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PCWorld Rating

4.0 / 5 - PCWorld, Jan 30, 2012

Pros

Good malware detection and blocking Friendly interface

Cons

Lacks some common features

Bottom Line

Avast's latest security suite is effective in defending against malware, but it could stand to improve in cleanup.

Images (click to enlarge)

A solid choice for keeping you safe, Avast Internet Security 6 ($50 for one year and one PC as of January 25, 2012) finished sixth in our 2012 roundup of security suites. Although it ranked in the bottom half of our Top 10, the Avast package is easy to use, and in general it will protect your PC quite capably.

Avast's suite blocked 96.2 percent of malware in our real-world tests, which help determine how well security products can stop brand-new malware. With that result, it placed near the top of the pack; even so, the very best performers in our test group were able to stop all attacks. The Avast suite also managed to stop 99.75 percent of known malware samples, which is an excellent showing, but again, not the absolute best we've seen (our top performer detected over 99.99 percent of samples in this test). It achieved a perfect score in our false-positives test, flagging not a single safe file as being potentially malicious.

Regrettably, although the Avast software proved adept at identifying and neutralizing all infections on our test PC, it left more malware remnants behind than many of its competitors did.

System slowdowns shouldn’t be a serious issue with the Avast suite, though overall it wound up near the middle of the pack in that respect. It added barely any time to file downloads as compared to our test system without antivirus software installed. Its scan speeds were faster than the average of the products we tested: It completed our on-demand scan test (in which we scan 4.5GB of data using the manual scanner) in 1 minute, 21 seconds--one of the fastest performances we saw this year--and its on-access scanner (which runs when the user opens or saves a file) completed its check of 4.5GB in 4 minutes, 1 second, a slightly better time than average.

In my hands-on testing of Avast Internet Security, I found it generally easy to use and navigate. Its installation process was fairly straightforward, asking me to click though only three screens before it was complete, though it did require me to restart my PC. Once installed, the Avast software does an initial scan of your system. The main interface is little changed from last year's suite, which isn't necessarily a bad thing--it's clean, attractive, and easy to navigate. Along the left side are tabs that let you access settings for the suite's main features. The settings are fractured to some extent, since the software doesn't have a unified 'Settings' panel; instead, it breaks up settings by function. If you want to change the firewall settings, for instance, you have to look under the Firewall tab. Admittedly, this arrangement does make settings less intimidating to beginners.

The interface is visually appealing, with lots of graphs and charts. The look makes the suite friendlier for less advanced users, but it might be a little distracting for some people. I also found that the Avast software popped up notifications in the lower-right corner a little more often than I would have liked.

Avast Internet Security 6 isn’t the most feature-rich suite we tested this year--it lacks some common functions found elsewhere, such as parental controls--but what it does provide, along with its strong protection against malware, should suffice for most users.

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Avast Internet Security 6 Review: Good, Basic Malware Detection

PCWorld Rating

3.5 / 5 - PCWorld, Jan 30, 2012

Pros

Well-designed interface Effective at keeping malware off your PC

Cons

Can bog down PC performance Subpar malware cleanup

Bottom Line

McAfee's 2012 security suite posts mixed performance results, failing to keep up with top contenders.

McAfee Internet Security 2012 ($80 for one year, three PCs as of January 29, 2012) finished 14th in our 2012 roundup of Internet security suites. Despite its low ranking, it performed well in some areas; its overall uneven showing, however, proved to be its undoing in this year's extremely competitive batch of suites.

First, the good news: McAfee's suite does very well at detecting malware before the attacker infects your PC. It fully blocked 96.2 percent of brand-new malware in our real-world malware-blocking tests--a slightly above-average score compared with the other suites we looked at this year. Meanwhile, its 99.99 percent detection rate for known malware samples was the second-best result we saw this year--and ever, for that matter. Its three false positives (out of a pool of 250,000 files) wasn't the absolute lowest we saw, but it was still very good.

But although McAfee's suite put up a good showing in those tests, it was another story once malware got onto our test computer. The McAfee package detected 80 percent of active infections on our test system, a below-average result--only one other 2012 suite we evaluated was unable to detect all infections in this test.

In addition, the McAfee product rendered malware infections inert just 70 percent of the time--the second-lowest showing in this test. By comparison, 9 of the 14 suites we looked at successfully disabled all infections on our test PC. That said, McAfee's suite was able to eradicate all traces of infections 60 percent of the time--a slightly above-average result among this batch of suites.

McAfee's suite struggled in some of our system-speed tests, producing a greater-than-average impact on overall system performance. It especially struggled in our application-installation test, and when we copied files over a network. It added over 1.5 minutes to our app-installation test (as compared with our test PC with no antivirus installed), which was the second-worst showing in this test. As for network file copying, it tacked on nearly 2 minutes to the test, a result good enough for only eighth place.

Scan speeds weren't great, either. McAfee's on-demand scanner (which runs when you manually start a scan) took 1 minute, 51 seconds to check 4.5GB of files, placing tenth overall for this subcategory. Its on-access scanner--which runs whenever you open or save a file--disappointed as well: Its time of 7 minutes, 4 seconds was the second-worst outcome we saw in that test.

