AntiVirus Reviews

Overview:

Pros:

• Absolute active protection technology
• Enhanced 2-way firewall
• New home screen
• New scheduler and idle timer
• Enhanced alert system
• Improved help center
• Advanced firewall integration

Cons:

• Registration a must
• Misses out on a few essential features

Review:

When it comes to purchasing antivirus software, you might want to go for a company that you will be able to trust, as the internet threats are really serious. This is one of the reasons why McAfee is one of the major choices for those looking for software suite. Nobody will argue with us if we said that McAfee is one among the chief names in the industry of security software for computers. While we have to confess that they are not the most efficient of quickest in the current market, they do have a few positives about itself that makes it a very attractive option for system security.

Installation:

The installation and set-up process has been simplified by a great deal, which is an update that any consumer will appreciate. Installation of McAfee AntiVirus Plus 2011 took about three minutes and one second. When compared to the BitDefender software, the company employs a restricted number of dialog boxes and prompts while installation. While it is not as smooth as Nortion Antivirus 2011 installation, the company still tries to keep the process quite simple, without outing their customers through the technical issues like BitDefender. You will find a banner at the top which will indicate the security state of your system. You will also find a list of easy to understand commands that you can find from the HTML type of links. When you click over it, a mini menu will open to the right side of the instruction with some sub options. It will take you just a couple of clicks to get the complete scan of your system up and running and it is not terrible either. You will also find a features box below the dashboard that will find a complete list of securities offered by McAfee.

Get protected from the get-go:

This suite sports the required set of features to make sure that your security is perfect from the minute you start working, such as finding and removing the threats that install themselves and this type of precautionary actions just makes sure that you get a quick installation sans getting stopped by any sort of malware that already resides in your system. The account settings are quite easy to adjust and the McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 Software even offers one of the best Microsoft Outlook 2010 integration. The ease of use of the entire suite has been improved.

Ease of use:

For most of you out there, schedule of the scans and making necessary changes to the settings within 2011 McAfee AntiVirus Plus the suite should be quite easy. The interface that has got a make-over is not anything fancy, but is quite simple and straightforward giving easy navigation. From the main menu, you will be able to access all the important features and the security banner that is differentiated by colours so that you will be able to immediately identify if the security if your software is updated and you can get to any problems immediately. One important thing that you will have to note here is that, the suite does not need any sort of continuous safeguarding. However, you must also be aware of the fact that it has been designed to safeguard your system, as and when you access the files or just browse online. The suite is quite inconspicuous. Of course, there will be a couple if pop-ups, but you can just turn off all the notifications that are not necessary.

Scanning:

Similar to most of its rivals, McAfee too offers support for complete Scan of your drive and also a quick scan and look for major issues. You can also run a custom scan seeking for the malware and other issues in hard drive and network that concerns you the most. Scanner of the suite will remove the unwanted viruses and programs and also track cookies that will take care of browsing. There is a checkbox provided that allows you the shutdown your system once the complete scan gets over. Again, a very handy feature that initiates physical virus scan during late night.

Registration- A Must:

One of the major issues with the interface is with the process of registration. There are cases when you will not want to register a product. However, with the McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 you are given no preference other than to register it as soon as the software is bought.

What is new?

The McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 provides virus protection and heaps more, with a little added tools that enhance its effectiveness. Features wise, what is new with the McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011? Well, to begin with, it has an improved two way firewall, and as we had mentioned earlier, an alert system that is less intrusive now and enhanced integration with Microsoft Outlook 2010. The McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 suite offers you protection against a number of threats such as viruses, identity theft and spyware. It is a absolute antivirus suite, protecting your system from the worms, rootkits, common viruses, and Trojans. This suite also has the ability to sense and keep away from attacks from malicious scripts, dialers, hackers, adware, phishing scams, and heaps more.

QuickClean and Disk Fragmenter:

You will be able to realise that there are quite a few functionalities that the suite does not have, but it also has a few unique features that are not always found on most mainstream antivirus suites. All in all, it has quite a set of functionalities that allows your PC or Mac to provide better performance such as a shredder, disk fragmenter and QuickClean. These updations made will not only be consistent, but will also be automatic, that is only as long as you have a subscription for it. With the digital file shredder feature, you will be able to permanently and safely eliminate the junk and sensitive files and folders. You can even shred them off up to ten times for the sake of complete elimination. The QuickCleaner tool has been designed to fix or remove the fragmented files and the other stuff that causes your precious system to slow down and also locate them.

SiteAdvisor:

Their SiteAdvisor toolbar continues to offer proactive protection as you search online. There are many system security manufacturers that provide you with link scanners, but McAfee is the one to provide you with the original SiteAdvisor. This tool offers security ratings on each website in order to safeguard your system in a proactive way from the threats that are trying to attack you from the websites. In case you know that a website is no good, the icon of the SiteAdvisor will become red to alert you. This tool makes your shopping experience a safer one. This utility also includes a toolbar that projects the status of security of the website that you are currently on and also provides security rating icons sans any obstruction to each of the search results. The SiteAdvisor utility employes itself in about twenty two search engines, and here you have to take a note that this browsing protection of the suite not only relies on the SiteAdvisor utility, but is also dependent on the virus database that is already installed in your system. Hence, both these features together keep it updated for enhanced protection while browsing the net.

