With different security products available, consumers face the problem that they have to evaluate what type of protections their computer actually needs. Even worse, picking the wrong program can leave the computer open for attacks.

Most vendors produce a basic antivirus protection product that protects and removes malicious software from the computer. The programs usually are bare-bones otherwise with little or even no extra features or protections.

Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 Review

If you look at the feature set of Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 you will notice that it comes equipped with a set of tools usually not found in antivirus software. A quick look at the product page over at the Panda Security website reveals that it ships with a personal firewall, a browser sandbox and several other tools usually not found in antivirus products.

Adding a firewall to the product makes sense from a customer perspective considering that many install only one security product on their system. For Panda, it is a way to distinguish their product from other vendors.

Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 users can install the firewall during installation, or later in the program interface. The program furthermore warns during installation if incompatible software is found on the system. This was the case with a Microsoft Security Essentials installation on the test system.

The program opens up in a dark, functional theme that displays the most important status information right there. Users see if the protections are working correctly, the last time of update as well as scan and detection information. A click on a security module, like firewall, leads directly to the preferences of the selected module.

The main screen links to additional modules near the bottom of the screen. This includes built-in tools like network management or the virtual keyboard, and programs that need to be installed first like the sandboxing component Safe Browser or USB Vaccine.

Protection

It is difficulty to assess the efficiency of antivirus protection. While it is without doubt possible to assess a program’s handling of known threats, it becomes virtually impossible to see how it fares with unknown threats. Still test results can act as indicators of a program’s efficiency in this regard.

AV-Comparatives Retroperspective Test of May 2011 saw Panda Antivirus Pro 2011 (the program’s direct successor) complete the test in fifth place with an advanced certification rating (the second highest). Only two programs, Avira Antivir Premium 10 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 received the highest rating of Advanced Plus.

AV-Test did not test Panda Antivirus Pro, only Panda Internet Security 2012. The program scored 15.5 out of 18 points, only topped by Bitdefender with a score of 16.5 out of 18.

Other reviewers, like Pc Mag’s Neil J. Rubenking came to the conclusion that Panda’s detection rate was better than its malware removal rate.

Reports

Reports are one of the strengths of Panda Antivirus Pro 2012. A click on the reports tab opens a menu with options to display event reports, and to display statistics and advanced statistics.

The event report is the program’s history log. Updates, malware detections and actions are displayed here in a table. Options to find, filter, print, export and delete entries are available. Panda users can use the information presented here to find out at first glance what happened security wise on their computer at a specific data and time.

The statistics and advanced statistics module display information about a certain time frame. Information include the program’s scanners but also network attacks blocked by the firewall.

Tips

First thing that new Panda users should do is to download Panda Safe CD from the official website. This is a recovery CD that the computer can be booted from when malware has damaged the system.

Another interesting find is that Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 can be installed and run in Safe Mode. Safe Mode is a bare bones mode of the operating system that prevents the majority of installed software and even some system components from being started with the operating system.

Safe Browser, included as a download link in the interface, is actually a standalone program that everyone can download and run. It consists of a version of the Firefox web browser running inside VirtualBox. The sandboxed environment ensures that attacks against the browser are blocked from reaching the operating system. The solution concentrates on one browser, products by other vendors allow the user to sandbox any program.

Warnings can be configured in the program preferences. Here you can enable or disable warnings for specific events.

Cpu load management can be enabled in the preferences as well. That’s especially interesting for slower systems that notice slow downs during scans. Enabling the option reduces the product’s cpu usage during scans.

Verdict

Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 ships with a lot of extras, like the aforementioned firewall component. Some components, Safe Browser and USB Vaccine, are standalone programs and not integrated into the product. More important than the module a security software ships with is how well it protects the operating system from threats and attacks. For Panda that ranged from top results to average results at best.

Giveaway

Panda Security has sponsored 10 Panda Antivirus Pro 2012 licenses. You can win a license by leaving a comment below. Please include your current security software setup in the comment.

Download PC Tools Anti-virus Free Edition from here.

The installation is fast and simple. It can be installed and fully updated in about 2 minutes. This is the 2011 version 8.0.

During setup, you will see the usual prompts to accept license terms and choosing the default folder for the application. You will be prompted to choose between two installation types. The basic protection option is the free version and the advanced protection is the paid version. Since this is just for system security backup, choose basic protection. It warns that, in doing so, “you may still be at risk.” If you wish to purchase the full edition and use it as your primary antivirus suite, you may choose to do so. The suggestion is to try it out first.

During installation, you will have to completely disable the antivirus program currently installed on your computer. Otherwise there will be a conflict between PC Tools AntiVirus and the primary security software. You will be running PC Tools immediately after installation, so security will not be down very long. PC Tools installer will recommend that you uninstall other antivirus software. Do not do that unless you are going to buy the full version and use it as a primary.

One of the features of PC Tools is a feature called Smart Updates. This is similar to automatic updates found with other security software. Once PC Tolls AntiVirus is installed, it will initiate updates and it will do so any time it is run.

Next, you will see the user interface. This is a sleek GUI and it is simple to navigate. All actions and settings can be controlled from this interface to customize performance. You never need to worry about updates staying current either.

Intelli-scan is just a quick scan and only scans critical areas. This scan will run quickly. The full system scan remarkably finishes within 20 minutes, faster than most antivirus applications. Scans can be scheduled for regular times. To use this as backup security software, do not schedule scans. This is just to demonstrate that the option is available.

There is also an option for custom scanning where you can specify the files and folders to be scanned.

