http://www.immunet.com/

It's a young project, but if it takes off, it looks like it could be a nice tool.

The website explains it well, but if you're looking for the short version, what that is is a client for a web-based antivirus. Rather than smashing your computer with ridiculously inefficient scans of 800,000 files against millions of virus definitions, the client scans for viruses that are out in the wild, affecting people who are likely to pass the virus on to you. The scan is definitely lightweight. Norton's daily CPU-busting scan takes about forty minutes if I walk away from my computer...and it basically requires that I walk away from my computer, because Norton fails at staying in the background. Immunet's scan took 38 seconds while iTunes was running and I was happily trolling the forums.

I'm not turning off Norton just yet. I'm a bit skeptical still, and it looks like the program will require a lot more users before it becomes really effective. It's tested to run alongside Norton (and others), so it's all good. If the reviews are still good after more professionals take a swing at it, I know I'll be overjoyed to turn off my antivirus scans.

That and NAV consumes memory space like there's no tomorrow.

Tried this, not very good.

Do not recommend at all. The GUI wouldnt even load correctly, there is no uninstall (you have to use add/remove), and the scans dont seem to pick up things malwarebytes and spybot do.

I don't mean to be a smartass, but if you're worried about viruses and don't like the overhead, why are you using Norton?

Get Avast. You'll never even know it is there except when it tells you it updated its database (you can turn the voice off as well). And of course, when it catches a virus. You can even work through the full scans, though when you first install you should do the 'restart-and-scan' scan which you can't work through because the scan happens sort of before windows boots up.

Are you sure this isn't some sort of scam ?

The fact that it wants to access and permission to facebook scares me a bit.

edit: I should clarify. This project is started by people who used to work at major anit-virus companies. But they are giving the program away for free. To me, this implies that they plan on getting money some other way, and facebook has huge advertising potential etc. Sharing that sort of information that an anti-virus program would have access to seems a bit sketchy to me.

Bali, I have a feeling that something on your system is incompatible. I know you use Windows, but it does say that it's only tested with certain antivirus programs. Spybot isn't a protective suite at all, so that's probably not your issue. I'm unfamiliar with Malwarebytes, but that might be why stuff isn't working. As for the uninstall, that's the correct and proper design for antivirus programs.

I'm curious about the lapse in coverage, though. Did you manage to get yourself infected with something more substantial than a tracking cookie in the last few hours and Immunet just didn't pick it up? If that's the case, yeah, the program's not doing what it's supposed to and can probably be left for when it improves. If the concern is that it doesn't lug around Norton's or AVG's six million definitions, then that's sorta the point.

Teo, I've never tried Avast, but benchmark results (that are admittedly from both companies 2008 products, so this might no longer be true) show Norton performing faster and with less resource overhead than Avast. I know there's a YMMV disclaimer with all such things, but swapping antivirus programs is a big enough pain that I just research and trust people chose representative tests. That's not even mentioning that Avast is a fairly stripped down program in comparison.

Dag, you just fail at reading comprehension.

It's asking for access to Facebook because you clicked the option to use Facebook to determine your social networks and likely avenues for infection. There's a very detailed writeup for why on the website.

I know what it said, but I don't trust it.

Trust me, they aren't doing this for free out of the goodness of their heart. There is a lot of money to be made with the sort of information they are asking to have access to.

You might also want to look closely at the sort of images they have on the website, and the age demographic they are going after with this product.

It's also pretty clearly mentioned that this is a trial project that's going to lead up to a freemium business model, much like AVG or IRE.

Also, yeah, no, there's not a whole bunch of money to be made from information posted on the internet unless you're careless, in which case, an antivirus program is the least of your worries.

On Dag's concerns...

No business registry, the site uses prefab template construction, most of it wiki form, and the graphics are more fitting to be a motivational or business suite sales pitch.

Concerning phrases on privacy policy from least to most....

To improve our website and product we continually strive to improve our website offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you. <-Demographic collection for targeted ads fall in here.

Your information, whether public or private, will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or given to any other company for any reason whatsoever, without your consent, other than for the express purpose of delivering the purchased product or service requested. <- Without installing it, as I do not trust the company enough, I will guess blindly that somewhere they sneak in a request for permission.

Dag is right, this is a high value market with everyone trying to get the next best AV program suite... This isn't something people do for free. It is also a great front for a scam. You want to trust people trying to protect you after all...

Exactly. Unless you're putting up your bank account number and SS number because you noticed that if you add them together you'll predict the end of mankind, it's really not a great source for identity thieves.

(add me to Facebook though, just in case you are!)

The business is registered in every sense of the word. The whois is public, and it's a corporation established in California. The physical address on the website matches the whois and government records.

Use of stock photography and templates (none of which are wikis, by the way--not that it would matter either way, but it's just not) is commonplace, especially for starting ventures. It's cheap. Cheap is good.


Those are also pretty standard-issue phrases for privacy policies. Have you read Lusternia's lately?

Cick on the privacy policy or anything under about, it brings you to as wiki template.

I use One Care, but that's just b'cause my father works for Microsoft, so he can get me all the software for cheaps. OvO

Hush you .... and your expensive computer, too.

That was all me hun. Saved up every penny for it, bought it in my own name, with my own money.

I didn't say you didn't.

From the sound of it, it offers limited protection, being lightweight in return.
I don't see how that's useful for someone who feels the need to perform full computer scan everyday. To be doing that, you have to be a really careful (paranoid?) person or have very important stuff on your computer. This app could not possibly protect such a person enough.

Apparently, you guys just don't know how advertising revenue works...

On the internet, primarily click-through. You might want to put the shovel down.

Identity thieves advertise?