There's a New Sheriff on My PC
Written: Dec 01 '04 (Updated Nov 22 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quick, accurate scanning; very low processor load
Cons: free tech support may be marginal
The Bottom Line: As a recovering Norton user, I can't be happier with this newer product. It's faster, less intrusive and easy to use.
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| martytdx's Full Review: Trend Micro PC-CILLIN INTERNETSECURITY2005 (pczn00... |
Hi, I'm Marty and I'm a recovering Norton user. I've been hooked on Norton twice in my life so far - the first time I was young and stupid, and luckily my system just couldn't handle the Norton SystemWorks back in the late 90's. Later, a friend had it and told me that I should try it again. I was apprehensive, but he it wouldn't hurt to just try it - one taste of Norton Anti-virus 2002, and I was hooked. I had this safe feeling, like my system was protected from the horrors of email viruses trying to get to me. I was on top of the world.
But like many users, I felt that I needed more. Within a year I was moving onto harder products, using Norton Internet Security 2003 (NIS2003) to not only protect against ETDs (Email Transmitted Viruses) but also attacks of other types with my spam blocker and firewall. It was a new high, and life was good. I found that there were down sides to my ecstasy of course, but you deal with the dark side of what feels good, right? Another year, and I was jonesin' for an upgrade. As soon as I could, I grabbed a new batch of Norton Internet Security 2004, and took it home to get my NIS fix. I had problems from the start - the producers were obviously rushing this stuff out before it was ready. The program was rough, and it seemed that I was always in an up-down mode using it. I was hooked, and I knew it, but I didn't know where to go. Then a friend suggested that I try Trend Micro PC-Cillin ... and I was cured.
[• who is TREND MICRO? •]
Almost everyone has heard of Norton and McAfee, the Yankees and Lakers of the virus/computer protection world. Between them, they own most of the market share of anti-virus and all-in-one desktop Internet Protection software in the U.S. However, Trend Micro - based in Tokyo, Japan - has been a major player for years internationally, although it is just now making a dent into the U.S. market. While their software is usually built for server-level applications, the PC-Cillin suite is a desktop application that is gaining more and more acceptance among those of us who take Internet Security seriously (and studies show that 60% of us still don't).
[• so, doc, GIVE IT TO ME STRAIGHT •]
Like many of those who have used both Norton and McAfee anti-virus and internet security suites, I noticed that as time went on, the programs seemed to become more bloated and harder to use. At the same time, they were sucking increasing amounts of processor power to run - often at the expense of the real programs users were trying to use. Add to that the multitude of problems that NIS2004 has experienced - numerous crashes, difficulty to reinstall without often reinstalling Windows itself, system lock-ups - people have been getting increasingly frustrated. I was one of those people, so I was excited to learn about Trend Micro.
Trend Micro PC-Cillin is a suite on par with NIS, offering up a bevy of tools to protect my computer. I was hesitant to go to a new product that I knew little of, but after some research, I felt that it was a viable alternative to the problematic NIS2005 that I had already begun to hear horror stories about. Once I found out more, I made the plunge and ordered it from Amazon.com at a price of $19.99 ($44.99 - $25 mail-in rebate for competitive upgrade). It includes virus protection, spyware protection and spam filtering, firewall protection (including Wi-Fi intrusion detection) and some other neat tools.
[• giving my PC AN INNOCULATION •]
Because of my own installation problems and those nightmares I had already read/heard about NIS2005, I was apprehensive about this. However, since I was installing onto a fresh system I had a bit more confidence (other installing onto older systems might have hiccups I did not encounter). In fact, installation was a breeze - much simpler than Norton's products. I inserted the disc and started the process. It prompted me for the normal things (destination for files, user agreement, what features I wanted to install, etc.) and went about its business. In about 5 minutes it was done and installed (on a 3.2GHz Pentium IV processor), prompting me to restart my system. After a system restart, it did a quick registration of the software and check for updates. Windows XP popped a window asking if I would like to turn off the Windows default firewall and security and to use PC-Cillin instead, which I did. The program then prompted me to do a scan of my system. That was it - simple and quick installation with no problems. One note - unlike Norton and McAfee, there was no default scan BEFORE installation - a nice feature to have had.
