Internet security suites

When it comes to keeping your PC free of nasties, at the very least, you’ll need an anti-virus tool (several of which can be downloaded for free), but for full coverage, you’ll want protection from phishers, scammers, hackers, identity thieves, naughty Web sites, system failures and more. You can, of course, get individual products that deal with each of these threats. But for cost-effectiveness and simplicity, you can’t beat a suite. You just have to choose which one.

TESTED & RATED
Numbered ratings (ie: marks out of five) are not used when testing security systems, as there are many factors influencing choice, such as features required, ease of use, and price. It is always best to buy security software directly from the manufacturer or a recommended retailer, as online support and updates are important to maintaining protection. Some of these products can be purchased to download online, thus saving shipping costs. Some manufacturers (eg: AVG) offer free versions with fewer features. These are adequate for light email and Web surfing, but not much else. Some manufacturers and retailers offer security software already installed on new computers. Such deals can save you time and money. While the latest operating systems do have some security features built in, a properly installed and maintained security system will monitor for threats and update protection while you are online. Such protection is vital, especially if you are doing a lot of Web surfing or downloading. Securing your computer is just as important as locking your house and car.




AVG Internet Security 8.0
www.avg.com.au
RRP: $85 for one PC for one year; $117 for three PCs for one year.
Pros: Fast; easy to use.
Cons: Weak anti-spyware; Web protection and anti-phishing only rudimentary. Probably best known for its free anti-virus and anti-spyware tools, AVG also produces a suite that combines those with a firewall, anti-spam and some basic Web defences. And there’s a lot to like about the suite – it’s fast, it’s light and it’s very easy to use. We especially like the way it does a lot of the configuration during installation, so that it doesn’t have to harass you later on. That said, we’re not that sure that buying the suite rather than using the free products is worth the price if you’re a home user. You can download AVG Antivirus Free Edition from free.avg.com, and it provides nearly the same virus protection as the suite, while firewall, anti-spam and Web protection are already built into Windows anyway. In terms of performance, the AVG suite dealt with malware well enough, but its adware removal and pro-active defences were at or below par.
Verdict: Good for those who like things kept simple. Just don’t expect the world.






BitDefender Internet Security 2009
www.bitdefender.co.nz
RRP: $49 for one PC for one year; $79 for three PCs for one year.
Pros: Solid anti-virus; powerful and configurable firewall; cheap.
Cons: Too technical; weak help system; weak anti-spyware. Although it’s markedly cheaper than all the other suites here, BitDefender Internet Security 2009 is more comprehensive than several of the other products, incorporating the usual anti-malware and firewall features as well as anti-spam and parental controls. But it’s also more complicated and doesn’t do much to shield the user from networking jargon. We found it by default way too popup-happy, but a little tweaking had the program down to manageable levels. Much like AVG, BitDefender proved capable at virus detection and removal, but didn’t handle spyware very well. However, it was excellent at pro-active detection.
Verdict: Cheaper than most other suites, but it’s best used by more technical users, since it can be complicated to set up and configure.
NB: The 2010 edition of BitDefender has recently been launched.








CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2009
www.vet.com.au
NZ approx. price: $86 for five PCs for one year
Pros: Simple interface; excellent parental controls; good anti-spam.
Cons: Questionable performance.
While there wasn’t much daylight between the test results for most of the products reviewed here, CA Internet Security Suite Plus stood out for its remarkably poor performance. Admittedly, the test results are for the previous version of the product (the 2008 version), but results like this would seriously make us consider the value of purchasing this suite. It’s a shame, too, because there’s a good deal to this suite beyond its anti-virus and anti-malware functions. Its parental controls are a particular highlight, with some of the most comprehensive capabilities we’ve seen in a suite. It also has a phishing protection, backup and recovery software, a good spam filter and a personal firewall.
Verdict: It’s easy to use and has plenty of features, but its 2008 version test results are a major black mark against it.





F-Secure Internet Security 2009
www.f-secure.co.nz
NZ approx. price: $200 for three PCs for one year
Pros: Excellent detection rates; quality parental controls.
Cons: Expensive; extra features (aside from parental controls) are weak.
We’re a little torn on the latest iteration of F-Secure’s suite. On the one hand it performed extremely well in the tests, rivalled perhaps only by Symantec. On the other hand, the suite is too expensive by far and doesn’t come with a huge array of extra features to justify the price. It’s not very user-friendly and tends to query you too much by default. There’s also not that much to the suite beyond the core anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall features. Its anti-spam is not that useful, and is very painful to train – painful enough that we wouldn’t recommend using it. The Web protection is also very limited, but the parental controls are surprisingly good
Verdict: Does little to shield the user from its complexity, but does have excellent virus and spyware detection rates.






