, 8-in-1 media card reader, Face recognition software (pretty useful during loging in, I don’t have to enter any password as it is linked with my windows account) 9cell battery giving a whopping 6hrs standby time and many more.

I picked up the following laptop configuration on the Dell site and booked it pretty fast using Dell EPP through a friend of mine. I was promised a delivery in 7-?? days but had to wait for 20 days. Here’s a peek into it’s spec:

  • Dell Studio 1555
  • Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 @2.4 GHz Processor
  • 4GB DDR2 RAM @ 800 Mhz
  • 320 SATA HDD @ 7200 RPM
  • 256MB ATI Radeon 4570 Graphics card
  • 15.6 inch WLED Display
  • Backlit Keyboard
  • 10/100/1000 Mbps Network card
  • 802.11 agn wireless support
  • 8-in-1 media card reader
  • Blue-tooth for over the air transfer
  • HDMI port
  • Slot load Dual layer DVD Writer

Here are some of the cool features that I am enjoying currently with this laptop and you may want to consider, while buying a laptop:
Pros:

  • -P8600 Processor
  • -Backlit keyboard…i can work with lights off without disturbing the family..
  • -eSata USB port that also doubles up as normal USB PORT (Most people seem to have misconception that you cannot use esata port for USB devices…just plug any USB
  • stuff…it works including my portable hdd which requires two USB).
  • -Dell Dock (similar to the widget in Macbook)
  • -LED Battery meter for 9 cell battery is pretty cool (so I can know how much charge is still remaining without having to switch ON the lappy)
  • -Inbult WebCam with Mic (eliminates the need for external mic and headphones)
  • -The two-finger zoom option to increase the page size is just awesome (sometimes can be irritating)…this feature is available only in Macbook!!!
  • -MMC card reader (I could now directly copy pictures and vides from my camera’s mmc card!)
  • -Vista DVD, normally not given with other laptops brands, so I don’t have to worry about reinstalling OS incase any experiment goes awry.
  • -Noise cancellation ear-buds
  • -I am on the batteries from last 5.30 hours and the battery indicator still shows that 1 hour is still remaining. All this with Wifi and music ON!!!
  • Price – 45K all inclusive/-

Cons:

  • -Trackpad heats up a bit faster than my office Dell Latitude
  • -No Linux choice
  • -Vista taking up 40 Gigs for repair/restore
  • -Lack of LED indicators for WiFi,BT, Caps Lock.
  • No Fingerprint reader

I will update this blog should I find something interesting or annoying with laptop and just fyi, a week after I bought this laptop, they increased its price by INR 1K….what do you call that for timing…

Dell site: www.Dell.co.in

[updated on September 04, 2011]

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