All that said, we like McAfee's interface. The suite's installer takes a few steps to complete, but it has a couple nice touches: It will check your PC for malware before you install, and it will download the newest version of the software before it begins installation. The update check will take a while over slower connections, but it's a welcome addition nonetheless. For the most part, McAfee's main control panel is easy to use--clean, uncluttered, and friendly.

On the other hand, the fact that the firewall asks you to decide which apps to allow or deny Internet access is not very user-friendly, and strikes me as a holdover from the days when it was okay for a security suite to be difficult and annoying to use.

Should you buy McAfee Internet Security 2012? Although it didn't do terribly overall, and although it offers some things to like, we find it difficult to give this package a recommendation considering its low ranking. But if McAfee can smooth out some of the rough spots, the suite may be worth watching.

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McAfee Internet Security 2012 Review: Uneven Protection, Sluggish Speeds

The folks at Comodo clearly enjoy assembling different applications out of the same building blocks. Their Comodo Internet Security Pro 2012 ($4.99/year direct) security suite is a construct containing the firewall component from Comodo Firewall 5, the antivirus component from Comodo Antivirus 2012, and the Defense+ behavior-based malware detector shared by both.

The one big bonus in the inexpensive suite is support from Comodo's GeekBuddy service. In testing the other products, I repeatedly encountered screens offering cleanup by a GeekBuddy expert, but at an extra cost. GeekBuddy support is included with the suite. Note that this is not the same as the $49.95/year full GeekBuddy service, which promises live remote-control help with every kind of PC Problem. With the suite you specifically get help for malware removal.

Low Scores from the Labs
The independent labs don't give Comodo's basic antivirus technology high marks. ICSA Labs and Virus Bulletin certify it for virus detection, but not virus removal. Virus Bulletin has tested it five times, and all five times it fell short of VB100 certification. It also failed to achieve certification in a whole-product test by AV-Test.org last year, scoring especially poorly in the malware repair test. The chart below summarizes Comodo's lab test results along with those of other current products. For details on how I interpret the various tests, see How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests.

Firewall and Defense+
My review of Comodo Antivirus 2012 (free, 3 stars) covered the company's Defense+ technology, and my review of Comodo Firewall 5 (free, 3.5 stars) offers details on the firewall component. Please refer to these articles for full details; I'll summarize here.

Defense+ aims to keep your system safe from malware by blocking access to sensitive system areas. When it detects an access attempt it pops up a yellow, orange, or red alert and asks you what to do. Some alerts specifically identify the program in question as malicious; others specifically state that you must make the decision yourself.

I don't approve of security software that pushes important decisions off on the user, since most users aren't trained in security. For testing, I blocked all activity reported as a red alert and allowed yellow and orange alerts. If the alert recommended running the program in Comodo's sandbox, meaning limiting its access to sensitive areas, I always chose the recommended option.

I found that Defense+ detected suspicious activity by every single one of my malware samples. However, it also popped up red alerts for every single PCMag utility I tested. I specifically used old utilities that aren't digitally signed. The majority either wouldn't install or wouldn't run when I followed my block-on-red rule.

The firewall itself properly stealthed all ports and resisted Web-based attacks, though it did nothing to block attacks attempting to exploit system vulnerabilities. In its default program control setting it blocks outbound connections and allows inbound connections. However, also by default it automatically allows any questionable connection, so in effect its program control isn't active.

Antivirus Alone
In testing the standalone antivirus, I found that it did a mediocre job of malware cleanup, especially against rootkits. Even when I turned on the hidden option to scan for rootkits, it left some rootkits running.

Blocking malware from attacking a clean system was a team effort by Defense+ and the antivirus. Defense+ was always first to the crime scene, but in quite a few cases the antivirus jumped in to quarantine known malware. Comodo's malware blocking score was excellent, though tarnished by its high incidence of false positives in my testing with PCMag utilities.

I didn't invoke GeekBuddy help for each individual malware sample. Doing so would have taken an impossibly long time, and in any case Comodo scored quite well without GeekBuddy. For an explanation of how I test and score malware blocking, see How We Test Malware Blocking.

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Comodo Internet Security Pro 2012

27-01-2012 16:38 Buy on ltd Orange vinyl NOW: keepinitgrimy.bigcartel.com and Digital on Feb 5th! Grime's new superstar producer PREDITAH is back with his newest and biggest instrumental release yet! Check some of the biggest Grime MCs tearing it up on Logan Sama's After Hours sets! "any DJ playing 140bpm and wanting an energy injection should check this" - Mixmag Single of the Month December '11 http://www.mixmag.net Following his critically acclaimed EIGHTSOME EP, CIRCLES is the EP that brings back that bump, bounce and vibe to Grime that we've been missing for years! Heavily influenced by the sounds of Dexplicit, Skepta and JME, Preditah has exploded on the Grime scene in 2011 with his mix of uplifting melodies and bouncing beats. His productions have taken firm root in the sets of Logan Sama and Boy Better Know and ever since people have been asking after the young man from Birmingham. Along with his brother, MC C4, Preditah has helped Birmingham become a place where Grime is ALIVE AND KICKING. Now such people as Jammer and Boy Better Know are looking to the Midlands for their newest signings. This EP is titled after the lead track, CIRCLES, which has been cemented into every Grime DJs playlist since the Summer. Now vocaled by SCRUFIZZER for a forthcoming release and also heard throughout the winter as the lead bed for BBC 1XTRA's news updates this isn't just a big riddim for reloads on a Grime set. Also played by numerous DJs outside the genre stretching from MISTAJAM, SINDEN

