PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010

Websites:	Homepage
Category:	Security
Manufacturer:	PC Tools
Platform:

Overview

PC Tools Internet Security 2010 is a complete suite of protection utilities against malware and hackers fpr your Windows PC. It includes Spyware Doctor which is an award wining anti-malware protection utility. Also included is ThreatFire which is behavioral intelligence that protects you from Zero-Day threats. PC Tools Internet Security is advanced technology designed especially for people, not just experts. It is automatically configured out of the box to give optimal protection with limited interaction, so all you need to do is install it for immediate and proven ongoing protection.

Installation

Installation is straight forward following the install wizard. You are recommended to uninstall any other security applications before proceeding with installation as they may conflict with operation.

If you don’t want the Thunderbird Toolbar make sure to uncheck that option before proceeding.

After you enter in your license key, you’re offered to get the latest updates right away.

A reboot is required to complete the installation.

Features

This is a complete computer security solution and contains different features that help protect your machine. From the main screen you can control the malware protection and the Firewall protections.

The most notable feature to point out is incorporation of Behavior Guard which is powered by the ThreatFire engine. ThreatFire is also available as an individual download and works along side your Antivirus app and provides protection against Zero-Day attacks.

Since it includes Spyware Doctor you will be familiar with the IntelliGuard Protection that allows you to control different features of your security protections.

Browser Defender is added to Internet Explorer and acts as phishing protection and points out other shady sites.

It is installed automatically for IE but if you want it for Firefox, you will need to install it from a separate download.

When you do a search on Google, there is a small icon next to each result that tells you if a site is safe or not.

You can get more information on a site if it is determined to be unsafe.

For unsafe sites, a complete safety analysis is performed and you can check the results of potentially infected downloads.

A new Anti-Spam engine incorporates spam filtering with clients like Outlook and Thunderbird.

Control the applications that are allowed access to your network through the Firewall.

You can also use the slider to set the level of protection of the firewall.

Smart update provides the latest malware database and product updates.

You can schedule full and Intelli-Scans to take place daily, weekly, and monthly at times you specify.

Ease of Use

After installation is complete an update and scan kicks off right away which allows for up to date detection and removal of malware out of the box.

After the scan you get detailed results of what was found. You can go through and decide which detections you want to remove.

It allows you to do an Intelli-Scan, Full System Scan, or Custom Scans.

For a manual scan simply kick off a scan from the main interface.

You can monitor the progress while the scan takes place.

It allows you to scan individual files from the context menu as well.

Right-click on the tray icon to access a menu of different functions and features such as enabling Game Mode.

Performance

We ran our tests on a Windows 7 system with a dual core AMD processor and 2 GB of RAM and there was no slow down while doing day to day mutli-tasking. Intelli-scans are quick but full system scans are time consuming.

Product Support

As with all of their products, PC Tools provides several ways to get quick support for Internet Security 2010. On their site they provide FAQ, a Knowledgebase, User Manuals and Live Chat for support. They also include Email and Telephone support for users who have purchased a license.

Conclusion

PC Tools Internet Security 2010 is a comprehensive package of security protections for your PC. What really makes all of PC Tools new 2010 security apps great is the inclusion of the ThreatFire Behavior engine that protects you against Zero-day threats which we have covered previously. The one thing you may find annoying at first is the Firewall that needs to be trained to allow or deny applications…but it will remember your selections. It is relatively light on system resources and isn’t overbearing like some security suites can be. If you’re a gamer, you’ll love the easy Game Mode option that will turn off components of the suite that can hinder game performance simply by starting the game in full screen mode. All of the utilities can be downloaded as stand a lone apps, but having them all in one suite is very convenient. They offer a free limited trial and is $49.95 for a license to protect up to three computers.

Works with XP (SP2), Vista (32 & 64-bit), and Windows 7 (32 &64-bit)

Download PC Tools Internet Security 2010