UVK - Ultra Virus Killer "Meeting you with a view to a kill"
Review by: Jennifer Griffiths
Video & Testing by: Philip Griffiths
Introduction :
If you are a technician, you will have seen computers of all sorts with multiple issues come through your door. They will range from being sluggish to overwhelmed with viruses and malware. It was common in times gone by to have a tool for each of the things we needed to address. That meant that we had to have many disks and USB pens for the same computer that we were working on. We did not think anything of it because well, at the time, that's just how it was done. Times have changed though and technology has moved forward. Today many programs offer diagnostic tools and clean up tools in one program that we can have on a USB pen. No need to search for disks and hope they are not scratched or broken. All of the tools are organised on our USB pen. It's as simple as a click to get our task started. One of these that will be featured in this edition of TFT is Ultra Virus Killer, known to most as UVK. We are going to give this tech tool a try and see how well it fairs against the competition. We will put it through different scenarios and see how well it does the jobs and if it saves us time or not. So, without further ado, let's get started.
Manufacturer statement:
Ultra Virus Killer (UVK) is a tool developed for technicians by a technician and helps in nearly all computer repair tasks. 200+ fixes & tweaks, a dedicated malware/adware remover, a system optimization tool, a smart uninstaller that allows to remove several programs at once, including store apps, a process manager specially built to hunt for malware, a system hardware/software information tool, an autorun entries and services manager and a built-in backup/restore tool are only some of the modules included in this amazing app.
About Fred:
My name is Alfredo (Fred) Silva and I am the main developer at www.carifred.com and also a computer technician. I've been dealing with computers since I was very young and I used to create some console applications in C++ to help me with my repair jobs. In 2010 I started building a more complex technician tool to help me mostly in the malware removal and also to recover from the damages left by malware infections. That's how UVK was born, and I've been improving it ever since. In the meantime I also created many other technician tools, including Tech Tool Store, all available at www.carifred.com. Currently the team also includes Bruno Santos, my son, who does malware research and application debugging. I am 45 years old and Bruno is 26.
Packaging:
This is a digital product so there is no packaging.
Installation:
If you get the Free version of UVK its as simple as running it and away you go. The Branding version we have just runs from an EXE file, with a licence key and your logo in the same folder. You can run it off a memory stick or as I prefer, to copy the folder onto the PC you wish to work on(remember to remove/delete it after working on the PC). Depending on the tests you run the computer may reboot, and sometimes programs will not always automatically load again when on a external drive after startup due to drive letters changing and the computer may take a while for the drive to pick up.
Once you open the run the EXE file, you will be asked to you want to create a system restore point, run the app after install, create shortcuts and so on. However, you could just run the portable version of the program it skips this section, then the main screen opens up with all your options of what to do. Once you are done the portable version will ask if you wish to uninstall the program and remove it from the system, this will not remove the programs within UVK you have installed like Malwarebytes and Super AntiSpyware, so you will need to remove them manually or use UVK to uninstall them.
Testing and Findings:
There are paid for versions and a free one. We are reviewing the Paid For Branding License version (allows you to brand it with your logo). The paid for one works like the free one but with added features. The main of which to speak of being the Sys Booster, which scans the PC and rids it quickly of unwanted things like junk files etc.
You can brand it with your logo and company name so that if you use it onsite or remote, the customer will not see the brand and try to download it for themselves.
In the System Repair section, you can create your own scripts. This allows you to load the settings you choose fro the next time and not have to click each individually. (ie - virus removal, optimisation etc)
When you set it to run in unattended mode, it will not pop up with the TOS for the individual programs you may use. The problem with this is that some of the programs could potentially have terms and conditions that state that this program is for residential use only and may not be used for business or commercial use.
While UVK won't tell you that you need to buy a Pro or Tech Version of the program legally to use this on a customer's machine, you may well need to and presume that they have special permission to use these software programs. We had a look online for the terms and conditions of the top two third party apps included and this is what we found.
SUPERAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes T&C
We used this tool to service a number of old Computers we had on the side in the office that we use for testing programs like this. The tool ran smoothly and did what it promised. However, a few times we got stuck with these free programs to uninstall even though we clicked for them to be uninstalled on the program. Some of these we have seen in the past and are very annoying to un-install in that you have to download certain tools to rid yourself and sometimes even that leaves traces. (Super Anti-Spyware being the main culprit of this). I need a tool that will save time and this one works well as far as getting malware etc off of the machine, but I am having to backtrack to uninstall the programs. So, I am still on the fence about the time saving.
Message from Fred at UVK "SAS (Super AntiSpyware) troubled uninstall. In fact, when SAS is installed with the /silent switch, it can not be uninstalled normally (SAS bug), but UVK can uninstall it from the Smart uninstaller if you enable Forced uninstall."
Some of the things we have found usefull with UVK include
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System Booster - in practically 1 click it will remove/fix, Invalid activeX/COM objects, Invalid file extensions, Invalid shell extensions, Invalid OpenWith entries, Invalid shared DLLs, Invalid application keys/paths, Junk files and a lot more
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User Manager - Change users profile account passwords, auto login, rename the, disable them and even remove and change passwords.
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Smart Uninstaller - select multiple things to uninstall from your computer at once.
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Immunisation - allows you to tell UVK to Prevent things like registry files and autoruns from been changed.
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Ultra Adware Killer - This is there own adware removal tool, and will check programs, browsers, and autostarts.
Pricing:
There are 4 versions of the program, a Free Version, a 1-PC OEM license (for use on 1 PC only) at $15-$25 USD, a PRO
license that allows you to Sync setting between PC's at $50 USD and the Branding license that allows you to brands the product with your logo and desktop icons at $70 USD.
All the paid for versions also include ,remove uninstall remnants, fix errors (System Booster), immunise all users, running protection password, file information context menu, and send reports by email or FTP.
Suppliers:
UVK - Ultra Virus Killer is available from the manufacturers website at https://www.carifred.com/
Conclusion:
It's a handy piece of kit but there are some un-answered questions (namely about the free programs and why the un-install feature did not go as planned when I tick the box for it). If setup correctly you could save a lot of time servicing computers. It also includes practically everything you would need to use to fix software issues. There are so many things UVK can do and and we have only scratched the surface. Make sure you watch the video at the top of the page to see how it works.
Stand out point: The vast number of fixes in the tool.
Pros:
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Price, at the most is $70 USD
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Free trial available
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Includes fixes for most things you will need
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Auto updates programs when you run them
Cons:
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User interface needs a slight tweak so the home page button is in the same place on all pages and so on
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Potential issues with the User Agreements in programs that are included with UVK,
Scores:
Price 5 out of 5
Ease of use 3 out of 5
Time saving 4 out of 5
Reliability: 4 out of 5
They got a Gold Award for UVK and trust they have the agreements to use some of the third party programs.
