ClamWin

ClamWin Antivirus

ClamWin 0.95.1 running on Windows XP
Developer(s)	ClamWin Pty Ltd
Preview release	0.97.3[1]
Written in	C++ and Python
Operating system	Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 Windows Vista Windows Server 2003 Windows XP Windows Me Windows 2000 Windows 98[2]
Type	Antivirus
License	GNU General Public License
Website	clamwin.com

ClamWin is free, open source antivirus software for Microsoft Windows. It provides a graphical user interface to the ClamAV (Clam AntiVirus) engine.

Features

• Scanning scheduler (only effective with user logged in).
• Automatic virus database updates on a regular basis.
• Standalone virus-scanner.
• Context menu integration for Windows Explorer.
• Add-in for Microsoft Outlook.
• A portable version that can be used from a USB flash drive.

Firefox extensions exist that allow the users to process downloaded files with ClamWin^[3].

Real-time scanning

ClamWin does not yet automatically scan files as they are read and written. This feature is planned for inclusion in the next major version update^[4] and has been claimed to be in development since at least 10 December 2005.^[5]

The non-affiliated project Clam Sentinel is an add-on that provides a real-time scanning capability to ClamWin.^[6]

Effectiveness

ClamWin suffers from poor detection rates and its scans are slow and less effective than some other antivirus programs. For example, ClamWin failed to detect almost half of the trojan horses, password stealers, and other malware in AV-Test.org's "zoo" of malware samples.^[7][8]

In the 1 - 21 June 2008 test performed by Virus.gr, ClamWin version 0.93 detected 54.68% of all threats and ranked 37th out of 49 products tested; the best scored over 99%.^[9]

In the 10 August-05 September 2009 test performed by Virus.gr, ClamWin version 0.95.2 detected 52.48% of all threats and ranked 43 out of 55 products tested; the best scored 98.89%.^[10]

See also

Free software portal

• Clam AntiVirus
• List of antivirus software

References

1. ^ "ClamWin Free Antivirus 0.97.2 Released". Clamwin.com. 11 August 2011. http://www.clamwin.com/content/view/232/1/. Retrieved 22 August 2011. 
2. ^ "About ClamWin Free Antivirus". ClamWin Pty Ltd. http://www.clamwin.com/content/view/71/1/. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
3. ^ FireClam
4. ^ "Real time on access scanning in ClamWin Free Antivirus". Clamwin.com. http://www.clamwin.com/content/view/35/27/. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
5. ^ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.clamwin.com/content/view/35/27/. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
6. ^ dynclient (January 2010). "Clam Sentinel". http://sourceforge.net/projects/clamsentinel/. Retrieved 2010-01-25. 
7. ^ "ClamWin Free Antivirus (2009) - reviews - Security - PC World". Pcworld.idg.com.au. 2009-09-01. http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review/security/clamwin/free_antivirus_2009/316878. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
8. ^ "Security Central Channel". InfoWorld. http://www.infoworld.com/d/security-central/clamwin-free-antivirus-software-968. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
9. ^ "June 2008 comparison of effectiveness of antivirus programs". Virus.gr. http://www.virus.gr/portal/en/content/2008-06%2C-1-21-june. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 
10. ^ "2009-08, Virus.gr 10 August-05 September comparison of effectiveness of antivirus programs". Virus.gr. http://www.virus.gr/portal/en/content/2009-08%2C-10-august-05-september. Retrieved 2010-11-09. 

External links

• Official Website
• SourceForge.net project page
• ClamWin Portable - run ClamWin from a removable drive