F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security

Review | User Opinions | Specifications | Compare | Shop

cnet editors' rating 7.5/10 Very good Editorial policies >>

Be one of the first to rate this product!

How would you rate this product?

Product summary

The good: Scans hard drives quickly and with minimal system drag; includes a firewall; checks inbound and outbound e-mail; improved interface.

The bad: Designed for networked environments only; won't perform postinstall system scan unless you configure it to do so.

The bottom line: This speedy virus blocker is a solid choice for small or medium-size businesses. Home users, look to Trend Micro's PC-cillin 2004 instead.

Specs: License qty: 1 client; License type: License; Min Operating system: Linux, BSD/OS, HP-UX 11.0, UnixWare 7, Apple MacOS, HP-UX 10.20, SGI Irix 6.5, IBM AIX 4.3.x, SunSoft Solaris 7, SunSoft Solaris 8, SunSoft Solaris 2.6, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows XP, SCO OpenServer 5.0.5, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition See full specs >>

hide (x)CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Jeff Bertolucci

Reviewed on 11/5/03 Designed for desktop PCs running on small to medium-size networks, F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security (AVCS) is an impressive antivirus package and is far superior to F-Secure Anti-Virus 2003 for Windows, the company's single-user application, in both features and functionality. AVCS even runs well on laptops unplugged from corporate LANs. F-Secure deserves praise for adding a firewall to AVCS, an essential security feature not found in Sophos Anti-Virus 3.7, Norton AntiVirus 2004 Professional (NAVP), or McAfee VirusScan Professional 8.0 (MVP). AVCS is priced at $31.92 per user with a minimum of 100 user licenses, but home users and those in small offices can find a similar level of protection in Trend Micro's PC-cillin 2004.

Setup and interface of F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security

We installed AVCS on a standalone notebook PC. Setup via CD-ROM is short and sweet: load the CD, select Client or Policy Manager setup, and it's over in minutes. Unlike Norton AntiVirus 2004, AVCS doesn't run a preinstall scan--a time-consuming step that nevertheless adds an extra layer of security by scanning for viruses and worms before setup. We were also disappointed that AVCS doesn't run a postinstall scan--a standard feature of just about every antivirus program on the market. However, F-Secure officials assure us that IT administrators can enable this feature.

The F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security main screen provides an easy-to-read snapshot of your PC's protection level.

AVCS's interface easily beats that of Sophos Anti-Virus and rivals those of industry leaders NAVP and MVP in the ease-of-use department. The main screen shows the current status of your PC's security, with green check-mark or yellow exclamation-point icons indicating whether everything is fine or adjustments are needed. Compared with F-Secure Anti-Virus for Windows 2003, the company's desktop antivirus program, AVCS makes scheduling scans and configuring system settings a breeze. Simply click the Virus Protection icon to access a list of setup options.

The firewall component is integrated within the main interface and is easy to configure--a boon for traveling or telecommuting workers who need to tweak their security settings. One gripe: the firewall's Application Control interface doesn't lead you through the process of adding or removing Internet-accessing applications; rather, you must browse the hard drive yourself to find the appropriate executable files.

All in all, however, the AVCS interface is nicely done.

Features of F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security

F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security, thanks to its integrated firewall, provides a security shield superior to those offered by Sophos Anti-Virus, Norton AntiVirus 2004, or McAfee VirusScan 8.0, none of which provides built-in firewall protection. Like its competitors, AVCS also scans both POP3 and SMTP and inbound and outbound e-mail attachments for viruses and worms. (In Sophos, inbound and outbound scanning is an optional plug-in.)

F-Secure Client includes a firewall that alerts you when it detects an intrusion attempt.

AVCS keeps up with the big boys in other areas, too. Its real-time scanner inspects attachments downloaded from chat applets, as do NAVP and MVP, but not Sophos Anti-Virus. AVCS also delves inside zipped and other compressed archives, but only if you activate this feature, which is turned off by default. Scheduled and manual scans, however, do automatically check compressed files.

The scanner performs unattended daily, weekly, or monthly scans at whatever times you specify. It also has the unique ability to scan during slow periods, such as when your PC has been inactive for five minutes. This handy feature is ideal for lunchtime or lengthy work meetings, particularly if you plan to turn off your PC after work.

Performance of F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security

In CNET Labs tests, F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security caused more system performance drag than Norton AntiVirus 2004 Professional or McAfee Professional 8.0. And F-Secure took longer to scan our 1GB drive than did McAfee or Norton. Here are our test results:

	Test system	F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security	Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2004 Professional	McAfee VirusScan Professional 8.0
SysMark2002 Internet-content-creation (ICC) score	233	218	223	234
Normalized score	100	94	96	100
Percentage of degradation	N/A	6	4	0
Average boot time (seconds)	40.8	63	52.72	48.38
Scan 1GB directory; average scan time (minutes)	N/A	6.64	3.59	4.75

VirusBulletin has not specifically tested F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security; however, previous versions of F-Secure have been tested on Windows systems 12 times since April 2000, but earned the coveted VB 100 percent award only half of the time. By comparison, Norton AntiVirus has been tested on Windows systems six times since 2000 and passed each time; McAfee VirusScan has been tested and earned the coveted VB 100 percent title only once. Previous versions of F-Secure have also been certified by the independent antivirus testing laboratories at West Coast Checkmark, ICSA Labs, and AV-test.org.

For more details on how we test antivirus apps, see the CNET Labs site.

Service and support of F-Secure Anti-Virus Client Security

F-Secure provides complimentary, business-hours-only phone and e-mail tech support to its corporate customers Monday through Friday. F-Secure Client Security also provides a link to the company's support site, which has a satisfactory collection of virus definition updates, software upgrades and patches, troubleshooting tips, and the latest virus-related news.