Labs

Iolo System Mechanic is similar to VCOM SystemSuite, in that they're both system utility suites with added security features. There's a lot of merit in combining system-security and system-maintenance tools in this way, not least because the one affects the other so often. They also include tools often left out by the mainstream security vendors: Iolo has a secure data shredder, for example, yet the mighty Norton doesn't.

Rather than create their complete suite from scratch, both Steganos and Iolo rely on Kaspersky for firewall and anti-virus protection. Unlike Steganos, Iolo hasn't rebranded the applications, but both can be managed from within the integrated System Mechanic control 'dashboard'. Well, to a degree. Unlike a properly integrated suite solution, both run as separate applications and have a different interface to System Mechanic. However, you can initiate definition updates, scans and set configuration options from within that dashboard.

We grew to like the dashboard too. It provides both at-a-glance reports on PC health and security, and acts as a management console for the numerous components. System status and analysis reports show grades for ratings across six categories: clutter, speed, safety, fitness, update and active care. Alongside these ratings are recommendations for any improvement action that can be taken, with such action only being a single click away in most cases. These 'one-click power tools' can accelerate, repair, clean and secure the PC by individual category, or you can run a 'totalcare' tool that does everything in one fell swoop.

Focusing on the security front, a Security Optimiser Wizard checks for vulnerabilities and attempts to repair them. However, this isn't a patch on the Norton Protection Center and Security Inspector, which outperforms Iolo on configurability, usability and performance: the bottom line is that Norton finds and fixes more

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vulnerabilities.

Unfortunately for Iolo, the 'not as good as' label prefixes one of its main components: Spython anti-spyware. This didn't fare at all well during testing, with a detection rate of 55 per cent, removal at 62 per cent and blocking at 64 per cent - not enough to pass the test. Spython has minimal user configurability; it's essentially a matter of opting for automatic disinfection of threats or not. If you opt out, Spython will just report, for example, that it found one parasite but without any detail of what it was or options to do anything about it. Opt in and it reports that it disinfected one parasite, and the search results might tell you it was a keylogger, but again no options to see what it was - and there's no quarantine view either.

The only logs we could find were available by clicking the More Info link next to the Statistics button on the dashboard, but this was limited to events such as 'opened spython', 'made full scan' and 'spyware removal'. It's here, strangely hidden away, that you can also click an Undo Event link to restore whatever file was removed during a spyware scan.

We liked the System Guard, though. This implements a number of optional security shields to prevent hijacking, such as monitoring startup changes and blocking changes without your permission; likewise with browser homepage and search defaults. This proved to be the most effective of the Iolo spyware defences. A Quick Security Optimization feature tests for myriad vulnerabilities within areas such as Windows remote Registry service, web content zone security settings, trusted publishers, null sessions and hosts file redirection.

Certainly, Iolo has come up with one of the best-looking applications here, but it adds weight to the argument that beauty is only skin deep. Start digging under the surface and, while there are undoubtedly some powerful tools on offer, there are also some surprising omissions from such a suite. The VCOM SystemSuite is the only other product that covers the same system utility ground in this group test (although note that Norton SystemWorks 2006 will plug into the same management console as its Security Suite sibling) and it manages to include anti-spam and does a better job of component integration.

What Iolo System Mechanic does do better than most, thanks in no small part to its choice of anti-virus and firewall provider, is not put your system resources under attack. It's just a shame the overall security reach is so limited.