ThunderByte Anti-Virus for Networks

Long respected in the DOS and Windows 3.1 world for offering a powerful andcustomizable virus scanner, ThunderByte glides into the Windows NT market with apowerful version of ThunderByte Anti-Virus (TBAV) software for networks. In aclient/server architecture, TBAV for Networks supports most networkconfigurations, from networks with a single Primary Domain Controller (PDC) tosmall peer-to-peer networks.

TBAV for Networks is primarily a network-scanning utility. By installingone copy of the scanner on a local server, you can locally scan and clean allworkstations on the network individually, or you can scan and clean them throughthe network.

You identify workstations by giving each a unique name up to 12 characterslong and an 80-character description. This information is stored in TBAV'senvironment settings on the server, ensuring that if a workstation crashes, allsystem-integrity information is stored on the server side. If a workstation'ssettings change, you can simply modify that system's entry in the TBAVenvironment settings. TBAV supports network updates, so you can update allversions of TBAV via remote distribution.

TBAV's installation process on NT 3.51 is intuitive--second only toSymantec's Norton AntiVirus for NT. A series of dialogs led me through puttingTBAV in a shared net-work directory where workstations can retrieve updates (seescreen A). Unfortunately, TBAV for Networks refused to install on my betaversion of NT 4.0, claiming Windows 3.1 as the lowest common denominator that itsupports.

Security is paramount with TBAV for Networks. To prevent unauthorizedtampering, TBAV can automatically lock itself with a password after apre-specified time of user inactivity. For servers that are not physicallysecure, this capability can ensure that TBAV maintains a pristine configuration.

TBAV for Networks takes an innovative approach to activity logging. WithOpen Database Connectivity (ODBC) drivers, which the setup applicationautomatically installs, TBAV can input logs in an audit database that monitorsTBAV activity such as workstation failures and when TBAV was last active.Unfortunately, scanning updates and virus detections are not stored in thisdatabase but go into a report.

Reports are a separate window and display information such as inoculationand cleaning information and which virus is infecting the system. You can't savereports to disk (as a text file), but you can send the information to a printer.

ThunderByte's reputation in the 16-bit market is impeccable, and TBAV forNetworks reinforces that reputation. If you're looking for a desktop package,you'll want to look elsewhere--TBAV for Networks is overkill for a single-usersystem. I highly recommend TBAV for a network environment, however. Because it'sa Win32S application, TBAV can run on any Windows version in your corporation.NT Server's robustness and stability with TBAV for Networks' remote workstationscanning and audit database facilities is a difficult combination to beat.