Announcing the release of AVG 8.5 for Linux, AVG says the solution is available in both server and free workstation editions, and offers “streamlined scanning capabilities, new anti-virus filtering and improved performance and ease of use for Linux-based users.”

AVG Australia’s Lloyd Borrett says AVG Server Edition 8.5 for Linux/Free BSD provides protection for both e-mail and file servers in a single distribution package, and is robust enough to support millions of e-mails a day, and is suitable for use even by large enterprises and ISPs.
 
“Though not as prevalent as on Windows operating systems, Windows malware can and does impact Linux systems. Additionally, Windows-based workstations are frequently attached to Linux-based servers in the network, and AVG 8.5 for Linux provides centralised anti-malware protection for those systems.”
 
Borrett says AVG anti-virus free edition 8.5 for Linux/FreeBSD provides basic anti-malware protection for Linux workstations.

According to Borrett, AVG 8.5 for Linux offers both network managers and workstation users a range of new features and benefits, including:

•    A streamlined scanning engine that detects and removes viruses, worms, spyware, Trojans, key loggers and other malware in a single pass
•    Heuristic emulation for improved detection of new and unknown malware types
•    New avflt anti-virus filter. A RedirFS-based on-access scanner for improved performance, along with simplified     installation and deployment
•    Improved system resource handling through shared memory usage
•    Increased scalability through support for 64-bit and multi-CPU architecture, new multi-core CPUs
•    A fully modular solution, further reducing the number of necessary restarts.

Borrett says RedirFS, or redirecting filesystem, is a new layer between virtual filesystem switch (VFS) and filesystem drivers, and is implemented as an out-of-kernel module for Linux 2.6.25 and provides a framework to allow modification of filesystem calls in the VFS layer.
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AVG’s CTO, Karel Obluk, says the company is “particularly proud of the RedirFS element in AVG 8.5 for Linux.”

“The original intention was to discover possible ways of implementing an on-access scanner for the Linux kernel as an alternative to the Dazuko project. Since that time, the RedirFS project has evolved to the general framework of Linux 2.6. We have released the RedirFS as open source. This will enable much broader functionality than on-access scanning.”

Obluk says AVG 8.5 for Linux is distribution-independent, having been tested to run under FreeBSD, Mandrake, Mandriva, Fedora Core, DebIan, SUSE, Red Hat, Red Flag, Ubuntu, and other distributions using Debian packaging.
 
Licensing for AVG Server Edition 8.5 for Linux/FreeBSD is per connection, with pricing on a tiered basis, and Borrett says one and two year licence subscriptions are available.
 
According to Borrett, the product is available directly for purchase and download direct from www.avg.com.au, or through one of AVG’s more than 2,200 resellers throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

However, it won’t cost you anything to download the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.5 for Linux/FreeBSD workstation from www.avgfree.com.au/downloads/.

Borrett says support for existing versions of AVG for Linux will be phased out in a few days, on 15 May, and he encourages user to contact their Australian reseller or AVG direct to upgrade protection as soon as possible.