Labs

We last reviewed BlackICE PC Protection over a year ago, and the same version is still available at the same price. The program's intrusion detection engine receives occasional updates, but the interface looks stark compared with others. In fact, version 3.6 has been available for at least two years, which is unusual for a security utility, so can it still cut the mustard when it comes to detecting and blocking attacks?

The answer is a resounding yes. It was one of only five firewalls that detected the website attacks, and it detected more of these than any other product. It saw our

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port scan and would have blocked the attacking system straight away, preventing any follow-up attacks, had we not disabled the auto-blocking system.

Allowing the internet access to our small website was reasonably easy, although we had to create a rule manually to allow web traffic. This could not have been simpler, but the rest of the interface is old-fashioned and will intimidate non-technical users.

BlackICE PC Protection includes an optional security feature called Application Protection. This scans the program files on your system and ensures that only those you want can access the internet. This is a good idea in theory, but BlackICE's solution is inconvenient. Users who install even moderate amounts of software will find themselves 'baselining' their systems to update the database far too often.

Even though this program's interface is showing its age, its IDS is still effective. If you want to allow some incoming traffic and hope to detect and block attacks, this is one of the best tools for the job. Norton Personal Firewall is better value, though - it's easier to use in some ways, with more privacy features and is also able to detect attacks