Overall, this is a good antivirus program that can even make a good primary security suite for your computer. To return to your primary antivirus suite, disable PC Tools AntiVirus and enable the primary security suite installed. Some security suites will not allow you to run PC Tools antivirus at all. For those that do, this is a good default security backup.

On the negative side, one could list the ads that are displayed in the free antivirus version which can be pretty annoying, and that the software best reputation when it comes to protecting the system from malware.

When you look at the product comparison chart on the Bitdefender website, you will notice the following differences between the three security products:

• Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2012: Antivirus and Antispyware, Vulnerability Scanner, Social Networking Protection, Search Advisor, Personal Data Filter, Antiphishing and Scan Dispatcher
• Bitdefender Internet Security 2012: All of the above plus Antispam, Two-way Firewall and Parental Controls.
• Bitdefender Total Security 2012: All of the above plus File Shredder and Encryption. Tune-up and Online backup and file synchronization.

Bitdefender Total Security comes with all the security features one would expect from a top of the line product, as well as some features that have made their way in recent years into most security applications. This includes data backup, file synchronization or the system tune-up module.

Bitdefender Total Security 2012 Installation

Installation does not pose a problem to Windows users. It is pretty straightforward. Some files, signature updates for instance, are automatically downloaded during installation. Bitdefender asks the user to close all supported browser windows as it tries to install a root certificate. The software does not really explain why it is doing that, and users may be puzzled after installation when they notice that no extension or new feature seems to be installed in the browser. This may have something to do with the beta version of Firefox and the 64-bit version of Internet Explorer 9 installed on the test system but I’m not sure about that either. The installation dialog mentions only Firefox, Opera and Thunderbird.

Bitdefender Total Security 2012 requires no reboot after installation which is great. The program offers its full feature set immediately after the installation finishes.

The Total Security 2012 interface

The redesigned black interface looks professional. It displays critical issues and events at the top. The events are indicated with a red color to catch the user’s attention, and the various security modules below.

One element that I personally dislike is the horizontal scroll bar below the security modules. I accidentally stumbled upon it and discovered that it could be used to scroll to the left or right to display additional modules in the interface. It probably would be more intuitive if arrows would indicate the functionality.

Another option that is missing is the ability to display the interface in full screen which would be an excellent option to display more than just four of the modules on the screen at the same time.

The security notifications on the other hand are top notch. A number in the main interface indicates the number of notifications. A click loads the overview page where all security modules and their notifications are listed. Here it is possible to get detailed information about an event. An example event would be a detected malicious file on the system. The report not only lists the file location, but also the action taken, the date the action was performed and information about the virus that was discovered.

An option to access the quarantine right from that menu is missing however.

What I really like is the ability to click on a module in the main interface to load its settings straight away, or to use the menu buttons to run scans, manage spam or update the software right from the main interface. This speeds up the configuration of the program considerably.

One interesting option that needs to be mentioned is the ability to re-order the modules. This way, you could drag and drop the four modules that you use most often to the frontpage, and move those that you do not use regularly to the back.

Update for instance is not really necessary on the frontpage as Bitdefender is configured to update the program automatically.

Functionality

At first glance, users find all the security they need. It is however the little things that make a difference. The antivirus module for instance will not only scan for known malware, but also for critical system vulnerabilities with suggestions to update the system immediately to protect it from exploits.

Bitdefender Total Security 2012 checks for issues, Windows updates, application updates and weak passwords automatically which in itself is incredibly useful.

Users who are not that experienced when it comes to security related issues can enable Auto Pilot mode which is a silent mode. The program will basically make all decisions based on the current rule set and internal information. Automatic actions can always be displayed in the event log.

The configuration screen is mainly switch based, which means that users can press a button to enable or disable a particular feature or module. Some modules however link to advanced options. It is for instance possible to configure advanced rules in the advanced firewall settings, or file and process exclusions in the antivirus settings.

Advanced users find all the tools and configuration menus they need. Inexperienced users might dislike the fact that they need to activate the help overlays with a click on the help icon first, and that help is not available for all options in the program.

Besides the auto pilot mode, Bitdefender Total Security comes with two additional modes. First a game mode which surpresses all notifications on the screen to avoid interruptions while gaming, and a laptop mode which seems to help save battery power.

Interested users can download a trial version from the Bitdefender website.

Bitdefender Total Security 2012 Tests

I thought it would be handy to link and display test results from other magazines, websites and organizations. Lets start with a BitDefender Total Security 2012 Prevention Test I found on YouTube.

A PC Magazine test came to the following conlusion:

• Pros: Excellent lab test results. Best antiphishing. Facebook protection. Silent, intelligent firewall. Antispam blocked no valid mail. Decent parental controls. Online backup. File encryption and shredding. System tune-up.
• Cons: Low to average scores in PCMag malware blocking and removal tests. Some awkward elements in parental control system. Antispam let a quarter of undeniable spam into the Inbox.

Total Security 2012 Verdict

Bitdefender’s Total Security 2012 has a lot going for it. It comes with an impressive set of features and uses an intelligent interface that is both suitable for inexperienced and advanced users. A few things could be better, like the previously mentioned link to the quarantine from the event log or a full screen mode that is missing.

Giveaway

We have 12 licenses for Bitdefender Total Security 2012 that we would like to give away. Let us know what you think of Bitdefender, or their software, for a chance to win one of the licenses. The giveaway will run for seven days, and I will announce the winners here in this post.

Update: The winners of a Bitdefender Total Security 2012 license are: Nathan, Azmi, Aleksandar, Try, Rodken, Swapnil, Zac, Rahul Jain, Anson, SRally, malkhaz and Rover 3500

When a system gets infected by nasty trojans or worms, like those of the Trojan Downloader or Win32.VB family, then it is often to late to use conventional security tools to remove it.

