Kaspersky Lab Internet Security 2010 review

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Verdict:

Outstanding malware protection, an easy-to-use interface and low price makes Kaspersky 2010 our first choice.

Review Date: 14 Jan 2010

Price when reviewed: £27

Supplier: http://www.scan.co.uk

Reviewed By: Kat Orphanides

Our Rating 5 stars out of 5

ExpertReviews Award

Kaspersky's Internet Security has always performed well in our tests, and this year was no exception.

The suite's interface has been polished since Internet Security 2009, but the basic set of features is largely the same, including full email scanning and a personal firewall. A browser plug-in for Firefox and Internet Explorer warns you of suspicious links.

A simple tabbed interface allows you to run scans, view the status of your applications and run programs in a sandbox environment that prevents them accessing the rest of your PC. It's not guaranteed to be stable in a 64-bit environment, but we had no trouble running a sandboxed IE window under 64-bit Vista.

Also available from the tabbed interface are Kaspersky's Security+ features, including a virtual keyboard that you can use to enter confidential information such as passwords without risk from keyloggers. Other Security+ options allow you to make a rescue disk - Kaspersky is one of the very few suites with this facility - and erase your browser cache. Basic parental controls allow you to assign different restrictions to your users, limiting the times at which they're allowed online and the kinds of sites to which they have access. If that's not enough control for you, even more advanced settings let you tweak everything from scan sensitivity to firewall rules.

Kaspersky performed brilliantly in our web threat tests, eliminating all traces of 19 threats and rendering one harmless. Most threats were detected and eliminated as soon as they began to download, while other infections were blocked at the originating site.

False positives have sometimes been a problem for Kaspersky but we had no such issues this time round. Pop-ups warned us about the risks of installing programs without digital signatures but didn't prevent us from doing so.

We've found retail boxes of the three-user version of Kaspersky 2010 on sale for £22, which makes this one of the best-value security suites around, as well as one of the most effective. It's our Best Buy.

See page 2 for benchmark results.

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User comments

Free v Purchase Anti-Virus Software

Excellent review.
But did I miss a conclusion as to whether there is value in purchasing Anti-visrus software, or would it be sufficient to use the free ware (Microsoft Security Essentials)?

By PeteW on 15 Jan 2010

One user's experience

My experience of K2010 was very different. I bought the three-user version, intending to offer the other two copies around the family. Soon abandoned that idea. Downloaded version had a database that was weeks out of date. Update attempts constantly timed out, while internet connection was fine with other software. Days later it did down load the updates, but has been a royal pain ever since. The advertised plug-in for Firefox doesn't work - why is the process only automatic for IE, when this is the one browser to avoid?
Endless false positives for banks, gov't departments, even Kaspersky itself.

Useless Help system.

Strong impression that this is by techies for techies.

I'll be looking elsewhere when the licence expires.

By trbonella on 16 Jan 2010

Extremely good protection

I have used Kaspersky off and on a for a number of years. I came back to them full-time with KIS 2009 and have continued with KIS 2010.

I used to use AVG Pro antivirus and ZoneAlarm Pro firewall until ZAP became really draggy on the system. I have always detested Symantec/Norton through really bad experiences of their customer services and their previously invasive modus operandi. McAfee let through a number of infections years ago and that put me off them.

I have found KIS 2010 to be extremely fast off the mark with drive-by infections (blocking access to infected sites) and light on my system. A very good all round performer which uses a logical interface, has a fantastic firewall and a number of genuinely useful features. Highly configurable. Very good customer service.

Highly recommended.

By octaglider on 24 Feb 2010

Best I've Ever Had

I changed to Kaspersky from Norton some few years ago after having annoying problems with poor performance and expensive support from Symantec.

Kaspersky has been very easy, with a user-friendly interface. Easy to adjust if you want to reduce the level of intrusion. It updates, usually twice a day, in the background and is never noticed.

I can't explain trbonella's problem unless it is an underpowered computer? I have recommended it to several friends who now use it without problems.

My verdict? Highly recommended!

By condonmj on 11 Aug 2010

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