Computer Associates Online Scan

[login123]

CA was and is (edit, in deference to Rorschach112 below: "or not") a great antivirus app, but has moved out of my price range (not free ). They used to offer the very best antivirus app out there for free.

 

I Just tried the online scanner, using powershadow, sandboxie. I spent about an hour, only to find out at the end that it doesn't remove threats. May be meant for pros, who know how to manually remove threats.

 

Here is what I found out. Their link is: http://cainternetsecurity.net/entscanner/

 

- will download and install a cab file and an activx.

- downloads start when you accept the eula.

- shows the threats found and offers a link to information about them.

- missed my pet rootkit. :-)

- does not remove them, offers to sell you the product to remove the threat.

- $99.95, Plus $9.95 for the download manager.

- does not offer to uninstall itself, not listed in add/remove,

- but it does remove most of its own files and folders when you log off.

 

antispyware scan = 12 min

antivirus scan = stopped after 21 minutes, cause I knew it wouldn't remove anything.

 

Any thoughts?

[DennisD]

I absolutely hate the scan for free, find threats, and then ask you to pay marketing ploy. Why don't they tell you up front what it doesn't do, and save you wasting time.

 

What it achieves is to scare the life out of less experienced internet users, who will probably think the only solution is to pay for the product. I think it's a devious way to elicit business.

 

Just my two penneth.

[hazelnut]

I agree with Dennis here.

 

Also login I think that it's a bit overpriced when you consider if you don't take up the offer you have to remove some of it yourself!!

 

A couple of years ago it used to be a good av, the only reason I gave up on it was it's constant intrusions onto my computer to try and get me to buy it when my year's free time was coming to an end.

[Rorschach112]

CA is a pretty terrible AV, has been for a long time.

 

ESET online scanner is free and removes what it finds. I'm a big Kaspersky Webscan fan though

[login123]

Well, OK, w/ what Rorschach112 says, CA is maybe not so great. Used to be tho, I tested the heck out of it in the last millenium. And it was free. They underwent some corporate juggling along about 2005, 2006, maybe that changed things.

 

edit: I agree, DennisD, it marked 2 temporary cookies and the eicar file as dangerous but missed a couple of other baddies that I have on here more or less permanently. Didn't scare me "I ain't skeered, the kid says, whistling in the dark..." but would have maybe scared some newbie.

 

Anyway, maybe this post will save someone some time.

[DennisD]

It's a good thread login.

 

There are many of these "free" scans which in the end do absolutely nothing except try to scare folk into buying the product, and a thread like this brings that fact to the attention of a lot of people who aren't aware of it.