Casir is a click and run tool that does not require expertise or advanced tech knowledge to run. You can start the portable software from a local hard drive, removable device or even an optical disc if you want. Please note that you need elevated privileges for some of the program’s functionality. The interface looks clean, and all that is really needed is to click the Start button to initiate the system scan.

Unlike other antvirus software, Casir will not scan all files on all connected drives and devices. It identifies, cleans and removes a fixed set of computer worms, trojans and other forms of malicious software.

So what exactly is Casir doing when it finds an infection or insecure system settings?

• Can lift restrictions that have been set by malicious software.
• Can remove processes and services added by malware.
• Removes the same processes and scripts from the system so that they won’t be started again.
• Removes malicious autostart entries.
• Cleans up all storage devices, including hard drives, floppy drives, removable drives and memory cards.
• Cleans up the Windows Registry, removes keys and traces left by the malicious software.

Casir removes all detected part of malware on the system, before it starts a CDS Job. This is basically a deep scan of the system. It will scan all files, Services, Registry information and memory resident processes for malicious traces. The developers have added this scan to counter malware that tries to avoid detection by randomizing Registry keys, file names and locations. A log is generated and saved in the system folder.

A click on Targets in the application interface opens the list of malware that is currently being detected by Casir.

Casir is anice to have security software for Windows, especially since it is a portable program. It can easily be added to a tools collection on an USB stick or DVD.

The program itself is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. It can be downloaded directly from the developer website. (via)

Many applications are writing to the hard drive perpetually. By excluding the files and folders they are writing to or reading from, assuming they are assuredly trusted and safe, you will speed up PC processes and still have sufficient antivirus protection. Which files to exclude?

• Subversion / TortiseSVN Folders
• Virtual Machine Directories
• Personal Photo/Video folders
• Windows Update Folders
• Connected Mobile Devices

These are just some examples. You may choose anything appropriate to your configurations. It is difficult to specify what files and folders to exclude for any given PC, considering the myriad configurations, software combinations, and uses that PCs will have. It will be a different scenario for everyone, but the approach is basic. This will work with any antivirus software program. In the examples below, Microsoft Security Essentials is being used. Other software versions may be appropriate for users. This is just an easier way to show how to work with antivirus software exclusions settings in general:

2. Here you can browse all files and locations and include them, once identified, by clicking “Add.” This is a one by one process, but its simplicity and tedium should not be taken for granted. This approach helps you ensure that you do not include files that may be unsafe. There are a variety of ways to use exclusions for each different antivirus software type and all involve going to a Settings option. You may be given a scroll list to choose from once you have built a significant list of exclusions and this will allow you to change any of those exclusions as necessitated. With Microsoft Security Essentials, you can click the Advanced option and gain more generalized options for situations that may require broad, more generalized exclusions.

It is always best to create a System Restore point before making changes to any software, but especially antivirus software. Also take steps to backup the files that you are planning on excluding. There are no guarantees from software to software and system to system. With a set restore point, you can always go back and undo something undesirable. Secure your settings and files first, and then alter your security.

SuperAntiSpyware is highly regarded in the security community, and more than 30 million users should speak for that as well. The program is offered as a free and professional edition. The free edition can scan all drives, the memory and files on the system. It detects all existing threats just like SuperAntiSpyware Professional. The professional version on top of that adds heuristics, the detection of threats that are not yet known and included in the program database, and additional options like scheduling, automatic updates or real time blocking of threats.

SuperAntiSpyware Free is offered both as an installer and portable version. The two versions are identical in features, with a few exceptions. The main difference is that the portable version can be run right after download, and that it keeps everything in memory.

The program is offered as a com file, probably to give users the chance to run it if malicious software blocks exe files from running.

The download page states that the program comes with the latest definitions, a quick check revealed that this does not always have to be the case. The program after download displayed a definition database version of 6608, an update brought that to 6636. This may be a technicality though.

About updates. The check for updates button works and will install the latest definitions on the system. Install? At least the program directories in the user folder are created or modified (the directory could have been a leftover from a previous installation, today’s data was however displayed as the creation date.). I was not able to find the database files which could mean that they are loaded to memory only. This was confirmed with a restart. The old database version was displayed again after the restart. It is recommended to press the check for updates button before you run a scan.

The functionality of the application is in all regards exactly the same with the exception of the quarantine. It is possible to perform a quick or full scan of one or all drives that are connected to the local computer system. Threats that have been detected can be removed but not quarantined. The program description is in this regard confusing as appears to support the quarantine when in fact it is not.

Quarantined items are only stored in memory. No items are stored in the quarantine over sessions. Users need to keep that in mind since it makes it impossible to restore a false positive after the program has been closed. But that’s how other most portable solutions and antivirus Live CDs work.

Interested users can download the portable version of SuperAntiSpyware from the developer homepage. The program is compatible with the most popular and recent versions of the Windows operating system. (via)

The developers have added several new features to Avast Free Antivirus among them a new sandboxing feature and shields for specific programs or situations. A custom install option is available during setup to remove modules that are not needed from the program. A user without desktop email client could for instance disable the mail shield, a user who is not making use of P2P the P2P shield.

Avast 6 Antivirus scans the PC during the installation, a restart to finalize the setup is not required. Some modules like the new autosandbox are however only available after a restart of the Windows PC.

Free users have to live with advertisement in the application. They also need to register the application to stay protected after the initial 30 days. Registration is completed in the application, it is not necessary to open a web browser to register externally.

