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"Worthless software as a security package"
on by iamconanPros Fast antivirus scanning
Cons Firewall, antispyware, spam, privacy, sections are worthless!
Summary I purchased this software after reading the favorable reviews of it. It installed with no problems. After the installation, I had to go to each section and then the subsection to set up each security section.
The antivirus works quickly, but with the downloads, it tends to use quite a bit of resources and slows the cpu down.
The spyware section is a joke. On the home page for it, the first sentence states that there is no quarantine for any spyware that you may delete. It states in bold print that whatever you delete, you will not be able to get back. It tells you to read up on the spyware completely before any deletion. What anti-spyware is worth anything, if you cannot fix what is deleted? The information is presented in a confusing manner.
The firewall is useless and fails many of the Gibson Research Tests. It also does not work with any Print Servers or Cable Modem setups. I spoke to their Tech Support ref this, and they were unable to give a good direct answer, besides "I do not know". The only way I could get the Print Server to work, was if I shut the firewall down. Worthless I would say.
The privacy section is also worthless. You are required to enter the personal info that you want kept privately. But whenever you are surfing the web, and there are any numeral matches or name matches, a Trend Micro warning box pops up and the screen freezes. The only way you can continue surfing the web is if you work your way through all the subsections to get back to the subsection of the privacy page and then shut down the privacy personal info section. Then you must work your way back to your prior web page and continue. But, remember, when you are done surfing that area, you must go back to the privacy section and turn it back on. What a pain. Why can they not have a shutdown button on the warning box, so you can temporarily shut it down and it can restart over. It was such a pain to use, I just left it off and used the Zone Alarm privacy section which was much more convenient.
The spam section was useless also. You would have to go to the Outlook Express area and set up another folder and make it the Spam folder. Then you would have to go through the motions to set up the spam from Trend Micro to be filtered to that folder. Otherwise if you do nothing, you get nothing for spam assistance from this software. When you receive any mail that Trend thinks is spam, it does nothing more that tag it with the letters SPAM on the heading and forward it to the spam folder that you set up earlier.
Overall, the antivirus was ok, but it does slow the computer down quite a bit. The rest of the suite was lousy.
I would also not use either Norton or McAfee. Both are leaders in having the stores stocked with their boxes, but read the rating from you, the customer. They are poor.
I am currently using Zone Alarm with antivirus. It works quickly, scan quickly and Etrust has favorable reviews from the customers. Being combined with Zone Alarm makes it a good 1 - 2 punch.Updated
After installing and using this software, the only thing I noticed that this software did for my computer system, was to slow it down so much, that it almost stands still. It also does not allow the firewall to be used on my home network or with my print server. I had to eliminate it from the software and use another software, so the network was accessible.
Tech support is a joke. I called 2 times to speak to someone and the person I was given to, obviously was very new to computers. They appeared to be reading the answers from a book and when I stated I had did what they said to do already, they became confused. It seemed like I threw a wrench into the gears of their machine and everything stopped. After countless attempts to get someone with a little knowledge, I did the only thing I was able to do, to save my sanity. I uninstalled this junk and put it where it needed to go, THE TRASH! -
"A great software at a great price"
on by bar-berrianPros Powerful, lots of user customization, reasonably priced; very frequent updates
Cons Control panel settings confusing and not adequately documented for the average user
Summary This is my second year with PC-Cillin Internet Security and I've been quite impressed with the product's performance to date. It is loaded with features, and this year's version includes spyware scanning -- an invaluable defense for any internet surfer. Notification pop-ups appear on my screen at least a couple of times a day advising that updates are available (this feature can be turned off or set to auto-update) which leads me to believe the people at Trend Micro are doing their job in supporting this product. The user set-up/control panel on the 2005 version has many improvements and addresses many of the things I found irritating about the 2004 product; however, it still seems to me that much of the user interface is too technical for the average PC owner. If you are challenged to find the on/off switch on your computer, plan on buying your best tekkie friend a really nice lunch in exchange for helping you set up this software. Overall, though, I'm very satisfied with this product. PS: I cannot figure out why the CNET reviewer indicates that this software does not offer automated scanning, because it does offer both a real-time (continuous) scanning option and a fairly elaborate menu of settings for regularly scheduled scans.
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"No, it doesn't break the bank but it is a resource hog."
on by Midnight RamblerPros free tech support, reasonable price
Cons resource hog, large footprint
Summary Based upon a major PC magazine's recommendation, I purchased Trend Micro's PC-Cillin Internet Security Suite 2005 but have come to regret it.
