Online Armor Firewall 5.5 released

[NathanF1]

Emsisoft Online Armor Firewall 5.5.0.1543 released

The following innovations make Online Armor 5.5 our best firewall ever:

Integration of Anti-Malware Network:
Unknown programs are immediately cross-checked against the cloud. The Online Database contains around 4 million entries and relies on the intelligence of the cloud. Programs considered harmless are automatically permitted, while annoying pop-up windows and alerts are omitted. So you can totally focus on your work!

New cloud-based scan:
Our cloud scan, already used in Emsisoft MalAware, has been included in Online Armor. Even if there is no record of a file in the Anti-Malware Network, more than 7 million signatures mean that malware can be recognized reliably to keep your PC safe.

Improved license and update system:
Software updates are downloaded and installed way quicker. Moreover, Online Armor relies on the license system used for other Emsisoft products. Access our Customer Center to find and manage the licenses for all your Emsisoft products in one place. Your Online Armor license key will be automatically transferred to the new system as soon as you use version 5.5 for the first time. Unnecessary key resets when reinstalling your OS are a thing of the past.

New pricing system rewards your loyalty:
The 1-year license is 25 % cheaper if renewed once the initial 1-year period has expired and will be a further 5 % cheaper for every additional year you renew it. Long-term customers can thus benefit from discounts of up to 50 %.

Fine tuning:
We have added news popups that keep you up to date with the latest Emsisoft news and fixed several potential incompatibilites, e.g. in combination with Ad Muncher or WinCrypt. As well as countless minor changes for improved user experience and best protection.
To get the latest version, just run an online update or alternatively uninstall and reinstall the latest setup package from the official Emsisoft Online Armor product page.

If you are using Online Armor FREE earlier than 5.0, please uninstall this version and download the new one.

Introductory offer: Pack of 3 for the price of 1 = 45 % discount!
Limited offer until February 14th, 2012: Buy a 1-year license now for Emsisoft Online Armor Firewall for 3 PCs at a special price: Instead of US $73.- only US $40.-. Buy here

License Information

License Activation

A reference to OA++ Edition, Emsisoft guarantees the continued provision of signature updates for Online Armor++ until at least June 30th, 2012. You can switch from OA++ to Internet Security Pack for free. More info here.


Programs \ Options
OASIS has been replaced with Anti-Malware Network. There is no option to display a notification when OA performs a cloud check.

Emsisoft Online Database

 

[NSG001]

RE: Online Armor Firewall 5.5.0.1543 released

Thanks Nathan.
Will be updating mine later, lookin' good
Surprised they are still supporting the ++ version though.

 

[Deleted member 178]

RE: Online Armor Firewall 5.5.0.1543 released

And what about the resource usage?

 

[NSG001]

RE: Online Armor Firewall 5.5.0.1543 released

And what about the resource usage?

About 30mb idle, I'm using the free version.

 

[NSG001]

RE: Online Armor Firewall 5.5.0.1543 released

Just updated to version 5.5.0.1557.
No changelog yet tho' ?

 

[Deleted member 178]

RE: Online Armor Firewall 5.5.0.1543 released

And what about the resource usage?

About 30mb idle, I'm using the free version.

still high, they should improve that.

 

[NathanF1]

RE: Online Armor Firewall 5.5.0.1543 released

Just updated to version 5.5.0.1557.
No changelog yet tho' ?

The latest update should fix an undisclosed bug in OA, which would prevent performing updates or activating licenses:

Summary: Automatic Update failed
Description: OA: Cannot process online updates. Please check the internet connection settings or contact the support.
Event type: Auto update(11)
Event action: None(1)

Version 5.5.0.1545 was temporarily revoked. They had a server-side fix deployed temporarily to resolve the issue, 5.5.0.1557 should contain the fix [the latest build is available for download on the Emsisoft server, although the web page may still show 5.5.0.1545, or as online update].

According to Fabian Wosar [Emsisoft Developer], there should be noticeable performance gains moving to EAM Network:

This is mainly due to the switch from OASIS to the Emsisoft Anti-Malware Network. The later is roughly 1000 times as fast when answering queries while OASIS often took up to 10 seconds to answer requests. During that time the system was essentially stalled not doing anything. You should also notice that the Safety Check Wizard takes a lot less time to complete now for the very same reason.

Also, the participation in the Emsisoft Anti-Malware Network was no longer optional for Free users when OA 5.5 was initially released:

It was intended to be the way free users contribute to the further development and improvement of our products. But we will make it optional for Free users again in the next build scheduled for today.

What kind of information does OA send to the cloud:

There are 2 kinds of requests: Queries and reports.

Queries are sent whenever Online Armor encounters an unknown application. So if you download a program and there are no rules for that program and it isn't included in the shipped white or black lists either, Online Armor will send a query to the Emsisoft Anti-Malware Network to see if the cloud knows how to handle that program. Queries contain a set of file hashes only.

Reports are sent whenever Online Armor encounters a file that is unknown within the cloud and whenever you allow or block a certain program or behavior. It contains:

• Generic file information like file name, creation and modification time stamps and file size.
• Set of hashes.
• The machine key of the system. The machine key is essentially an irreversible hash of certain system information. It is used by the licensing system to track license usage and is used by the Emsisoft Anti-Malware Network as one method to prevent data poisoning.
• List of behaviors that Online Armor observed during the programs execution.
• Whether or not you decided to trust the application.
• Whether or not you decided to allow a specific behavior.
• The file's version information.
• The file's digital certificate information.
• The file's imported and exported DLL functions.
• If the file is an installer the report will include list of installed files [file names only].

Emsisoft Online Armor Support Forum
OA 5.5 Wilders thread

 

[NathanF1]

RE: Online Armor Firewall 5.5.0.1543 released

Emsisoft Online Armor 5.5.0.1557:

• License information may be lost during update – fixed.
• Anti-Malware Network lookups are not available in free version – fixed.
• Added autofill of ”Enter key” edit box in the “Select license” dialog (if there’s an already existent license).