PC Tools Internet Security 2010 review

PC Tools' 2009 suite was the runt of our 2009 security Labs, coming flat last in the s malware detection test. But the new 2010 edition convincingly turns that record around with a highly respectable score of 97% - just 1% shy of the A-listed Norton Internet Security 2010.

Its web detection was quite alert too, blacklisting a good number of dodgy sites and warning us of "potentially malicious" content on others. The Browser Defender extension remains a big waste of space though - a single button that demands a full toolbar to itself.

The package didn't integrate with our mail client, but it cheerfully filtered out infected attachments from incoming messages, raising a neat alert in the corner of the screen. Even clean emails, though, had a three-line PC Tools banner appended at the bottom, which we found excessive.

The firewall was a low point: with default settings, not only was our attacking PC able to detect open ports, it was even able to discover information about services and network shares.

There are no major secondary features to complicate things, and PC Tools clearly hasn't lost its knack for clear, accessible user interfaces - although the bright green elements are decidedly on the garish side. A memory footprint of 724MB is startlingly high, though.

PC Tools deserves credit for the tremendous improvements it's made to its malware detection engine. If the company can maintain this trajectory it will soon have a very respectable suite on its hands. For now, though, PC Tools Internet Security 2010 has one or two too many weak spots for an unreserved recommendation.

Author: Darien Graham-Smith