Advanced Security Lavasoft Ad-Aware 11 - Teh Lowdown

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Ray Redbad

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Time for an update to this thread...

The current version 11.x of Lavasoft Ad-Aware remains a dual solution product with up-to-date Bitdefender components and the latest iteration of the historical Lavasoft.

The Lavasoft Antivirus engine includes libraries and drivers for anti-malware, anti-phishing, anti-rootkit, anti-spam and email, web and real time protection. All versions have heuristics tech once marketed as Helix and Genotype. All versions include their Malware Sandbox Emulator - quoting their Web site, "...a full-blown (no compromise) virtual technology...analyzes potential cyber threats by observing their behavior in a virtual environment...protect(s)...from many unidentified or new variants of malware."

For the free and paid Ad-Aware versions, the Bitdefender side of things has the latest core library (11.0.1.12 - as in BD 2015, Emsisoft 9) and utilizing the BD definitions in the ubiquitous plugins folder.

Depending on which paid version, Bitdefender libraries are included for the firewall, anti-spam, online threats, web filtering and behavior (AVC).

The firewall core is version 7.0.0.2, again the same as in Bitdefender 2015 - at the time of this posting, of course.

When system libraries, drivers and support files are updated (i.e. a new av core dll) it is done with same updater as the defs/sigs. That is, protection components updates are not dependent on a product update..

Free protects only browsers with the Ad-Aware Security Toolbar only if opted-in during install; it's for "Chrome, Firefox & IE, please note that the Toolbar does not work with Google Chrome but the (toolbar browser) protection engine does" according to a March 14 email reply from their support. Again, the Real Time Protection engines will kick in as needed.

EDIT: Reportedly, in September the Security Toolbar, currently in Beta, will be replaced by the Web Companion.

The paid versions protect against Internet threats for all Web enabled apps: browsers (including QtWebKit), PDF & RSS readers, links opened in documents. Not protected with these libraries are apps that stream content and metadata (Windows Media Player, VLC, Crackle, etc.), however the Real Time Protection engines will kick in as needed.

EDIT: v11.3 adds Bitdefender Active Virus Control - avcbd64.dll AVC core v3.10.7820.4452
For Personal, Pro and Total; best described by BD, "...a proactive, dynamic detection technology. It monitors processes’ behavior in real time, as they are running, and tags suspicious activities."

Pro and Total feature email protection as well as "Advanced protection," an intrusion prevention technology (HIPS) in the firewall they call Safe Networking.

All versions install about 400MB definitions at install and then incrementally (a few MBs) from then on. If kept at the update every 1 hour default, defs download as soon as BD releases them - 10-15 or more a day.

Reference their Web site and
http://userguide.lavasoft.com/ad-aware11/Public/Default.aspx
for greater detail on features and the user interface.

Product comparison:
http://lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware.php

Change Logs:
http://lavasoft.com/products/ad_awa...uct_version=AdAwareFreeAntivirus#version_logs

For details normally published in VB100's paid subscriptions and generously posted publicly by Lavasoft:
http://lavasoft.com/products/compare.php#VB100

I don't know why Free doesn't shine in AV-Test's Real World results, currently at 91.6% detection for version 11.1. Hopefully next month, 11.2 will have been tested with a better showing (edit: it didn't, but 92.3%). Waiting now on 11.3 results... My guess is the browser Toolbar doesn't detect all that well. I wonder how paid versions would fare, having greater BD feature sets, particularly Pro and Total and now with BD AVC?

On my 3rd-gen i7 tower and i5 laptop Windows 7 64-bit systems running Pro and Personal respectively in parallel with MBAM 2.0 Premium, Zemana AntiLogger Pro and WinPatrol Plus (Windows firewall on the i5), there is no weight experienced from the heavy thing.

Cheers.
 
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Mateotis

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Mar 28, 2014
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I'm don't know why Free doesn't shine in AV-Test's Real World results, currently at 91.6% detection for version 11.1. Hopefully next month, 11.2 will have been tested with a better showing. My guess is the browser Toolbar didn't detect all that well. I wonder how paid versions would fare, they being all Bitdefender? Oh well.

BD always employs their latest definitions in their AVs first (that's sort of a "duh", but still). All the other vendors who use their definitions get it later. I don't know if it depends on how much do these vendors update their AVs or when BD actually releases the definitions to them. Either way, there is always a difference in samples detected by BD and samples detected by other AVs using BD engine.
 
R

Ray Redbad

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Hmmm. Apparently no delete available. So, this edit instead. o_O
 
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