Sweet security: four Internet security suites compared

Updated May 1, 2006

Without a corporate IT staff or gateway antivirus and firewall solutions, small businesses and home desktop users need some kind of protection from hackers and other Internet security threats. These Internet security suites bundle everything you need, from antivirus protection to firewall blocking to Internet privacy, in one box. Plus, they offer additional privacy protection, such as blocking objectionable Web sites, spam, and spyware--all in one convenient package. This year, we recommend ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6 over similar collections from Norton and McAfee. While we like individual features of Norton Internet Security 2006 and McAfee Internet Security Suite 2006, both of these bundles noticeably slowed our test machines. CA eTrust Internet Security Suite R2 performed better, but we don't feel it is well integrated as a suite. ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6, on the other hand, offers the most complete Internet security for your PC without affecting its performance.

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