Entered CNET Catalog: 08/03/2004
SKU: ETREZAVHE62P01
Manufacturer: CA
Manufacturer description
CA EZ Antivirus 2005 is the latest version of the award-winning antivirus protection software for your home PC that provides complete protection, detection and elimination of thousands of computer viruses, worms and Trojan Horse programs.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 09/03/2004
The program's uninspired interface features an old-fashioned file tree and tiny, indecipherable icons that mimic the aesthetic splendor of Windows File Manager circa 1995; it is unchanged from version 6.1. That's bad news for novices who want to schedule unattended scans; change the default action on infected files, for example, clean or delete; and so on. Yes, there's a handy Options Wizard that steps you through these basic configuration tasks, but you'll need to comb the menu bar first to find it.
One nice addition to EZ Antivirus 2005 is a taskbar tray icon that flashes when the program notices antivirus detection problems, such as when a virus attempts to disable your antivirus protection. To access more details about a given problem, right-click the flashing icon to trigger a pop-up dialog box. In our tests, the icon flashed often, warning us of a problem with the AutoDownload feature, which retrieves updated signature and program files. The problem later resolved itself, although we never discovered what caused it.
Version 2005 of Computer Associates eTrust EZ Antivirus is only a minor upgrade from EZ Antivirus 6.1. One of the most compelling new features is the program's ability to scan incoming messages and their attachments in popular POP3 e-mail clients, including Eudora, Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, Netscape Mail, Pegasus, and others. But unlike Norton AntiVirus 2004 and other leading virus fighters, EZ Antivirus doesn't scan outbound e-mail, which is a helpful security tool for blocking worms embedded in outgoing messages.
EZ Antivirus 2005's real-time scanner takes a more aggressive approach to virus protection than previous versions. In version 6.1, the scanner warned you when it detected an infected file, then it quarantined and renamed the file. EZ Antivirus now cleans the file and any Registry entries that might have been affected.
Another noteworthy upgrade concerns compressed files. EZ Antivirus now scans CAB and MIME file formats, in additional to a dozen or so other archival file formats, including the ubiquitous ZIP format. Version 2005 doesn't include a firewall, but then neither do Norton and McAfee VirusScan 8.0, both of which cost about $20 more than EZ Antivirus. And while Windows XP SP2 will enable the Microsoft Firewall, it doesn't provide both inbound and outbound protection--you'll still need a third-party firewall. To find both firewall and antivirus protection in one package, try Computer Associates EZ Armor, Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2004, or ZoneAlarm with Antivirus.
In CNET Labs tests, EZ Antivirus 2005 caused less system performance drag than McAfee VirusScan, Norton AntiVirus, or Trend Micro PC-cillin. However, PC-cillin remains the speed champ, scanning our 1.3GB hard drive faster than any antivirus software product we've tested.To measure EZ Antivirus 2005's impact on system performance, CNET Labs used BAPCo's SysMark 2002, an industry-standard benchmark. The Internet-content-creation portion of SysMark measures a desktop's performance running off-the-shelf applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Windows Media Encoder, and Macromedia Dreamweaver. (We did not run the Office Productivity portion of the benchmark because it incorporates McAfee VirusScan 5.13.)
Our test system was a Compaq Evo W4000, running Windows XP Professional, with an Intel P4 2.4GHz processor and 512MB DDR RAM. With EZ Antivirus 2005 running, our test system scored a remarkable 100--with no reduction in overall system speed. By comparison, McAfee scored a 97, or a 3 percent decrease; Norton AntiVirus 2003 scored a 95, a 5 percent reduction. (An Internet-content-creation score of 100 represents the performance of our test system without any extraneous software running.) In a test of scanning speed, EZ Antivirus 2005 took an average of 2.6 minutes to scan a 1.3GB directory, but that couldn't match speed-demon PC-cillin, which averaged 2.4 minutes.
| SysMark 2002 Internet-content-creation score | Normalized score | Percent degradation | Average boot time (sec) | Scan 1.3GB directory, average scan time (min) | |
| Test system | 233 | 100 | n/a | 38.9 | n/a |
| Computer Associates EZ Antivirus 2005 | 233 | 100 | 0 | 47 | 2.56 |
| McAfee VirusScan 8.0 | 234 | 101 | n/a | 48.38 | 4.75 |
| F-Secure Anti-Virus 2003 for Windows | 218 | 93 | 93 | 63 | 6.64 |
| Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2004 | 223 | 96 | 4 | 52.72 | 3.59 |
| Zone Labs ZoneAlarm with Antivirus | 221 | 99 | 7 | 55.6 | 2.44 |
| Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2004 | 227 | 97 | 6 | 45 | 2.48 |
To determine whether EZ Antivirus effectively blocks viruses, we gauged its performance in tests conducted by independent antivirus laboratories. In Virus Bulletin's tests with live viruses, EZ Antivirus earned the coveted VB 100 percent rating 70 percent of the time in the last 10 Windows tests--a good showing, certainly, but not on a par with Norton AntiVirus, which earned the title on 10 of its last 10 tests.
Previous versions of EZ Antivirus have also been certified by the independent antivirus testing laboratories at West Coast Checkmark, ICSA Labs, and Checkvir.com.
For more details on how we test antivirus apps, see CNET Labs site.
Like its competitors, Computer Associates provides free e-mail support for its EZ Antivirus 2005 product, but it charges for phone help. In our tests, e-mail queries were answered relatively quickly--typically within 3 hours in an industry where a 24-hour turnaround is standard. The replies were polite and helpful, too. For instance, our problem with the flashing EZ Antivirus icon (in the taskbar tray) was attributed to a temporary problem with the vendor's AutoDownload server. (The problem eventually resolved itself.) Online help is good, too. The Ask Sammy query box lets you type in natural-language questions, such as "What's the Bagle virus?," and get a quick list of knowledge-base documents on a given topic.