[• there's a new SHERIFF IN THESE PARTS •]
But how is it to use? Well, I have to admit that the interface isn't as attractive as Norton's - but what they lack in aesthetics is made up for in accuracy and features. The main screen is made up of red-bordered window with three quick action buttons along the top (Scan for Viruses, Update Components and Scan for Spyware) and 6 functional buttons along the side (Summary, System, Email, Network Control, Network Security and Updates and Registration).
Functional Buttons »
Summary - This is just like it sounds - a summary of what is going on with the system at the time. It gives you the status of the Internet Security and Anti-Virus products, as well as access to the Event Logs so that you can see what has happened recently or in the past. Icons (green check for okay, red exclamation point for problems) let you know the status of each component instantly. Ironically, the spyware feature is not represented on the summary.
System - This is where you set up scans, either manually started or pre-programmed. This is also where you start the vulnerability assessment of your system.
Email - The email controls are located here. This updates your settings for email scanning for viruses and other dangerous programs, as well as the spam control option. The scanning for viruses is a lot quicker than Norton's was, which is a bonus when you are trying to get an email out quickly. It seems to be pretty thorough, too, although I have only received one virus-infected email which was isolated and deleted without incident. And you can also scan webmail (Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail) attachments for viruses as well.
The anti-spam feature of PC-Cillin is fairly good, although I have to say that I think it might be slightly inferior to Norton's. About 75% of the emails that were obvious spam were flagged, as well as a number of valid emails. Luckily, it's easy to let the program know which is which by using the "Spam Alert" and "Report False Positive" buttons that are located in the toolbar of your email program (yes, like NIS2004, there is an obtrusive toolbar that can't be turned off permanently, nor can it be integrated into one of the other toolbars). However, although it no longer isolates emails designated as 'false positives', it still tends to put a "spam:" tag in front of the subject. Harmless, but annoying.
Network Control - One of the nice features of this system is that if you have a home network (or even a small company network for that matter), you can control the Internet Security of any of the PCs on the Network that have PC-Cillin installed (this requires you to buy a multi-pack installation). This section also handles URL filtering for your browser (to prevent access to certain classes of sites, such as Adult sites), and Private Data Protection where you can encrypt vital information from prying eyes.
Network Security - This is where you control how your network is secured against outside attacks. It's here that you set up your personal firewall, and have access to a nice feature: Wi-Fi Intrusion Detection, which alerts users to others using their wireless bandwidth (wireless is notorious for 'leakage' that allows others outside your home to possibly tap into your server - stealing your bandwidth). One click can lock out intruders.
Updates and Registration - Obviously, you would use this to register the software if not already authenticated. Updates are the more useful function. Unlike Symantec, which bundles updates into once or twice a week releases (except for major problems), it seems that Trend Micro does daily or better updates. Updates can be set to automatically install in the background or at scheduled intervals. I set mine to automatic updates and I have yet to have to do it manually. When I have seen updates to the system taking place, the updates have never taken more than 15 seconds, nor required me to restart my system.
[• cleaning HOUSE •]
Using PC-cillin is simple. Once the interface is open, you can use the quick functions directly from the buttons along the top. Scan for Viruses does a quick scan of your system - MUCH quicker than Norton's version which could take almost an hour at times. Granted, I have a lot less files on my computer right now, but it still moved a lot quicker. I haven't had any viruses yet, so I can't tell you how it works when it finds one.
However, the Spyware Checker I have used and like - mostly. It runs quickly and does a fairly good job of finding common spyware programs. Once they have been detected, it presents a report that offers you the chance to clean it or click on the name to find out more information from their database. It even does scans of incoming programs to stop spyware from being installed. It's not perfect, though, and I would suggest getting one of the many free third-party anti-spyware programs to supplement this (I use Ad-aware and Spybot). But again, it is very quick to use, and a plus to have included. note: supposedly NIS2005 has a fairly robust spyware checker, too. I also do a complete system scan twice a week - once does EVERYTHING, and the other is virus and related functions only. The program makes it easy to schedule these to keep your system in top condition.