Two-way firewall:

The Antivirus Plus 2011 from McAfee protects you from spyware and it is the only antivirus software applications to include a complete two-way firewall. It is almost unheard of with basic Antivirus software, make it one of the most user-friendly antivirus packages we had reviewed this year. This means, basically, this suite is equipped to protect your system from threats not considering where they come from, including online scams, network threats, risky downloads, malicious websites and also the files that are share via email or instant messaging.

One of our favourite features of the McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 is its high quality firewall, which prevents others into the system and also ensures that your private data is kept safe. This feature keeps you worry free from the identity theft issue.

Idle Timer:

McAfee has also included an idle timer and scheduler and idle timer so that the Antivirus Plus 2011 continues scanning when the system is not in use. When this utility observes that you actually not active, the scans will start routinely; just pause the process when you start up again. You are also provided options to schedule the scans to take place while not using the system. In case you are utilising a laptop or ilk, you will also be able to adjust this software to no do the scanning unless you are even plugged in, which saves your battery a great deal. This Idle Timer brings on improvised performance and efficiency.

Updates:

McAfee AntiVirus Plus 2011 Software Suite keeps itself up to date. This antivirus security will allow automatic updates and the company provides enough updates in order to keep track of the latest threats. Similar to the scanning, the suite will just wait for an opportunity to get an update so that your performance will not be disturbed at any cost.

Performance:

Performance wise, the scan rate is much faster. Small download size enables you to quickly get up and running. Lesser the memory footprint, lesser the impact on the daily PC activity. It managed to block threats in just milliseconds and you are never kept waiting for the next update. Since a threat can come anytime, this type of a real-time protection makes sure that theft is not something you have to really worry about.

Customer care:

McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 also features an improved help centre. They offer you help based on the task you are trying to complete. But, we will say that the customer service of the McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 is a mixed bag. This is because, for the first 30 days, you get free phone support. Once the thirty days time frame has burned out, your options are restricted to mail support and unlimited chat. This is a real issue because many would have a preference to talking to a person instead of just converse through writing. There have been reports from former and current users about the support team’s lethargy and lack knowledge about their very own product.

McAfee’s website provides you technical and client support with quite a searchable knowledge and also a FAQs section. You will also be able to get detailed options with subscription to a premium support product. The Premium phone supports cost is calculated based on per occasion. There is also a unique self aid tool that most of the users will be able to take advantage of; it is known as McAfee Virtual Technician. This tool is downloadable and quite a simple one that installs and check the system and takes you through the entire process of fixing.

Value:

The McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 has been priced a reasonable £26 for 1 user PC and £43 for 3 users PC. For additional peace of mind, you get a 30 day money back guarantee.

Verdict:

The McAfee Antivirus Plus2011 is very cut-throat antivirus suite. Though it might be a little subpar when matched up to some of the best antivirus software available currently, the Antivirus Plus is a very competent one. It includes some unique features such as virtual technician, Idle Timer, SiteAdvisor and, file shredder that are hard to ignore. Again the McAfee 2011’s sluggish Performance along with integrity of their effectiveness against malware and viruses in still in debate. Overall, the McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011is pretty solid, but is not solid enough to compete with some of other more advanced antivirus products such as the Norton Antivirus 2011. While both the ancillary security features and ease of use sure looks impressive, it is the paucity of their very own core product that is kind of dicey, which makes us think twice before recommending McAfee as the antivirus suite you can settle in for!

Check Norton Antivirus 2011 Review, PC Tools Internet Security 2011 Review in this website.

McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011 – Software Suite Details

Lab	McAfee
Software name	McAfee Antivirus Plus 2011
Suite type	Antivirus
License Type	Complete package
License validation period	One year
License quantity	Three users
System requirements	1 GHz processor or higher 800 × 600 or higher resolution 256 MB RAM or higher for Windows XP (512 MB recommended) 512 MB RAM for Vista/Windows 7 (2GB recommended) 200 MB of available free drive space Internet connection
Other requirements	Outlook Express Windows Mail Outlook 2000 or later Eudora Thunderbird 1.5 or later Anti-Spam also supports any other POP3 email client (without SSL) and web accounts
Supported Browsers	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later Mozilla FireFox 2
Supported Email Programs	POP3 – Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook, Eudora, Netscape, IncrediMail and Thunderbird MAPI – Outlook Windows Live Mail Web – MSN/Hotmail, or email account with POP3 access
Supported IMs	AOL Instant Messenger 2.1 or later Yahoo Messenger 4.1 or later Microsoft Windows Messenger 3.6 or later MSN Messenger 6.0 or later
Core protection	Yes
Advanced Protection	No
Networking	Yes
Identity Protection	Yes
Backup and Restore	No
Support	30 days phone support Free forums and chat “Virtual Technician” – Paid support

