Anti-virus protection has come a long way from the days when people weren't even sure if such silly oddities as "computer viruses" even existed. Today, anti-virus programs have grown to maturity to include the ability to identify virus that haven't yet even been created, as well as offer some basic protections for that other threat, spyware -- along with a few other protections along the way. Here's one program that flies a bit under the radar, but has long been an industry leader.
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KASPERSKY ANTI-VIRUS 2009
Kaspersky Anti-Virus is not the best-known name in the field, though it's consistently been one of the highest rated. The 2009 version is quite similar to its previous incarnation, although with a few tweaks -most small, but a few nice.
At the top of the list, its interface is simplified, making the program a touch easier to use. It never was difficult, but KAV also was never the most user-friendly product on the market. It's made good strides in that direction.
(That said, it did have two odd glitches in setting up the program that took a bit of effort to fix. It did get fixed, and the issues were very minor, but tracking things down showed Kaspersky at its techie worst. Since they were minor and, in the end, easy to fix - and only concerned the set-up, not the quality of the working program itself - I'll address them later, at the end.)
There's one installation matter I will note here, however. It's not a problem, but worth being aware of. After getting program installed, I ran Update to download the current database. It reached 99% - but stayed there for what seemed an eternity. The explanation from the company is that since this is the first update (which is very large) and because the program is also creating an initial back-up database, that's the reason there is a longer-than-normal delay at this point. All subsequent updates have been quite small, and the behavior shouldn't be repeated.
Once KAV does get set up, its home screen offers several clearly-defined areas. The two most notable are "Protection" and "Scan."
Protection is where you set up all your options for the three areas of your system it watches over: Anti-malware (spyware), System Security (checking your operating system kernel, blocking surreptitious keyloggers, and such), and Online Security for your Internet browsing. This includes a new, and very welcome "phishing" protection, disabling links to websites that spoof users into thinking they're something else.
You don't have to worry about creating these proper settings yourself, since Kaspersky does a good job with the defaults. For techies, though, you can change levels of security to your taste.
There was one oddity, however. Under System Security is a central area called "Proactive System Security Defense." The default setting automatically selects seven of the eight options. The one that it doesn't is -- "Operating System Kernel Modification." It's absolutely easy to change; you just click the box, but what I don't understand is why a user should have to, since it's such an important area of your computer? Perhaps Kaspersky feels this area is well-protected in other ways, I don't know. Whatever their reasons, I felt safer checking the box.
Other than that, the Recommended default settings all seem good. So, you can just set it aside and never worry about making adjustments.
What I liked with these new protection areas, which are laid out much cleaner than before, is that they include a running graph (sort of like an oscilloscope) that provides a real-time view of what is being protected.
For the Scan section, you can do some minor configuring on what you'd like a Quick Scan to cover, and the Full Scan. But again, the defaults are good. The main thing to change here is if and when you want automatic scans to run, which is set under the "Run Mode" link, and then clicking on "Settings." Otherwise, clicking on the big "Start Scan" icon will set everything in motion. Or you can start a Full Scan directly from the Windows Taskbar.
By the way, you can access all settings directly from the home screen by clicking on, as luck would have it, the "Settings" button.
At the bottom of the home screen is a clearly defined area that tells you whether your database is up to date, and provides links to see what active threats and quarantined objects exist on your system. It's here that you can also see the results of the new System Analyzer - more on that in a bit. Threats are clearly-defined, and there's much helpful information for dealing with them.
As noted previously, Kasperky's reputation for tracking down viruses is very high.
Incidentally, Kaspersky uses a propriety feature to tag files with "checksums." In English, what this does is let the program know if changes have been made to the files, and this can speed the time of scans significantly. While it worked well in previous versions, there were some issues with Windows when running a "Checkdsk." It wasn't a problem - particularly since most people don't run "Checkdsk," and for those that do, it's rare - but the issue did tend to slow the process down. These appear to be resolved in KAV 2009.
Among changes to KAV 2009, the program uses 1/3 fewer system resources, so your system shouldn't slow down as much during the process, and the company also claims that the program now run 700% faster. KAV uses improved "heuristics" for determining new viruses, and is more flexible. Additionally, KAV can now scan compressed files, which are often how many viruses are delivered.
I particularly like a new feature that, on the surface, doesn't seem typical for an anti-virus program, though its impact definitely is. This is the aforementioned "Security Analyzer" which checks your system to determine whether your programs are up-to-date with proper patches. Why this is important is because many virus take advantage of vulnerabilities in programs that haven't been updated by users, and therefore have security holes in them. Better still, this Security Analyzer works in conjunction with Secunia, which is probably the leader in the field. It's easy enough to use the feature properly - and there's a great deal of information guiding you through. (To use the feature and resolve an issue, right-click on the vulnerability. This takes you to VirusList.com, where the vulnerability is described in full detail. There is a "Solution" link which you click, and the proper fix is downloaded to you computer.) It's all quite clear, but in fairness it's probably not for novices. This isn't a negative, though, since, after all, most anti-virus programs don't even have such an option. Think of it more as a bonus for those who want to take advantage of it.
Another new feature is the ability to block sending private date to third parties. This is related to the phishing link protection noted above. Sites will pretend to be something else and ask for you to send your credit card or Social Security information, supposedly to update your account, for instance.
Similarly, there is also new protection against threats that are embedded on websites you visit. And related to all this, KAV also now includes ICQ and MSN protocols to detect malicious code for people who use those programs in Instant Messaging.
Another helpful new feature is that if your system settings ever get corrupted by some malicious software, KAV 2009 can restore your computer to the correct settings.
Anyway, now for those two installation problems I mentioned at the beginning. The program is significantly more user-friendly than before, but these two issues fell into Kasperky's old habit of being too techie.
For the first issue, when installing the program I got a message that it found another anti-virus program (AVG) on my system which had to be uninstalled. Though this is common since some programs don't play well together, it surprised me a bit because I don't have AVG running in memory - or running period - so I didn't know what any conflict would be. Nonetheless, I uninstalled the AVG program and rebooted.
However, I kept getting the same error message. I assumed that there might be some remnant of AVG in the Windows Registry, but the program offered no hint that that might be the case - or how to address it. Writing to my Kaspersky contact, I was told that there was a Removal tool on the website, and this worked perfectly and simply. But it certainly would help if there was far-better direction to users.
The same could be said about the second installation issue that cropped up. As installation was progressing, I got an error box - "Error 1921. Verify that you have sufficient privileges to stop services."
For most mortal humans, this is unintelligible. Again, my Kaspersky guru explained the very simple answer and fix - in the Kaspersky folder (under the Windows Start button), there is an option for "Modify, repair, remove." All was resolved easily. The better news is that the Kaspersky rep acknowledged that the error message is "somewhat cryptic," and said that all error messages will be improved with much better information for users, and he added that they were working on doing it at that very moment.
Still, the good news is that, although Kaspersky hasn't completely escaped from its techie roots, it's made leaps away from the dark side, and appears to be on the way to complete salvation. As it stands, once the program is installed, it runs smoothly, affectively and easily. (And in fairness, me having a couple of installation problems doesn't mean you will.)
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 is an excellent product and retails for $60. It isn't loaded with new features, but several that it does have are very beneficial, plus it's much more user friendly and runs faster on fewer system resources. There are some good competing programs out there, several less expensive and some free - but when it comes to viruses and system protection, I like to leave as little margin for error as possible..
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