The main new features are the following in Avast Free Antivirus 6:

• AutoSandbox – suspicious programs will be optionally run sandboxed
• avast! WebRep – browser plugin for website reputation rating; a combination of data from our virus lab and community voting
• Script Shield now even in the Free AV
• Site Blocking now even in the Free AV
• SafeZone – a special virtualized area for sensitive transactions (e.g. secure online banking) (paid products only)
• Restore factory settings command (Settings -> Troubleshooting)
• Automatic actions in the boot-time scan
• New compression method in the installer makes the setup packages about 20% smaller.
• Script Shield now functional even with IE8/IE9 Protected Mode
• Sidebar gadget
• Improved stability/compatibility of the Behavior Shield
• Improvements in the avast! sandbox

Lets take a closer look at some of the features. Avast 6 uses the new AutoSandbox feature for instance to run suspicious programs automatically in a sandbox to avoid damage to the operating system and files.

WebRep, another new addition adds itself as a plugin to Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. It can be used to view reputation ratings for websites that are visited or displayed in search engines in the supported browsers. Uninstallation options are provided in the Avast Antivirus interface which is handy in case those plugins are not needed anymore.

The new sidebar gadget for Vista and Windows 7 displays the current system state (e.g. secured) and offers to open the Avast Free Antivirus interface and to update the software with new virus definitions.

The Real-Time Shields menu offers interesting information about the shields that are currently running and protecting the system. The shields have their own Shield Traffic graph that displays information about scanned and infected files or events.

Expert settings for each module are very extensive. The settings for the web scanning module for instance are divided on seven pages with options to exclude urls and mime types from the scan, change the scan from all files to only select files and mime types, select packer formats that should be extracted while scanning, configure actions if a virus, potentially unwanted program or suspicious files is discovered and to define the heuristic sensitivity.

Similar expert settings are available for all shields. Some settings are identical while others differ. Another interesting feature is the ability to access the free antivirus software even if it is currently scanning the computer. It is for instance possible to take a look at the real-time shields during a full system scan.

Avast Free Antivirus 6 offers several interesting features and usability improvements. AutoSandboxing, the ability to uninstall the web reputation plugin, extensive shield configuration options and real-time and traffic history information make it a solid choice for Windows users who are looking for a program that can protect their computer effectively.

Avast Free Antivirus 6.0 is available for download at the developer website.

Cloud Antivirus uses a so called thin-client architecture offering several advantages over conventional antivirus solutions. Only the core files are installed on the system and local detection technologies are combined with cloud-based scanning to reduce PC resource usage.

One of the main pillars of Panda Cloud Antivirus is its real-time use of Panda Collective Intelligence, which is an online from-the-cloud system that automates the entire malware protection cycle; collecting new samples, analyzing, categorizing, creating detection and disinfection routines and delivering the protection to each node.

Thanks to this approach users do not need to worry about updating signature files anymore. In fact, detection of millions and millions of different malware variants is no longer limited by the size of a signature database, as Collective Intelligence can hold literally unlimited number of detections without consuming any memory on the users’ PC.

The interface of Panda Cloud Antivirus is best described as minimalistic which is a welcome change to the often overladen interfaces of comparable antivirus solutions.

The cloud based approach takes much of the usual updating process out of the user’s hand. The virus definitions are updated in the cloud taking that off the user’s back. When Panda Cloud Antivirus is started it will always make use of the latest definitions and data providing an Internet connection is available.

The antivirus software displays the status screen on startup which gives the user information about security problems if found on the PC. The button bar at the top leads to the scan menu, report window and recycle bin which contains previously neutralized files.

The only other option is the settings button at the lower left corner which leads to connection settings, autorun and USB vaccination and advanced settings for expert users.

It is possible to scan the whole system, an optimized scan that only looks at core files of the operating system and a custom scan that scans a specified local directory or drive of the computer.

Panda Cloud Antivirus runs in the background all the time protecting the PC with behavioral analysis. Files that are currently analyzed in the cloud are automatically blocked on the system for a maximum of 30 seconds. That’s ample time to receive the information from the cloud. The advanced settings offer to change that limit and other settings.

It is here for instance possible to add file exclusions which are then ignored by the antivirus software. Other options include the generation of an advanced log and disabling behavioral analysis and blocking.

Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro disables autorun on the computer by default which some users may want to change. The setting is available in the options. The same menu holds the option to automatically vaccinate USB drives which protects them when they are connected to other PCs and computers.

Interested users can download Panda Cloud Antivirus from the official website. Panda Security gave us 29 keys (30 actually but I used one) and we would like to give them to you in this giveaway. If you want one leave a comment below. Make sure you add an existing email address as it will be used to contact you if you have won a license in the draw.

Kaspersky Pure information are available on the software’s main website at Kaspersky. Before we delve into the review it may be a good idea to compare the program to Kaspersky Antivirus and Kaspersky Internet Security.

