One Of The Best For 2004! By "Gizmo"

[davethefish1]

Best Free Utility for 2004
==========================

Winner: Prevx Home, Intrusion Detection Software
http://www.prevx.com/

In the coming year I suspect that most users will end up
installing at least one intrusion detection software product
(IDS) on their PC. That's because IDS provide a vital additional
layer of protection against internet security threats.

Current security products like anti-virus software and spyware
scanners have a serious weakness. They are only effective at
protecting you from viruses, worms, trojans and spyware that are
currently listed in their signature databases. They offer little
protection against new malware products whose signatures are
unknown.

Many anti-virus vendors only distribute updates to their
signature files on a weekly basis. In the interval between
updates your PC is vulnerable to new threats. Unfortunately
such threats can propagate across the internet in hours.

That's where IDS can play a vital role in securing your PC.

IDS detect malware trying to get into your PC by its behavior
rather than by looking for a characteristic signature. Kind of
like a detective catching a thief using his modus operandi
rather than his fingerprint. Any of you who use WinPatrol or
SpyBot's TeaTimer are actually using a form of IDS.

In the last month I've been evaluating the home IDS software
products on the market. I'll have the full results for a future
issue of this newsletter but I can tell you that the product
that impressed me the most was one called Prevx Home.

The level of protection offered by PrevX is awesome. It detected
everything I threw at it - nothing got past. It didn't miss a
single malware product.

And there's more that impresses:

Unlike other IDS programs like WinPatrol and TeaTimer, Prevx
runs as a kernel level service rather than a normal windows
program. This means it can not be easily attacked and pulled
down by hostile malware programs. This protection is vital as
many malware products routinely pull down or disable security
products.

No other product I tested offered this combination of
outstanding detection combined with hardened self security.

But this effectiveness comes at a cost. IDS programs are
notorious for flashing up many false alarms and Prevx is no
different. In fact it's amongst the prolific. That's because
it's so good at watching your computer that it inadvertently
catches legitimate programs carrying out legitimate activities.

When first installed it issues dozens of security warnings.
Enough to annoy many users and confuse others.

That's the bad news. The good news is that Prevx gradually
learns what is legitimate and what is not so the number of
warning messages slowly declines over time. In the interim
though expect to get warnings frequently. Such is the cost of
security.

Inexperienced users and those who install a lot of programs may
find this price too high to pay. That's a personal decision.
Those prepared to accept the inconvenience however will be
rewarded with a dramatic upgrade in their computer security.
That's why Prevx is now permanently resident on my PC.

One of the reasons Prevx is so effective is that it a home
version of a full fledged commercial IDS product. We
congratulate the Prevx Company for making such an outstanding
product available to the internet community for free.

[pesach]

Winner: Prevx Home, Intrusion Detection Software.??

Dave, After you have used it for awhile let us know if it worthwhile even for free.

Phil