Emsisoft Anti-Malware 7.0

I try my best to keep up with all the new versions of all the antivirus products out there, but sometimes I miss one. The last time I reviewed Emsisoft's offering, it was version 5.0. Somewhere on the way to the current Emsisoft Anti-Malware 7.0 ($39.95, direct) I missed version 6.0. There's not much visible difference in this new version; its strengths and weaknesses are much the same as before.

One big difference isn't visible at all. Emsisoft has always used a combination of in-house antivirus code with a third-party licensed engine. Version 5.0 licensed Ikarus; the current version licenses Bitdefender. Given Bitdefender's stellar performance in independent lab tests, I expected a big improvement from Emsisoft. Alas, it didn't deliver.

Simple Install
The product installed without issue on ten of my twelve malware-infested test systems. I like the fact that the installation process includes updating the antivirus definitions and running a full scan. I finished with the ten no-problem systems in a single morning, making good time.

Ransomware on one system renders the desktop inaccessible in all Windows modes, which meant I couldn't easily install Emsisoft. A little consultation with Emsisoft tech support turned up a way to get the product installed despite resistance by ransomware. One full scan removed the ransomware; I ran a second scan just to be sure.

Malware on another test system interfered with Emsisoft's update process. A full scan fixed that problem, after which I let it update and ran another full scan. All in all, getting this product installed for testing was a breeze. All was well until it came time to finish the scanning process.

Complex Cleanup
The initial Deep Scan ran with total success on just two of the twelve infested systems. On the other ten, the scanner announced that it was unable to quarantine one or more files, and advised getting help from tech support for full cleanup. In some cases the files were virus-infected system files, or even files belonging to Emsisoft that had been infected. In other cases the scanner warned that it doesn't support automatic removal of rootkits.

Technically I should have taken my problems to the Emsisoft forums, but in the interest of saving time I arranged to work directly with a tech support expert. Initially he suggested using Emsisoft Emergency Kit 2.0 to clean up the problem systems, but he quickly shifted to a collection of third-party tools.

The process was arduous beyond belief. Over the course of a week, I spent more than 30 hours running diagnostics, emailing logs, executing cleanup scripts, and otherwise manually cleaning up the problem systems. I wound up using over a dozen third-party tools, including some from Kaspersky, McAfee, and Panda, and exchanged over 150 separate files with tech support.

Some of the third-party tools are quite powerful, and include warnings against use by non-experts. I stuck strictly with the instructions from tech support and didn't improve. Even so, two of the test systems wound up in a non-bootable state. Fixing them would have required creation of a Bart PE CD, a task that I felt would be too far beyond the abilities of Joe User. As it is, I'm doubtful about Joe's stamina, with an average of three full hours spent on each system's cleanup.

New Lab Results
I do like to refer to tests performed by the many independent labs, to see how they do or don't jibe with my own tests. In the past, all I've had to go on with Emsisoft is the fact that in the last ten tests by Virus Bulletin it only received VB100 certification twice. Quite a few antivirus products have passed all ten of the last ten; two in ten is rather poor.

Now I have a bit more to go on, as Emsisoft participated in the latest on-demand malware detection test by AV-Comparatives. Based on detection alone, Emsisoft would have earned the top rating, ADVANCED+. However, a large number of false positives (valid files detected as malicious) knocked it down to ADVANCED.

Emsisoft does use Bitdefender's antivirus engine, so you might expect its results to track with those of Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013, which gets excellent scores across the board. However, based on my own tests I don't think there's necessarily a correlation.

For more about the independent labs and their tests, see How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/pLc6d5jYafU/0,2817,2418329,00.asp

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