antispyware

The bottom line: Following on last year's big overhaul, Trend Micro makes a series of smaller changes to this year's Titanium security suites. While we loved the baked-in mobile support, free storage, and file encryption, inconsistent benchmarks hold the suites back.

Review: Last year was a headliner for Trend Micro's security suites. Overhauled with a lightweight interface and cloud-based detection, and rebranded as Trend Micro Titanium, the changes made the suite competitive again. The 2012 version builds on those improvements, so this year doesn't have a lot of big changes. Still, there are enough substantial changes … Read more

The bottom line: Bitdefender Total Security 2012 makes a convincing pitch as an easy Windows security option. It's got an enormous selection of features, but the best one means you'll never see another security notification again unless you get infected. However, the fact that you can get the same feature even in Bitdefender's basic antivirus suite means you ought to think twice before getting this superhigh-end version.

Review: Bitdefender Total Security 2012 presents a convincing alternative to its better-known competitors. It's a strong program, with all the major tools that users expect, and some additional useful … Read more

The bottom line: One of the first applications built to find and remove malware and spyware, Ad-Aware 9 Pro's reputation is well-justified. The latest version continues the publisher's tradition of adroitly addressing user concerns, yet some annoyances remain.

Review:

Editors' note: Portions of this review are based on CNET's review for Ad-Aware 9 Free.

Ad-Aware 9 Pro continues the development progress that publisher Lavasoft began in the previous version. No longer content with offering only malware protection, Ad-Aware now includes antivirus protections licensed from Sunbelt, the makers of Vipre, as well as interesting in-house improvements.

Lavasoft first … Read more

The bottom line: One of the first applications built to find and remove malware and spyware, Ad-Aware's reputation is well-justified. The latest version continues the publisher's tradition of adroitly addressing user concerns, yet some annoyances remain.

Review:

Ad-Aware 9 continues the development progress that publisher Lavasoft began in the previous version. No longer content with offering only malware protection, Ad-Aware now includes antivirus protections licensed from Sunbelt, the makers of Vipre, as well as interesting in-house improvements.

Lavasoft first started changing Ad-Aware's protection engine more than a year ago in version 8.1, when it introduced Genotype. … Read more

The bottom line: Webroot's updates for 2011 needed to overhaul the program to keep it relevant, and on that count the company succeeded. The competitive feature set in Webroot Internet Security Complete 2011 might mitigate its midrange efficacy and performance scores for some, but the noisy firewall will drive all but the biggest Webroot fans batty.

Review:

Security suite maker Webroot, best known for its Spy Sweeper program, finally has released the long-delayed upgrades to its PC security programs, updating its line in a bid to make it more competitive and relevant in an increasingly crowded security field. Webroot … Read more

If you feel safer online using your PC instead of your mobile phone, you are not alone.

A majority 87 percent of people polled for a new study think their home PCs offer better defense against viruses, malware, and hackers than do their mobile phones. Released today by the National Cyber Security Alliance and Symantec, the study (PDF) also discovered that people may be overconfident in the power of their computers to protect them as less than half are using full security software.

Though only 24 percent of those polled said they feel very safe using their home computers to … Read more

When it originally debuted, Panda Cloud Antivirus was notable as a free security solution for two reasons: Panda traded on its reputation as a solid security suite vendor making its first foray into the realm of freeware, and the program attained its goal of freeing up system resources by putting much of the program's heavy lifting in the cloud. Now we can add a third reason to the list: it's now known as an effective alternative to the security powerhouses.

When you open Cloud Antivirus, the main window lets you know whether you're safe or not with … Read more

The bottom line: Although AVG has flagged a little in the past few years, AVG Internet Security 2011 breathes some new life into one of the most popular security programs around with a shorter install, better usability, and faster scans.

Review: The never-ending mantra chanted by security suite vendors sounds a lot like "faster scans, easier to use, better performance," and AVG has released a new version that it says accomplishes all three. Certainly, the scans are faster, it does install more quickly, and some tweaks to the interface have made it easier to use. However, changes to … Read more

The bottom line: A new name heralds some big changes for Trend Micro's Titanium suites. The overhaul to Titanium Antivirus+ 2011 brings users a faster suite with a smaller system impact. However, Trend Micro's new security engine is too untested to be able to recommend it.

Review: Trend Micro's updates for 2011 bring a substantially overhauled suite, from the name down to its detection engine. The new version brings a new interface, new cloud-based detection engine, and new features that, on whole, are changes as impressive as those that Norton has gone through the past few years. … Read more