Kaspersky Anti-Virus
| File:KAV logo.png | |
| File:Kaspersky Anti-Virus.png Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 (version 8.0) | |
| Developer(s) | Kaspersky Lab |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 8.0.0.454 (2009)
/ August 4, 2008 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, Linux |
| Type | Antivirus |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www.kaspersky.com |
Kaspersky Anti-Virus (Russian: Антивирус Касперского; formerly known as AntiViral Toolkit Pro; often referred to as KAV) is a russian antivirus program developed by Kaspersky Lab. It is designed to protect users from malware and is primarily designed for computers running Microsoft Windows, though a version for Linux is available for business consumers.
Features
Kaspersky Anti-Virus has numerous features, including real-time protection, detection and removal of viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, adware and keyloggers, as well as detection and removal of rootkits. It also includes automatic updates and a tool for creating rescue disks. In addition, KAV prevents itself from being disabled without user permission.
The program is well known for its high detection rates. According to AV-Comparatives, Kaspersky Anti-Virus rates highly amongst virus scanners in terms of detection rates, even despite the fact that the program has failed two Virus Bulletin tests in 2007. In addition, PC World recently awarded Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 the Editor's Choice in its 2007 anti-virus comparative.
Kaspersky Anti Virus 7.0 was "A-listed" by the prestigious UK PC journal PC Pro in late 2007, where it scored very highly for detection and removal of malware. PC Pro attribute this to “a combination of the software’s heuristic scanning and uncompromising approach to database updates. While many packages check for new virus signatures on a daily basis, Kaspersky runs to an hourly schedule, improving your PC’s chances of being immunized before an infection reaches it.” [1]
Kaspersky Anti-Virus generally has a fast response rate, being able to provide signatures for new viruses in zero to two hours after outbreak on average.
Limitations
Kaspersky Anti-Virus lacks certain features found in Kaspersky Internet Security. These missing features include a personal firewall, a parental control tool and an anti-spam application. It also lacks the Virtual Keyboard, feature used to prevent keystroke logging.
In addition, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, like the majority of its competitors, is incompatible with numerous other non-AV security applications, such as the highly regarded Comodo Firewall.[2]. This limitation is severe on operating systems without built in firewalls such as Windows 2000 since the Kaspersky installation routine can automatically uninstall incompatible applications, leaving the system exposed.
Linux editions
A edition of Kaspersky's anti-virus solution for Linux workstations is available to business consumers.[3] It offers much of the features included in the mainstream version for Windows, including on-access and on-demand scanners.
In addition, specialized editions of Kaspersky Anti-Virus is available for different varieties of Linux servers and offers protection from most forms of malware.
System requirements
| Windows 2000 (SP4 or higher) / XP (SP2 or higher) / XP Professional x64 Edition | Windows Vista (32/64-bit) | Linux (Red Hat, Mandriva, Fedora, Debian, SUSE) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Pentium 300 MHz or higher (or equivalent) | Intel Pentium 800 MHz or higher (or equivalent) | Intel Pentium 133 Mhz or higher (or equivalent) |
| RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Free hard drive space | 50 MB | 50 MB | 100 MB |
A DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive, Internet Explorer 5.5 or above and Windows Installer 2.0 or above are also required for the installation of Kaspersky Anti-Virus in Windows.
The current mainstream version range of Kaspersky Anti-Virus (7.0.0.125 and higher) only supports Windows 2000, XP and Vista. The last version of Kaspersky Anti-Virus that still supported Windows Me was 6.0.2.621.
See also
- Kaspersky Lab
- Kaspersky Internet Security
- Kaspersky Mobile Security
- Eugene Kaspersky
- List of antivirus software