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We join with those who mourn the loss of life,  the injuries, and the disruption of lives caused  by the attacks  against Washington,  DC, and  New York, N.Y.    All those effected -- the brave people who helped in rescue efforts, those involved in America's response to terror and in the war with Iraq-- are in our thoughts and prayers.

Both of the anti-virus software packages licensed for DOD computers recently won high marks from a major industry magazine.  SC Information Security News recently named Norton AntiVirus 5.0 and Network Associate’s VirusScan 4.01 as its two “Best Buys” from 15 programs in the category.

The magazine surveyed the field, rating each program on features, ease of use, performance, documentation, support, value for money, and overall rating.  All of the programs earned at least four out of possible five stars for overall ratings.  Both Norton AntiVirus and VirusScan earned perfect overall ratings, as well as marks of four or five on the other categories.

The magazine’s comments on Norton AntiVirus version 5.0 stated “In the arena of in-the-wild virus detection, it is one of just a handful of products that can sweep the board clean with both its on-demand and its on-access scanners . . . In the area of overall virus detection, Norton AntiVirus is one of the top two products we tested -- at 99.95 per cent    . . .One of the things that impressed our review team as much as its performance was its ability to ease the pain of updating – updates and improvements to the product are easier than other products we looked [at] . . .

 “This technology significantly reduces the time and bandwidth needed to keep the product up-to-date with the latest virus threats. . .Across the board this product has improved – with the IBM and Intel technology coming down the line, this product is in its ascendancy.”

The magazine also announced that NAV had become the first product to win its “Trojan Checkmark” award.  In a test, NAV detected 500+ Trojan Horse programs without generating any false alarms.  Although Trojans are not true computer viruses, they can damage passwords, steal ID’s, or corrupt a computer’s data.

In reviewing VirusScan, the magazine wrote “The product comprises of the Dr. Solomon virus detection engine with the interface, management and update technology from Network Associates.  The combination gives you one of the best anti-virus products available on the market today.

In September 1998, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) awarded the second of five landmark GSA Schedule annual buys to the two companies, protecting DOD's approximately 1.5 to 2 million users and PC’s globally.  The order covers desktop and network anti-virus software on government owned computers—including those provided to contractors—and on the home computers of DOD military and civilian personnel.

DOD users and network administrators (with ".mil" IP addresses) can get more information and software downloads from DISA’s Automated System Security Incident Support Team (ASSIST) website: http://199.211.123.12/virus/avirus.htm.

More information about the ratings can be found at two web sites run by the magazine’s publisher:  http://www.westcoast.com and http://www.infosecnews.com.

[Webmaster's note:  This article was originally written in February 1999 for the VSAC News and NCMS Channel Islands Newsletter.]