[ClamAV] comes with a tool called __freshclam__ which updates the virus database automatically: it downloads the database from !http://database.clamav.net/ (a round robin record that tries to equally balance the traffic between [all the database mirrors | http://www.clamav.net/mirrors.html]) which is split into two files called __main.cvd__ and __daily.cvd__. __daily.cvd__ is updated frequently and occasionally is merged with __main.cvd__. 

  

 In issue 8/2004 (April 5, 2004), the German computer magazine [c't | http://www.heise.de/ct/] published a comparative review of a number of virus scanners, in which they reported that [ClamAV]'s signature updates are provided far too slowly to adequately cope with the contemporary appearance rate of new mail worms, of which new mutations sometimes follow each other within hours. On the other hand, a lot of people appear to have had experiences to the contrary. That articles also mentions that [ClamAV] lacks "code emulation", an easy way to identify variations of a PolyMorphicVirus. 

  

 You can also use [ClamAV] to scan all [POP3] traffic with __pop3vscan__. See ClamAvPopVscan. 

  

 In fact you can even use [ClamAV] to scan your incoming mail in Outlook: just get [ClamWin | http://clamwin.sf.net] and install the Outlook Plugin! 

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 ** local update server. so other clients on a LAN wont have to download from the internet 

 ** also clean worms, keyloggers, dialers, and other junks... 

  

 ** Client Management Tool to manage ClamAV installed on network computers 

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 See also: 

 * ClamAvNotes 

 * [Third-party software with ClamAV support | http://www.clamav.net/3rdparty.html]