Product Reviews

The debate over our software award was long and heated - after all, comparing graphics software with a finance package isn't straightforward. However, our judges eventually decided on a product that not only performs far better than the others in its field, but could also prove the most important software you'll ever buy. Kaspersky Anti-Virus has repeatedly shown itself to be the best software available at catching viruses, and Personal version 5 finally gives it the user-friendliness to match.

When compiling the shortlist, our judges found two types of product that really stood out. Some are simply fantastic value. An obvious example is Microsoft Works Suite 2004, which bundles all the software home users need to get their PC into action: a word processor, encyclopedia, home finance software, a route-finder and more. At £78 including VAT, it's incredible value for the quality and quantity on offer. So too is Encarta 2004 Premium Suite DVD, which is such a tremendously thorough and entertaining source of information that it seems almost absurd that you can buy it for just £33 including VAT. Quicken XG 2004 is another superb-value product and offers home users, sole traders and small businesses a huge assortment of slick tools to manage their finances.

Other products stood out for their technical innovation. Ableton Live 3 is perhaps the least well-known software on our shortlist, but it's one

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of the most groundbreaking. It's a music production program with a range of tools quite unlike those found in its competitors' products, and its blend of composition and improvisation is something no audio software has successfully managed before. Dreamweaver MX 2004 has been one of the leading web design packages for many years, but we were impressed with this latest version's radically improved support for cascading style sheets (CSS), cross-browser validation and various other enhancements.

However, the software packages that really made their mark were the ones that were both innovative and fantastic value. Adobe's Photoshop Elements 2 is an extraordinary image editor that delivers the class and most of the features of the mighty Photoshop and adds its own set of tools aimed at home users, all for a mere £53. It misses out on a runner-up place only because the latest version is two years old and lacks the updates from recent versions of Photoshop. CorelDraw Graphics Suite 12 costs more but also succeeds in combining market-leading innovation with good value.

However, no title delivers this elusive combination better than Kaspersky. Anti-Virus Personal 4.5 came top of our recent lab test of anti-virus programs (Shopper February 2004) simply because it was the most effective at detecting Trojans and harmful scripts. Where we managed to find flaws in the big-name products from McAfee and Symantec, Kaspersky Anti-Virus proved to be bulletproof. Version 5 ups the stakes further, with a new interface that makes it much more accessible for non-technical users. Its virus scanning is now faster, thanks to a system that scans only new or updated files, a feature previously reserved for the pricier Pro version. Last but not least, at £29 it's one of the most affordable anti-virus packages around.

EXPERT'S VERDICT

"An inexpensive, highly accurate anti-virus program."

EDITOR'S VERDICT

"Anti-virus software is vital and Kaspersky's is now the best on all fronts."