Well, most of us use software to clone machines these days (well, I do anyway).

A combination of virtual machines or actual hardware to create reference machines, and software like MDT 2010 / Ghost / or the opensource FOG to distribute images.

I guess you’re using Dell’s ImageDirect service if they already have your image on them?

I’m still confused though, you get the machines from Dell, you take them, start them up, install Avast, then take the drives out and image them with your hardware imaging thingamajig?

Or how does that process work? Any time you start the computer for the first time and add software, you need to sysprep again before taking an image of it. Otherwise you’ll have duplicate SID’s, and multiple machines with the same name (including avast). I know you said that you were putting the free edition on, so it’s not like ADNM is getting confused by having several machines with the same name, but something is obviously going wrong somewhere.

Is there any reason that you’re not using ADNM to push out version 4.8 to the machines after they have been imaged (you shouldn’t be using the free edition in a business, especially one that’s big enough to afford to use Dell ImageDirect).

Like I said, you should sysprep after the avast install, and avast even comes with a tool that you should run as well before imaging, as explained in my previous post.

As for the major disadvantages without the web shield, well, anytime you disable a part of the antivirus it weakens the protection. Something that the webshield could have prevented from getting on the system will have to be caught by one of the other scanners. They “should” do the job, but what happens if they don’t catch it in time and starts messing with the machine before the other scanners get a chance to prevent it?

It’s simple, if you want the best protection that you can from any A/V program, you should have all of the program running.