Review by Raul G.

I recently loaded Vipre AntiVirus + AntiSpyware on my roughly two year old laptop running Windows XP. Prior to installing Vipre I was using Trend Micro’s protection suite. I only made the change to Vipre after my Trend Micro subscription expired.

Installation: Extremely convenient and all told took about 15 minutes including a required reboot. The software is loaded on a single CD/DVD and the software key is included on a separate piece of paper. After rebooting, Vipre prompted me for a required major update which took another 10 minutes or so - no restart required this time.

1st Scan (comprehensive) : After installation the initial scan took approximately 45-50 min for a 250gb HDD. This is roughly the same amount of time that Trend Micro took to complete a comprehensive scan. To my surprise Vipre picked up quite a few vulnerabilities (spyware), cookies and assorted junk that Trend glossed over.

User Interface: Very accessible from the beginning for a new user with zero consultation of the help menu required. In my mind this is where a lot anti-virus s/w suites miss the mark. I’m not a computer security specialist nor do I want to be. Vipre’s menu is simple & effective at conveying the right information without an overabundance of terms or buttons. I was setting up scan settings and scans in no time. Also on the vulnerabilities that Vipre did find, it was extremely easy to remove them from my system. Contrast that with Trend Micro which often didn’t allow me to quarantine or remove a vulnerability seemingly inexplicably.

System resources: Being that I installed Vipre on a laptop I was mostly keen on keeping my system safe while minimizing any possible slowdowns or performance hiccups caused by s/w. This area is definitely Vipre’s strongest. My boot-up times decreased enough for me to notice right away. I don’t know an exact time as I never bothered to record my boot-up time whilst using Trend Micro’s s/w. But again, a definite and noticeable change for the better.

Based on my positive experiences I would recommend Vipre to anyone as a viable alternative to the well established players.