Kaspersky Internet Security 2009
www.kaspersky.co.nz
NZ approx. price:  $117.68 for three PCs for one year
Pros: Excellent malware detection; easy to use, light on system resources.
Cons: Some of the extra features a little weak; poor help system.
Along with Symantec and F-Secure, Kaspersky was one of the standouts in testing, producing very good results for both malware and spyware removal. Along with the core firewall, anti-malware and anti-spyware, Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 incorporates parental controls, anti-spam, anti-phishing and identity theft protection. For now, most of these additional features are checkbox implementations; that is, they meet the requirements of a checkbox on the spec sheet, but aren’t really a core feature of the product and are not terribly well-implemented. The help system could be better implemented, and the extra features a little more comprehensive, but Kaspersky has done some great work with this suite and we definitely recommend it.
Verdict: It’s still a little technical, and some of the extra features are a little lacking, but Kaspersky provides excellent protection at a reasonable price.





McAfee Internet Security 2009
www.mcafee.com/au
NZ approx. price: $103 for three PCs for one year; Total Protection $130 for three PCs for one year
Pros: Comprehensive protection; excellent help system; easy to use.
Cons: Can be a little noisy.
Internet Security 2009 is logically laid out, provides a whole raft of protections – including the best Web browsing protection in the business – and is generally easy to configure. We’re particularly fond of the help system and tips that McAfee provides with the suite. It does an excellent job of explaining in plain English what’s going on, what all the settings mean and what changing a given setting will do. It’s a feature that should appear in more suites, but sadly doesn’t. Total Security adds a number of features to the suite, including a more advanced version of Web content protection and a raft of relatively minor system utilities. It’s a great suite, but probably not worth the extra money over Internet Security.
Verdict: Easier to use and lighter on system resources than ever, McAfee Internet Security packs in a tonne of features at a reasonable cost.




Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009
www.symantec.co.nz
RRP: Internet Security 2009 $90 for three PCs for one year; Norton 360 $130 for three PCs for one year
Pros: Light; fast; excellent security.
Cons: Poor anti-spam and parental controls.
Once roundly (and fairly) criticised for being bloated, slow and sucking up massive amounts of computer memory, the new versions of Norton Internet Security are anything but. In fact, Norton Internet Security 2009 is exactly what we want in a suite: something that works in the background without ever hassling the user, doesn’t take up many system resources and protects us from all the major threats the Internet has to offer. The array of protections the suite offers is comprehensive: anti-malware, anti-spyware, identity and phishing protection, Web-site protection, IM protection, some basic parental controls and more. However, the anti-spam and parental controls are not up to the standards of some of the other products here. In spite of those minor shortcomings, Symantec has done great things with this suite, making it nearly invisible. For $40 more, you can get Norton 360, a product that adds backup and system tuning to the capabilities of the suite.
Verdict: Our pick of the suites; it keeps you very well protected, yet you’ll hardly know it’s even there.





Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2009
www.trendmicro.co.nz
NZ approx. price: $88 for three PCs for one year; Pro version $118
Pros: Very easy to use; comprehensive feature set.
Cons: Can be a little difficult to tinker with. Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security has always been a great product for non technical users. It doesn’t shower you with jargon or networking terminology. It allows you to control most of your settings with simple sliders and it doesn’t harass you with endless pop-ups. It has the usual anti-malware, anti-spyware and firewall, but it also has very good parental controls, Web identity theft protection, anti-spam, anti-phishing and network security configuration. With the possible exception of the anti-spam, all are well-implemented. For $30 extra, you get additional identity theft protection and system optimisation tools.


Verdict: Top marks for ease of installation and use, as well as features. Its protection isn’t stunning, but it will get the job done. 
NB: Trend Micro has recently released its 2010 range of Internet security software, available online immediately and through retail stores from mid-September 2009. Users of the 2009 range can update free of charge. More at www.trendmicro.com.au


 

ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2009
www.zonealarm.com
NZ approx. price: $90 (incl. shipping) for three PCs for one year
Pros: Powerful firewall; unrivalled configurability; runs silently; easy to install and use.
Cons: Can be a little technical. ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2009 has followed Symantec and others down the path of lighter and less-intrusive protection. It doesn’t suck up massive system resources, nor does it harass you constantly. Instead it’s content to sit quietly in the background and make most of the decisions for you. However, for people who like to tinker, the ZoneAlarm firewall is particularly powerful and exceedingly configurable. The interface is clean and easy to use, and there are a good many features built into the suite, including identity theft protections, anti-spam, parental controls, anti-phishing and Web-site protection.
Verdict: Technical users will love it, and even beginners should be able to approach ZoneAlarm with some confidence. It’s full of features, and most are very well-implemented.





