ViruSweep (VS) is an anti-virus utility from Quarterdeck. It comes on a single CD. VS has a 90 day money back guarantee and 90 days of free technical support. It also includes a one year subscription to virus updates and product upgrades via the internet or BBS.

System requirements: IBM PC,PS/2, or 100% compatible computer with an 80386 DX, i486, 80486, AMD or Cyrix 586 or686, or Pentium processor. Windows 95: a minimum of 8 MB of RAM. Windows 3.1: a minimum of 4 MB of RAM. DOS: a minimum of 2 MB of RAM. Windows 95: 8 MB of free hard-disk space. Windows 3.1: 5MB of free hard-disk space. DOS: 3MB of hard-disk space.

I found VS easy to install and configure using the on screen instructions.

VS has three levels of scanning:

On-Demand Scanning checks the files you select.

Background Scanning continuously monitors the system and tells you if a virus is found.

Internet Scanning checks files you download before they enter your system.

After you install VS and reboot your system, VS’s resident monitor, VS Watch is added to the system and automatically scans every new file you download from the internet, a BBS, e-mail, a floppy disk or network drive. Every time you start your system, VS scans its memory and boot areas for viruses.

VS has a Scan Scheduler that allows you set the time and frequency of scanning. You can also select which files and/or directories to scan in order to save time over scanning the whole system. There is also a behavior blocking feature. Behavior blocking detects virus-like activities, such as formatting the hard drive, modifying program files, altering file names and loading destructive code into memory, and alerts you. Behavior blocking stops both known and unidentified viruses. If your system already has a virus, the 112 page Users Manual has a section that takes you step by step through the procedure for getting rid of it.

Quarterdeck strongly suggests that you create a Rescue Diskette while installing VS or shortly thereafter. This Rescue Diskette is a disk that contains many of the programs that you will need to restore your system if it is ever damaged by a virus, and also includes copies of specific information about your computer system. Here again, the Manual made the job easy by providing a step by step procedure using simple text and clear illustrations.

VS has an on line help file that is quite complete and I was able to find answers to any questions I had. The format of the help file is similar to the help file in Windows and other programs and should look familiar to most users.

In these days a virus checker has become a virtual necessity. This software should take care of that need.