Avast Technology

[Deleted member 2913]

Avast Technology

A good read.

 

[SloppyMcFloppy]

I don't understand any of them. But as long they protect their users then that's all matter to them.

 

[XhenEd]

So, I guess Avast's most celebrated technologies are in the server-side. I hope Avast is also really good at offline protection.

I still love Avast, by the way. Avast was my first AV (besides Mcafee AV that was pre-installed, but uninstalled few days later) that I love most.

 

[Nikos751]

Great info!
By the way, Avast detection has improved in my latest malware sample based tests compared to one year ago.

 

[kiric96]

offline protection.

well i tested avast some time ago and despite it did a good job protecting me while online, the product became a just signature product, none of their stuff (autosanbox; hardened mode; etc) actually worked the way they did while online and some of them actually didnt work at all...

 

[Deleted member 2913]

I have always find Avast proactive technologies average. In the recent times they have come up with quite a few of their proactive technologies... Evo-Gen, Dyna, Deepscreen, FileReputation, etc... One look in the module settings & their blog, etc... for the explanation of those proactive technologies... one would say damn Avast is going to rock... but on the proactive front they were always not that strong & still I find them average in terms of proactive security in Avast.

Other products like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Emsisoft, etc... Proactive protection in these products is good... Bitdefender Active Virus Control, Kaspersky Application Control with its layered approach, Emsisoft Behavior Blocker... these proactive in the products works good.

Qihoo 360 QVM is better than all the fancy name & proactive of Avast.
Initially FPs were there but seems they are doing their job as now I see 360 users mention not a prob now... Good for the users & Qihoo.

 

[bunchuu]

I like avast because of its user friendly UI and pricing policy (free version of AV). However, their incremental updates delivered in 2 or 3 days. I think that their "new" server side technology is to get rid their weakness.

 

[SloppyMcFloppy]

I have always find Avast proactive technologies average. In the recent times they have come up with quite a few of their proactive technologies... Evo-Gen, Dyna, Deepscreen, FileReputation, etc... One look in the module settings & their blog, etc... for the explanation of those proactive technologies... one would say damn Avast is going to rock... but on the proactive front they were always not that strong & still I find them average in terms of proactive security in Avast.

Haha, true.

 

[XhenEd]

Bump!
With these Avast technologies, is DeepSreen a part of them? The site mentions Avast Sandbox. But does it also refer to DeepScreen? From my understanding they are different. According to Avast blog » Research buzz: Undercover technology ,DeepScreen utilizes both Avast Sandbox and SafeMachine (I don't even know if this is working).

I'm really just wondering if DeepScreen is used right now by Avast. I'm tired of hearing about Avast saying that their technologies are available, only to find out that they temporarily took out support for them (latest example is the Secure VM for Windows 10). I don't even know if dyna-gen is working right now.

 

[Lord Ami]

DeepScreen is used. It is used on systems where NG requirements are not met (e.g older hardware/Windows 10 IIRC).

DeepScreen itself takes advantage of DynaGen - Avast Virus Update History | Information on Latest Viruses (You see lots of Dyna detections added here).
If I get it right, Dyna detections play role on how effective DeepScreen (and NG) are. In my tests with samples from various sources, DeepScreen is quite effective with unknown files and most malware is detected by it. It will only get better. Cloud technologies need time to mature and Avast seems to be pretty mature now (vs year ago).

Together with Evo-Gen and FileRep it makes up a pretty decent detection. Only downside from avast is that they have not started aggressive PUP blocking...

 

[XhenEd]

DeepScreen is used. It is used on systems where NG requirements are not met (e.g older hardware/Windows 10 IIRC).

DeepScreen itself takes advantage of DynaGen - Avast Virus Update History | Information on Latest Viruses (You see lots of Dyna detections added here).
If I get it right, Dyna detections play role on how effective DeepScreen (and NG) are. In my tests with samples from various sources, DeepScreen is quite effective with unknown files and most malware is detected by it. It will only get better. Cloud technologies need time to mature and Avast seems to be pretty mature now (vs year ago).

Together with Evo-Gen and FileRep it makes up a pretty decent detection. Only downside from avast is that they have not started aggressive PUP blocking...

Okay, thanks!

I'm actually testing Avast! free in my VM right now. But DeepScreen was inconsistent. It didn't analyze a supposed malware (probably a PUP) for the first time I ran that file. But DeepScreen showed up after I ran the malicious file for 3 or 4 times. And the analysis showed that the file is clean (probably because it's a PUP-bundler, not itself a PUP).

Anyway, avast! feels lighter in my VM than EIS. I don't know if this is just a placebo effect.

 

[Lord Ami]

Yeah I can relate. Avast is a bit lousy when it comes to PUP detection. It is not necessarily a bad thing tho, since lot of installers do not install PUPs while avast is running (sometimes downloaded co-installers are blocked).

However I have found DS quite amazing at times.