Kaspersky Anti-Virus

Features

Kaspersky Anti-Virus features include real-time protection, detection and removal of viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, adware, keyloggers malicious tools and auto-dialers, as well as detection and removal of rootkits. It also includes instantaneous automatic updates via the "Kaspersky Security Network" service.

According to Kaspersky, "Kaspersky Security Network service allows users of Kaspersky Lab security products from around the world to help facilitate malware identification and reduce the time it takes to provide protection against new (“in the wild”) security risks targeting your computer." Kaspersky Lab maintains a strict privacy policy for use of this service and asserts that volunteering to use this service by sending certain information "contains no personally identifiable information about the user and is utilized by Kaspersky Lab for no other purposes but to enhance its security products and to further advance solutions against malicious threats and viruses."

Windows users may download an Anti-Virus Rescue Disk that scans the host computer during booting inside an isolated Linux environment. In addition, Kaspersky Anti-Virus prevents itself from being disabled by malware without user permission via password access prompts upon disabling protection elements and changing internal settings. It also scans incoming instant messenger traffic, automatically disables links to known malware hosting sites while using Internet Explorer or Firefox and includes free Technical Support and free product upgrades within paid-subcription periods. Kaspersky Lab currently offers 1 year, 2 year and 3 year subscriptions.
Awards

According to AV-Comparatives, Kaspersky Anti-Virus rates highly amongst virus scanners in terms of detection rates, even despite the fact that the program has failed two Virus Bulletin tests in 2007 and another two in 2008.[1] In addition, PC World awarded Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 the Editor's Choice in its 2007 anti-virus comparative[2]. The well-known and highly regarded Ars Technica lists Kaspersky as one of the best choices for Anti-Virus on the Windows platform.[3]

Kaspersky Anti-Virus was "A-listed" by the UK PC journal PC Pro in late 2007, where it scored very highly for detection and removal of malware[4]. PC Pro attributes this to “a combination of the software’s heuristic scanning and uncompromising approach to database updates[4]. While many packages check for new virus signatures on a daily basis, Kaspersky runs to an hourly schedule, improving your chances of being immunized before an infection reaches it.” [5]

Kaspersky Anti-Virus was tested by PassMark in June 2008 and was accoladed as having "the industry's fastest scan times" on Windows Vista.
Limits

Kaspersky Anti-Virus lacks certain features found in Kaspersky Internet Security. These missing features include a personal firewall, HIPS, AntiSpam, AntiBanner and parental control tools.

Also, Kaspersky, like the majority of its competitors, is incompatible with many other anti-virus and anti-spyware software.[6]
Macintosh

The newly released Macintosh capable edition of Kaspersky Anti-Virus is compatible on (Intel Processor Based) Mac OS X v.10.4 and higher to include the brand new version Mac OS X Snow Leopard, released in August 2009. Kaspersky Labs internal testing concludes consuming only 1% CPU impact on performance and is designed to maintain a user friendly Mac-like interface that Mac users are familiar with. Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac contains definitions to detect and block malware affecting Windows, Linux and Mac OS X alike. Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac also scans shared folders of users running Windows using Virtual PC on capable Apple Macintosh personal computers.[7]
Linux editions

An edition of Kaspersky's anti-virus solution for Linux workstations is available to business consumers.[8] It offers many of the features included in the mainstream version for Windows, including on-access and on-demand scanners.

Specialized editions of Kaspersky Anti-Virus are also available for a variety of Linux servers and offer protection from most forms of malware.
System requirements
XP (32/64-bit) Windows Vista (32/64-bit) Windows 7 (32/64-bit) Mac OS X (v.10.4.11 "Tiger" or higher) Linux (Red Hat, Mandriva, Fedora, Debian, SUSE)
Processor Intel Pentium 300 MHz or higher (or equivalent) Intel Pentium 800 MHz or higher (or equivalent) Intel Pentium 1 GHz or higher (or equivalent) Intel Pentium 1 GHz or higher (or equivalent) Intel Pentium 133 MHz or higher (or equivalent)
RAM 256 MB 512 MB 1 GB 512 MB 64 MB
Free hard drive space 50 MB 50 MB 50 MB 80 MB 100 MB

A DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive, Internet Explorer 5.5 or above and Windows Installer 2.0 or above are also required for the installation of Kaspersky Anti-Virus in Windows. The latest version can either be downloaded from their official website or purchased through retail.

The last version of Kaspersky Anti-Virus that still supported Windows Me was 6.0.2.621 and the last version that still supported Windows 2000 was 7.0.0.125.
Security flaws

* In 2005, two critical flaws were discovered in Kaspersky Anti-Virus. One could let attackers commandeer systems that use it.[9] One allowed CHM files to insert malicious code.[10]