Hello,

The current version (0.97.4) of ClamWin does not have a resident scanner that works in real time.
Will this feature be available in near future?
The current version of ClamWin is not integrated in the Outlook Express mail client but only in Outlook. Yet Outlook Express is much more used than Outlook.
Why this lack of integration in OE ?
This integration will be added in the near future?

If I am interested in ClamWin, is that one of my computers (that I want to keep for the moment) is former and works under Windows 98 SE, system for which it is now cannot find a compatible antivirus.
I used NOD32 2.7 ESET (very performant) but the support of this software ended in January 2012 and the following versions are not compatible with W98 SE.
To replace, I am currently using avast 4.8 but support and the update of the virus definitions will be arrested by the editor at the end of 2012.
The only remaining possibility in about 6 months would apparently be ClamWin.
I will follow improvements in ClamWin closely.
Kind regards

Quantum Gravity

Thank you for your interest in ClamWin. I keep in contact with the 2 ClamWin developers, but the answers below are mine and not theirs. If I am wrong, I am sure they will correct me.

I do not believe there will be a ClamWin resident scanner any time in the near future. There have been several attempts but nothing has come of any of them. The Clam Sentinel project has developed a real-time scanner that is pretty good, and it works on Windows 98 machines. Sentinel lets you scan in real-time with ClamWin. Clam Sentinel is also free and open source, but it is a separate project that does not involve the ClamWin developers. Sentinel scans files as they are added/modified/copied on the computer, but it does not do any "hooking" to suspend a file during scanning like commercial AVs. Sentinel has a separate heuristic scanner (system monitor) that can detect files for which there are no ClamWin signatures. The system monitor can detect and quarantine 25 files in little more than a second, which is good, but hooking would make it better.

I do not believe ClamWin will ever support Microsoft Outlook Express. Outlook Express is not supported by Microsoft any more.

Unless the ClamWin developers pull a rabbit out of a hat, I believe that Clam Sentinel is our best choice for a real-time scanner using ClamWin. Clam Sentinel has an on-going development program. There is almost always a new version being tested, and the improved version is released at about three or four month intervals. The developer believes in thoroughly testing the program. The initial version came out about 2 years ago. Since that time, developmenht efforts have been devoted primarily to the heuristic monitor and to continued support of Windows 98, but I believe that it will integrate some sort of hooking by the end of 2012.

The Clam Sentinel project is at https://sourceforge.net/projects/clamsentinel/ on the web. New users should read the Simple Guide included in the installation package.

Regards,

Hello GuitarBob,

Thanks for your response that is very complete.
Scan resident in real time : damage that this feature does not see the day in ClamWin.
Outlook Express : it is true that OE is no longer supported by Microsoft but is not as long as it is no longer used.
Clam Sentinel : I have reviewed the CS documentation on the site of Andrea Russo. I am not persuaded by the fact that CS is a totally scanner in real time. He apparently checks on files permanently but I doubt that it does so at the moment specific where the system access to a given file, which is normally the procedure to immediately block a malware infection. It surprised me that it can also for example play the role of a Web shield to instantly block harmful files arriving by browsers as do traditional AV.
Is Clam Sentinel able to check OE messages in eml format and the files in dbx format in the OE storage directory ?
Lack of a better, I could try the combination of ClamWin + Clam Sentinel in 6 months when the updates of avast 4.8 will be no more available. Perhaps this will limit the damage.
Kind regards

Quantum Gravity

Clam Sentinel scans file extensions that are included in its Extensons To Scan Preference. You can also configure it to scan all files in one or more directories regardless of extension, which would be good to do for your email folder. Sentinel scans files as they are added to, copied to, or modified on your computer. It does not yet hook an API activity, so a fast virus can do some damage, but this would be true for any AV that did not have a signature. Sentinel's heuristic monitor detects an average of 60%-70% of new Windows PE malware samples that are submitted to Clam AV.

After you lose Avast support, I think Sentinel will be good for you if you are a careful surfer, keep ClamWin updated hourly, and do a daily scan in Safe Mode. Also check into Bitdefender's free on-demand AV--it may work on Win 98. I do not think there are many viruses that target Win 98 now.

Regards,

Hello GuitarBob,

Thanks for clarifications about work procedure of Clam Sentinel and your suggestions.
About bitdefender, the last free version compatible with Windows 98/Me is the version 10.
I checked the official website of bitdefender that support for this version was arrested on 30/03/11. There are no more updates of the virus definitions.
In addition, this version does not include scan resident in real time but only a programmable scanner or a scan on demand file by file. Therefore bitdefender v10 would add nothing more to ClamWin.
To search for AV compatible with W98 SE including a scanner in real time and receiving updates, I had the round of the question : the only AV that meets these criteria is avast 4.8 until end of 2012. There is nothing else.
Thanks for your help.
Kind regards

Quantum Gravity