The product comparison chart is available here. In short: Kaspersky Pure’s unique features are a password manager and disaster recovery backup. In addition, it offers feature enhanced versions of the home network security, PC security tuneup and digital identity protection modules:

• Digital Identity Protection: Ensures safe shopping and banking online; protects your personal data (e.g. credit card numbers, etc.) from online theft
• Password Manager: Stores and encrypts your personal usernames and passwords in one secure location; automatically logs you in to your favorite websites and auto-complete forms. Includes portable version that allows carrying your passwords with you on an USB stick.
• Disaster recovery (backup): Automatically backs up data, which can be restored in the event of a loss, and select backup media
• PC Security Tune-up: Scans your operating system and programs for vulnerabilities; tunes up system settings for better security; recovers and repairs a virus-damaged/infected system with the help of a Rescue Disc (CD)
• Home Network Security: Guards your home network with the help of a two-way firewall; blocks external security threats, such as malicious programs, files, scripts that can cause damage to your computer and data; increases security of your Wi-Fi connections

Kaspersky Pure Review

The main interface of Kaspersky Pure consists of three different areas. The top area links to the program settings and displays a security state assessment (e.g. your computer security is at risk) with a fix it now button. The main area that links to program modules and provides information about them and the footer with license information and help.

A click on Fix it now is probably the first thing that most users will do. This opens a new window listing all computer protection problems.

One interesting option here is to hide messages. This is for instance useful if a module is disabled that is not needed. The computer shows up as protected if all issues have been resolved or problems have been hidden.

A click on an entry in the main area leads directly to that modules page in Kaspersky Pure. The three main modules at the top offer Quick Tasks which display links to specific tasks directly in the main interface. The Computer Protection Quick Tasks for instance link to pausing the protection, running a full scan or running an update.

Backup and Restore is one of the options that is only available in Kaspersky Pure. The user can create backup tasks that backup selected data on the system. One interesting feature here is that it is possible to select folders and all files in that folder, or specific file categories like images, financial documents, documents or audio / video files with options to create custom categories so that specific file types or groups of files are backed up when that category is selected.

Kaspersky Pure supports backups on removable drives, local and network drives and ftp servers. Backups can be password protected for additional security. It is furthermore possible to save an unlimited number of file versions or restrict the number of file versions or storage period for file versions. Backups can be run according to a schedule or only on manual user request.

Kaspersky Pure offers other interesting features like encrypted storage containers to store data safely, a password manager that can be used with Pure or as a portable version. The authorization method can be a password, USB or Bluetooth device or no authorization at all (which is obviously not recommended).

Previously I have criticized security software companies who added extensions and plugins to web browsers during installation without asking the user to do so. Kaspersky has changed that behavior. The password manager for instance offers extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Thunderbird. These only get installed if the user activates and configures the password manager in the program.

The password manager recommends to disable the internal password manager of the application and offers extensive importing options from web browsers, Roboform or KeePass.

Many modules are only activated when the user initiates it. That’s excellent as it reduces the clutter in the application and impact on other programs on the computer.

Kaspersky Pure Verdict

The security program introduces several excellent changes to previous versions. Especially the ability to activate programs on demand only and the installation of extensions on request are features that need to be mentioned again.

Kaspersky Pure adds well thought out modules to the application, a powerful backup, password manager and data encryption. The program used roughly 70 Megabytes of ram while running on the computer, an acceptable figure, especially since it does not use lots of cpu cycles when it is running.

Kaspersky Pure is the right software for users who want an all in one security solution that includes data backup and disaster recovery. The only minor gripe that I have with it is the inability to remove modules from the main screen. Parental controls are for instance displayed prominently, even if they are not used at all.

Kaspersky Pure Installation

The installation of Kaspersky Pure offers options to customize the software program. Users who want to do that need to check the Custom Installation option on the welcome screen. Computer users who prefer the full package without customizing the security software can simply click next without checking the box.

The second decision that users have to make during installation of Pure is whether they want to join the Kaspersky Security Network. If they do Kaspersky Pure will automatically submit information and files / part of files to Kaspersky for further analysis.

Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) is an online service infrastructure that helps to protect the users, speeds up the product’s response to new malware, and minimizes false positives. Quality of these services depends on quantity of participants of KSN.

Users who have selected custom installation in the first screen can now remove modules from the installation. They may for instance want to remove parental controls from the software if they live without children or minors.

The installation does not take long and an activation screen is displayed in the end. Users with a Kaspersky Pure license can enter the license to fully activate the software, everyone else can opt for a trial of the software that offers all features of the product and expires after 30 days.

One interesting option is the ability to password protect Kaspersky Pure with a admin password. This can be helpful to prevent unauthorized attempts to disable or modify settings.

The installation wizard displays additional options to the user afterwards. Users need to select a protection mode. The options are to let Kaspersky Pure make most of the decisions (which means less prompts for user input), or make the decisions individually which means more control and prompts obviously.

Kaspersky Pure displays a prompt right after installation that reminds the user to update the program databases to install the latest virus definition files and modules.

A free trial version of Kaspersky Pure is available at the Kaspersky website.

Giveaway

Kaspersky donated ten licenses of Kaspersky Pure for the giveaway. The software retails at $99.95 and is good for installation on up to three PCs. For a chance to win a license you need to do the following:

Post your current security setup in the comments here at Ghacks.

We would like to know what you are currently using to protect your computer system. Winners will be randomly selected amongst all commenters who post their setup in the comments. This year we are going to announce the winners in the Ghacks forum, so make sure you check the forum, more specifically in this thread. You may also find information on next day’s software there. Good luck to all participants.

But what about on-demand virus scanners? Avert, which stands for Automatic Virus Eradication & Removal Tool, is a free program intended to be used on already infected systems, or systems that a user wants to scan with multiple antivirus engines to be sure that no virus, trojan, worm or other malicious program is found on it.

Avert can scan the computer system with eight different antivirus engines. By default, it will only download and run VIPRE. A click on the Tools and Settings button in the lower left corner displays the options where scanners from A-Squared, ClamWin, Trend Micro, Sophos, Panda, Avira and VBA32 can be selected. A click on Download loads the programs to the directory of Avert, and makes them automatically available for future scans.

