Gratis software now for members only, old users may be at risk.
A month ago we
reported
on
AOL
‘s switch of providers for its free anti-virus software offering, from the
Kaspersky
-powered
Active Virus Shield
to a special version of
McAfee
‘s
VirusScan
. It now appears that the
McAfee
-based product is only available to
AOL
members, unlike the previous offering which only required an email address to subscribe, and also that users of the earlier product are being cut off from updates without warning.
The switch occurred with little fanfare or precise information at the start of August, and
according to a
SANS
diarist
several users of the
Active Virus Shield
product have complained of updates ceasing to work after the end of the month, with a similar lack of information or advice from
AOL
.
While it may be possible for users of
Active Virus Shield
to update directly from
Kaspersky
, anyone still running the software should consider switching to an alternative free or paid-for security product, to ensure ongoing protection.
UPDATE: Since the publication of this story,
AOL
have provided VB with clarification on both the changes to their free anti-virus offering and the issues experienced by their
Active Virus Shield
users. The
McAfee
product, which includes a firewall as well as malware protection, is in fact available to those who do not subscribe to
AOL
‘s services, requiring only an
AOL
screen name, which can be obtained for free as part of the sign-up process,
here
.
The problems with
Active Virus Shield
were in fact due to technical issues with the provision of updates, which have since been resolved. The product is no longer available for new users but there are no immediate plans to cease supporting existing installations.
AOL
hope to contact all existing users soon with details of how to switch to the new offering.
Posted on 11 September 2007 by
Virus Bulletin
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