Bake-Off: Desktop Security Suites

Trend Micro Internet Security v.16.10.1079
Trend Micro's Internet Security version 16.10.1079 features a number of in-the-box controls like Prevent Unauthorized Changes, a personal firewall and a wireless home network monitor. The interface is intuitive and easy to navigate. The goal of this product is to provide a complete Internet security solution, so not only are the standard antimalware features in place, there are also additional controls like an antispam filter, parental controls and data theft controls.

The parental controls combined with the ability to password-protect changes to Internet Security settings, is an effective way to keep a computer family-safe. That is, until the kids find another way around the controls.

The data theft protection control allows a user to protect passwords, login names and credit-card numbers. This feature prevents instant messaging software, outbound SMTP messages and Web pages from using any of the above specified data without a user's explicit permission.

Trend Micro's Internet Security application has some good features; the parental controls and the data theft preventions aid in adding security to a machine. The on-the-fly Internet malware detection, though, is lacking.

CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2008
After testing CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2008 with some of the latest Trojans in the wild, reviewers got mixed results when testing the critical antimalware tools.

CA's suite installation is straightforward. The suite uses CLucene and libspf2 (LGPL) open-source libraries for searching and sending e-mails, respectively. By default, the suite installs parental controls, antivirus, antispyware, antispam, Web Site Inspector, Desktop DNA Migrator and a personal firewall. While all of the tools are turned on, not all of the settings are enabled. In addition, the personal firewall detects the Ethernet NIC and asks whether to place it in the safe zone. The firewall also asks users to manage applications that are communicating over network ports. Security Center provides an overall control panel. By selecting a tool in the panel, users can quickly modify security features in each tool.

CA's Antivirus tool identified a Trojan code named JS/SillyDIScript.EB in the first Web site. The Trojan was quarantined and deleted. The second Web site had the same Trojan, according to the CA tool. The antivirus tool had a reboot option so that the Trojan could be eliminated immediately from the system. Apparently, if you travel to an infected site more than once, the antivirus tool asks the user to reboot the PC to make sure that the files are completely deleted. IE flagged a warning not to install and run a Remote Data Services program.

CA's suite did not identify any malware in the third Web site. By contrast, IE had the same RDS warning. Likewise, no malware was identified in the fourth Web site. The last Web site showed some characters on the Web page but that's all. The suite also failed to identify any malware on the Web site.

Bottom Line
IT administrators, solution providers and users have long wondered whether security suites really justified their high prices. Despite vendor claims of "thorough and comprehensive" protection, the CRN Test Center had very uneven and unsatisfactory results in testing. While McAfee managed to do better on the security test, it wasn't perfect. Symantec placed second because while on-the-spot detection was weak, it did manage to clean up after itself. Trend Micro and Kaspersky Labs were essentially a tie. They both have a strong channel presence, but Kaspersky had a bit more oomph in its reporting capabilities. CA, a relative newcomer to the security suite space, is about on par with all except McAfee.

Product testing and evaluation for this story were done by Mario Morejon, Fahmida Y. Rashid, Samara Lynn and Brian Sheinberg.