G Data AntiVirus 2014

By Neil J. Rubenking

Even though not all of us can distinguish red from green, the vast majority of antivirus programs include an icon or banner that stays green when all is well but turns red when a problem arises. With its new user interface, G Data AntiVirus 2014 ($29.95, direct) marches to a different drummer. The top stripe remains red regardless of security status and turns gray when another window becomes active.

The new user interface doesn't leave you clueless as to system status. Three big green checkmark icons let you know that security status is fine, your license is still valid, and your antivirus definitions are up to date. If there's any problem the icon will turn red or yellow, depending on the severity. It took some getting used to, but I kind of like the look. I was less impressed with some of the current security features, though.

Some Collateral Damage
G Data installed without incident on most of my twelve malware-infested test systems. Malware interfered with activation or with updates on a few systems. A full scan solved those problems, and I scanned again after an update. The G Data Boot Medium rescue CD salvaged one system on which ransomware rendered the desktop inaccessible.

On more than half of the systems, the scan was interrupted by a request to reboot for thorough cleaning of active malware. After this reboot, the scan picked up where it left off. On a few systems this reboot request was repeated two, three, or even four times, but eventually they all finished the full scan.

That's where the problems began. The antivirus quarantined an essential Windows file on two systems, disabling my ability to boot into Windows. I booted the rescue CD and gathered logs for tech support to peruse. Doing so was quite a challenge, as I had to use a Linux terminal with a German keyboard layout. I typed "szstem32" all too many times and had to learn new locations for important command-line characters like dash, slash, and asterisk.

On advice from tech support, I tried booting Windows with the "Last Known Good" option; that sorted out one damaged system. As for the other, I had to use that Linux terminal again to restore non-infected versions of the problem files. I do wonder how Joe User would have managed when confronted with this level of hands-on repair.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/bls3sQK36g4/0,2817,2419007,00.asp

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