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Preditah - Circles EP promo video: Released Feb 5th on digital

By Jonathan Fowlie

VICTORIA — The B.C. Liberal government planned to use Olympic nostalgia and free iPads to persuade a reluctant public to support the harmonized sales tax.

“The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games gave British Columbia a foundation to build a stronger province and create new opportunities for workers and families,” said a 10-page pamphlet the government had planned to mail to each home in 2010, not long after the Games had finished.

The controversial tax was scrapped after B.C. residents voted it down in August.

Obtained by the Vancouver Sun after a 19-month battle under the Freedom of Information Act, draft copies of the pamphlet contain a large image of the Olympic flame on the cover and bear the title “Spirit of 2010: Building on B.C.’s Olympic Advantage.”

The government never sent out the pamphlet, shredding all copies not long after having spent $780,000 to have them designed and printed.

On its second page, the pamphlet features a list of the “10 reasons why B.C. is The Best Place on Earth,” including answers like: “we give hope to the world;” “we’re cool;” and “we like big stuff.”

One part of the pamphlet contained a contest giving people a chance to win one of three Apple iPads, valued, it said, at about $750 each.

At the end of the document, the government used three pages to push the merits of the HST, saying the then controversial tax is “good for B.C.”

“Academic research and evidence from other jurisdictions have shown that under an HST tax structure wages go up, prices go down and more jobs are created,” it said.

“You won’t pay a penny more on many of the products and services you use every day,” it added, providing a list of items such as basic groceries, books and children’s diapers.

On Thursday, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon — who was not minister responsible at the time — said the pamphlet was quashed because it would have been mailed out at the same time as a court challenge on the anti-HST petition, and government did not think the approach was going to be helpful.

“The idea was a desire to talk about the success of the Olympics and the HST and I think that, frankly, British Columbians wouldn’t have been very receptive to it,” said Falcon.

“My understanding is it was killed by the premier’s office of the day and I don’t know much more,” he continued. (Gordon Campbell was premier at the time)

New Democratic Party leader Adrian Dix called the pamphlets a laughable waste of taxpayer money.

“It’s kind of, ‘Can you believe how out of touch they are?’ kind of funny,” Dix said Friday after being briefed on the contents of the pamphlet.

“This sounds like a Liberal Party that knew they had misled people and were hoping, I guess, a spoonful of publicly paid sugar would help the medicine go down.”

Dix added the government continues to spend money in a similar fashion, with recent documents showing that as of last month the government had spent $866,697 on advertising for its Jobs Plan.

“They’re still doing it. The premier is doing branding ads for her jobs plan right now at $800,000 and really, when you look at what she’s doing now, they don’t learn anything,” he said.

In 2010, then-finance minister Colin Hansen said his government had wanted to send a version of the HST pamphlet that April, hoping it could land on doorsteps before the HST first took effect on July 1 of that year.

Elections BC rejected the first version of the pamphlet because an anti-HST petition was circulating at the time. It ruled at the time that distributing the pamphlet while canvassers were collecting signatures was a violation of the province’s Recall and Initiative Act.

Hansen said government later redrafted the pamphlet into a more general mailer — the one released this week — only to shred the copies it had printed.

The Vancouver Sun first requested the pamphlet under the Freedom of Information Act on June 24, 2010.

The government refused the request in August of that year, citing a section of the act that allows government to block disclosure of records that “would reveal advice or recommendations developed by or for a public body or a minister.”

The Vancouver Sun referred the matter to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, which attempted unsuccessfully to resolve the dispute in mediation.

The province finally released the documents to the Vancouver Sun right before an inquiry to be held by the privacy commissioner’s office.

“Although it is believed (section) 13 applies to the records at issue, the head (of Government Communications and Public Engagement) has reconsidered and is exercising her discretion to disclose them,” said a letter that accompanied the documents.

On Friday, Dix criticized the entire process, saying government has no right to block documents that were created for the sole purpose of mass public distribution.

“It shows an absolute contempt for FOI laws to make the argument they’ve been making as to why they didn’t release this,” he said.

“This was a publicly paid document, it was intended for public release and for the public to have.”

Asked about the process, Falcon said it “bothers” him that government sought to block release of the document.

He added that upon hearing the pamphlet was being blocked he recommended it be released.

“My direction to staff was really clear: just release the damn thing,” he said.

Postmedia News

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B.C. Liberals planned to promote HST by giving away iPads