Love it or hate it, you already own, or in search of an Antivirus software, you must be already aware of the name ‘Norton’. Actually, Symantec has been in this Antivirus market for so long that, you might think it is very hard to come up with a new version every year. However, you will never know that when you look at the 2011 version of its Antivirus software. It seems to continue to evolve and also includes heaps of new features. Only recently we reviewed the Symantec Norton 360 All-in-one Security Software and was amazed by how much things had changed since the last Norton edition. While that software got a good recommendation from us for its efficiency, abundance of features and good management of resources too, the 2011 Antivirus also has a few neat surprises tucked under its sleeve, but at the same time makes sure that the core functionality that made the Norton 360 a big success.

In a recent world wide survey that involved thousands of people, Symantec found that about two thirds of us have been victims of cyber crime and this is hardly surprising considering that the company itself has managed to block over three billion threats with the help of its Norton products in the year 2009 alone. Norton AntiVirus 2011 has managed to offer a similar premium networking and PC protection akin to its sibling, Norton Internet Security, then again is devoid of some vital Web protection traits that shouldn’t really be missed by users. The Norton 2011 Antivirus Software continues to prove why its near-instantaneous virus definition and internet-ready features are still considered the best among the lot with its rapid install. Read on to find out more.

Quick and Easy Installation:

Installation of the Symantec Norton Antivirus 2011 is a breeze and done extremely fast. It is completely automated and nothing much to mess around. With different options being provided it is a simple straightforward task of clicking the install button and just sit back and watch. Just a few minutes after you have clicked in the ‘agree and install’ icon, you are ready to activate and register the software. Unfortunately, the software activation is a slight roadblock, as there is no way to close this activation window and it will remain to be on your screen until you gave in and gave it an email ID to tag the serial on to it. This might get people pissed off, but we guess Norton make their point very clear by not providing an exit button in the browser’s window wherein the label evidently says “Complete Activation and Register NOW” conveys their idea across.

Well, it does need some definition update for the sake of peak protection, but it usually does this update only during the idle time. You can also force a full update on installation and in that case, the product requests a reboot soon after the installation is done, in order to complete the task of removing all of the active threats. In case Norton does not start correctly in a system, the One Click Support screen automatically appears with a magical recommendation to fix the issue and in most cases, it actually works.

Interface:

The user interface of Norton Antivirus 2011 Software is very well designed, intuitive and responsive. At the top of the main window, you will be able to see the status of your computer protection, network protection and Global map. One thing we really loved here is the ability to turn various features off for a certain amount of time simply by clicking a switch which turns the feature off. Well this comes in handy when you want to download stuff that you trust, but generally gets flagged as virus, this is when you can turn your anti-virus off (not something that we would recommend), but then again it feels good to have the choice open when you really want to grab a file and have something important to do with it.

Hassle-less and Informative:

While on one hand Norton tries its best not to hassle the user by staying in the background, on the other hand, if you wish to get details on its activities, you can dig as deep as you want. But, be warned as these charts can be overwhelming. Click over ‘Performance’, and the main window flips over 180 degrees, revealing a chart of CPU and memory use on the back, that has a record of Norton activity for several months. By clicking on any of the peaks on the chart, you can find the process that was hogging the resources at that time or point at icons in the monthly log for details. In this page, you will also be able to get access to the list of application rating. The application rating list is nothing but information from Norton’s database about each of the program that is found in your system. Having said that, most users will not probably want to dig into these performance charts, unless and until there is a performance issue. Although it may not be super productive, it is nice to have a few pieces of eye candy, even if it is in your security software. In this 2011 edition, Norton steps in proactively when it detects that a particular application is hogging the resources. You will find a small pop up that identifies the program that causes issues, with a link to detailed performance information. Overall, it is a nice feature.

Get all you info:

The Symantec Norton Antivirus 2011 has a brand new active area at the bottom of the main screen. The AntiVirus 2011 Dashboard demonstrates your PC’s current security status together with an interactive map that displays the status of security of worldwide network. To begin with, it displays an interactive world map with moving lights that represent malware stopped by a Norton Installation. Just click over it to get a “crawl” that contains details about the latest threats or, just click over a continent to and just shift to a city by city report. This is not all, it has more to it than what eyes can meet. If you have a Norton Backup account, you will be able to set the panel to monitor your available online backup space and also track the most recent backup. In future though, the software plans to roll in access to other web specific security elements, which makes Norton Antivirus a hub for controlling all of them.

Socialise:

This Norton 2011 antivirus suite also links the Norton Safe Web to the free Facebook app that scrutinizes the safety of your News Feed links. You can even configure it to automatically scan or even generate a facebook post in order to share the results of your scan with your pals. Just key in your login details and the AntiVirus scrutinizes your wall for potential dicey links that could have been posted by loutish friends or spammers. Currently Facebook is the only supported site, but Symantec are actively looking to expand to other networking sites such as Twitter. The good news is that, this feature is not just limited to the Norton users as your friends will also be able to install the apps, if they wish to.

