Current Release Information Q3/2008

Avira AntiVir MailGate / Avira MailGate Suite

New version 3.0 of Avira AntiVir MailGate based on SAVAPI 3.

The new version 3.0 of Avira AntiVir MailGate and MailGate Suite is now based on the new SAVAPI 3.

The main advantage of the Savapi 3 is the native integration of the new Avira AntiVir Engine (AVE 2). The engine itself offers a number of benefits to customers:

15 % to 20 % faster scan performance
Because of its modular structure it allows for a very fast update of single engine components to fight new threats
It scans files bigger than 4 GB

The Savapi 3 supports the single file update of single engine components as well as of VDF and Savapi 3 components providing a higher level of security because the complete system can be quickly updated in case of new threats.

Avira MailGate Suite

Integration of new Avira AntiSpam version. The MailGate Suite was enhanced with the new AntiSpam version based on the eXpurgate SDK, Version 3.0.

Avira AntiVir WebGate / Avira WebGate Suite

New version 3.0 of Avira AntiVir WebGate/WebGate Suite based on SAVAPI 3.

The new version 3.0 of Avira AntiVir WebGate and WebGate Suite is now based on the new SAVAPI 3.
The main advantage of the Savapi 3 is the native integration of the new Avira AntiVir Engine. The engine itself offers a number of benefits to customers:

15 % to 20 % faster scan performance
Because of its modular structure it allows for a very fast update of single engine components to fight new threats
It scans files bigger than 4 GB

Avira AntiVir ISA Server

Avira will release a new version of the Avira AntiVir ISA Server on 18 November 2008. This release rectifies some problems categorized as critical or serious, in connection with RFC conform headers, the detection of malware in MacBinaries and the download of very large files.

Avira AntiVir SharePoint

Avira will release a new version of the Avira AntiVir SharePoint in early December. This version supports the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, when used on 64 bit systems.

Avira AntiVir Exchange, version 7

The version 7 is available in two different product packages:
1) Avira AntiVir Exchange, Version 7 (for Microsoft Exchange Server 2000/2003)
2) Avira AntiVir Exchange, Version 7 (for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 64 Bit)

Customers who use Avira AntiVir Exchange version 6.x or smaller on a Microsoft Exchange Server 2000/2003 and want to upgrade to version 7 should note the following:

Compared to older versions version 7 has been greatly changed with regard to the directory structure and the registry keys used. This means that a previous version 6.x or smaller must be deinstalled before version 7 can be installed.

Avira recommends upgrading to version 7 as soon as possible. However, Avira will go on supporting the previous version 6.x until 31st of December 2009 so that Avira customers can freely choose when to upgrade.

More information on how to upgrade (as pdf file)

Avira Security Management Center

New additional PULL mechanism.
The communication between the SMC server and the clients was so far based on the PUSH process. This process has now been supplemented by a PULL process.

The difference between them is that the clients now pull new operations from the SMC, whereas the PUSH mechanism pushes the SMC server on the clients.

PULL method: The administered server takes over the communication and control of the activities. It enables a better performance control in the security environment, which can be especially important in environments with several thousand computers.

Filtered groups
Especially in security environments that administer thousands or ten thousands clients, the administrator requires a fast overview on all clients that seem interesting to him in some form.

The SMC includes a new feature to filter computers in the security environment according to particular criteria and the result in one or several special virtual groups, so called "filtered security environments".

In addition, the administrator can retrieve real-time information on the computer at the push of a button that doesn't comply with the security guidelines and requires his attention. Considerable simplification for the administration, as errors or disagreements can be detected immediately and removed directly.

Avira AntiVir SharePoint

Support for Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007 and SharePoint Services 3.0
Avira AntiVir SharePoint now supports the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and the corresponding SharePoint Services 3.0. The product is available in German and English versions.

New GUI based on MMC
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and SharePoint Services 3.0 both use changed template architectures. Therefore our existing HTML based GUI could no longer be used. A new GUI had to be developed. It was decided to use a MMC snap-in based on the existing Avira MMC framework for this new GUI.

Avira AntiVir Mobile (Pocket PC)

Added Soft-keys support and menu system
The old command bar (toolbar) has been completely removed. The customer can now operate Avira AntiVir Mobile (Pocket PC) completely by using the right and the left soft key. On devices that don’t have soft-keys the menu can be operated by the normal stick.

Display SIP Button Control in MS Standard Location
In accordance with the MS guidelines the SIP control (=software-based input panel, i.e. a software keyboard that allows interacting with the device – for devices that don’t have a keyboard) is now displayed in the center of the taskbar of the Window.

Support for Standard Wait Cursor
The product now supports the system wait cursor (color wheel) that is shown when a command is executed that renders the current window or when the system as a whole does not respond to a user input for more than 0.5 seconds.

Improved Guard stability
AV Guard was improved to prevent deadlocks that occasionally occurred on Windows Mobile 6 and Mobile 5.

Support for license blacklisting
The product now supports the blacklisting of licenses. This means we are now able to blacklist a serial number in case it was illegally used. A blacklisted license will not allow the product to run. The product will act as with an invalid key.

Improved Command Line Interface
A number of command line switches were added to the main program:
Command “/CFG_GUARD” starts Guard configuration
Command “/CFG_SCANNER” starts Scanner configuration
Command “/CFG_GENERAL” starts General configuration

Changed Guard Startup Dialogue
The dialogue that allows the user to exit the Guard after a soft reset is now only displayed if the Guard is currently enabled. Re-enabling the Guard can be performed throughout the normal configuration options.

Avira Internet Update Manager

New IUM status window
The IUM user interface now provides a number of real-time status infos. These are shown in the display area next to the navigation bar. Each server, managed within the IUM frontend, has its own status window.Provided are:

Server Info
Server Status
Log File

The status info is only available while the IUM frontend is open. No data is made persistent. Older data is accessible in the log files. The maximum size of the log file and the maximum number of backups can be configured in the ium.conf.

IUM setup scheduler dialog
In the past the scheduler for the Internet Update Manager was by default disabled after installation. The user had to open the IUM frontend after installation and configure the IUM scheduler separately. This was now changed so that the user can now enable and configure the IUM updater during setup.

New IUM frontend settings node
All settings concerning the self-update of the IUM frontend including proxyserver settings and update servers have now been grouped together under one new settings node located under the MMC root node.