BullGuard Internet Security suite is a bundled package of internet security tools. It comes with an antivirus, anti spyware, firewall and an online backup storage of 5GB space. The latest version BullGuard 9.0 also has a Game Mode feature in it and it’s all wrapped up in an entirely new user interface.

The virus scan engine of this software is based on BitDefender technologies. BullGuard is meant to run on all Windows platforms.

Installation:

You can reach BullGuard here. The software comes with a free 60 days free trial period. Follow the standard steps to install the software. It may take a while to complete the installation and a reboot is also required at the end. If you don’t have an account already created with BullGuard, then you may have to register anew with your email address. And you are all set to start with your BullGuard Internet Security Suite.

Interface:

One of the notable added features of BullGuard 9.0 version is its new user interface. Personally I like its new look and I felt even a naïve user would find it very easy to use the product with this new interface. Below is a snap shot of the new interface.

Key Features:

·         Antivirus and Antispyware – I felt BullGuard Antivirus is pretty good in scanning all files – scanning for rootkits, scanning the registry, bootsectors etc – in real time and also monitors incoming and outgoing emails. The AV scan settings allow the user to have the desired protection profile.

·         Firewall – The BullGuard firewall is pre-configured to provide access to over a thousand known applications. I was not quite satisfied with the firewall that came along with the previous versions of BullGuard suite. But BullGuard 9.0 version firewall did a pleasing job for me. Still I may suggest you to make sure that you are not entirely relying upon this single firewall protection.

·         Anti-Spam – To keep your inbox free from junk. Also you can report suspicious phishing attacks.

·         Online Backup – The product comes with 5GB online backup. All your online backup files are securely encrypted and stored redundantly. And accessing your backup data is very easy – no separate software installation is required for this. You can login from any computer to access it. 

·         Game Mode – The Game Mode included in BullGuard 9.0 is a new feature for safe game fun with minimal resource consumption. 

Here are some screenshots:

Antivirus:

Firewall:

Scan Log:

Apart from a new look and the inclusion of Game Mode, it’s hard to find a lot of additional features with the newest version of BullGuard 9.0 when compared to its previous version.

Conclusion:

With full antivirus, firewall, automatic updates and backup protection, BullGuard package provides real time internet protection for your system. The live 24X7 online chat customer support is a plus point that BullGuard team can boast off. But apart from all these, I still may not classify BullGuard as a killer product.

In order to review the product, I tried to run the software against a list of 5-6 active Trojan links that I had. I found BullGuard antivirus active during that time and it did knock out some of the Trojans, though it couldn’t impress me very much. The firewall also kept on warning me, blocking certain applications from network access. And finally I did a full system scan. Though it didn’t do a bad job, it still couldn’t quarantine everything.

While on its way to provide complete security, BullGuard team must also consider minimizing the resource usage of this product. Also the time it takes for the on-demand antivirus scan may not be agreeable with some people. But I optimistically look forward for the future releases of this software. Try BullGuard Internet Security suite for yourself and let me know what you think about it.

Home page : Click here

There are several free antivirus tools available now that could be as effective as fully-paid antivirus software. Here are some free antivirus solutions for you.

Comodo Free antivirus software:

Comodo free antivirus software comes from Comodo, one of the leading IT security providers. It is a fully featured free antivirus tool that comes as a part of Comodo’s free internet security suite.

Installing the software is relatively easy. You don’t have to register for the product. The user interface of the software is not cluttered and key functions are easily accessible. Also I felt it’s not draining too much of the system resources.

The features that come with comodo free antivirus include network protection, on access and on demand scanning, HIPS protection, Email scanning, Compressed file scanning, Removable device scanning, free automatic updates, Safe List etc. Most of these features are not normally seen in a free product. It scans .zip compressed files and the Safe List feature provides you with immediate feedback on possible viral files.

Considering that it’s free antivirus software, its scanning speed is excellent. Though during the test scan, the software allowed me to plant the test virus onto my system, the software got into life when I physically tried to access the infected file. However the email scanning did a fair job as it detected the infected file instantly. Download Comodo free antivirus software.

Digital Defender:

Digital Defender is a light weight free antivirus product from digital-defender.com. It provides real time protection against malware. It’s developed keeping the end user in mind and so offers a very easy to use interface.

Installation of the software is a simple task. Download Digital Defender by following the link and install it. It may take a while to set up the software. You can find a small icon sitting on your system tray and that says the antivirus software is on and running.

Digital Defender is a freeware that does a pretty neat job in detecting the popular viruses in your system. But if you are looking for something to impress you by knocking out every virus from your computer, then Digital defender may not be a good choice. I tried the software against a set of 5-6 trojans and it could only quarantine 2 or 3 out of it.

Microsoft Security Essentials:

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is a decent attempt from Microsoft to push back virus, malware and trojan attacks. Compatible with Win 7, Vista and 32-bit version of XP.

It provides real time protection against Spyware, malware, rootkits and trojans.  Download and install the Microsoft Security Essentials by following the link. It comes with automatic updates and doesn’t hog your system resources.

Though the software is good I can’t say that it’s great. Even if it claims to be a spyware remover, it may fail to catch everything. Super Antispyware pinned many spyware for me that Microsoft Security Essentials failed to do. Also the full scan is still a resource hog and takes a long time.

Panda Cloud Antivirus:

Panda Cloud is free antivirus software that implements cloud computing. It runs on Win Vista and Win XP with SP2 or higher.

The software uses cloud computing at its best. During the computer scan the software connects to the Panda cloud that stores all the threat related information. This cloud updates by itself if a user reports a new threat and this cloud is shared among the users. This has an advantage and can be quite helpful in identifying and fighting against 0-day attacks.

But that also has a disadvantage as Panda Cloud Antivirus could only work against known threats. It can’t flag unknown malware based on its behavior. The best use of the software may be in Netbooks and it doesn’t take too much of your resources.

Of course the software lacks and cannot be relied as the only line of defence but I think it will improve. Download Panda Cloud Antivirus here. You may use it along with ThreatFire behavior based free antivirus software.

Avira AntiVir Personal:

Avira AntiVir Personal is one perfect antivirus solution that can be installed on Windows machines. It protects against malware, Trojans, worms, viruses, rootkit, dialers, adware.

You can customize your scans. The Extended threat category option allows you to choose the type of threat that you want the software to detect. There are two modes for the on-access protection module: Normal and Secure start.

If you can tolerate the pop-up nagging of Avira AntiVir, then this is a good piece of software to work with. But still I vote for the older version of Avira AntiVir when compared to the newer one.

Conclusion:

Some other free antivirus solutions are Avast free antivirus, AVG free antivirus etc.

[Continue reading Digital Defender free antivirus, free firewall software, rootkit removers...]