Further Information
Antivirus engine
The latest version of avast! antivirus kernel features outstanding
detection abilities, together with high performance. You can expect
100% detection of In-the-Wild viruses (viruses already spreading
between users) and excellent detection of Trojan horses.
The kernel is certified by ICSA Labs; it frequently takes part in the tests of Virus Bulletin magazine, often yielding the VB100 award.
The avast! engine also features outstanding unpacking support. It can
scan inside the following archives: ARJ, ZIP, MIME (+ all associated
formats), MAPI (Outlook pst files), DBX (Outlook Express archives),
RAR, TAR, GZIP, CAB, BZIP2, ZOO, ACE, ARC, LHA/LHX, TNEF (winmail.dat),
CPIO, CHM, RPM, ISO, 7ZIP and SIS. It also supports a number of
executable packers (such as PKLite, Diet, UPX, ASPack, PeShield, FSG,
MEW etc.).
Last, but not least, it can also scan for viruses and other types of
malware hidden in Alternate data streams on NTFS volumes of the host
machine.
Virus Shields
Virus Shields (also known as the Resident protection or On-Access
Scanner, that is the real-time protection of the device), is one of the
most important features of an antivirus program today. avast! features
a powerful resident module that is able to detect malware before it has
any chance to infect your U3 smart drive and cause any harm, even if
you are not logged on as an administrator on the host machine.
The file system protection module ensures that no virus will be saved
on your U3 volume, and if one is detected, you are given a chance to
remove it instantly.
Even before the Virus Shields start, the host machine is thoroughly
scanned to ensure its integrity. If a virus is found active on the host
machine, it is not recommended to continue working.
Automatic updates
Automatic updates are another key need in virus protection. Both the
virus database and the program itself can be updated automatically. The
updates are incremental,
with only new or missing data downloaded: thus reducing the transfer
heavily. The typical size of a virus database updates are tens of KB;
program updates typically are in the hundreds of KB range.
The update is performed automatically whenever the U3 smart drive is
connected (provided Internet connection is available), and can also be
performed manually at any later time from the program interface.
User interface
The program comes with a simple-to-use user interface and comprehensive
online help. The whole system was designed so that deep knowledge of
computers or computer security is not necessary to operate the program.
Most tasks are preset so that the program can take action
automatically, without asking any difficult questions.
The activity of the Virus Shields is signalized by a small icon in the
system tray. By clicking the icon, you can simply access all parts of
the program.
Internationalization
Commitment to internationalization is one of the key benefits of
avast!. The program supports all languages supported by the U3
LaunchPad itself, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian,
Japanese and Simplified Chinese.
The language settings are inherited from the U3 environment, i.e. to
change the current language use the U3 LaunchPad settings dialog.
