Thread: The latest software security master

The latest release from McAfee has just been released in India. Here is a run down on the suite and the goodies on offer from it.

Features

So, what is in this suite apart from an anti¬virus, anti-malware engine and a firewall? Well, the 2099 edition brings with it..,a promise for greater security while surfing the Web, and faster response times. What really piqued our interest were the modules located under the 'Tools' section of the main application window. It has a quick clean, disk defragmenter and task scheduler module, along with a shredder, system restore component, hacker watch, visual trace, traffic monitor, virus library information and a map.The anti-phishing module lets you add the information that you want to safeguard to a list, with presets such as credit card numbers, and a password vault as a secure area to store your passwords. There is also a parental controls module, E-mail, spam and Instant Messaging protection. We were impressed that the spam filter detected and installed an add-on to the email client. Thunderbird.an application that tends to slip under other spam protection programs.

Performance

In a test conducted last month by the security experts at Secunia, where they tested the ability of various Internet security suites to detect exploitation of vulnerabilities, this latest release of McAfee ranked fourth In a total of 300 test cases, out of which only 126 were considered to be particularly important, McAfee produced a discovery rate of 2 percent for all, and 3.97 percent for the important ones.



What is disappointing about Internet Security 2009 is the tremendous load it puts on the PC. We took a look at the background processes using Process Explorer-a typical installation has a total of 11 separate processes with a combined Private Bytes, exclusively occupied RAM, of 126 MB. Since the testing was performed on a machine running Windows XP Service Pack 3, 1.7 GHz processor speed and 512 MB RAM, the load showed itself visibly with a general slowdown of the other programs on the computer.

We also took a look at the,start and load times of the suite with BootLogXP, a visual analyzer of Windows boot process. Load time means the time the application uses for starting all related EXE and DLL files. In all, it adds about 71 seconds to the system's boot time.

On the plus side, our partners at the AV-Test labs (AV-Test.org Tests of Anti-Virus- and Security-Software) pinned McAfee with a 93.6 percent malware detection rate, and a 94.5 adware and spyware detection rate. Meanwhile, a look at the latest test results from the AV Comparatives Lab dated August 2008 shows a total virus and malware detection rate of 84.4 percent.

VERDICT

If you have a system that can easily handle McAfee Internet Security's load then get it, because it comes with good detection rates.

FOR
Pretty good malware detection rates.

AGAINST

Physical resources hog.