Trend Micro Internet Security 2009

Trend Micro Internet Security has made significant gains since last year, although most are under the hood. Trend Micro Internet Security 2009 is a bare-bones, just the essentials, basic Internet Security suite offering antivirus, antispam, antiphishing, and a two-way firewall. Parental Controls are built-in, not optional. In terms of performance, Trend Micro Internet Security 2009 is lighter than last year and more than holds its own against competing products, coming in equal to or better than Norton Internet Security 2009 in CNET Labs tests. In terms of effectiveness, Trend Micro ranks well, although not at the top of the list. Like Symantec, Trend Micro offers free telephone technical support. Our only complaint is that the product could be a bit more feature rich. For more bells and whistles, you'll need to purchase the Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2009 edition. Still, if you're looking for a very basic and easy-to-use Internet Security suite, we recommend you try Trend Micro Internet Security 2009.

Setup
Trend Micro Internet Security 2009 is available for Windows XP and Vista users and can be used on up to three computers within one household. It supports Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers, and MSN Messenger 7.5 and Windows Live Messenger 8.0 instant-messaging programs. A free, full-function trial is available. This is one of two Internet Security products; Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2009 includes home networking and mobile features for about $20 more.

Our installation occurred without incident or a reboot. After activation, we were allowed to update the signature database as well as any program updates.

There is an uninstall option, should you decide to remove Trend Micro Internet Security 2009. And we found few traces of the product upon reboot.

Interface
The interface is a refinement of last year's, removing some of the line boxes. Across the top are two tabs, one for the Internet Security suite and a second for home networking. Down the left side are Overview, Virus and Spyware Controls, Personal Firewall Controls, Internet and E-Mail Controls, and Other Settings. Clicking these will open a more detailed view in the right windowpane. In Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2009, there are additional features that appear in the form of a pop-up dialogue, including protection for mobile phones, system utilities, and onscreen keyboard. Prominent across the bottom are buttons for Scan Now and Update Now. The whole page is color coded and uses the now-standard red for alert, yellow for warning, and green for good.

Features
Trend Micro Internet Security 2009 covers the basics, providing antivirus, antispyware, antiphishing, antispam, Web identity theft protection, two-way firewall, and, unlike other Internet Security suites, includes Parental Controls.

The Home Network feature scans the local network and lets you control the security settings on two additional computers.