«This is the one to get !»

User of this program since they came on the market.... many years ago and NEVER had a single virus!

Tried others, but this is the one works!

[Thursday, November 06, 2008]

«Surprised by other comments»

I've been using Trend Micro on personal hardware since 2005. I have been using the 2008 version since 8/2007. The 2008 version is much faster than the 2007 version. Compared with some other well known brands, I have difficulty understanding why so many have said it's slow. I have 2 fairly high-end PC's (new in 2007) and an excellent T-61 Lenovo laptop. I run some heavy duty software, and change software far more frequently than the average user. Let's address some of the complaints:

1) Is it hard to install? I had an early version of Internet Security and installed it over the 2007 version on the pre SP1 Vista OS (one PC uses the 64-bit version). I am NOT a fan of Vista. It is horrible, and it causes problems with lots of software. But my experience was nothing like what other have described. The one problem I did have was that I needed to get new product keys for each PC I was upgrading. (I kept getting a message I had exceeded to number of licenses I had purchased.) FY: make sure you turn off Vista's protection before you install TM Internet Security - especially the Windows firewall. And keep them off.

2) Performance: I have yet to find a security program (or a combination of programs) that does not slow down performance. It is the nature of the beast. Does 2008 slow down your machine more than other similar packages? Some yes and some no. The perfect security software doesn't exist. Some are faster, but they may not be as comprehensive. I have a difficult time believing a Symantec or McAfee user would find Trend Micro slow. Unless you turn off a lot of the features in those products, they can be much slower. At lot depends on the specific task being performed. IMHO, email is not significantly affected. Web browsing can be depending on your degree of risk tolerance. Set at higher levels of security, the affect can be noticeable, but TM is extremely effective is identifying dangerous sites, BEFORE you actually load the pages. If you have ever had a seriously infected PC, that protection is worth a lot.

Updates and comprehensive scans are slow. No disagreement.

3) Some complain TM is intrusive. That means it is doing it's job. I am very paranoid about software that makes changes to the registry or other settings I made to Windows. TM has saved me more than once - even from some commercial software. Be very worried if your security software doesn't warn you about changes should you add software on a regular basis or if you do a lot of browsing.

4) At least one person indicated PC to PC communication is slow. There are a lot of advanced settings available with TM. Some have a direct impact on communications between PC's on a LAN behind a firewall. (Yes, I use multiple firewall solutions simultaneously: at the host level, the LAN level and the PC level. I have a gigabit LAN with 3 PC's, 2 Mac's, a server, a NAS unit, and dedicated equipment for data backups. If communication is slow, there is a setting that needs to be changed.

If your not communicating PC to PC over a LAN, you can set TM to recognize specific PC's to minimize any latency. If speed and security are really important, your LAN (or PC to PC connection) should be hardwired. With a wireless solution, you will never achieve the speed of CAT 5e or CAT 6 cable connections. In fact, I seriously doubt one can achieve the advertised speed of wireless.

5) Trend Micro tech support is not great. The sad news is that is true of many hardware and software vendors. In general, tech support throughout the industry has been deteriorating for years. Front line techs rarely have a clue; they have scripts. I am not defending TM. I am taking a shot at the vast majority of vendors.

6) Believe it or not, I am not a techie or geek. I'm forced to deal with technology as part of part of my professional life. One learns things through osmosis and making lots of mistakes. After reading many of the comments, in my very humble opinion I am guessing there may be some user influence behind the problems discussed.

Last comment. The PC publications we find on the magazine racks have a habit of overrating products. That creates false expectations. When products fail to meet expectations, people can be very disappointed. I wonder if the advertising in those magazines has any effect on how editors rate products?

[Saturday, November 01, 2008]

«One of the better security suites»

I've used Trend Micro for 3 years and found it to be a decent anti-malware product. It's easy to use and has had good ratings from consumer organizations. TM provides free chat and phone support, which is unusual. However, in my experience none of these products, including Trend Micro, are perfect. You need to supplement them with products like NoScript and SiteAdvisor. You also get conflicts with other software. One thing I didn't like about TM 2008 is that it before installation it made me uninstall auxiliary protection products like SpywareBlaster and AVG Antispyware--but I was able to reinstall some of them later.

[Tuesday, October 07, 2008]

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