The firewall installed has been rated as pretty good - at least as robust as Norton and Zone Alarm. While it might not be professional grade, it should be more than sufficient to protect your home computer from intrusion attempts. It was recommended to me to use it instead of the Windows XP firewall because it is more secure.
Other features
Anti-Phishing » One of the other neat features of this program is their new Anti-Phishing control. Similar to the privacy controls of Norton, it allows you to set up information that you NEVER want passed to the internet. How does it stop phishing attacks? Simple - when you start up the system, you import your bookmarks - ie. places that you purportedly trust. Any of these sites are automatically assumed to be trusted and won't be stopped from you entering designated 'protected' information (social security number, credit card numbers, etc.). From that point on, any site that you haven't pre-approved will be blocked from accepting that information.
This prevents one of the major targets of phishing attacks - look-alike sites. If you are directed to a site that looks like your bank, your credit card company or an online merchant but IS NOT who it is supposed to be, PC-cillin will block you from sending any of the protected information into that site. For example, you bank at www.abc-bank.com, which was in your bookmarks or you manually entered. You receive an email which is a scam and delivers you to what you think is www.abc-bank.com, but is REALLY www.abc-bank.co.ma located in sunny Malaysia. You might not notice that the URL isn't right - but PC-cillin will and will (supposedly) protect you from giving away valuable information to hackers.
Now, this feature isn't something that everyone will use - more experienced users will not have a lot of need for it. However, newer or more inexperienced users will definitely be able to use it to their advantage, especially if they have been tricked in the past.
Vulnerability Assessment » This program comes with an internal assessment tool to make sure that all of your systems - not just PC-cillin - are up to date to help protect you from attacks. It performs this automatically and alerts you to updates that might be needed, including those that being issued by Microsoft. A nice feature to have.
[• old school vs. NEW SCHOOL •]
I can't do a head-to-head comparison, but from what I've read, it tends to find things that Norton doesn't when scanning for viruses - which is an instant plus, although I have never known Norton to miss anything and their reputation is pretty sterling in that regard. The spyware finder, again, is not bad although as anyone who has ever tried to remove spyware knows, none of the programs are perfect - so having a back-up program is a good idea.
But the major plus of this program is everything that it isn't - bloated and integrated into everything. Norton dove into your email (Outlook especially), your browser and your system, using up tremendous amounts of system resources and slowing everything down. PC-cillin doesn't seem to slow down my computer at all (in fact, ZDNet found that it had 0% resource drain). So, you can have this running and not have to worry about it. Heck, even the scans don't drain resources to empty - you can easily be using your computer during a scan. And according to the report that I saw, scan times for PC-cillin are a fraction of what Norton and McAfee's are - up to 1/3 of the time (see http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Trend_Micro_PC_cillin_Internet_Security_2005/4505-3667_16-31162897-5.html?tag=top for ZDnet's head-to-head).
Another bonus is something that Norton and McAfee users might understand the need for - free tech support. I can't vouch for the quality of that support but at least you won't be paying $29.95 per incident if something does go wrong. There seems to be some grumbling about the support on the web, mostly about getting pat answers to unique problems, but as someone who has dealt with Norton, whose standard answer to everything was 'uninstall and reinstall', I'm okay getting that response for free instead of paying through the nose.
[• peace of MIND •]
In the end, I'm glad that I switched. PC-cillin has proved so far to be easier-to-use, more system friendly and just overall a better program than the bloatware that is Norton Internet Security. The updates move quickly, and the programs footprint is much smaller (70 MB vs. more than 200 MB). Although I tend to be pretty secure with my computer as it is, I feel better knowing that I have moved on to something better. I'm cured of Nortonitis - and hopefully this PC vaccination will keep the urges away.
[• more INFORMATION •]
TrendMicro PC-cillin 2005
http://www.trendmicro.com/en/products/desktop/pc-cillin/evaluate/overview.htm
• Norton Anti-virus 2002 » A good program that is mostly out-of-date at this point.
• Norton Internet Security 2003 » The last NIS that I felt comfortable using.
• Norton Internet Security 2004 » Norton's first step in making the cure as bad as the disease.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
martytdx
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Member: Marty
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 481
Trusted by: 179 members
About Me:
Doing what I can to try new places, restaurants, books and beers.
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