Computer Protection:

A full scan of a standard system takes about fifty minutes, which is twice as long as what is average. But, if you first run an application ratings scan and identify the good known programs and applications, you will be able to cut down the scan time to just over a couple of minutes.

And otherwise, this scanning for the good known program usually is done during the idle time. So, as a new addition to this 2011 edition, a Norton Insight Network displays the up to the minute stats on the number of files identified as a good one or bad with the help of the input from the Norton community. Similarly, there is also the new reputation scan that examines all of the files on your disk and offers your reports on three major stats of trust level, age and prevalence. The more widespread and older files are taken to be safer then the new and the uncommon ones.

Computer Protection allows you to do a quick, full or custom scan of your system’s drives, which can take anything from a minute to an hour and this totally depends on the size of your drive and how fast your system is. Any of the detected threats end up being highlighted and quarantined. There is a little slowdown while performing this scan. You will be able to watch HD videos and play simple games while the Norton Antivirus 2011 chugs away silently in the background. Even better, the suite remembers the files already scanned, rescanning only files that have been modified and this significantly accelerates subsequent scans.

System Impact:

A good Antivirus program should not only protect your computer from Viruses but also not slow down the Performance of your computer too much by using up your computer’s resources. Norton 2011 Antivirus Software uses only 10.8 MB of system memory and it adds only 8.0 seconds to the test PC’s reboot time. The suite requires 245MB of the hard drive’s space for installation, which is Norton’s worst result this year. However, the software adds only 0.068s on average to launch a web browser and it adds only 0.19s on average to convert a MP3 file to four other file types.

Independent Lab Ratings:

As far as the lab ratings go, Symantec Norton has been consistently receiving a VB100% award from the Virus Bulletin. The product has also managed to get certification from both ICSA labs and the West coast labs for virus detection and removal and the West coast also adds a number of other extra checkmark certifications. Norton got a ‘Advanced +’, which is the highest rating possible from AV Comparatives for on demand malware removal and ‘Advanced’ rating for the proactive detection of any new malware. This was proved again in our tests too, where the software managed to outscore in removal but not when it came to blocking.

AV Comparatives and AV Test ran a special real world test last year and in the dynamic test, Norton and Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 were the only software that managed to receive an ‘Advanced +’ rating. And in other test, where a dozen of the leading Antivirus software were challenged to protect the test systems from the real world current threats over a period of a couple of months, Norton topped the list by detecting most of them, and PC Tools Internet Security 2010 managed to secure the second place for most thorough protection. Finally, on the rating for ease of use, success at repairing of malware infestations and overall protection, Norton, Kaspersky and Panda Internet Security 2010 shared the top spot.

Anti-Malware:

The Norton Antivirus 2011’s full antivirus scan was smooth in our malware infested system and in most cases, the product treated all threats that it found and just reported its success at the end of it; we like that. And, in the case of the low risk threats, which when removed needs closing of the active programs, Norton asks permission first. Most of the time, the system will need a reboot once the scan is done, to complete the process of cleanup. Below the results display, you will find a tiny note reading “If you think that there are still risks, click here”. On clicking it, it will take you to the download page of the Norton Power Eraser, which is a tool that performs a much more aggressive scan than the Norton Antivirus itself. While this is capable of removing the threats, there are also great chances that it will flag valid files as malicious. However, Symantec also points out that any of the false positives will be the uncommon files as the Norton Insight whitelists the known good files widely used.

Detection and Dealing of Malware:

The Norton Antivirus 2011 detects 89% of the assorted threats matching the Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 and Spyware Doctor with Antivirus 2010, but the Norton product was much more efficient than the other two when it comes to completely removing what it had detected. It managed to clean up almost every trace for about half of the threats that it found and also achieved the highest malware removal score. The software had a Scareware, which is rouge antivirus, detection rate of 78%. Though there were four other products that detected more of it, Norton seemed to the most effective and came close to the top scareware removers like the Ad-Adware Pro Internet Security 8.3 and Malwarebyte’s AntiMalware 1.46. In another test done with the Commercial Keyloggers, Norton again managed a good score, but again was not the top notch. While Norton caught 86%, the Webroot Antivirus with Spy Sweeper 2011and Spyware Doctor caught 93%. Overall, as far as the malware is concerned, the Norton is definitely in the winner circle, but not quite on the top. Again, it does an excellent job in cleaning up the malware that it found.

Internet Protection:

The download intelligence of Norton automatically evaluates any of the file that you download with your browser. This latest 2011 edition extends this protection to files that intrude through many emails, chat and even peer to peer clients as well the popular download managers. In case Norton detects that the file that you just downloaded is malicious, then it just wipes it out sans any comment. This silent elimination will be deceiving as you might expect some sort of notification. While trying to download some malware, the Download Insight wiped off 70% of it, which is acceptable, but not very convincing, considering that Webroot Internet Security Complete 2011, which blocks the known malicious URLs as well as the malware downloads, got a pleasing 84%.

