Security Software: Top Packages
That'll Keep Your System Safe Online

The more we get into the Internet, with our fast, always-on connections, the more we have to protect ourselves from the bad guys trying to hack in to our PCs, infect them with viruses or steal private information.

This is the downside of having a 24/7 fast Internet connection. Judging by the speed at which modem viruses sweep the world, it's clear that we're not doing a great job on the Internet security front.

Would you ever leave your house with the front door left open, or even unlocked? Of course not. But that's exactly what a PC with a broadband connection is. The only way to make your computer 100 per cent secure is to turn it off or disconnect it from the Internet.

However, Internet security software can provide excellent levels of protection because most attacks are impersonal - that is, attackers aren't targeting you or your computer specifically, but are scanning for any vulnerable online PCs. If you make it difficult for them to find and access your computer, the odds are they'll pass by, looking for easier prey.

Internet security software typically consists of a bundle of programs. First, a personal firewall will protect your system from unsolicited scans coming from the Internet and offer some sort of outbound control' (inbound' port scans look for dormant Trojans on your system - outbound controls stop Trojans from calling home).

The next component, anti-virus software, will scan your hard disk and email to detect and remove viruses. Since most infections enter your system via email, it makes sense to choose a product that includes an email scanner which is compatible with your email software. You might also want some spyware protection too.

Last but not least, the best security bundles come with a range of extras to help spring-clean your browser, reduce spam, filter content for kids, catch Web bugs, manage cookies and block banner, pop-up and pop-under ads.

In this group test we've focused on security suites for PCs. Viruses are less of a problem for Mac users but many people use McAfee Virex or Norton Anti Virus for Mac.

F-Secure Internet Security

F-Secure makes a wide range of products -- from those designed to protect home PCs right up to those for securing an enterprise, including VPN clients and distributed firewalls.

It's probably best known for its original anti-virus package, F-Prot, which introduced a new weapon -- heuristics -- to the AV arsenal. Today, F-Prot has morphed into F-Secure Virus Protection, and when you add in F-Secure's Distributed Firewall, you get F-Secure Internet Security 2003.

F-Secure IS installs smoothly, and automatically updates both its virus definitions and AV systems from its website. In fact, by default, it looks for updates hourly, which is probably a bit over-keen.

The installation puts a blue 'F' icon in your system tray. Right-clicking it lets you scan a disk or a folder, or set the program options. Opening F-Secure IS reveals an easy to follow main window, with main task buttons (for example Virus Protection) lined up on the left, and status indicators and the like in a right-hand pane.

Virus scanning speeds weren't stellar, but the AV side of F-Secure IS offers solid detection credentials. When pitched against the ShieldsUP! firewall tests, F-Secure's firewall performed well. However it lacks some of the almost essential AV bells and whistles found in its rivals, like email scanning and scheduling capabilities.

This lack of polish is repeated in the firewall module -- easy to use, hand-holding wizards are conspicuous by their absence, which can make the task of adding a new firewall rule a bit intimidating for the novice. You won't find things like intrusion detection or IP tracing either. Worst of all, there's no online help, an unforgivable state of affairs -- if you want support, you have to be a paid-up subscriber.

McAfee Internet Security 5

McAfee Internet Security will be familiar to many Internet Magazine readers. The latest release continues to play catch-up with the market leader, Norton Internet Security, and it now represents a compelling alternative.

McAfee IS 5 comes equipped with a wide array of tools, including McAfee Firewall 4 and VirusScan 7. You also get a smattering of extras, such as tools to automatically wipe your browser cache and prevent personal information, such as credit card numbers, from being discovered on your PC.

The product comes as a CD-ROM with virtually no printed documentation, but you simply slam in the CD and away it goes. Wisely, it performs an online update at the end of the installation but this took a tedious 10 minutes to complete. Curiously, it then updated again, when launched for the first time. And then, just to make sure, it did it a third time and still found things to update! The Configuration Wizard makes setup easy, although it doesn't actually turn on the firewall at the end -- you have to do that yourself.

All of the applications and their settings are controlled from a single, user friendly interface. The new Security Check feature works well, sniffing out ad-serving software, blocking pop-up and pop-under windows. and allowing you to prevent selected users from accessing certain applications, which is very family friendly. But these good features tend to be buried deep in the menu structure and can be hard to find.

Performance-wise, the firewall cruised the ShieldsUP! tests, although it didn't 'stealth' a couple of ports. VirusScan 7 is fast in comparison with Norton AntiVirus 2003, but its track record in detecting viruses, as defined by the Virus Bulletin's 'VB 100' table, isn't as consistent.

Norton IS Pro Edition

The basic setup is much as before -- NIS is a bundle of Norton Personal Firewall 2003 and Norton AntiVirus 2003, together with a smattering of useful security extras. This year's model includes a range of minor improvements, including intelligent intrusion detection that sniffs out suspect data transmissions, and 'productivity controls' which are aimed mainly at small business users and prevent staff from using the Internet inappropriately.

Firewalls can be tough to configure but the Security Assistant wizard makes things easy. It searches your PC for Internet-using programs, which can be a slow process, but once it's found them all it configures the firewall to allow them Internet access.

