Installation and configuration
It is very simple and straightforward. The process of installing the application is very simple and automated. This means that there is little to no user interaction during the installation. Kaspersky Lab opting out of the Kaspersky Security Network is something I find a bit controversial. Opt-out means that you must explicitly opt out of participation. I’d prefer to see it the other way. Unlike other software developers, Kaspersky Lab allows you to opt out. Read more now on usergorilla
Up-to-date
Software updates themselves quite frequently, with definition updates being released multiple times per day. Although the software checks for updates every hour, some users report that updates are released approximately every three hours. To the benefit of all users of Kaspersky Lab’s software, Kaspersky Lab keeps up-to-date with new threats and outbreaks.
Interface for the User
The software is easy to use, which makes it a good choice for beginners. The majority of the components are easy to use and it is not difficult to customize them. This is not true for all components. The firewall component is the most difficult to use. Making changes to its rules to suit your needs is a frustrating and time-consuming process.
Performance
Kaspersky Internet Safety 2010 will not require a huge computer. However, you will need at least 1 GB RAM and a 1GHz processor to run the security software on Windows XP. (For Vista and Windows 7, these numbers are increased to 2GB RAM and a 2GHz CPU). You will notice a slight drop in performance but nothing serious. The software should run smoothly on standard office computers with the current processing power.
Real-time Protection
Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 excels in this area. The security suite boasts 13 security components that each provide tailored protection against certain types of threats. You are protected against viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans. You are protected from network attacks, spam and phishing attacks as well as intrusive advertising via banners. Your children also have protection against inappropriate content. Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 offers more than meets the eye. Only a closer inspection can reveal the many levels of protection this security suite provides.
Threat Protection Tests
This is the heart of any security software review. In other words, does the software protect me if the pawpaw hits a fan? Although it did not catch all the threats, its malware tests were acceptable. Malicious files can be isolated and it is almost impossible to execute a known threat accidentally. The heuristic scanner works well and I was able to disable it with force.
I tried a few leak tests on it and it held up well. However, I was able, using a port scan from another computer, to identify the computer’s MAC address as well as the fact that it was running. In this instance, a firewall should hide the computer from any unauthorised computers connected to the network. Although the firewall blocked the port scan, it didn’t blacklist the infected computer, as it assumed the IP address was spoofed. Although I would prefer to be able to completely block the attacker computer, it isn’t perfect.
Kaspersky Internet Security 2010’s spam filter was the only component that didn’t perform well in this review. It was difficult to get it working in Thunderbird 2. Second, I found that Thunderbird 3 is not supported. Although the spam filter works well in Outlook Express, it was not able to filter spam. Although the spam filter was more accurate after it had been trained with 150 spam e mails, it still allowed obvious spam to pass through. It is disappointing that a spam filter with so many potentials (Heuristic analysis and GSG technology to image recognize, analysis of RTF file files, self-training text recognition using iBayes), fails to perform when it comes down to spam filtering.
Protect yourself with value-added protection
As I mentioned, Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 also includes a parental control component and an anti-banner feature. These components are disabled by default because not everyone will need them. These simple tools have a lot of functionality and do exactly what they are supposed to. Because it heavily relies on heuristic detection, the parental control component is very easy to set up and requires little configuration. The majority of heuristic analysis results in false positives and false negatives. However, the parental control component’s heuristic analyzer is very different. It is able to detect inappropriate sites with very few false positives.
The anti-banner component will be very useful to those who have a vendetta against advertising banners. It uses heuristic analysis again to identify common banner sizes. Each of the anti-banner and parental control components has a white-list or a black-list that can be used to allow (white-list), or block (black list) certain websites.
Conclusion
Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 is an all-round package for Internet security. Although there are some areas that could be improved in the spam filtering and firewall sections, Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 is still a top-rated Internet security package. It is a great choice for both home and business use.