There is also email protection, that scans you inbox for dodgy code, and browser protection that stops the shady online characters from exploiting weakness in your browser. With the expansion of Norton 2011’s browser support that go on to include Opera and Google Chrome you might not have to put up with alien browsers. It also checks the security of your wireless network depending on the encryption strength. So fear not even if you possess a weak Wi-Fi Norton helps with boosting your security levels with some simple easy-to-follow guidelines.

Real Protection:

The real time protection of Norton kicked in the minute we opened a folder containing malware sample files and by the time it finished opening, three quarters of the malware had been wiped off. The software also did an excellent job in blocking of malware installation, but we would say that the other did a better job. The blocking installation of the Commercial Keyloggers is less significant. After all, a spy sitting in front of you system installing the software, can simply turn off your antivirus. We feel that an Antivirus software should be able to pull up it socks and keep rootkits from getting a toehold on the system; which is a lot simpler than simply prying them loose after they have managed to dig in. Norton Antivirus has SONAR together with tons of other technologies that helps in active prevention of malicious activity. And we are sure that the few malware samples that managed to slip off would very well be prohibited before it could cause any real harm. However, we are still more impressed with the software that did a great job in actively preventing installation at the first place.

Additional Firewall Capabilities:

As a shocker to the system protection community, the Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2011 omitted the firewall protection that is usually found on the suite and instead opted to rely on the Windows Firewall and also a collection if “Firewall Boosters”. However, as a contrast, Norton has leaned in the opposite direction with their Antivirus 2011 including all of the intrusion prevention and vulnerability blocking technology that can be found in the complete suite. Simply add the Windows Firewall, and the Norton Antivirus can be considered to be a mini suite on its own. When the Network protection functionality was tested using the Core Impact penetration tool, the software actively blocked all of the exploits like the Kaspersky Internet Security 2011. Instead of confusing the user with all the details, the product just exhibits a transient popup that reports that it simply has impeded an attack along with providing the details of the same. In most cases, the details have exactly the same name along with the nature of the exploit.

Network Protection:

The package even has a network map that aids in remote monitoring of the other Norton installations on your networking.
You will find a somewhat same feature in the antivirus suite of Panda’s and just like that application, the map in this suite is also strictly informational. On the contrary the same network map of BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 remotely allows actual management of rest of the systems. Overall, this is a very pleasing additional feature treat.

Support:

Norton AntiVirus 2011 comes with a year’s subscription to Symantec’s online updates, which updates your virus definitions to cover any new threats. You also get access to 24×7 chat and phone support, in case your system is well and truly stuffed up. It sports a prominent Support link on its dashboard. This menu allows for viewing of static help, check for Antivirus version updates, update yourself on tutorials or request direct help from Symantec. Norton’s One Click Support performs a quick scan of your computer for known problems before putting you in touch with a Symantec representative. You can also search the Knowledgebase directly from the Norton 2011 program. Overall, Norton provides many different support options.

Verdict:

The Symantec Norton Antivirus 2011, is beyond doubts a top rated suite in which the Norton Insight handles the toughest of threats like a pro. The suite comes loaded with couple of extraordinary bonus features, and of note is the complete intrusion prevention feature. On its boon side, it has quick installation, automated help, high rated independent lab ratings, impressive malware score, file checking from web, email, IM and heaps more. The effective intrusion prevention system, proactive protection warnings and interactive threat map are also worth mentioning. On the flip side, it fails in approaches like blocking malware and couple of malware removal tests. While the information display it gives is informative, it was unduly complex for a few users. Then again, relative beginners might face not much issues with running AntiVirus 2011 as majority of the tedious tasks are done by default with just minimal inputs expected from users. More advanced users still have a wealth of tools at their disposal for securing their system just as they wish, and can even fine-tune performance by investigating which applications are taking up valuable system resources. Overall, the Norton Antivirus 2011suite is a top notch product with a very impressive set of extras. You will not go wrong with one of these.

