Kaspersky has been in the Internet security business for a very long time. A veteran company that usually scores very well in comparative tests.
Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 fills the space between Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012, a security application concentrating solely on virus and malware protection, and Kaspersky Pure, Kaspersky’s flagship product that adds security related modules like backups on top of the all-in-one system protection offered by Internet Security.
The program comes with an official price tag of $59.95, but discounts at retailers drop that price to about $20 for a three user version.
The program installation went through without complications, only the forced restart at the end was unexpected. The first system start after installation took longer than usual, probably due to behind-the-scenes configurations of the program and system. Firefox, Internet Explorer and Chrome users will receive notifications on first run that browser add-ons were installed by Kaspersky. Firefox users for instance will see Kaspersky’s URL Advisor, Virtual Keyboard and Anti-Banner pop up in their browser (depending on the version used either activated automatically or on user request). And while it is possible to disable the add-ons, it is more complicated to remove the add-ons completely. This is done by first disabling Kaspersky’s Self Defense protection under Settings > Advanced Settings > Self-Defense, then pausing the program’s protection, before deleting the extension files in the Kaspersky program folder).
The main application interface, which you see on the screenshot above, highlights the current protection status. It is recommended to run an update of the program’s database right away, as this is not initiated automatically on first start. Please note that the first update may download more than one hundred Megabytes.
You should then run a full system scan after that initial update has been made. Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 offers four types of scans.
- Full Scan – This scans the entire computer, it is the recommended scan after installation and updating the database with the latest program files and virus definitions.
- Critical Areas Scan – A fast scan that looks at folders and files that are often targeted by attackers and malware.
- Vulnerability Scan – Scans the system for known vulnerabilities. This includes program versions that are out of date (e.g. Thunderbird, XNView, Internet Explorer or Firefox), known vulnerabilities in programs and system vulnerabilities. System vulnerabilities are either system settings that make the PC vulnerable or unpatched vulnerabilities (with patches available).
Details and fixes are provided for every system vulnerability.
- Custom Scan – Drag or drop, or browser for, folders or files that you want scanned on the system.
All malware scanners make use of virus definition databases, heuristics and Kaspersky’s cloud protection technology. Everything’s easy to handle, system vulnerabilities can for instance be fixed with two clicks of the mouse.
But virus protection is just one of the features of Kaspersky Internet Security 2012. The two-way firewall protects the system from Internet and network attacks. Controls are available with a click on Settings and the selection of Firewall from the Protection Center list. The firewall, unlike the virtual keyboard for instance, is not linked directly from the main application interface. This can be a issue for inexperienced users who notice that some of their system programs are not working properly after installing the Kaspersky software.
Network rules and adapters are managed under firewall settings. Here it is possible to disconnect a network adapter or click on the settings button to configure network traffic rules. Access rules for running applications can be defined here in detail. An option to add programs to the list that are not running seems to be missing. Kaspersky divides applications into untrusted, high restricted, low restricted and trusted groups. Rule sets for each group can be configured individually in the settings.
All security modules can be disabled in the settings with just two clicks.
The settings are divided into four tabs, with the first displaying settings for all program modules. The remaining tabs offer settings to configure scans, updates and advanced program features and settings. Especially the advanced settings are worth taking a look at.
Advanced settings can be used to configure gaming profiles, threat logging, network monitoring or parental controls. It pays to look at those settings in detail to customize the protection further.
Parental controls can be configured selectively for all Windows accounts. Accounts cannot be created from the Kaspersky software though.
Controls allow parents to restrict computer, application and Internet based activities.
Available options include limiting computer and Internet usage to specific days and times of the day, blocking application access and website categories and which contacts can be interacted with on social networking sites and instant messengers. Reports are available that detail account activity.
The applications activity monitor displays a list of all processes currently running on the system. This is comparable to the Windows Task Manager, with the difference that application trust levels and popularity are displayed here as well. The trust level can be changed with a click here. Other options include terminating the process or configuring the process’ access rules in detail
The network monitor highlights all processes with network activity. Data is presented in realtime and as a history under the network traffic tab. Kaspersky highlights open system ports and blocked computers in the network monitor window.
The Safe Run feature is a virtualization or sandboxing option that the program ships with. All applications on the system can be started in a safe environment (via right-click and selection of Safe Run in Windows Explorer). There does not seem to be a way though to always run select applications in the sandboxed environment.
Other options include creating a rescue disk to detect and eliminate threats if the operating system fails to start up properly, a privacy cleaner to remove temporary data from the PC’s history and detailed reports for every security module.
Verdict
Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 is an all-in-one security solution for Windows operating systems. The software has minor usability issues. Options to uninstall browser add-ons are for instance missing. An option to add modules to the main application window would have been nice as well.
It would also have been nice if the program would have initiated the program update check automatically on first run before suggesting a full system scan to the user.
The sheer amount of settings and protection modules add to the complexity of the program. Though once configured properly everything will run along smoothly.
Giveaway
We have ten Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 licenses. Leave a comment below to take part in the drawing. A 30-day trial version of Internet Security 2012 can be downloaded from the Kaspersky website.
© Martin Brinkmann for gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials, 2011. | Permalink |
Add to del.icio.us, digg, facebook, reddit, twitter
Post tags: ghacks Christmas giveaway, internet security, kaspersky
0 comments:
Post a Comment