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Antivirus, Security Software

AVG Free provides the bare necessities when it comes to security, but that should be enough for savvy Windows users. You’ll get a combined antivirus and antimalware engine, LinkScanner, and e-mail scanning. AVG Free 9 introduces a few new features, with improvements focused on performance, including claims of faster scan and boot times. One new feature is the Identity Theft Recovery Unit. Only for users in the United States, ITRU is a business partnership with Identity Guard which provides “consumer identity theft solutions,” accessible only from the AVG toolbar in Firefox and Internet Explorer.
The interface is nearly unchanged from the last version, and generally it’s easy to use. From the main window, though, you must double-click to get further information on any feature, whether virus scanning, LinkScanner settings, or updating. Streamlining this to one click would be helpful. A scheduling utility automates both scans and updates, while the upgrade ad at the screen’s bottom can be easily hidden using the Hide Notification button. When starting a scan, a slider makes it easy to jump between Slow, Automatic, and Fast scans: the faster the scan, the less comprehensive it is, so users should take advantage of the scan optimization that is recommended during installation to speed up that first scan. A progress meter for regular scans would’ve been useful, though. Should a virus create serious problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode.
The LinkScanner feature protects you from third-party code exploits before they load in your browser and for ranking search results. Annoyingly, when you install its optional toolbar, it commandeers your new-tab page, decidedly inappropriate behavior. The program doesn’t obviously tax your system when scanning or when running in the background, although CNET Labs determined that it will significantly slow down your system’s boot time, and slightly delay shutting down. AVG also detected some image files as threats, when two other scans decided they weren’t–we decided these were false positives. AVG might not be the fastest or the most effective free security option, but it still gets the job done and you’re better off with it.

Publisher’s description

Antivirus, Security Software

AVG’s most popular product is its free antivirus, but the company also makes two enhanced security suites that are geared for users who don’t mind paying for additional protection–as long as it’s worthwhile. AVG Anti-Virus 9 introduces a few new features, claiming faster scan times, faster boot times, and other under-the-hood improvements.
Users who’ve used AVG 8 will find the interface nearly identical, and generally it’s easy to use. From the main window, though, you must double-click to get further information on any feature, whether virus scanning, firewall protection, or updating. We’d like to see this streamlined, since there’s no reason to click on any of them without wanting more details; it is a spare interface, otherwise. You’ll find a full-blown scheduling utility for automating tasks and checking for new definitions as often as you’d like. Other perks include technical support and the ability to run on multiple operating systems. Should a virus create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode. The program doesn’t obviously tax your system when scanning or when running in the background. There’s also a new identity-theft assistance service, available for free and provided by a third party.
AVG Anti-Virus lacks the firewall, identity protection, antispam, and system tools that come in AVG Internet Security, although it’s definitely more robust than AVG Free. In empirical testing, scan times were slower than expected, and the new firewall database proved to have autoapproval problems with some well-known programs. It also detected some image files as threats, when two other scans decided they weren’t–we decided these were false positives. AVG might not be the fastest or the most effective available security option, but it still gets the job done and you’re better off with it.