Symantec Norton Antivirus 2011 Software – Technical Specification Table

Lab	Symantec
Software name	Symantec Norton Antivirus 2011
Suite type	Antivirus
License Type	Complete package
License validation period	One year
License quantity	Three users
Supported operating system	Microsoft Windows XP (32-bit) Home/Professional/ Tablet PC/Media Center (32-bit) with Service Pack 2 or later Microsoft Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) Starter/ Home Basic/Home Premium/Business/Ultimate Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) Starter/ Home Basic/Home Premium/Professional/Ultimate
Minimum Hardware Requirements	300 MHz for Microsoft Windows XP, 1 GHz for Microsoft Windows Vista/Microsoft Windows 7 256MB of RAM 300MB of available hard disk space CD-ROM or DVD drive (if not installing via electronic download)
Browser Plug-In Support	Microsoft Internet Explorer® 6.0 or later (32-bit only) Mozilla® Firefox® 3.0 and later (32-bit only)
Core protection	Blocks viruses, spyware, Trojan horses, worms, bots, and rootkits Defends against hackers with two-way firewall Bot detection blocks the automated programs cybercriminals use to take control of your PC, access your private information, and use your computer to send out spam and launch attacks on other PCs. Worm protection safeguards your PC against fast-spreading Internet worms and prevents you from accidentally passing them on to others. Rootkit detection finds and removes deeply buried crimeware that can hide other types of threats and allow cybercriminals to take control of your PC.
Advanced Protection	Guards against Web attacks Stops threats unrecognized by traditional antivirus techniques Updates automatically, offers easy-to-use features and includes free customer support during your subscription period.
Networking	Helps secure and monitor your home network Automatically secures your PC when connecting to public wireless networks
Identity Protection	Norton Download Insight warns you if a downloaded file or application is dangerous before you install or run it on your PC. Norton File Insight gives you detailed information about the files found on your PC, including where the file came from (the website URL) and if it can be trusted. Email and instant message monitoring scans email and IMs for suspicious link and other potentially dangerous attachments. Vulnerability protection stops cybercriminals from using security holes (vulnerabilities) in applications to sneak viruses or spyware on to your PC.
Protection System	Proactive performance alerts tell you when an application is slowing down your PC, so you can make changes to improve performance. Norton Insight identifies and scans only files at risk for fewer, shorter scans and the fast scan speeds. Norton System Insight shows you how files and applications affect your PC’s performance to help you keep your PC performing at its best. Silent mode puts alerts and noncritical updates on hold when you are watching movies or playing games in full-screen on your PC. Smart scheduler runs scans and updates only when you’re not using your PC.
Pulse update	Provides updates every 5-15 minutes that protect against the latest threats without slowing down your computer.
SONAR 3 Behavioral Protection	Monitors your PC for suspicious behaviour to quickly detect new online threats.
Backup and Restore	No
Reputation service	Instantly checks where files came from and how long they’ve been around to identify and stop new crimeware faster than other, less sophisticated security software.
Other Key features	Antivirus Antispyware Antirootkit Pulse Updates Bot protection Network mapping and monitoring Norton Reputation Service SONAR 3 Behavior Protection
Support	FREE 24 x 7 support Norton Control Center organizes program controls and settings, and gives you one-click access to web-based Norton services on one easy-to-read screen. Norton Ongoing Protection automatically downloads software updates and new features in the background as they become available during your subscription period, without interrupting you or slowing down your PC. Monthly report tells you what Norton AntiVirus has done in the previous month to keep you safe from threats. Power saver settings help s to optimize your laptop’s battery life by putting off noncritical activities until your computer is plugged in.

As you can imagine, PC Tools has not always been a popular name in internet security, but lately it has managed to achieve some impressive detection rates. Most of the security suite vendors focus the limelight on their security suite and all of them also offer a standalone antivirus as well, but naturally the suite get the top billing. At PC Tools, their star attraction is the “Spyware Doctor” Antivirus. Certainly, they will only be too be happy if you opt for PC Tools Internet Security rather than some other suite, but they assume it like Spyware Doctor coming with some bonuses. For a couple of extra pounds, you end up with a decent firewall along with an antispam that is conveniently incorporated  with PC Tools’ virus protection and Spyware Doctor together with AntiVirus 2011.

Obviously, the principal job of any Internet Security suite is to offer protection against malware, Viruses and remaining threats that threaten to intervene with your work costing you a fortune. The PC Tools Internet Security 2011 seems to arise as one of the strong ones in the industry, providing some impressive testing results. It comes direct with three licenses for one year.

Protection offered:

PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2011 offers complete internet security by way of a dominant Anti-Virus, Firewall, Anti-Spyware and Spam protection, all of these in a single application. Along with detecting, removing and blocking all kinds of Adware, Trojans, Spyware, Viruses, Keyloggers, Worms and various other threats it also executes Full/Custom scans along with Intelli checking for hidden files, sensible system areas, archives, user documents, manages excluded file lists, creates restore points quarantining infections prior to removal. The most recent 2011 is loaded with couple of additional features like multibrowser protection, advanced memory scanner, enhanced firewall, a download guard, browser protection, anti-phishing to name a few and many more.

Installation:

Installation of an internet security suite cannot get easier than that of the PC Tools suite. It is an advanced technology that is designed especially for individuals, and not experts. Meaning it comes configured by default right out of the box giving the most favorable protection, so all that remains to be done is to simply install it to enjoy immediate and verified ongoing protection. Reboot is required after installation.

Speed and Memory Toll:

The package of PC Tools Internet Security 2011 seems to be one of the heavier options we have ever seen. Some of the extra protection in PC Tools Internet Security 2011 does not come without a speed penalty, though it is not burdened with extraneous features. It has even omitted the parental control module that is found in most suites. Before installing the software, Windows took about two minutes and 26 seconds to start up and all the installed to appear in the utility tray. But, after installation of the suite, the PC took about three minutes to start up, which suggests a performance hit of approximately 3 percent, same as F-Secure Internet Security 2011. With the 2010 edition of security suite requiring double the time to reboot the system, it has been flawlessly fixed in this edition. With this security software being installed, there was a whopping 337MB drop of the available RAM and with the desktop appearing after two minutes, there was continuous CPU activity for 16 seconds with the package getting initialized.