Everything is kept portable, so that it is possible to move Avert and all downloaded antivirus scanners to another drive or computer.

The program directory with all antivirus tools included has a size of 313 Megabytes, less if only some of the virus scanners are downloaded.

In addition, Avert offers to run CCleaner and a set of three tools on the system. With CCleaner it is possible to remove temporary files to free up disk space. The three tools are available to backup the Windows Registry and reset the Windows Hosts file and proxy settings.

The depth of the scans and utilization of the included tools can be configured in the program’s main interface.

The virus scans can be configured before the start. Avert offers to run a full system scan, balanced, quick or custom scan. CCleaner can only be run in thorough mode if enabled, and the three tools can be enabled individually.

The individual programs may download the latest antivirus signatures if updates are available. These signatures do not seem to be saved locally, which means they need to be download every time the program is run. Vipre needs to be downloaded every time as well, because the developer does not offer an option to download the signature file separately. Avert runs all selected programs consecutively afterwards.

Avert is a free portable software for Windows. The program requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0. (via)

That did not sound well, and it frankly reminded me of Nero and how the company turned a lightweight and excellent CD and DVD burning software into an overweight beast.

AVG 2011 Free can be customized before installation. Doing so provides options to install it on a different drive, or add and remove features from the program before installation. If you remove features you are likely to end up with a lower size on the computer’s hard drive and less background processes. For the sake of this article though, I have decided to install all suggested modules. I did however select an installation directory on another system partition and decided to remove the AVG widget from the installation. The widget basically offers options to quickly run a scan and see if the system is protected, nothing that you cannot find out by clicking on the AVG icon itself. And AVG will notify you if it encounters problems.

Lets take a closer look at the components that are installed by AVG Antivirus Free:

• Personal E-Mail Scanner: Monitors email clients using POP3, SMTP and IMAP for phishing and spam.
• LinkScanner: Blocks dangerous websites in browsers automatically, and checks links on popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
• AVG Search-Shield: Compatible with Google, Yahoo, MSN and Live search engines, displays safety information about search engine links.
• AVG Surf-Shield: Protects users from drive by downloads and other exploits: Selected by default.
• Identity Protection: Monitors the way programs behave on the computer, blocking any activity that could lead to ID theft.

AVG downloads roughly 130 Megabytes during installation, if the offline installer was used to install the antivirus software.

The size on the hard drive however turns out to be more than that. The AVG installation folder on the hard drive will use roughly that size alone. What’s puzzling is that AVG creates another folder on the system drive, regardless of the selected installation path. This additional folder is located in Users\All Users\AVG10 on Windows 7, and uses 302 Megabytes on the hard drive. That’s a lot. Most of the space is taken by the SetupBackup folder. I assume that folder is there to prevent the user from having to download the setup files again when making changes to the antivirus software. It takes up 223 Megabytes on the system partition. The second biggest folder is the update folder with a size of almost 70 Megabytes.

It is definitely not a good practice to store files of that size on the system partition, especially not if the user has selected a different partition for installation of the software. At least a notification should be displayed to inform users of this fact.

If you take a look at the system processes you may be in for another shock. On the test system, AVG was using six background processes all the time. Jojo even mentioned eight processes on his system. Lets take a look at their names and their functions:

• avgchsva.exe: AVG Cache Server Process, the process is apparently used to cache all system files in the background. avgchsva.exe will minimize its system resource usage after the cache has been populated, but keep on running nevertheless.
• avgcsrva.exe: The core scanning module of AVG.
• AVGIDSMonitor.exe: AVG Identity Security Monitor process. Monitors processes and behaviors in realtime.
• avgrsa.exe: AVG Resident Shield Service, scans files as they are copied, opened and saved, and if a threat is found forbids the activation. It also provides vital protection for the system areas of the computer according to AVG.
• avgtray.exe, AVG Tray is monitoring application over all AVG components and is responsible for showing pop ups by AVG (email scanning, computer scanning, Resident Shield / LinkScanner detections, etc.).
• avgui.exe, likely linked to the graphical user interface of the AVG program.

Another annoying thing is that it is not possible to reduce the number of processes by disabling features of the program. I would expect that disabling Identity Protection would remove the AVGIDSMonitor.exe process. This is apparently not the case.

The processes do not seem to be using lots of resources, at least not when they are idle. The biggest idle processes are avgui.exe followed by AVGIDSMonitor.exe and avgtray.exe.

The biggest problems that I see are the massive size of the setup and update files on the system partition, and the number of running background processes.

What’s your experience with AVG’s latest antivirus software? Let us know in the comments.

Some criticized the size of the download, which at 135 Megabytes felt bloated, especially when compared to the last version of AVG Anti-Virus and other comparable solutions such as Avast Free Antivirus.

The second area of criticism was the fact that AVG seemed to only offer a web based installer for their antivirus application, which seemed to make it impossible to install and use it on an already infected computer system.

After some digging on the AVG homepage we came up with the direct download links for AVG Anti-Virus 2011 Free. Linked below are both the downloads for the full installers of the 32-bit and 64-bit edition of the antivirus software.

• AVG for Windows Web Installer
• AVG for Windows 32-bit (135 Megabytes)
• AVG for Windows 64-bit (153 Megabytes)

Update

AVG changes the file names of the offline installation files regularly. You can visit the following page that offers direct download links for all three versions listed above:

http://free.avg.com/de-en/download.prd-afh

Those download links may change over time, as they contain version information in the filename. If that is the case, visit this download page directly for the new links. The links to the offline installers, documentation and updates are displayed on it.