Publisher’s description

Antivirus, Security Software

AVG’s most popular product is its free antivirus, but the company also makes two enhanced security suites that are geared for users who don’t mind paying for additional protection–as long as it’s worthwhile. AVG Anti-Virus 9 introduces a few new features, claiming faster scan times, faster boot times, and other under-the-hood improvements.
Users who’ve used AVG 8 will find the interface nearly identical, and generally it’s easy to use. From the main window, though, you must double-click to get further information on any feature, whether virus scanning, firewall protection, or updating. We’d like to see this streamlined, since there’s no reason to click on any of them without wanting more details; it is a spare interface, otherwise. You’ll find a full-blown scheduling utility for automating tasks and checking for new definitions as often as you’d like. Other perks include technical support and the ability to run on multiple operating systems. Should a virus create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode. The program doesn’t obviously tax your system when scanning or when running in the background. There’s also a new identity-theft assistance service, available for free and provided by a third party.
In empirical testing, scan times were slower than expected, and the new firewall database proved to have autoapproval problems with some well-known programs. It also detected some image files as threats, when two other scans decided they weren’t–we decided these were false positives. AVG might not be the fastest or the most effective available security option, but it still gets the job done and you’re better off with it.
AVG Internet Security 9.0 is faster, safer and easier to use. This is a complete solution for all the things you do online. Multiple layers of protection mean you don’t have to worry about identity theft, spam or viruses. AVG Internet Security 9.0 gives you two vital extra layers of protection:
With AVG LinkScanner whenever you’re on the web, the moment you go to click on a link, LinkScanner analyzes the page behind that link to tell you whether there’s something nasty hiding there. For added peace of mind, you also get safety ratings for your Google, Yahoo! and Bing/MSN search results.
Identity Protection makes sure your passwords, credit card information, bank account details, and other valuable data are safe from even the newest and most sophisticated threats. It’s constantly on guard, watching to make sure no program on your PC is doing something it shouldn’t.
CNET Editor’s Note: The Download Now link will download a small installer file to your desktop. Remain online and double-click the installer to proceed with the actual download.
To learn more about AVG products and to ask questions and receive answers from AVG company representatives, please visit CNET’s dedicated AVG Forum.
What’s new in this version:

• In this new edition, the combined anti-virus/anti-spyware scanner in AVG Internet Security 9.0 runs up to 50% faster than earlier versions.
• New in AVG Internet Security 9.0 is the integration between the Resident Shield, firewall, and identity protection modules. This enables the modules to share malware information with each other providing better real time protection.
• AVG Internet Security 9.0 also delivers new anti-phishing detection techniques, which can quickly an… see all new features

Antivirus, Security Software

The successor to Microsoft Live OneCare, Security Essentials (full review here) takes a different approach to securing your computer. The program is free with core security features intact, but abandons the additional heft of a firewall, performance tuning, and backup and restore options. Under a clean and uncluttered interface, Security Essentials wraps antivirus and antispyware engines, rootkit protection, and real-time detection courtesy of Microsoft SpyNet, the unfortunately named cloud-based service that compares file behavior across computers.
There are four tabs, each with a concise, understandable label: Home, Update, History, and Settings. From Home you can run a Quick Scan, Full Scan, or Custom Scan, and a link at the bottom of the pane lets you change the scheduled scan. In the Settings window you can schedule scans, toggle default actions, adjust real-time protection settings, and create whitelists. An Advanced option here is still fairly basic, allowing you to set Security Essentials to scan archives, removable drives, create a system restore point, or allow all users to view the History tab. Security Essentials uses labels imported from OneCare: green for all good, yellow for warning, and red for an at-risk situation.
Independent test numbers for Security Essentials weren’t available at the time of writing, although OneCare scored high detection rates. On a real-world machine, the Quick Scan completed in less than 30 seconds. Benchmarking tests from CNET Labs reveal that Security Essentials actually makes starting up and shutting down faster, but the Full Scan is much slower than many competitors. RAM usage was not insignificant, with 85 to 90MB used during a full scan, but it felt lighter. Security Essentials is basically a good set-it-and-forget-it security program, but if you want more options, you should look elsewhere.

Publisher’s description

Corporate Security, Security Software

Nsauditor Network Security Auditor is a network security software and vulnerability scanner that allows auditing and monitoring network computers for possible vulnerabilities, checking network for all potential methods that a hacker might use to attack it and create a report of potential problems that were found. Nsauditor is a complete networking utilities package that includes more than 45 network tools and utilities for network auditing, scanning, and network connections monitoring. Nsauditor significantly reduces the total cost of network management in enterprise environments by enabling IT personnel and systems administrators gather a wide range of information from all the computers in the network without installing server-side applications on these computers.
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