Labs

Anti-virus software

F-Secure Anti Virus 2006 for Windows [Computer Buyer]
COMPANY: F-Secure	PRICE: �32inc VAT
RATING:	ISSUE: 178 DATE: Jan 06

Verdict: Top-class detection, but the renewal fees are expensive

F-Secure updates its virus definitions before it scans your PC for the first time. It found all the viruses and malware in our tests. The on-demand scanner is fast, but that's because it only checks files it recognises as programs.

F-Secure's real-time scanner checks files as they're downloaded and when they're run, but doesn't check Zip



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or other archive files by default. The e-mail scanner checks incoming and outgoing e-mail, but is a bit slow when it finds a virus. The scheduled scan option runs a full hard disk check once a week. F-Secure doesn't check files downloaded via instant messaging or peer-to-peer programs, but does stop spyware changing important Windows settings.

Buyers of the retail product get a bootable virus scan CD - this reads both FAT and NTFS drives. However, the boot disc scanner is very slow indeed and it doesn't attempt to update the virus database, even if a network card is detected.

F-Secure uses more than 100MB of disk space and consumes around 50MB of memory when it's running, causing a noticeable drop in performance. That's a lot of resources for a program with few features. Although the price is reasonable, the annual renewals cost almost much as the product itself, making the package as a whole poor value for money.

SPECIFICATIONS:
REQUIRES Microsoft Windows 98, Me, 2000, or XP. Pentium 600MHz, 128MB RAM, Internet Explorer 5.0