Interface:

PC Tools is taking some definite efforts to make the interface looks and feel more serious, but the simple blue and green design might still looks a little cheap to your eyes. The interface is clear and smart with the areas of protection divided mainly into 4: Virus scan, Antispam, Intelliguard and Firewall, each of which boasts of an individual ancillary settings along with a large button and few other tools that are grouped together column-wise towards the left hand side.

The main window of the suites parallels to the Spyware Doctor in  numerous ways. For eg., here also you get to see the 5 five buttons on the left together with the similar Intelliguard protectors, extra-strength tools handling tough malware, and identical scan choices.

ISO CD Burner:

You will also find some new tools tucked away in the interface. It has made it easy to create bootable recovery media either on an optical disc or on a USB drive. For the first time, the Internet Security from PC Tools of 2011 suite comes with a rescue CD burner, the ISO burner helps to create a bootable security disc that is Linux based to get rid of deep seated malware. So in a worst case scenario even if your PC is under attack, it would be prevented from starting up and you can attempt a recovery by loading this CD onto another Linux system. An excellent touch that we really loved is that, it works with USB drives as well as optical media.

PC Tools Secure Community:

The Spyware Doctor has several layers of real-time guards protecting a clean PC against malware. Additionally there is another layer added by the PC Tools Enhanced Security Permissions of the firewall. By enabling the PC Tools Secure Community feature, the software shares information related to the found malware with the Malware Research Center, helps the product to improve its detection rate and allows other users to receive the latest possible protection.

So, when it comes to detection, the PC Tools manages to detect 89 percent of the threats. Though this seems to be like a pretty good performance, there are others who performed better. Webroot detects 91%, while Panda Internet Security 2010 and Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security 8.3 managed a 94%. It scores high in Malware blocking, however, we would say that the other do a better job.

Intelliguard:

Of the four categories available, the one that you may not be completely familiar is Intelliguard. This is an umbrella terms coined by PC Tools for the protection suite guarding your PC against spyware, worms, zero-day viruses, Trojans, downloading emails that call or trouble and browsing dangerous sites. Likewise it also offers protection against any new viruses, even before the availability of antivirus signatures. Also there is this advanced OnGuard technology that cautions you against Firewall and Virus activity and true Spyware along with filtering your mails for spam. This is remarkable because there should be interruptions by way of cryptic questions each time when you install a software or update your favourites or edit the PC settings.

File and Registry tool:

One of the less useful ones is the File and Registry tool that allows you to edit, view or delete obscure Registry files and keys. We guess not many users would really be in need of such a tool.

Anti-spyware:

The anti-spyware and anti-virus protection of the suite is the most advanced feature that works towards continually improving its Virus fighting and Spyware traits on an everyday basis. PC Tools Internet Security suites software has the distinct advantage of coming from a company that produces a top-of-the-line anti-spyware program, Spyware Doctor. You get to see all of the same anti-spyware traits of that program in this suite too with the same kind of robust effectiveness askin to the Webroot Internet Security Essentials.f With threats getting complex by the day and working towards avoiding detection, the PC Tools Security suite comes back at it with new technologies staying a step ahead. While rest of the Antispam suites handles just POP3 e-mails, PC Tools goes one step ahead in filtering IMAP accounts too. It employs various techniques trying to distinguish spam from genuine mails with real-time blacklists and Bayesian learning being a part of that effort. Additionally, you get an option to remove attachments of specific type of files. There is a handy toolbar in Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail and Outlook that helps with marking messages that are Spam/Not Spam along with managing the names of friends ensuring their mail never gets blocked.

Downloading a thousand email messages takes twice as long with PC Tools filtering spam as with no filter. The average everyday user will not even notice this as a slowdown. PC Tools manages to block 3% of valid mail, which is not a huge amount but enough that you may want to white-list all of your correspondents. By default, it white-lists those in your Outlook Contacts and weirdly blocked 90% bulk mails majority of them from Yahoo Groups.

Anti-virus Protection:

The antivirus of this suite is nothing but a residue of the Spyware Doctor, though it is effective it kind of falls short of competition by way of usability leaving its competitors with a upper hand in this category. Likewise modifying the settings of this feature is also kind of dicey as it shares the same setting area of the antispyware feature. That apart, this is a highly effective program procuring the VB100% award from Virus Bulletin.

Firewall:

Moving on to our least favourite aspect of the package, akin to most internet security software of today, it remains to be the firewall. A 2-way firewall scrutinizes network traffic, detecting hackers and blocking them, preventing intrusion from networks, automatically configuring Internet and network access for known applications and for any application with a valid digital signature and makes decisions to reduce the displaying of alerts. With couple of scareware threats being digitally signed, the last feature can be kind of unreliabe. The quiz the user style has been dropped long back and the modern firewalls do not use confusing queries. For instance, in Norton all known good programs are allowed access and all known programs get destroyed, and it depends on behavioral and statistical detection ensuring unknowns don’t really cause any trouble. Again, Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 moderately sandboxes unknowns such that they don’t cause any harm to a protected PC.

