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Trend Micro Internet Security
CNET Review & Rating
The good: Trend Micro Internet
Security 2009 is light and fast, and includes Parental
Controls, Home Networking monitor, and free telephone
technical support.
The bad: Trend Micro Internet Security
2009 is a bare-bones, just the essentials, basic Internet
Security suite.
The bottom line: You can't beat
the price. For a good, basic Internet Security suite,
we recommend 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.
The antiphishing feature blocks
suspicious sites using a combination of heuristics
and white lists. The Pro version includes the "First
Visitor" feature that actively scans for malicious
code on live Web pages, so that if you are the first
one to visit the site after a compromise attack, you'll
be protected.
Performance
In CNET Labs' performance tests, Trend Micro Internet
Security 2009, in general, scored even with Norton
Internet Security 2009 this year. In one third-party
independent antivirus test, Trend Micro Internet Security
2008 scored well, in the upper-middle rank. On the
CNET iTunes test, Trend Micro Internet Security 2009
came in at a respectable 271 seconds, 3 seconds longer
than our test system. On the CNET Microsoft Office
test, Trend Micro Internet Security 2009 finished
last at 1,415 seconds, better than some standalone
antivirus products. In a test scanning a single folder
with compressed and media files, Trend Micro Internet
Security 2009 had very respectable results, completing
this test in 229 seconds, only a few seconds more
than Norton. In terms of boot speed, Trend Micro Internet
Security 2009, at 30.45 seconds, was much faster than
Norton Internet Security 2009, at 33 seconds.
To find out how we test antivirus
software, see CNET Labs' How we test: Antivirus software
page.
In terms of whether Trend Micro
Internet Security 2009 will protect your PC, we cite
results from two leading independent antivirus testing
organizations. From AVtest.org, Trend Micro Internet
Security 2008 found 91 percent of the malicious software
and 88 percent of the adware in the September 2008
test. Despite stumbling on the On Demand antispyware
portion, Trend Micro Internet Security 2008 scored
average or better in the other individual tests performed.
AV-Comparatives.org has not included Trend Micro in
recent tests and so no past test results are available.
Support
Like Symantec, Trend Micro offers free technical support.
Users are first directed to an Answer Guide. If you
can't find a solution in the FAQ, then you can search
the knowledge base, submit a question via e-mail,
conduct an online chat (1 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT weekdays
and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends), or call a representative
(5 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays only).
Online there is PDF-file documentation.
There is also a video tutorial (which other vendors
should supply but don't), an interactive learning
guide to the product's features, and a Getting Started
manual that covers the basics.
Conclusion
For a good, basic Internet Security suite, we recommend
Trend Micro Internet Security 2009. You can't beat
the price. However, for better protection, it's worth
the additional $20 to get the Pro version.
This review was written by CNET.
To read more of this review or to read other reviews
about other pieces of software visit: www.cnet.com
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