More and more homes include multiple computers. Almost all the major suites offer three licenses with their subscriptions, so you can protect PCs on your network. And, logically, many suites also allow some degree of remote monitoring and management of the multiple installations. The features available range from a simple red/green status icon to full configuration management, log viewing, launching of scans, and more.

As home wireless networks become more common, some suites are adding wireless-specific protection. Watch out, though-sometimes this feature isn't as useful as it sounds. It's one thing merely to point out that your wireless network isn't encrypted; it's quite another to take the initiative, as OneCare 2.0 does, and configure both the router and your computer to use security. If only OneCare supported more routers-and a better security protocol than the now-outdated WEP! In a similar fashion, you'll find that with some suites, "intruder detection" simply means polling the network every half-hour or so and reporting all con¬nected PCs; others, such as Panda Inter¬net Security 2008, display a real-time warning when a nonapproved computer tries to connect with yours over the net¬work.