Also available



ESET Smart Security 4
eset.co.nz
A tightly integrated solution comprising anti-virus, anti-spyware, personal anti-spam and a personal firewall, ESET Smart Security 4 is suitable for standalone or networked PCs running Windows XP or Vista. Award-winning ThreatSense technology combines multiple layers of detection protecting from new Internet threats before it is too late. Smart Security needs less memory and CPU power than other products, allowing computers to run without being slowed down. ESET Smart Security is a highly efficient program ensuring fast file scanning and product updates, while running quietly in the background.
RRP: $104.63











BullGuard Internet Security Suite 8.5
www.bullguard.com
BullGuard’s Internet Security 8.5 software incorporates advanced anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, spam filter and backup functionalities, and provides home users with an understandable all-in-one security solution. New features in BullGuard Internet Security 8.5 include: * A new Firewall for improved protection and more system speed * A new spam filter for optimised performance and comprehensive phishing protection * Increased rootkit detection capabilities * Web filtering for proactive Web site scanning * Two-hour security updates.
RRP: $90








Best in test
Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009
For its light system use, its silent running and comprehensive protection, Norton Internet Security can’t be beat.

Highly commended
ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2009
Packed with features and easier to use than ever.

What happened to OneCare?
You may have noticed we haven’t reviewed Microsoft’s OneCare here. There’s a good reason for that: it’s dead, or soon to be. In November, Microsoft announced that it would no longer be selling OneCare, but was planning to introduce a free service, codenamed Morro, starting in the second half of 2009. We know little about Morro just yet, but it could well prove to be an easy way to get free anti-virus protection on your system.

Malware, adware, viruses and spyware
Given the way the nomenclature has changed over the years, we thought it might be useful to explain some of the terms: in particular viruses, spyware and malware. It boils down to this: security experts don’t often use the term virus anymore, mostly because the meaning of the term has become a little ephemeral. Instead, they tend to break down software security threats into two categories: malware and spyware. Malware is software that’s designed to do something bad to your system – delete or modify files, control your browser, modify your firewall, or make your system susceptible to remote control. Spyware is software that generally sits silently on your PC. It doesn’t do bad things to it; it just monitors your activity and transmits your data (like credit card numbers and online banking passwords) back to criminal organisations. Adware is a third category of product, though it’s often not considered a security risk. Adware is commercial software that delivers targeted advertising to your PC. It’s usually annoying (and you generally want to have it removed), but not dangerous. So what does the term “virus” mean now? Well, it’s most often used as a catchall for both spyware and malware, but the best way to think of virus is as a delivery mechanism for malware or spyware. Program files can be infected with a virus – when you run the program, your system becomes infected too. The type of infection – malware or spyware – depends on the content contained with the virus.

The elements of a suite
Modern suites often incorporate a large number of elements. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common.
Anti-malware – the detection and removal of viruses designed to do damage to the host system.
Anti-phishing – the detection and filtering of emails and Web sites designed to scam you or trick you into giving up private information. Anti-rootkit – a rootkit is a special type of virus that remains hidden to most older detection systems. Most suites now have anti-rootkit capabilities as part of their virus scanner.
Anti-spam – the filtering of spam emails from your inbox. Most suites will work with Outlook and Windows Mail; some will work with other mail clients.
Anti-spyware – the detection and removal of software that designed to monitor your activity and gather information on you. Removal of adware applications is also often included in this.
Anti-virus – a catchall, including anti-malware and anti-spyware.
Backup – the automated copying of important system files (or the entire system) to a server or online storage system.
Firewall – a tool that prevents unwanted contact with your system. For example, it prevents Internet hackers from talking to your system. Identity-theft protection – tools that prevent you or anybody using the PC from providing personal information to un-trusted sites and individuals.
Parental controls – tools to prevent children from accessing the seedier side of the Net.
System cleaning – utilities that remove your usage history, remove vestigial programs and files from the system and prevent data recovery (which is useful if you’re disposing of or selling a system, for example).
Web protection – a broad term, but it mostly refers to filters that stop you from going to dangerous Web sites, such as sites that are known scams or have embedded viruses.