Review by Canis Majoris

First, I installed this program on laptops running Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit. No compatibility issues, or resource draining seen. The latter two are big pluses for any all-in-one security program.

In the past I have used Norton 360, Bitdefender, and Trendmicro. Although Bitdefender gets poor reviews, it was my standard program for many years solely for its protecting abilities along with low CPU usage. Norton was a flawless program however; it really did not leave much room for those more ‘advanced’ users, who prefer the more in-depth approach when wanting to tweak the software a little more. Trendmicro had a lot of problems, and did not get my recommendation.

Kaspersky has what I liked about Bitdefender, and Norton but with the ability to go inside the settings as much as you can handle. With this installed on a laptop with 2gb and 8gb RAM, it never felt like I had a program installed, and did not feel less a presence when used on the computer with more memory.

Using this program for a couple months, I would like to point out two faults (one maybe not a fault).

#1 When you first install the program, the update takes a long time without much of an update as to when it will be done. For example, after finishing the install, you see that you need to update, so you click update. What happens next is that you see the program is downloading in single digit kilobytes. Five minutes later, you are 2% done. You assume at this point you have a while to go, however in 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes (it could be any time, because the program does not give you an idea of the size of the download nor an estimated time), it will miraculously be done. Also, when you download the first update, you see that it has not updated everything, so that you have to click update again, manually, until you see all of the individuals categories updated at your present Month/Day. Cumbersome at best on updating this program.

#2 This may or may not be a downside: Scan time is long. Using an i5 Sandy Bridge processor, the full scan took 2 hours (with Hard Drive that has 410gb free out of 450gb) Thorough or slow? Well, it must be doing something in all that time.

Usually programs have had the option to view the security software in Novice/Advanced mode, but with Kapersky, they take a different, but interesting, take. There are no viewing settings. The first view you see of the program is pretty basic, but sifting through the menus will take you to more detailed (and sometimes too much–a good thing), settings. This way, if you do not understand the setting, you can choose to leave it or adjust it. This eliminates the need to constantly switch between views when you do want to more succinctly adjust.

Lastly, the reason for the ‘professional’ adjective in the review title, is because this program does not look like a program trying to fit in with the mass audience. It is not trying to come across as a friendly program with 3 menus, that scans your computer and protects you from viruses. For instance, when scanning my computer and blocking unwanted intrusions while browsing the internet, it will give you an explanation of the threat, and what it is commonly used for. So instead of getting ‘ms.trojan’ has been blocked, it will say ‘ms.trojan, commonly used by criminals to retrieve personal data from you computer’. So instead of just eradicating, it educates as well. Professional.

Reviewing many security software, I see as many similar functions, and abilities as I do things that could be done better, and are unnecessary. Kaspersky offers a different idea of the virus program. Kaspersky will still be unnoticeable when operating your computer, but will not be an absentee, companion software. Moreover, instead of being a surreptitious, and austere, constituent in guarding your computer, it is a self reliant and micro-intelligent security software. One that deserves a spot on all PCs.