software. Better than our
, especially for web surfing, but without the firewall and antispam included in
. Also if you wish to
- Antivirus and anti-spyware engine
- avast! Intelligent Scanner
- Silent/Gaming Mode
- Behavior Shield
- avast! Sandbox
Requirements
To run avast! Pro Antivirus 5.0 your PC must meet the following criteria.
Operating Systems Supported
- Windows 7
- Windows Vista (any Edition excl. Starter Edition)
- Windows XP Service Pack 2 or higher
- Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4
Minimum Hardware Requirements
- Processor Pentium 3
- 256 MB RAM
- 250 MB of free hard disk space
Please note that avast! Pro Antivirus 5.0 runs only on PCs with Windows 2000 and newer. Older Windows operating systems (Windows 95/98/ME/NT) are not supported.
Please also note that avast! will not run properly if you have other antivirus software on your PC.
Core and detection
Antivirus and anti-spyware engine
State of the art scanning engine provides reliable protection against
viruses, spyware and other forms of malicious software.
Real time anti-rootkit protection
Unique “on access” technology checks all kernel-mode
drivers that the operating system is loading for signs of rootkit behavior. This enables even unknown rootkits to be
detected and stopped before they can do any damage.
avast! Sandbox*
Enables potentially exploitable programs (such as web browsers)
and/or suspicious executables to be run in a safe, virtual environment.
The avast! Sandbox is unique as it runs on both 32 and 64bit platforms.
avast! Community IQ
Most samples we process come from sensors deployed throughout the
avast! community in the Behavior shield and anti-rootkit modules. This
is a unique source of data made possible only thanks to our huge user
base. Most of the collected samples are analysed by a number of
automated processes and only a small fraction of the samples need to be
processed manually by our virus analysts.
Code emulator
When a suspicious executable is encountered (during both on-demand
and on-access scanning), avast! is able to emulate the program’s code in
an isolated environment. The code emulator is used for two purposes.
First, it is used for generic unpacking. Secondly, it is used in the
heuristics engine. Technically, this is done using dynamic translation, a
method much faster than traditional emulation techniques.
Heuristics engine
Starting with version 5.0, avast! features a new heuristics engine
designed to proactively detect malware undetectable with normal
definitions. The heuristics engine is able to cover both binary
(executable) and script malware.
Potentially unwanted programs detection
New in version 5.0, avast! now detects potentially unwanted programs,
such as remote admin tools and commercial key loggers. Custom rules
can be set for dealing with these types of programs.
Scanning
Boot-time scanner
Allows you to scan your computer for infections before the operating
system has started and before a virus can be activated (32-bit
operating systems only).
Command-line scanner
Enables you to run a scan directly from the command line.
Wake-up for scan
Microsoft Windows is woken from sleep or hibernation mode, performs a scheduled scan, then returns back to sleep mode.
Scheduled scanning
Allows users to define the scan time and files to be scanned.
avast! Intelligent Scanner
Can reduce the number of required file scans by up to 80% through a
white list of proven safe applications. Files identified as safe are not
rescanned unless they change.
Shields
Behavior Shield
Monitors activity on your computer using a number of sensors (file
system, registry and network based) and reports/blocks any suspicious
behavior.
Behavioral Honeypots
avast! sensors identify and monitor suspicious file activity on
selected computers, automatically submitting files to the Virus Lab for
additional analysis.
File System Shield
Real-time scanning of opened/executed files.
Mail Shield
Scans all incoming/outgoing e-mails for malware. For MS Outlook, a
special plug-in is used. Other email clients are protected by a generic
POP3/IMAP4/SMTP proxy. New in version 5, the proxy also supports
scanning of SSL communication (gmail.com, sympatico.ca, ….)
Web Shield
Scans all visited web pages and checks all files, pages and java scripts
downloaded from the internet. Thanks to the Intelligent Stream Scan feature, the Web shield doesn’t slow down your web browsing.
P2P Shield
Checks files downloaded using P2P programs. – ABC, Ares, Azureus,
BearShare, Bit Torrent, BitComet, BitLord, BitPump, CZDC++, Direct
Connect, eDonkey, eMule, iDC++, iMesh, Kazaa, Kceasy, LimeWire,
Morpheus, Opera’s DC++, Overnet, Qtrax, Shareaza, SoulSeek, StrongDC++,
uTorrent, Vuze, WinMX, Winny2, Zultrax.
IM Shield
Checks files downloaded while using instant messaging or “chat”
programs. – AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), Gadu-Gadu, gaim/Pidgin, Google
Talk, ICQ, IM2 Messenger, Infium, Miranda, mIRC, MSN/Windows
Messenger, Odigo, PalTalk Messenger, Psi Jabber Client, QIP, QQ, SIM,
Skype, Tlen, Trillian, WengoPhone, XFire, Yahoo! Messenger.
Network Shield
Provides protection against network-based viruses. The module has two
main components: a URL blocker, designed to block malicious URLs (as
defined by the Virus Lab), and a lightweight intrusion-detection system.
Script Shield
Detects malicious scripts hidden in internet web pages and prevents
them from running and hijacking or potentially causing damage to your
computer (Internet Explorer only, 32-bit only).
Updates
Smart virus definition updates
Incremental updating system minimizes the size of regular update files.
Fast application of updates
New format for the virus definition file speeds up
application of updates into avast! 5.0 and reduces demand on CPU/memory, resulting in uninterrupted computer use.
New format for the virus definition file means faster updates and
reduces demand on CPU/memory, resulting in uninterrupted computer use.
Gaming
Silent/Gaming Mode
New Silent/Gaming Mode automatically detects full-screen applications
and disables pop-ups and other on-screen notifications without
degrading security.
Optimized for latest Intel Core i7 CPUs
Critical sections of the avast! scanning engine code have been
optimized to deliver unrivaled performance on the latest Intel chips.
CPU optimization
Multi-threaded scanning optimization
avast! runs faster on new multi-core CPUs. A new avast! feature
allows the splitting of large individual files between cores,
accelerating the scanning process.
Green computing
Reduced demands on the disk drive result in lower energy consumption.
Miscellaneous
avast! iTrack
Real-time graphic scanning reports.
Graphical user interface
Easy to navigate graphical interface.
Automatic processing
Infected files are processed automatically without requiring user instructions.
Technologies that are not included in avast! Pro Antivirus
Silent Firewall
The firewall enables you to control incoming and outgoing traffic
from your computer. Protection is based on heuristic and behavioral
analysis, and a white list of known safe applications. There are three
network settings which can be changed depending on the type of
connection.
Antispam
New comprehensive SPAM and fraudulent message filter. It works as a
plug-in to MS Outlook and a generic POP3/IMAP4 proxy for other email
clients.
For complete
on-line protection, we recommend avast! Internet Security. Comprehensive features include firewall and antispam.
* Note for avast! Sandbox technology:
supported:
- Windows XP SP2+ 32-bit
- Windows Server 2003, Vista, 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) only RTM versions are supported (Windows 7 SP1 RC is currently also supported)
not supported:
- Windows 2000
- Windows XP 64-bit (with any SP installed)
- Windows Server 2003 64-bit