To the point, it's been my experience that even after uninstalling all but the basic antivirus component, the program is a resource hog. In fact, simply loading the antivirus component by itself slowed my system to a crawl. Granted, I run a rather ancient system (PIII 450, 224 MB RAM with Win98), but it did meet all of the requirements as mentioned on Trend Micro's web site and because I've maintained it meticulously, up until installing Trend Micro's product, it's handled every program thrown at it.
Apparently, the notion that multi-function hardware devices are no longer regarded as inferior to individual components does not also apply with respect to all-in-one Internet Security suites. After speaking with a Trend Micro support rep regarding program issues, he even admitted as much: PC-Cillin IS 2005 is mainly an antivirus program and the other components were basically "thrown in" to have it labeled a suite. Essentially, the components aside from antivirus just aren't that good.
Instead, I should've stayed with the apps I already had and have since returned to: Grisoft's AVG 7 (antivirus), Zonelab's Zone Alarm (firewall), Lavasoft's Ad-aware SE, Spybot's Search & Destroy and Javacool Software's SpywareBlaster (anti-spyware), and Python Software Foundation's Spambayes (anti-spam). Best feature of all of these is that they're free. -
"Inefficient resource hog"
on by durf786Pros Easy installation
Cons Hogs resources, simplistic configuration
Summary I was impressed with cnet's rating of PC-cillin (PC-c) - 8.3, excellent! So I bought 4 licenses for PC-c Internet Security 2005 and replaced Zone Alarm Pro and McAfee VirusScan, respectively. It turned out to be a disaster, although I didn't realize it immediately.
I wasn't happy with the firewall, because it was difficult to tell which programs it was monitoring. Unlike even the free version of Zone Alarm, PC-c hides what it's doing. After digging in the configuration, I learned that PC-c lets anything go out, unless you specifically configure it otherwise. It's hard to figure out what it blocks from coming in. Eventually I got around to doing some research, and I learned that the PC-c firewall was causing a delay of 10-30 seconds when I first accessed other computers on my LAN. I decided to go back to Zone Alarm, starting with the free version (later I bought the pro version). It is much superior.
I stayed with the PC-c virus checker. Then my wife mentioned that her Outlook was loading very slowly, and I knew mine was, too. As a test, I timed loading Outlook with the PC-c virus checker installed and uninstalled. The results were astonishing - 3:03 with and 0:40 without PC-cillin. I checked boot times - 4:24 with and 3:17 without.
Then I discovered an even worse problem. I use a program called SECSIM which simulates Ethernet communications between a host computer and semiconductor processing equipment. I run SECSIM on my laptop, and it had been acting strangely. Although timing is critically important in the application, SECSIM responses were delayed by a factor of 3 to 5. That occurred even after I replaced the PC-c firewall. Then I uninstalled the PC-c virus checker and responses were normal again.
Prior to my tests, I'd had a problem with PC-c's email checking. It had intercepted and destroyed two emails from a trusted source, changing them to text. There is supposed to be a way to recover such messages, but I was unable to do so. I contacted PC-c support twice, and neither time did they address the issue - both responses were basically form letters suggesting basic procedures unrelated to my question.
Now I am using Zone Alarm Pro for my firewall and AntiVir Guard for my virus checker. Performance is excellent. I basically threw away the $80 or so it cost for the PC-cillin licenses, but it was well worth it. If you're thinking about your own use, the freeware version of Zone Alarm is excellent. AntiVir Guard is also free for personal use, and it is superior to any other virus checker I've used (Norton, McAfee, and PC-c).
Maybe the most disturbing thing about my experience is the cnet rating for PC-c. They said specifically that it is easy on system resources, but it really trashed performance on all 4 PCs that I installed it on. I guess I'll go elsewhere for my ratings. -
"Not so sure anymore"
on by mrkirbyvPros Not a resource hog, appears to work well
Cons Slows down login time, unreliable updates
Summary I have been using PC-cillin for about 3 months now, and have been relatively happy with it, especially when compared to Norton and Panda that I previously used.
It was an easy install and seems to not interfere with applications as much as some others. Scans quickly, doesn't noticeably affect mail or interent browser speeds. Does slow down login and logout slightly. Updates are convenient.
However; Apparently Friday night an update was pushed which caused my laptop to lock up upon login. After several hours of debugging, I relented and started reloading XP and applications. Last night I ran across a thread on a listserver indicating there was a bad file pushed by Trend that caused a problem for many users including me. Trend never notified the registered user base of the problem. I find this unacceptable for an antivirus software vendor. Not only did they disable my computer but they failed to tell me after they realized the problem, leaving the diagnosis and fix to chance. Yes, they published a fix on their support site Friday night but who would have figured an antivirus would cause a freeze on login? They have lost my trust.
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