Lunarsoft is the maker of many free utilities and antivirus (virus removal) software. The company also posts helpful (probably some the most helpful) security tutorials on their website wiki. Lunarsoft’s latest incarnation is a tool that is very similar to the recently reviewed SSDownloader. The program called Anti-malware toolkit can download most of the antivirus and security software available online. The process is the similar SSDownloader but I believe Anti-Malware Toolkit ultimately has better functionality. One could say that the Anti-Malware Toolkit is aimed at more advanced users.
Pros:
Large Amount of available security programs – The software library that Anti-Malware Toolkit provides is impressive. Some of the programs include SuperAntispyware, Malwarebytes, Microsoft Security Essentials, specific antivirus removal software, defragmenters, extremely useful utilities, and most free antivirus like Avast and Antivir. In contrast to SSDownloader, which hides different versions of software for 64bit and other operating systems, Anti-Malware toolkit displays them all. This is helpful a user needs to download the software for another computer.
Status and Settings Indicators - When an antivirus program is being downloaded, a user will be able to monitor the precise speed of the download and the amount remaining and easily change the download location. Anti-Malware Toolkit also has a automatic update checker, proxy server functionality, and a setup package to actually install on the PC. These features were absent in SSDownloader.
Command line functionality – This is by far my favorite feature of Anti-Malware Toolkit. The software can be completely controlled via the command line. This means that a user can create a batch file and run automated installs across a network. The command line arguments can be used to set the operating system type, proxy options, and custom install options. SSDownloader did not have any command line functionality.
Cons:
Anti-Malware Toolkit incorrectly indicated my operating system as Windows 7 Utimate 64 bit. The operating system is in fact Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Not that this misidentification will cause any conflicts but it may be cause for concern on older operating systems. Finally, Anti-Malware Toolkit doesn’t actually install the security software it only downloads it. A future version should include some type of functionality to automatically install .msi install packages.
