avast Server Edition

- antivirus kernel: in the latest version of Avast! the antivirus kernel has world-class danger detection functionality along with high performance. You can expect 100% detection of even the most complex and encrypted viruses and Trojans.

- Direct support for clusters and terminal services: Avast! 4 Server Edition is ready to go and supports large cluster and terminal servers. The program supports direct cluster configuration, including a special wizard that makes it easy to install in groups. to configure Avast! to work properly with the terminal, you can use another wizard that will guide you through the reorganization of the entire AVAST system to work in terminal mode. A properly configured program handles each terminal as a regular computer, i.e. gives it a quality protection. Terminal support is not limited to Microsoft terminals, it is also fully functional in the Citrix MetaFrame system.

- Integration into the operating system: Avast! 4 Server Edition has been fully tested on all versions of Windows servers (from NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003, including Windows Storage Server 2003 and Windows Datacenter Server 2003). It is fully optimized for multiple processors and has undergone stress testing, even on machines with a large number of processors to test the reliability and scalability of the technology, and special measures have been taken to ensure 100% compatibility with Advanced Server and in particular with components such as VSS (Volume Shadow Copy) and FRS (file replication services). Everything was at the highest level, Avast! 4 Server Edition guarantees that your server will function perfectly in all circumstances.

- 64-bit support: Avast! 4 Server Edition works with IA-64 and AMD-64 based machines. This is one of the very few anti-virus solutions on the market that covers this rapidly emerging platform that may become increasingly important in the coming years.

- Resident protection: Resident protection, which protects your computer in real time, is one of the most important parts of the antivirus program. Feature Avast! in a powerful resident module that is able to detect the virus before it tries to infect your computer. File system protection ensures that the virus will not be executed at startup, even if the virus has already been loaded. By default, the resident protection settings are placed on the server - it provides for thorough scanning. You can adjust the settings to your needs, you can specify specific files to scan or only files with a specific set of extensions, etc. An important new element is the so-called "semi-universal default" - the mode of operation of the program. Its purpose is to correctly detect the virus penetration into the server. It works this way: if you are prompted to download infected files from the Internet, automatic actions are performed and nothing is displayed. On the other hand, when the request comes from local computers or terminals, the program is used as usual, in interactive mode - i.e. as in desktop antivirus. The resident module is optimized for rapid testing even under heavy loads. It takes full advantage of modern powerful servers, such as multiple processors (scanning can be multithreaded). Designed specifically for use on a terminal server, AVAST! 4 Server Edition contains additional modules for e-mail protection (Outlook / Exchange, Internet Mail) and browser protection (Script Blocker).

- User interface: thanks to the fact that the Server Edition contains the usual AVAST! user mode, a simple and easy-to-use server, the usual user interface add-ons will make the work more convenient (except for the terminal server). The user interface extension gives you access to all AVAST settings, allowing you to fully customize it for a wide range of scans. The main principle is the so-called "master antivirus" option, on which scanning is based. First, you define tasks to scan for viruses, including general settings. Then you start scanning (possibly periodically). Each task gives some results; and of course, you can work with these results later on. Residential protection is also a special type of task. Another feature closely related to the tasks is the Planner. It allows you to plan the beginning of a specific task, both for one day and for its periodic implementation.

- Notification manager: to make the work easier, Server Edition contains a special notification manager. Here you can define objects for notifications and associate them with antivirus tasks (both resident and on-demand). These notification objects are used if a virus is found. The new version supports a number of other objects, such as sending e-mail using SMTP or MAPI (Outlook). Also supported: SMS, notifications via pop-ups (network message), message printing via network printer, SNMP traps or even chatting via MSN / Windows Messenger.

- Automatic update: automatic updates are another key factor in virus protection, so the virus database and the program itself can be updated automatically. The software searches for updates that have already been installed, so only new data is downloaded, thus reducing the transmission time. The typical size of a virus database update is about 20-80Kb, and the update of the program itself, as a rule, has about 200-500Kb. If your Internet connection is stable, the update is performed automatically in fixed time intervals. If you only connect occasionally, AVAST! automatically notices your connection and tries to update when you are online.

- push update: Server Edition features updates. This is a radical change in the philosophy of updating, as a rule, each installed program periodically checks for updates and when a new version is available, downloads and installs it. However, our servers work a little differently, they themselves send a request to the program when an update is released, due to this AVAST always has fresh updates installed immediately after their release. This system is based on the SMTP protocol. The entire system is protected by asymmetrical ciphers and resistant to unauthorized use.

- Virus center: the center can be considered a quarantine area on the disk with special properties that make it a safe and isolated place to store some files. You can work with files in quarantine in safe mode. The main properties of viral quarantine are complete isolation from the rest of the operating system.

- Scanning at boot time: special features of AVAST! Scanning at boot time. This is important if there is a suspicion that there may be an active virus in the boot sector infiltrating the computer. The boot scan is performed during the boot of the operating system itself, before the virus can be loaded/activated - thus preventing the spread of the virus or taking measures to avoid problems.

- Scanner command line options: experienced users know that one of the main features of Server Edition is the scanner command line. With its help, scanning can be controlled, various arguments and keys can be set, and it can be used as a folder filter. Special STDIN / STDOUT modes are also available.