Additional information about the changes in AVG 2011 can be found in the official press release on the AVG website.

During the 2nd quarter of 2010 we have tested 19 security products in the areas protection, repair and usability. The “Protection” covers static and dynamic malware detection, including real-world 0-Day attack testing. In case of “Repair”, we check the system disinfection and rootkit removal in detail. The “Usability” testing includes the system slow-down caused by the tools and the number of false positives. A product has to reach at least 12 points total in order to receive a certification. 13 products have fulfilled our requirements and received an AV-Test certificate.

The following, in order from best score to worst, are the packages that have received certification, the top four also scored highest for anti-virus and malware protection.

1. AVG : Internet Security 9
2. G Data : Internet Security 2010/2011
3. Panda : Internet Security 2010
4. Symantec : Norton Internet Security 2010
5. F-Secure : Internet Security 2010
6. Kaspersky : Internet Security 2010
7. PC Tools : Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 7.0
8. BitDefender : Internet Security Suite 2010
9. Avira : Premium Security Suite 10.0
10. Microsoft : Security Essentials 1.0
11. Avast : Internet Security 5.0
12. Eset : Smart Security 4.0
13. Webroot : Internet Security Essentials 6.1

Old favourite McAfee failed to gain certification this year.

My personal recommendations are, as always, AVG and Microsoft Security Essentials.  Partly because they’re both free (AVG also has paid-for options). but also because they’re simple to set-up and easy to use.  Neither impact on your system resources very much either.

I will always recommend that you make sure you have anti-virus and anti-malware software installed and that you keep it up to date.

Included in the emergency kit are a disc scanner to check and clean infected systems, a command line scanner that offers the same functionality but without the graphical user interface, a version of HiJackFree, which provides an in depth analysis of the system and a cleanup software called BlitzBlank which can delete data that cannot be deleted by normal means.

emsisoft emergency kit

The starting interface displays a selection screen, each program listed can be launched with a double-click. It is also possible to launch the programs individually and directly from the kit’s directory.

Some programs, like the virus scanner, want to retrieve the latest definition files from an online server, it is recommended to allow this.

The main interface of the scanner displays the current security status of the system as well as update and scan buttons.

emergency kit

The scan button displays a new page, with options to perform a quick, smart, deep or custom scan of the system.

• Quick Scan: Scans all active programs, spyware traces and tracking cookies
• Smart Scan: Scans same as Quick Scan plug programs and Windows files
• Deep Scan: Scans all files on the hard drive
• Custom Scan: Option to perform a custom scan of the PC

With the Emsisoft Emergency Kit Scanner you have got the powerful Emsisoft Scanner including graphical user interface. Search the infected PC for Viruses, Trojans, Spyware, Adware, Worms, Dialers, Keyloggers and other malign programs.

Run the Emsisoft Emergency Kit Scanner with a double click on a2emergencykit.exe. Found Malware can be moved to quarantine or finally deleted.

HiJack Free performs a thorough identification of processes, open ports, autorun items, services and other system items.

Each entry is analysed, and the results are color coded directly in the listing. Green for instance is given to safe entries. Information are retrieved from an online database.

hijackfree

The process, port and services listings provide an excellent first analysis of the current situation. It is possible to react in the interface right away, by killing processes, or stopping and disabling services.

HiJackFree helps advanced users to detect and remove Malware manually. With HiJackFree you can manage all active processes, services, drivers, autoruns, open ports, hosts file entries and many more. For your full control over your system.

The Emergency Toolkit provides users with solid options to clean and analyse infected computer systems. The kit is flexible as it provides access to a command line scanner as well.

Emsisoft Emergency Kit is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. The fully portable version can be downloaded from the official program website.

Some antivirus programs make use of multiple scanning engines to increase the detection rate.

Antivirus-Multi offers a way out, at least for a specific directory that it monitors constantly for file additions and changes.

The idea behind Antivirus-Multi is to make use of command line antivirus scanners to protect a working directory. This can for instance be a download directory, P2P folder or a shared folder in a computer network.

Configuration of the application is unfortunately not that easy. It is up to the user to locate the command line antivirus scanners and integrate them with the correct parameters into the software.

The developer could add to the usability of the software by making this configuration step easier by linking to the downloads of the scanners and providing example parameters that most users might find sufficient to use.

The configuration is divided into three steps. The user first needs to select a working directory. This directory will be monitored by Antivirus Multi. Any file addition will be send to all scanners that are configured in the application.

Step 2 is the most important step, the addition and configuration of the antivirus scanners. The user can add pre and post commands as well as the local path to the scanner.

A click on Start Antivirus Monitoring will start the monitoring of the selected folder. There is no visual indicating that the program is running, another thing that the developer needs to work on. Moving a test file into the monitored folder was the easiest way of finding out if it is working.

Antivirus Multi offers an interesting concept. The configuration will surely turn away most users who cry out loud whenever the command line is involved. Advanced users on the other hand might have been looking for a program like Antivirus Multi.

Antivirus Multi requires the Microsoft .net Framework 3.5. It can be downloaded from the Google Code Project website.

A registration is required before the programs can be activated on the local computer system. The activation key will only work for a 14-day period and beta testers are required to download a newer build of the product to receive a new beta subscription key.

Here are some of the new features that have been integrated into Norton Internet Security 2011:

Performance Monitoring
Performance Monitoring is new for 2011. It provides informative alerting based on application performance. If an application is using too much CPU, Memory, writing too much to Disk, or using too many Handles, we’ll alert and let you know who the culprit is. We’ll provide information by way of a notification alert, Application Card, and Security History logging.

