Outpost Security Suite Pro detailed features

Proactive security

• Preemptive threat protection
  Outpost Security Suite Pro provides the first line of defense against malicious software by proactively controlling how programs behave and interact on a PC and preventing security breaches. The Host Protection module proactively monitors for and blocks sophisticated hacking techniques used to compromise or steal data. By analyzing threats and displaying actionable alerts, Host Protection blocks zero-day attacks and other unauthorized activities, providing advanced protection against botnets, rootkits and inadvertent data disclosure.

  New! This latest version extends the range of monitored events and operations for even greater and more customizable protection. Outpost excels in all currently-known leaktests, with additional focus on keylogger-like activities.

• Self-protection
  Today's malware frequently seeks to shut down security software to make its infection process easier. By incorporating solid tamper-proof protection for all its components, Outpost Security Suite Pro makes it impossible for anyone except the authorized user of the program to disable or close active protection.

Efficient anti-malware

• 360-degree malware defense
  Both anti-virus and anti-spyware capabilities are provided through the universal Anti-Malware module, which ensures that your computer is kept clean of any malicious program that might infect it while you’re surfing the web. The on-access monitor constantly watches for and instantly disinfects, quarantines or removes any malware objects found in key areas of the PC, while the on-demand scanner lets you scan for and remove threats on hard disks, network folders, DVDs, or external storage devices. Email attachments are checked in real time as they leave or arrive, and you can move any suspicious file to the quarantine area for later review. Additional protection now prevents known rootkits and other sophisticated malware from loading and embedding themselves on your PC.
  
  
• Scheduled scans and exclusions
  You can set up a flexible schedule for regular malware scans, plus you can define custom scanning criteria such as checking critical system areas whenever malware definitions have been updated.

Network security & continuity

• Connection security
  The two-way firewall monitors your computer’s inbound and outbound connections and prevents local and remote unauthorized network access. It conceals access ports, making your presence on the Internet invisible. The Ethernet Protection module guards your network connections and prevents insider attacks by controlling the transmission of data over the network. This eliminates the potential risk for data such as chat windows or authenticated browser sessions to be delivered to the wrong destination or intercepted while in transit.
  
  
• Application access control
  The firewall controls which programs are allowed to access the Internet, proactively protecting your PC against both zero-day threats and malware attempts to “phone home”.
  
  
• Comprehensive coverage
  Outpost Security Suite Pro secures all types of connections (Ethernet, WiFi, DSL, cable, cellular, and dial-up), automatically applying the necessary security settings when the computer is connected to a new provider.
  
  
• Intrusion protection
  The Attack Detection module automatically blocks known types of hacker attacks from entering your computer.

Privacy & Web SaFety

• Protection from spam
  Outpost Security Suite Pro’s Bayesian anti-spam engine will keep your inbox free of junk email. You can train it to recognize and use your personal definition of spam, so it becomes more efficient and an even greater time saver the longer you use it.

  New! Outpost’s antispam now features full support for the popular The Bat! email client.

• Unsafe web site access restriction
  Outpost can optionally alert and block access to potentially malicious or unwanted web sites based on a predefined list of URLs. This filtering ensures you won’t become a victim of inadvertent drive-by malware infection or phishing attacks that are looking to steal your passwords, login information and other sensitive data. The list of blocked sites is updated via the automatic updates and can be edited to reflect your preferences.
  
  
• New! IP Blocklist keeps surfing clean
  Based on the BlockPost plug-in in earlier Outpost versions, the integrated IP Blocklist lets users restrict access to specified Internet domains. A valuable tool for both sensitive individuals and concerned parents, IP Blocklist will deny incoming/outgoing connectivity to ill-intent Internet zones, such as those distributing spyware or delivering obnoxious ads and graphics spam. The blocked entries can either be manually defined or imported as an aggregated list from community-maintained sources.
  
  
• Safe repository for personal data
  Any confidential information – for example, bank account numbers and passwords – that you define using ID Block is blocked from leaving the confines of your PC through communication channels such as IM, web or email. ID Block protects you against identity theft and phishing attacks that target personal, confidential information. Plus, it ensures that no-one else – including other members of your household - can accidentally or deliberately disclose this information on the web.
  
