Hello all,

I installed Clamwin on my Windows Server 2003 yesterday. I noticed errors reported that now my Domain Controller is unable to apply any Group Policy's and that the scheduler did not run it's scheduled scan at all. I have no clue as to what has happened. Can anyone point me to possible reasons that I am now having major server issues or why the scheduler would not run? I did install it for 'administrator' use only and did not create any startup menu icons. Clamwin does appear in my system tray and I am able to run manual scans with no issues. I am still uncertain why now I am having Domain Controller issues (Clamwin is installed on the DC). I thank you for your assistance in advance.

-Dobermann

Sorry ,

I should have read the numerous posts regarding the scheduler issues. I know now that I need to be logged in for them to run. But, I still don't know why I am having the Domain Controller issues after installing. Could the in-memory scans be causing corruption or a disruption of services in a Domain Contoller? It is a shot in the dark but I haven't a clue to why now I am having problems. Never did in the past. I appreciate any help you can provide to me to resolve this problem. Thank you for reading my post.

-Dobermann

Hello Folks,

I found out that Clamwin does interfere with Windows Servers running as Domain Controllers. You need to exclude files used by Active Directory or else corruption will occur. Quite simply put Clamwin is a great antivirus program for home users, I highly do not recommend it for server use. It is not Active Directory optimised and this will create many issues for DC's. Now I hope I can get this server going again with no further issues.

-Dobermann

Thanks for the information and for testing ClamWin in your environment. I'm sure the developers will be interested in this.

Any software below version 1.0 has traditionally been beta software, and ClamWin is currently at version .94.1. You shouldn't use beta software in a business environment or wherever you have a substantial network.

Regards,

Hello GuitarBob,

I was able to restore my DC from backups. So now I await version 1.0 with anticipation. I think Clamwin is a great 'free' antivirus program. I will try it again once I see a non-beta released as you stated in your reply. It seems the files ending with the .edb and .dit extentions (used by Active Drirectory) are easily corrupted when scanned by Clamwin. It is still possible to run Clamwin on a DC if the excluded Active Directory locations are added to the exclusions list. Microsoft does have a knowledge base article that outlines which files should be excluded and their respective locations. It seems that most of the 'big name' antivirus vendors are optimising their products to automatically exclude these locations by default. I have to assume this since I have never had any problems with a DC while running a 'purchased' solution. Clamwin attracted my attention because of the nature of the project (GNU). I am a big fan and supporter of free software. This is in part due to my longtime use of Linux. Let's face it not everyone in this world has money to feed the likes of Micro$oft or $ymantec. This is especially true in our current uncertain economic times. I tested Clamwin in the hopes of being able to break free of the mainstream antivirus vendors. It is so obsurd to be forced to pay hundreds for a 'business class' product that differs little from it's 'home user' version(s) at 1/4 the cost. A good example of this is Esets Nod32. The home user version and business version sport the same interface and share the same virus signatures. I am certain that this is true for many of the other mainstream vendors products. Pardon my rant, I could go on for hours. But, I think everyone will see my point about the 'crafty' nature of most antivirus vendors. It's shameful. Thank you for a wonderful free alternative!!

-Dobermann

The ClamWin developers should be interested in the possible corruption of .edb and .dit files by ClamWin. I wasn't aware that it corrupted any files during scanning. Files can be excluded from scanning, however, in ClamWin's Preferences, Filters (left-hand side of the screen). Those two extensions do not appear to be under any specific targeting by malware authors.

Regards,