Firewall in action:

The firewall did manage to get through most of the web-based attack and port scan tests, then again isn’t is a must for every firewall out there? As in the case of the 2010 edition, being set to the default settings, it allows probing of ports and getting them open in a remote PC allowing access to potentially huge amounts of useful info with regards to network shares and user accounts. To be fair, if your PC is UAC enabled and sits behind a router, it is not really that easy for a hacker to get this close first of all, then again as the last thread of defense we guess you will feel pleased with a less reliable firewall. When its firewall was challenged with a collection of leak test utilities demonstrating traits of an actual malware trying to evade general program control, various protective layers in PC Tools caught all but one, of the leak tests. While the Enhanced Security Permissions managed to catch some, few others got detected by the firewall itself with the remaining others triggering the Browser Guard warning.
Various layers of the suite also came into the fight when targeted by the exploits triggered by the “Core Impact penetration tool”. A third of the exploits got caught at the browser leveel by the Browser Defender. Yet 20% of the exploits succeeded in dropping a file on the test system, only to be blocked by the real-time protection modules. Though none of the others got a chance to penetrate security, a couple of them managed to crash the browser. Though this looks to be a decent effort, market leaders like Kaspersky and Norton managed to block every single exploit identifying most of them by names. Well any Firewall is not worth it, if some hacker succeeds in turning it off, so we kind of tried various techniques that a malware coder would follow, it did not get disabled with tweaking the Registry. Despite killing some of the processes via the Task Manager, the protection did not come to a halt. However, the protection gets shut easily by disabling and stopping the essential services. Norton, BitDefender, Kaspersky and others seem to perform better when it comes to safeguarding their components from being targeted.

Performance:

In terms of performance, the PC Tools’ new Internet Security Suite 2011 looks to have scored some impressive scores claiming a 100% for detecting and cleansing of WildList malware and a 100% for behavior-based detection. It came out hugely successful with averting commercial keyloggers installation and rootkits more importantly. Similar to Webroot Internet Security Complete 2011, Panda Internet Security 2011and several others, it managed a100 percent detection of rootkits; all of these results based on AVTest.org that is commissioned by PC Tools in August this year. While testing the suite in a system that was previously running AVG Free, the 2011 PC Tools spotted four new threats and 35 infections that the free software had not, however, the risk factor on each of those was low.

When it comes to cookie and tracking cookies it all depends on how the scanning engine has been set up, then again PC Tools’ spyware and adware would be a good choice. The 2010 version of the product ranked just one percent behind the leader of the industry Norton Internet Security, and this September, when pitched against a current selection of malware, the PC Tools Internet Security 2011 achieved an ideal 98% score. It may be no coincidence that the company was acquired by Symantec in 2008.

Support:

In terms of support, the suite proffers a complete knowledgebase, user guides, release info and community forums. For any further info they can be contacted over Live chat, phone or e-mail.

Verdict:

PC Tools’ 2011 suite is a user-friendly and efficient internet security suite that covers all protection aspects, though you get to notice the conventional performance hit that is noticed while it is running.  Though the suite looks to be on the right track, we would appreciate something with a more rigorous firewall but at the same time with a lighter footprint. It sure is a relentlessly improving package, but it is not quite there just yet. Honestly, as of now, we find it kind of dicey to recommend it explicitly.

PC Tools Internet Security 2011 – Software Details

Manufacturer	PC Tools
Software	PC Tools Internet Security 2011
Release Date	August 31, 2010
Suite type	Internet Security
License type	Complete package
License Validation period	1 Year
License quantity	3 users
Package type	Retail
OS Compatibility	Microsoft Windows 7 (32bit, 64bit), Windows Vista SP1+ (32bit, 64bit), Windows XP SP2+ (32bit)
CPU	300MHZ(XP)
System Memory RAM	256MB
Hard drive	150MB
Supported browsers	Internet Explorer
Anti-Virus	Yes
Real time protection	Yes
Manual protection	Yes
FireWall	Yes
Anti-Spyware	Yes
Anti-Phishing	Yes
Anti-Spam	Yes
Parental controls	No
Data Backup	No
Key features	Prevention against: Spyware, Adware, Trojans, Viruses, Worms, Keyloggers, Identity Theft, Hijackers, Tracking Threats, Rogue Anti-Spyware, Unwanted Software, Phishing, Popups, Hackers and Bad Websites.
New features	Built on a modular architecture ThreatFire™ Behavioral Intelligence features next-generation technology Advanced rootkit detection technology Multi-layered browsing protection Site Guard Cookie Guard Browser Guard Constant real-time IntelliGuard™ Intelli-Scan™ Automated Firewall Advanced spam filtering State Awareness Modes BETA! Alternate Operating System Scanner (AOSS)
Support	Toll-free phone, live chat, email, FAQs, forum