Review by Jojoleb

Short Review:nPC Tools Internet Securty 2009 is a security suite with all the usual bells and whistles. It defends your computer without hogging resources and without being too invasive.

Long Reivew:nnFor all you computer guys out there, let me first tell you where I am coming from. I am running PC Tools on Windows Vista on the Bootcamp partition of my late 2007 iMac with 2 gb of memory. I did not test the abilities of the program (as in trying to infect myself with spyware or viruses), I leave that to the expert. I will try to convey the experience and hope that the experts.

SET UP: At first, I tried to set this up by running Vista in virtualization using VMware’s Fusion. I couldn’t get it to set up and run. I tried and tried but it just wouldn’t go. So, I turned off the computer and booted into Bootcamp. PC Tools installed quickly and automatically with the insertion of the CD. There were minimal questions to ask. One quibble: when typing in the password there is a screen that has two buttons: ‘Submit’ and ‘Continue.’ I kept hitting the continue button and was unable to register the product. Once I realized that you had to hit ‘submit’ I was okay. I still don’t know why there is a ‘continue’ button…

FIRST RUN: The program set itself up. The initial splash screen was easy to negotiate. Each component has its own set up panel and is self explanatory. There are buttons for anti-spyware, anti-virus, anti-spam, and firewall settings. Each menu is easy to negotiate and has a number of variable settings. I didn’t want to wait a long time for a full scan, so I opted for the more superficial, quick ‘intelli-scan.’ The program did come up with a number of spyware issues that it quite easily deleted on command.

Of note, after installing it in Bootcamp, the suite worked flawlessly in virtualization.

RESOURCES: Prior to running this suite, I was using Macafe’s security suite. In comparison, Macafe was a real resource hog, slowed down the machine, and asked too many questions. What with Vista constantly asking for permissions, things were getting a little ridiculous. The firewall seems to ask appropriate questions and allowed code to run after a single query. Overall, I had a much better experience with this than Macafe and Trend before this. Caveat emptor, I am no firewall maven so the efficacy of the firewall could be an issue here. But assuming that the program performs well it works smoothly. The experience here is a lot like running Commodo or Zone Alarm.

CONCLUSION:nOverall, it works smoothly and as advertised. There is nothing new, innovative, or sensational about it but, after all, it is a security suite. For me, I felt that unlike my past experiences, this suite ran without slowing my computer down to a crawl. It also was less invasive than other firewall options. I also liked its simple, no-frills user interface.

PC tools makes Spyware Doctor which is an award winning spyware remover and is part of the suite. If the antivirus, firewall, and anti-spam features are as efficacious, this would be a great addition to any PC. And for the price, it’s a bargain at that.