  
• Ad-free, anonymous surfing
  By managing cookies and external referral URLs, Outpost lets you maintain a high level of privacy when visiting shopping, entertainment or news sites while at the same time allowing trusted sites to collect only the information needed to personalize pages for you. Additionally, Outpost Security Suite Pro lets you limit the elements displayed on web pages, providing cleaner and faster browsing. You can also define the sites that are permitted (or not permitted) to display images, rotate advertising banners, execute external code such as ActiveX or Java scripts, or deliver pop-ups. The latest version of Outpost ensures compatibility with even the most complex and sophisticated websites, delivering smooth performance and heightened online safety.

Tracking & Control

• Network activity monitoring
  Outpost's Network Activity Monitor shows every connection your PC makes with other computers on the Internet or local network, so you can see what's happening on your PC at all times and quickly close down any unauthorized connections.

  New! In the new 2009 version, connections can be grouped/ungrouped according to application, and you can quickly edit any existing rules right from the interface.

• Password-protection, multiple configuration profiles
  You can set passwords to protect your configuration from accidental or deliberate modification, as well as create and use multiple configuration profiles to suit your current risk exposure. For advanced users, the ability to construct multiple restore points through the save/load configuration command is a big plus.
  
  
• Better manageable events logs
  Outpost’s old Log Viewer showed the history of past events on a computer.

  New! The new version improves on the Log Viewer’s clarity and manageability, adding support for per-category listings that can be sorted and filtered according to different user-specified criteria.

Compatibility

• New! Driver certification and latest Windows platforms compatibility
  Outpost has received WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) certification, meaning that its protection complies with Microsoft's stringent quality, compatibility and stability requirements.
  
  
• IPv6 support
  The new network connection protocol extensively used in Windows Vista, IPv6, is fully recognized, filtered and its data protected. The protocol is the evolution of its predecessor, IPv4, and provides a number of scalability, automation and security improvements.
  
  
• Adaptive firewall rules
  When traveling with your laptop, or changing ISP, you don’t need to manually adjust your security for new connection settings - Outpost handles it automatically by designating connection-specific parameters such as DNS or gateway server addresses as environment variables.
  
  
• Entertainment mode for uninterrupted gameplay and video viewing
  While you play full-screen games or watch videos on your PC, Outpost's Entertainment Mode ensures the program won't interrupt you with alerts if it detects new activity. New activity notifications are handled in the background without sacrificing current protection levels. You can customize which applications will automatically trigger the switch to Entertainment Mode.

Convenience and Ease of Use

• Auto-learning mode
  When Outpost is first started, it runs in a special “learning mode” where all alert notifications are suppressed. During this time, the program is silently learning your typical program activity and firewall-monitored connections. After the learning period is over, the Suite reverts to normal mode, and will prompt for a response only when new activity is seen, dramatically reducing the number of alerts requiring your involvement.
  
  
• Automatic configuration
  Rules for most programs that access the Internet are applied automatically, relieving you of the need to enter rules manually every time a new application accesses the Internet or interacts with another program. This means that for most of the time, you won’t need to deal with questions relating to Internet access, minimizing interruptions and risk exposure due to insecure configurations. Outpost includes a wide range of predefined access policies; these settings can be customized to your individual requirements at any time.
  
  
• Improvenet delivers more ready-made configurations
  ImproveNet is a voluntary system of program configuration aggregation and distribution. After being reviewed and approved by Agnitum engineers, rulesets submitted by Outpost users are distributed across the user base, providing you with the most secure and up-to-date rules for a wide range of activities and applications.
  
  
• SmartAdvisor - instant, context-sensitive help
  If ImproveNet doesn't have the answer, SmartAdvisor is always on hand to help you make the right decision when configuring access information for an application.
  
  
• Hands-free updates
  Whenever an update to Outpost Security Suite Pro is released during your license period, the- update module automatically retrieves the latest version from the Agnitum server and applies it as soon as you authorize it to do so.

Performance & Optimization

• Faster, more intelligent scans
  SmartScan, the intelligent file sensing monitor, scans only the modified portions of the file system, avoiding repeat scans of files that have not changed since the last scan. The fast and intelligent anti-malware engine has no impact on overall system performance and can operate in the background while you work.

  New! SmartScan has been further optimized to deliver up to ten times faster performance for some scan and datastream checking operations.

Specifications:

Supported platforms: 32- and 64-bit Windows (Vista, XP, Server 2003, 2008), Windows 2000 (SP3 and above).
Supported email clients for anti-spam: The Bat!, Windows Mail, Outlook Express, Outlook (all versions).
Supported email protocols & services: POP3, SMTP, IMAP.
Min. hardware requirements: 450 MHz CPU(x-86/x-64/multi-core), 256Mb RAM, 100MB free disk space.