subject: Protect User's Online Community For Free With Immunet [print this page] Protect User's Online Community For Free With Immunet
Immunet Protect is a free cloud based security solution that uses the power of community to layer its protections. The software is meant to complement existing security if it is in place, or according to the company, can be run alone on a system. The Tech Herald downloaded a copy to give it a spin. With the testing complete, here are our results. The Immunet team has been hard at work for the past 9 months, building the next version of our free, fast and lightweight cloud-based antivirus product.
Common Windows security wisdom says it's a bad idea to run multiple antivirus apps simultaneously. Generally that's true, but Immunet 2.0 intends to play nice with your existing protection and bolster it with help from the cloud and the crowd. Immunet's latest update introduces new scanning tools, detection engines, and support in a bid to persuade users that the program is the spackle they need to plug the holes in their security wall.
Installation and setup
The installation of Immunet 2.0 asks for registration, which you can skip to avoid sending your data up to the cloud without adversely affecting your security. However, the cloud based defenses work better as more people contribute their data. This is a common defense tool from security vendors. Immunet opts you in to the Ask toolbar and default search engine switch, so users who don't want them should go through the install process carefully. Otherwise, the installation process is straightforward and simple.
Interface
The interface is a blue wall behind three columns that provide access to Community, Computer, and Product settings. On the far left side of the interface, Immunet quietly informs you of your other installed antivirus program, while on the far right there are two bars keeping track of CPU and memory usage. Annoyingly, much of the interface uses text that comes in varying shades of blue, which can make it harder to read than it should be. We also found that switching screens within Immunet, as well as tooltips, were slow to respond to clicks and mouse overs.
Features and support
Similar to PC Tools' ThreatFire, which didn't originally address virus related threats but does now, Immunet seeks to present a lightweight method to enhance already installed protection. On features alone, there's no doubt that Immunet 2.0 is a better product than its predecessor. The free version offers a new cloud based detection engine called ETHOS, a heuristics engine that offers on-demand scanning, in product updates, a visual representation of the Immunet community, a silent gaming mode, and a stream from the Immunet security blog. There's also an unusual amount of attention paid to user-support issues for a free program, with free 24-7 telephone support. The service includes installation problems, assistance with potential virus issues, and sluggish computer performance that may not be virus-related. E-mail support has been dropped from this version in favor of online forums. The new scanning tools come in the three standard flavors: the quick Flash scan, Full, and Custom. The Flash scan, which checks out only processes and the Registry, took just more than one minute to finish, while the full takes much longer because it checks your entire computer. Immunet doesn't lock you into a running scan, so you can hide it and use other parts of the program. However, Immunet restricts rootkit scans to its paid upgrade, sacrificing some of your security.
Performance
During a day of anecdotal testing, we noticed no unusual system slow downs while running Immunet concurrently with Avast. Third party security performance benchmarks are not yet available, but it's highly unusual when running multiple security programs not to see even slight anecdotal sluggishness. This suggests that at least on the performance front, Immunet does do all that it claims.
Using Immunet Protect
Usability wise, Immunet Protect offers a sleek interface with simple navigation. The main area to focus on is the Summary page. This is where you can see if Cloud Protection is active, as it is clearly marked with the symbols below. In addition, you can see the number of people connected to the cloud, as well as the number of threats that Immunet Protect is presently defending the system from. To the left on the Summary screen is the number of clean programs installed within the last two weeks. This will show both the clean and malicious ones. This related to the History tab, where an overview of scans and threat detections from a set timeframe are displayed with detailed information. The Scan tab is where on demand scans are launched, as well as where you can enable or disable the ability to scan running or loadpoint processes. On demand scans during testing would complete in under a minute on average, but never went past one minute seven seconds.
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