ClamAV Looks to Secure Windows Desktops

IT administrators looking for a cloud-based, open source product to weed out malicious code for Windows desktop environments may just be in luck. eSecurity Planet takes a closer look at the latest cloud-based, security product birthed from the open source ClamAV project and what benefits enterprises could derive from it.

While leading antivirus vendors such as Symantec and McAfee aren’t exactly shaking in their boots, the free (at least for now) application uses a lightweight desktop client that connects to a cloud service that does the processing, reducing processing load on users’ systems.

ClamAV for Windows is the product of a partnership between Sourcefire (NASDAQ: FIRE) and security vendor Immunet. For those companies used to using ClamAV to scan their e-mail gateways and Windows file shares, this familiarity could spark some initial interest to this (mostly) open source alternative.


“One of the things that ClamAV has never really done a whole lot of was actual desktop installs,” Matt Watchinski, the senior director of Sourcefire’s vulnerability research team, told InternetNews.com. “A lot of people use ClamAV for their mail gateways and we wanted to bring that brand and experience to the Windows desktop market.”

While the core ClamAV open source project has not focused on desktop Windows installs, there is a separate project called ClamWin that already provides ClamAV for Windows desktops. However, the ClamWin project has some shortcomings: It does not scan files on access. Instead, it needs to be run manually or at a scheduled interval to scan a file or drive. The new ClamAV for Windows solution from Sourcefire, on the other hand, will perform on-access scanning.



Read the full story at eSecurity Planet:


Windows Security Gets Boost from ClamAV

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