Monday, March 15, 2010

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010

Kaspersky Anti-Virus does a better-than-average job of keeping your PC safe, but it lacks the robust feature set of its more-expensive sibling. Several new features have made it into this version along with expected upgrades to the anti-virus engine, but one of the best--the Safe Run program sandbox--is sorely missed.
New features in the 2010 edition include a behavioral-based detection system called the Urgent Detection Sytsem. The UDS uses the anonymous data Kaspersky customers who choose to participate in submitting their system scans for analysis. In fact, the UDS must be opted-out of--there's a check box and data collection statement to read when you install the program. A gamer mode, somewhat superfluous virtual keyboard to avoid keylogging, and auto-run disabling are the less-impressive new features, joining stalwarts like antivirus protection for files, e-mail, HTTP traffic, and instant messaging. There are protections against phishing, too, as well as the Kaspersky URL advisor.
It's not a bad feature set, but the price will definitely knock you back compared to what you get for $20 more. Kaspersky is a strong security antivirus, but the extra features only available in Internet Security mean that buyers should definitely test the full trial before committing to it.


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