A new feature is the Security Monitor, a smaller window that keeps all of NIS 2003's main features on the desktop. A nice touch is the self-explanatory Block Traffic button, an idea nicked from ZoneAlarm. The Visual Tracker traces threats back to their origin, and graphically maps their IP addresses.

The software autoblocks port scanners and scans each packet of data entering or leaving your PC, looking for suspicious data exchanges and severing links if it sees any. The firewall passed the Shields Up tests (at www.grc.com) with flying colours.

Along with the firewall comes Norton Anti Virus 2003, plus accessories to block pop-ups, banner ads, unwanted cookies, JavaScripts, ActiveX controls and even outgoing personal info. There's also a new 'Spam Alert' tool, which prefixes 'Spain Alert' on to the subject line of suspicious incoming mail, though it did this to email from our friends so it may be too sensitive!

Steganos Internet Security

Unashamedly aimed at the budget market, Steganos Internet Security 5 comprises a collection of previously separately-packaged products aimed at enhancing your Internet security.

All the products run on their own, and there's not much sign of the integration you'll find in slightly dearer products. For example, there's no unified install, so you have to install all the elements of Steganos IS5 separately. There's precious little in the way of printed documentation too, and the online help files are fairly poor.

The main program is Steganos Internet Privacy, which provides three of the main tools. Its purpose is to disguise your IP address to make it difficult to identify or locate your PC. It does this by 'laundering' your IF details through a series of 'anonymising' proxy servers, which means you appear to have a random series of IF addresses whenever a website tries to track you. It's pretty slow but effective.

Next up is the Internet Trace Destructor, which wipes surfing evidence from your PC, erasing things like your Web cache, cookies and history. This is convenient but nothing more. Bringing up the rear is the Steganos Shredder, which is simply a comprehensive file eraser that makes sure a file you want rid of really is deleted and irrecoverable.

The firewall element is Steganos Online Shield, a bread and butter affair but reasonably effective. Like its rivals, it prompts you when new programs attempt to connect to the Internet. It also provides logging facilities, and makes your PC invisible to other users. In ShieldsUP! tests, it did a good job of preventing intrusions, but the audible alerts quickly grated. Steganos Anti-Virus includes weekly updates for the first year, although weekly updating is really a bit too infrequent.

Trend PC-cillin

Trend Micro has been a respected name in the anti-virus game for many years now -- its boot sector protection is often built in to PC BIOSes, and it also offers a free online anti-virus scanning service at http://housecall.trendmicro.com.

The latest version of its flagship AV product, PC-cillin, now includes a good personal firewall, although it lacks some of the exotic security features found in McAfee and Norton. But its anti-virus software gives its rivals a good run for their money.

PC-cillin provides fast virus scanning with little impact on overall PC performance. Its user interface is clean and easy to use and has plenty of tools in its AV arsenal, including email and instant-message scanning, virus alerts via the Web, and the elimination of bad ActiveX and Java applets. This last feature is disabled by default, so you need to turn it on if you want it. PC-cillin even offers secure wireless connections for Wi-Fi users.

Installation is simple and takes just a couple of mouse clicks, although you must uninstall any previous versions first if you want to upgrade. PC-cillin is very simple to use. You can choose between two interfaces -- basic and advanced -- but even the latter is relatively uncomplicated.

Like Norton and McAfee, PC-cillin automatically downloads virus updates -- but it takes this a stage further with its pro-active virus Outbreak Alert, which sends Red or Yellow alert pop-ups, depending on the importance of the update.

PC-cillin includes an easy-to-configure firewall that's integrated nicely into the program's interface, to the point where it's almost invisible. The firewall aced the ShieldsUP! Firewall test and incorporates a rudimentary site filter, letting you restrict access to specific websites.

VCOM SystemSuite 4

SystemSuite 4 promises 'Seven Great Utility Products -- One Simple Interface', and it certainly does appear to only lack the kitchen sink, as it includes anti virus protection, Registry maintenance, system monitoring and even 'crash avoidance' among its features.

The most recent version adds the NetDefense personal firewall, while virus protection is now extended to cover your email. SystemSuite 4 is actually fairly long in the tooth -- it was previously sold by Ontrack, and could now do with updating.

Unlike Steganos, a single setup program installs all of SystemSuite's utilities, although you can pick and choose the ones you want if you prefer.

Once installed, a SystemSuite icon in the system tray gives you access to utilities such as the FileUndeleter or Schedules; or you can double-click to launch the SystemSuite console, which has the familiar two pane arrangement. The program also offers a Web 'cleanup' facility, which can zap your temporary Internet files, cookies, surfing history and unwanted ActiveX controls.

The anti-virus engine is actually based on PC-cillin, so it offers decent, if basic, protection. The email scanning feature works with most POP3 clients but it only works on inbound email, so it won't prevent you from sending out infected emails. Nor can it check for the presence of malevolent JavaScript and ActiveX, which means its protection against worms is fairly minimal.

A new addition, NetDefense, is a module based on Sygate's Personal FirewalL It works in much the same way as ZoneAlarm, in that it controls outbound Internet traffic, prompting you to permit your applications to access the Net. Like the other firewalls in this round-up, NetDefense made a clean sweep of the ShieldsUP! tests.

Copyright 2003 Gale Group, Inc. ASAP Copyright 2003 EMAP Media Ltd. Internet Magazine July 1, 2003