Phone support, however, is expensive: $49.95 for one tech issue, $99.95 for three issues, and $149.95 for five. Then again, these rates are comparable to those of Computer Associates' leading antivirus contenders, including McAfee, Symantec, and ZoneAlarm. Trend Micro, which provides a year of free phone support, is the lone exception here.
User opinions
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User Rating: 
1/10
Beware, will ruin your computer
Pros: None- except it was free
Cons: Alot, read review
User Rating: 
2/10
Poor Support Over Charged
Pros: It might actually detect viruses
Cons: over charged, support site fails, auto download fails
User Rating: 2/10
$100 for a "Fishy" software!
Pros: CA once good reputation
Cons: CA Now con-artist behavior...
While trying to resolve this issue, CA techelp appear to have given up my personal ISP email address to their "Partners/Associates" DigitalRiver and I now receive SPAMVERTIZEMENT for "Corel" bargains.
I will return all CA softies and file a formal complaint at the store head office as well as at the BBBureau.
CA fix their management strategy so that none can be reached in North America but only in "Law-Loose" countries such as India's free toll number.
SCAMMER type of behavior! DigitalRiver Alias server is located on TWTelecom where a known & recognized malware distribution website is also located : www.mirasearch.com speudo toolbar. A google search confirms the latter. If proofs are required, I can provide.
User Rating: 
10/10
This software is great
Pros: Cheap, fast, and finds all viruses
Cons: NONE THAT I SEE
User Rating: 
8/10
Perfect out-of-box experience
Pros: Clean, easy, fast
Cons: None. Works as advertiesed
But eTrust goes on smoothly, does one update and you're done! No confusing "Security Center" telling you to buy their other products. Just a good, clean program.
User Rating: 10/10
3 years and going strong! Love it!
Pros: Fast scans, Cheap, Not a system hog!, Good email tech support
Cons: Subscription renewal can be a little confusing
I didn't need a firewall because XP's firewall works just fine, or I could use ZoneAlarm (which is free!). I didn't need a spyware cleaner because I canuse AdAware SE (which is free!). I was able to pick this up for just $19.99 and a $9.99 yearly renewal and it does just what it's supposed to.
It automatically checks for updates whenever you want to schedule them (I have mine set to do so overnight), and then downloads and installs them all in the background. You never have to do a thing!
I found the email tech support to be very helpful. I had to redownload my previous subscription because I got a new computer and they helped me with that, and Tech Support also helped me figure out why I was getting an error that real-time scanning wasn't on.
With my last renewal I also got to try the EZ Pest Patrol (spyware scanner) and it works just as well as the Antivirus. I'm very happy with this product!
User Rating: 2/10
Better not having nothing at all
Pros: Give you some sensation of been secure
Cons: It is not what it say; an antivirus
Conclusion: I live to you.
User Rating: 2/10
Don't expect it to work
Pros: Fast scanning
Cons: Not trustworthy to find virus's
to find virus's that norton would not.
SBC has a new bundle with eTrust Antivirus
spyware,popup blocker.
FREE
I have yet to find a virus
with this software.
Norton at the very least found and deleted.
many over time.
Don't expect support with this utlity.
Their on line web site is very deep.
Thats if you have hours to sift through it!
User Rating: 
9/10
Excellent software
Pros: Fast, small profile
Cons: Almost too invisible
User Rating: 
7/10
Very efficient but has a habit of disappearing requiring a re-install.
Pros: Uses a small amount of resources
Cons: Disappers on boot occasionally
User Rating: 10/10
Simply the Best
Pros: Not a system hog
Cons: None that I can find
User Rating: 8/10
Used for 2 years
Pros: Uses very little system resources
Cons: none found or known
For the home user, this is a fine product. For corporate users, the enterprise edition is a fine product. Both use very little resources. With the corporate edition I had to download a patch that fixed a problem with XP Service Pack 2, domain users can not change the settings, nor can they close the anti virus out. With the administrators view, that has to be installed seperatly, you can see when all the machines were last scanned and if there were any viruses. The push install is great, the end user never even notices it until they restart and see the CA logo (which the end user can disable). Just imagine a domain policy but for anti virus, that is wht this program does. I have no complaints at all.
User Rating: 
3/10
system hog
Pros: was free from my isp
Cons: data miner (open status box reports home)
User Rating: 10/10
Great deal for the price.
Pros: Free program updates, low price.
Cons: None for most users.
User Rating: 8/10
Used it several years, seems effective
Pros: Inexpensive, unobtrusive
Cons: Tech support is said to be a problem
I should add that to be really safe and secure you should certainly supplement the program with a firewall and an antispyware program. There are several good antispyware programs to be had for free, but you may have to pay for a good firewall.
User Rating: 1/10
Do not waste your time or money
Pros: Loads fast
Cons: no support system
God help you if you need to use EZ support system. Don?t even call it will cost you $49.95 to talk to a support tech., the product only cost $29.95
User Rating: 3/10
Customer Service?
Pros: Seems to work ok.
Cons: Heaven help you if it stops working ok.
User Rating: 
4/10
Good basic anti-virus, lousy customer service
Pros: Low cost. Does the basic virus detection.
Cons: Too many in-your face prompts. Very slow customer service response.
User Rating: 2/10
Don't expect protection
Pros: It was free from SBC Yahoo, I used 6.0 thru 7.0
Cons: Still hit with viruses and trojans even when updating daily, renewal was a nightmare and was never successful.
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