Outpost Anti-Malware 7.0: An Agnitum Technote

As our users know, we've been focusing on antivirus technologies for the past several years to deliver an effective and fast security product that would appeal to the global audience, regardless of computer skills, eagerness to learn and - since recently - willingness to pay! While the first comprehensive free security suite in the industry makes its first steps, we'd like to tell you more about the antivirus technology behind Outpost Security Suite FREE.

Read on in our Anti-Malware Technote (PDF)!

P.S. The German version is also available from Agnitum's web-site.

Pavel Goryakin
Agnitum

Here’s what’s coming in Outpost 7.5

As promised in an earlier blog posting, we’re kicking off a series of posts about the upcoming Outpost 7.5. As with all previous and existing product lines, this release will include the all-in-one Outpost Security Suite Pro as well as the standalone Outpost Firewall Pro and Outpost Antivirus Pro, both offering subsets of the suite's functionality.

What follows covers new and improved functionality in the suite; if you have either Firewall Pro or Antivirus, it should be clear which updates will apply to your product. So without further ado, let’s dive into the most important changes planned for Outpost 7.5:

Updated anti-malware engine – version 5.2

Thanks to new management and storage methods for the signature databases, we’ve been able to reduce the anti-malware module’s memory usage by 50%. The updated anti-malware engine will deliver significantly-improved virus detection accuracy by grouping similar virus versions under a single signature.

Skyrocketed web content filtration

Our engineers have reworked the Web Control module to decrease resource load without impacting PC security. According to our internal research, HTML filtering is 50 times faster than in previous versions, ad-site filtering is 25 times faster, and spyware-site filtration is 50 to 100 times faster.

New! Outpost SmartDecision

A replacement for SmartAdvisor, Outpost SmartDecision rates every executable file against a number of criteria to determine its authenticity or potential for damage, using multi-level risk measurements. Using the results of this analysis, Outpost will give users visual guidance for further actions (allow or block).

SmartScan 4 / XAS technology

The 4th generation of SmartScan, code-named eXtended AttributeS (XAS), permits even faster caching of file and folder check information without affecting system performance.

Anti-Malware / eXtended Heuristic Analyzer

HAX now uses additional indicators and parameters for suspicious programs (the number of HAX signatures has grown by tens of times).

New! Clipboard and screen contents protection

There is a type of malware that aims to intercept personal data from the clipboard (so-called *clipboard-loggers*) or send randomly-taken screenshots to cyber-crooks (*screenloggers*). Outpost 7.5’s Clipboard content protection will prevent data leaks and inadvertent information disclosure by this type of malware during "copy" and "paste" operations.

Decreased memory usage

By consolidating the signature databases in user- and kernel-modes, Outpost 7.5 will reduce memory usage by 45 to 50 percent compared with Outpost 7.

PDF filtering

Outpost's PDF scanning module is now able to tackle non-standard and damaged files more effectively, and has cut down on false positives on PDF email attachments.

Full firewall compatibility with mobile broadband devices

Outpost’s firewall module now secures all traffic delivered through all known 3G modems.

Improved security for 64-bit platforms

Outpost 7.5 has been specifically redesigned to reflect improved performance and stability on 64-bit PCs.

The bottom line

Outpost 7.5 delivers high-speed performance in day-to-day web surfing and helps users make better security decisions. Outpost 7.5 provides fully-fledged network protection when using the latest broadband technologies and consistently strengthens proactive protection capabilities.

Stay tuned to learn more about the improvements and new functionality in our Outpost 7.5 series!

Pavel Goryakin
Agnitum

OSS 7.0.4 wins a VB100 under Windows 7

Outpost Security Suite Pro 7.0.4 received another VB100 award – in December 2010 tests performed by VirusBulletin under Windows 7.
As the test authors noted, "Helped by the clever caching which worked on detections as well as clean files, all tests were complete within a single day of testing, and throughout the test period the product’s stability was flawless. A well-earned VB100 award goes to Agnitum thanks to complete coverage of the WildList and a clear run through the clean sets".
Among the failed products were Arcabit (8 false positives), CA Internet Security Plus and Total Defense (21 in-the-wild samples missed, 2 false positives detected by CA Internet Security), Comodo Antivirus and Internet Security (5 missed samples, 1 false positive) and Rising IS (2500+ missed samples).
Agnitum Team is happy with the new award but won't be resting on laurels! There are plenty of detection and performance improvements to follow! Stay tuned...

Check out the updated Outpost Network Security 3.2!

Agnitum Team delivers an interim update for its SMB product - Outpost Network Security (ONS) 3.2 (3425.520.1245). The latest iteration brings along improved stability and performance for endpoint customers.

To learn more about the new ONS 3.2 check our previous post on the matter, or read more at the web-site. Pass the word to your boss or system administrator, the upgrade will do a lot of good to the firm's network security. Contact us for details!

Pavel Goryakin
Agnitum