AV for a terminal server

[BearZDefect]

Any suggestions for an anti-virus package for a Windows terminal server running Windows Server 2003 R2 standard edition?

Most vendors want to sell you a 10-user network bundle, or file server edition, etc. Their single user versions won't install on a terminal server.

But this is a stand-alone terminal server. No Microsoft network, no Exchange, etc.

The usual criteria for AV software applies.

I know there are AV reviews out there, but from recent experience I've come to distrust those.

TIA!

 

[Deltona_Dave]

Try AVG or Microsoft Security Essentials for freebees. Paid, I would use Trend Micro or ESET NOD.

Dave

 

[Quest]

Would rather recommend you to give Avast a try instead of AVG, esp. the AVG free version is one of the most buggy/fail prone AV software available out there (failed many, many times within our pool of friends/families, saved by AVast free)

Q.

 

[Ndx]

+1 to Avast ...

Or you can go open source with Clamwin ...
+
http://sourceforge.net/projects/clamsentinel/

 

[TXMXTruck]

I run that same server software package. A typical single user type free or paid anti virus such as Microsoft Security Essentials is not going to install. At one time I was running a Norton package that was specific for that server and it only cost around $100.00 if I remember correctly.

I've "heard" that PC Tools Anti Virus (free), Rising Anti Virus (if you can locate the free version) and Virusbuster (maybe) will also install. Otherwise, Eset, Avast!, etc. will sell you a single server license for a fair price.

FYI, I'm just running Windows Defender (free from Microsoft) that will install and does a decent job of checking for spyware and trojans. Then, I have ClamAV free (non-resident scanning) set up to do a full nightly scan of the server shares directory.

 

[BearZDefect]

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

Avast has the same limitations as others, the free version won't run on a terminal server.

TXMXTruck, thank you understanding that the regular AV packages will not install.

I'll do some more reading on Defender and ClamWin.

ClamWin looks promising at first glance.

This is a nice read from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/analysis.mspx

The section Software that exhibits a poor installation experience was good for a laugh because some Microsoft software has become a nightmare to install.

 

[TXMXTruck]

I just found a link to a free download of Rising Anti Virus 2010. This is decent for a server and the Cnet link indicates this does install on 2003 and 2008 server.

http://download.cnet.com/Rising-Antivirus-2010-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10674783.html

I think I am going to remote log in to my 2003 server now and give this software a try.

 

[Deltona_Dave]

Originally Posted By: Quest
Would rather recommend you to give Avast a try instead of AVG, esp. the AVG free version is one of the most buggy/fail prone AV software available out there (failed many, many times within our pool of friends/families, saved by AVast free)

Q.


I am definitely out of the loop. I have not used AVG for a while, as I went with NOD 32 for home. At work we use Trend on all workstations and servers. Kapersky and NOD have good paid versions that work on server/terminal server. They run about 40 a year.

Dave

 

[BearZDefect]

Originally Posted By: TXMXTruck
I just found a link to a free download of Rising Anti Virus 2010. This is decent for a server and the Cnet link indicates this does install on 2003 and 2008 server.

http://download.cnet.com/Rising-Antivirus-2010-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10674783.html

I think I am going to remote log in to my 2003 server now and give this software a try.

Thanks. I hope you have time to post your experience with it here.

 

[TXMXTruck]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect

Thanks. I hope you have time to post your experience with it here.


Sure. FYI, whenever you want to research computer security software try Wilders Security Forums at http://www.wilderssecurity.com - It's a good place to be, just like BITOG!

I already knew Rising Anti Virus was light on resources. It is a well rounded package that now includes Cloud Anti Virus. If you do not know how cloud works, you could read up on Immunet, Prevx or Panda Cloud Anti Virus. Basically, cloud adds an extra layer of protection by looking to "the cloud" for the latest "zero day" type infections.

Rising 2010 from that link is indeed "free" and it installed on the server without issues. I went ahead and uninstalled Windows Defender and ClamAV while I continue to test this.

Resource use is light and I know from reading Wilders that this is decent protection. The only possible downside you need to consider that I noticed right away is I had to reboot the server before the installation completed. I then did a full program / definitions update and was prompted to reboot a second time.

I imagine this thing updates at least once per day. If it needs a reboot after every update, it may be an issue for you. I like to keep that server up 24/7 and don't want any server related hardware issues like my RAID drives having driver issues on frequent reboots. (Picky RAID card drivers!)

In case you have not figured it out, Rising is from China. That to me is no issue when some techs turn to countries like Russia (Kaspersky), Germany (Avira) or Finland (F-Secure) for their anti virus protection.