Free 12-month license for UK Command AntiVirus

In the present September Issue (234) of the Computer magazine PCPlus, the attached DVD contains a copy of Command AntiVirus 2005 with 12-months of free updates. BUT this offer is only open to residents of the UK and Eire.

After installing CSAV, all you need to do is register at the relevent Authentium site to obtain a username and password for updates. I received mine within an hour.

It's not strictly free as you have to buy the magazine for £6.49, but this is still better than the usual retail price of £28.

However, if you can browse the relevant page of PCPlus in your local shop and then register with Authentium, they will direct you to a site for CSAV download. In this way the program is now completely free!

 

Sounds like a good deal to me.



tD

 

You may be able to get it free but will it be worth the bother.
Just read this review on it from PC mag

By Larry Seltzer

Command Antivirus is disappointing in almost every regard. It is perhaps the most difficult program to work with. Performing even the simplest tasks is confusing. For example, specifying particular file types to scan is treated as a global option, affecting all scan tasks.

Like F-Secure, Command Antivirus uses the F-Prot scan engine. Command Software Systems, however, adds its own research on virus definitions to the data provided by F-Prot.

Updating definitions is particularly difficult. Automatic updates require complex network administration work. Even once you set this feature up successfully, updates aren't as automated as with most of the other products. Command Antivirus also does not scan desktop e-mail usage.

Command Antivirus did very poorly on our tests, causing a 13.5 percent hit on system performance. It also failed to detect five of the WildList viruses on our Virus Detection test.

 

One other advantage of this offer is that you can upgrade to Authentium ESP which is their Security Suite for half price of £20.

This includes CSAV, Pest Patrol, a firewall and a pop-up and ad blocker.

 

I would not rely on ANY computer magazine to give me a reliable indication of the effectiveness of an AntiVirus program.

Have you tried this program yourself?

I have used CSAV over several years and I have found it simple to use, easy to upgrade, stable, a very light footprint and it has given me very good protection so far.

IMHO, it is a very good choice as a primary or secondary AV, particularly for free.

 

there are few magazines in the UK with it on the cover ATM.

 

No I haven't tried it myself and if I did I wouldn't be able to tell if it was good or bad, thats why like most people we have no option but to rely on what others tell us. If we can't rely on what supposedly educated people in computer magazines tell us what chance do we have.

 

the other i know of is PC PRO Sept issue 131. in the magazine it says the version it has is 4.92.91. i'm not sure which version is on PC Plus it doesn't say on the CD cover. oh, the one in PC PRO says requires online registration before 1 september, sorry. it has Outpost Pro too for 180 day licence too though.

 

I use it and it is opposit to what article says.Blackcat is right,it is good,light ,easy to use etc.

 

I don't really think this guy knows what he's talking about. The interface is very similar to the older versions of F-Secure (circa 1999) that used F-Prot, but F-Secure hasn't used the F-Prot engine in quite some while.

I actually really like the simplicity of that interface - I liked it when using the old F-Secure,and still like it now. I hate the modern 'skinned' interfaces of some apps and find this more traditional style of interface much more intuitive (hope I'm not showing my age!!)

While the F-Prot angine may not be the very best, I'd use it any day over most of the other "free" AV's. If you don't want to pay for an AV, then this is a bargin IMHO

Ned

 

But until the present offer they have only offered 6 months of updates

 

thanks, that's still true. i didn't understand what they were talking about - they mentioned upgrades, i thought it might mean program updates and not pattern files.

 

Hi,

I am running the free copy of Comand AV on my computer and it runs very light.

Has anyone had problems with the autoupdates. Sometimes it just does not seem to work but when I click on manually upate it finds a new def file?

I did have it set to auto (Let me know when update available) but changed it to Update silently which it does not seem to be doing?

Any ideas? Also when it does update it has quite a long installation process which is a pain.

Apart form that it seems OK. I don't think it has a plug in for outlook express either.

Cheers

Jlo

 

Hello Texcritter .
You make alot of sense . So , let me advise you the same way I have advised others when it comes to these mags . Do not rely on only one or , even 2 mags . Read as many as possible when trying to choose a product . the magazines , for the most part , are biased at best and idiotic at worst . Choosing a product based on a magazines suggestion should not deal you a HARD blow but , it will not be as good as you want it to be . A couple of examples would be NOD32 and Outpost Pro , and even LnS . These programs get little , if any , playtime in most of the magazines . And these are the cream of the crop . Just read at least 2 mags to get info on a product you are interested in . That way , your choice may not be the best but , it will be an informed decision .
Good luck