| DriveSentry | |
| Developer: | DriveSentry Inc |
| Latest Release Version: | 3.3 |
| Latest Release Date: | 20 February 2009 |
| Operating System: | Microsoft Windows 2000 and later |
| Genre: | Combined Anti Virus, Anti Spyware and HIPs |
| License: | Freeware(with some paid features) |
| Website: | Web site: Official DriveSentry Website. https://web.archive.org/web/20110710152127/http://www.drivesentry.com/. July 10, 2011. dead. |
DriveSentry was an antivirus program, developed by DriveSentry Inc, to protect Microsoft Windows users from malware. It is available free for personal (non commercial) use, though with restricted functionality.
DriveSentry provides a realtime and on demand virus scanner, and uses the following methods to determine if an application contains a virus before allowing it to run:
DriveSentry partners with Offensive Computing and Frame4 Security Services to collect and analyze malware samples for the database list, partnering in this way ensures that the database is fed by multiple sources and therefore offers redundancy.
Although DriveSentry's basic features are available for free, its more advanced features such as automatically updating its white and blacklists have to be paid for via a one-off payment.
Articles in computing publications discussing new malware protection technologies – such as whitelisting – claim that traditional antivirus technologies are having an increasingly hard time keeping up with the latest virus, trojans and other malicious threats.[1] The popularity of the Internet and the ease at which data can now spread, allows threats to propagate faster, requiring traditional antivirus products to play "catch-up" with new zero day threats. The techniques of using white/blacklisting and community feedback, may offer greater security[2]
However, this functionality does come at a cost – specifically, whitelisting only allows pre-vetted software to be executed, and prevents all other software from running, even if it is harmless. DriveSentry avoids this issue by allowing the user to be prompted if programs don't appear in the black or whitelist. This then forces responsibility on the end user to determine what is good or bad. DriveSentry attempts to help the user by monitoring the action of the program and calculating and displaying a threat rating.Furthermore, malicious software which has been included on the whitelist can still be executed.[2]