Download Intelligence 2.0
Download Intelligence was introduced for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox in the Norton 2010 products. This year we have added support for many other applications (or “portals”) which are used for downloading.

Reputation Scan
Reputation Scan is a new feature for Holmes. Reputation Scan expands upon the File Insight and Norton Insight features in the NIS/NAV 2010 product. Reputation Scan extends that by allowing the user to collect reputation information for files in any user specified directory.

Norton Bootable Recovery Tool Wizard
This new feature will create an up-to-date bootable tool which will allow you to scan your computer outside of the Windows Operating System. You can use the wizard to make a boot disk on CD, DVD, or even on a USB (for computers that support booting on USB devices).

The beta is only available in select countries. Users from South Africa or India for instance will not be able to participate in the beta testing.

Let us know about your impression of the new versions of Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiVirus 2011 if you have decided to participate in the beta test.

No Notify Avira has been designed by the developer to provide inexperienced computer users with an option to disable the Avira Antivir popup ad effectively. The program supports AntiVir Free 8, AntiVir Free 9 and the latest Antivir 10.

The program displays a command line prompt giving the user the choice to remove the advertising in Avira Antivir 8, 9 or 10 which can be selected by pressing the keys 1 to 3 on the computer keyboard.

No Notify Avira will then make changes to the Windows Registry to disable the advertisement in the selected Anvira Antivir application.

The software program is fully portable and compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system. Some operating systems might require to run the program as administrators to make the changes to the Registry.

The latest version of Avira Antivir identifies the program as a virus which is a false positive. Cautious users can check the software at Virus Total.

No Notify Avira is available at the developer’s website. (via Webtrickz)

AVG 9 Free offers the core features that one would expect from an antivirus software. It protects the computer system from viruses and spyware, offers basic rootkit protection, an email scanner, phishing protection and integrated Linkscanner module for protecting the computer user during online sessions.

AVG Anti-Virus 9 comes with all of those features plus some. It offers advanced rootkit protection instead of the basic protection offered in AVG 9 Free, an online shield mode which protects the computer when downloading and sharing files online and a game mode that guarantees uninterrupted playtime.

And that’s it. Both AVG 9 applications do not offer a software firewall, identity protection and anti-spam protection, both of which are integrated into AVG Internet Security only.

Update Just found out that the version of AVG Anti-Virus 9 offered at the Giveaway of the Day website is only a 90-day trial version of the program, not a full version that works for a year. It is therefor probably not worth the troubles of downloading it.

Positive

• Advanced Rootkit protection
• Online shield
• Game Mode
• Compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows

Negative

• Only a 90-day trial
• No Firewall and anti-spam

AVG Anti-Virus 9 can be downloaded today only at the Giveaway of the Day website. Additional information about the antivirus software can be found at the AVG website.

Dr. Web CureIt is one of those antivirus programs that can be used to scan a Windows operating system. The program requires no installation and can be run right from the location it was downloaded to.

Dr. Web CureIt can detect and remove viruses, rootkits, trojans and other malicious or infected files from the system. Three types of scans are available. A quick, full and custom scan. A quick scan will only scan the most important locations of the Windows operating system including the boot sectors, startup objects, the Windows system folder and the user documents folders.

It is usually recommended to perform a full scan instead to scan all files and locations of the operating system. Objects that have been found as malicious during the scan can be cured, renamed, moved or deleted from within the program’s interface.

Dr.Web CureIt is an interesting program for users who want to quickly scan their computer system without having to install yet another antivirus software. The product is quite renowned for its detection and cleaning capabilities and a solid on demand scanner to catch malicious software that regular antivirus misses. The only downside are the popups that are displayed by the program that advertise the commercial version of the program.

The Cleaner is an antivirus software, not a suite which means it does not offer a firewall, email spam scanning or any of the other modules that security suites offer. It can therefor be best compared to other standalone antivirus solutions such as AVG 9 or Avast.

The developers have divided the program into a scanner and a resident program, both highly compatibly with other antivirus solutions installed on the computer system. The program uses a database of malicious software plus advanced heuristics to detect known and unknown threats on a computer system.

The Giveaway of the Day edition does not offer the TCActive module that monitors processes in the background. This version of The Cleaner is therefor only suitable for scanning the computer system for malicious software.

TCActive is available in the program directory despite the help file claiming that it is only available in retail versions of the security program. It needs to be started manually and will run in the background afterwards.

The tab driven program is easy to use. The user should start by clicking on the Update tab to update the program’s database, something that does not seem to be handled automatically by the antivirus software.

The scan tab provides the means to perform a smart scan that will only scan popular locations for malware or full scan which will scan everything on the hard drives selected by the user.

The only other options provided are to change the heuristics level from relaxed to paranoid in a slider, to whitelist files so that they are not scanned by the software and to take a look at reports and the log.

The Cleaner in this regard is therefor a solid addition to any security setup a user might already have installed on the computer system. The lack of the background process monitor make it not suitable as the only antivirus program on the system.

Installation of The Cleaner

Installation is straightforward. Just execute the setup.exe after extracting the files to the local computer system. The serial number for The Cleaner is located in the readme file that is part of the zip file. The program can be registered after the first startup. A restart of the software is required afterwards.

Positive

• Fast Scan
• Compatible with other antivirus software and security suites
• Background monitoring with TCActive

Negative

• No TCActive module means no background monitoring
• Updates have to be initiated manually

The Cleaner, well the crippled version without TCActive, is available for free at the Giveaway of the Day website. The developer’s website is accessible here.