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Antivirus Suite Reviews
| Platinum Internet Security | BitDefender Internet Security | eTrust Internet Security | Mcafee Internet Security |
Review : eTrust Internet Security Suite
| Reviewer : | Paul Stuart |
| Date : | Oct 2005 |
| Vendor : | Computer Associates |
| Vendor's Website : | www.ca.com |
What's in it?
You get :
EZ AntiVirus, EZ PestPatrol (antispyware module), EZ AntiSpam and a personal Firewall which includes parental controls.
Effectiveness
Computer Associates are perhaps best known for their corporate software, so it's no surprise that their home antivirus product is extremely effective and easy to use. There aren't a lot of features and configuration settings, but in a way this is a good thing. The interface is a real pleasure to use.
One of the best features of eTrust Suite is the Firewall product. The Firewall has been certified by ICSA, which is just to say that it does it's job of protecting your PC very well. It's extremely comprehensive, allowing you to setup different zones and specify the level of security in each zone. If that sounds intimidating - relax. When we installed in our test lab, the default settings worked without any problem.
Updates and Support
When set to Automatic, the virus definitions are updated every 8 hours, which is certainly acceptable. CA occasionally send out emails when additional updates are required. It's nice to know that they're thinking of you!
Being a customer entitles you to use CA's excellent support website - www.my-eTrust.com. This is a very comprehensive support facility. In addition to the usual web-based FAQ, there is free 24x7 chat-based support. You can also pay for 24x7 phone-based support if you wish (although one 'incident' currently costs $49.95).
Performance
One of the nice things about eTrust antivirus is its speed. During tests at the PC Advice Center it plowed its way through over 70,000 files in double-quick time. It did not take up too much system resources either.
The spyware module PestPatrol has won numerous awards (from PC Professional and APC magazine to name two), and is yet another extremely powerful and easy-to-use product. We particularly like how intuitive the interface is, and how each risk entry is given a rating and explains how it affects your privacy.
What we love about eTrust :
- Speedy virus scanning.
- Free chat-based support.
- Excellent personal Firewall product
What's not so great :
- At 23 Mbytes, this is one of the larger packages to download.
Summary
An extremely secure, dependable product from a very reputable software company.
Highly recommended.
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