Bitderfender Internet Security 2013
Bitdefender Internet Security 2013 ($66 for
one year and three PCs) may just be everything that you’d want in a security
suite. This program, which earned the highest rating in both our real-world
attack test and our system cleanup test, has a user-friendly interface that
will appeal to both regular and advanced users. It also comes with several
extra services, such as antitheft protection for various mobile devices.
In our real-world attack test, Bitdefender
completely blocked 100 percent of attacks. Bitdefender was also able to detect
98.9 percent of known malware samples in our malware-zoo detection test. That’s
not a bad detection rate, but five of the nine security suites in this year’s
round-up had detection rates of 99 percent or higher.
Bitderfender
Internet Security 2013
It managed to detect and disable 100
percent of the infections in our system cleanup test, and it successfully
cleaned up all traces of infections 90 percent of the time. This result is the
best full-cleanup rate of any the suites we tested only F-Secure Internet
Security 2013 had a similar cleanup rate (90 percent). Bitdefender flagged just
one file (out of 250,000-plus) as malicious, which gives it a very low
false-positive percentage compared with its competition.
The program adds just a little extra weight
to your system, and its slowdowns are tolerable. It added 3.5 seconds to
startup time (compared to a PC with no antivirus program installed), which puts
it in the lower half of the suites we tested. It also added a second or so to
shut down time. Bitdefender has a the longest on-demand scanning time (2mins, 1
sec) of the programs we tested, and the fourth-longest on-access scanning time
(5 mins, 41 secs).
Bitdefender
has a the longest on-demand scanning time (2mins, 1 sec) of the programs we
tested, and the fourth-longest on-access scanning time (5 mins, 41 secs).
Bitdefender’s installation process is a
little tedious. It has only six screens to click through, but a couple of those
require user input (such as choosing whether to turn on certain features), and
the last screen requires you to log into, or create, a Bitdefender account.
Bitdefender doesn’t come with a browser toolbar, but it does install a widget
that sits on your desktop and displays protection status and notifications.
Bitdefender’s user interface is attractive
and nicely laid out, with a large banner that shows protection status and
smaller modules for specific areas of protection. It’s easy to find things on
the main screen: a big settings button, for example, takes you to a
comprehensive list of settings, to a notifications area, and to smaller modules
(for antivirus functions, online privacy, the firewall, program updates, and so
on) that allow you to quickly access and configure those features.
Settings and options are abundant, but not
overwhelming. Bitdefender does a good job of keeping things simple, unless you
want to see more-advanced options. If you do start to get a little confused,
you can always click the help button in the bottom-right corner of each screen
to see pop-up messages that describe what the settings do.
Bitdefender also lets you manage your
services, apps and mobile devices from a web portal called MyBitdefender. This
portal, which you sign up for when you install the program, lets you configure
online parental controls, manage Facebook and Twitter protection, set up
antitheft protection for your devices, activate identity theft protection, and
access Bitdefender’s Safebox cloud backup storage (you get 2GB for free).
Bitdefender’s
2013 Internet security suite is an excellent, user-friendly program
Overall, Bitdefender’s 2013 Internet security
suite is an excellent, user-friendly program. The program does have some slight
scanning-speed issues, but otherwise it’s an easy-to-use suite that gives you
several nice extra services.
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 ($75 for
one year and three PCs) is a solid antimalware suite that provides admirable
protection and an excellent settings interface. This program looks a little
different from the other suites we tested, mainly because of its teal-and-white
colors, in contrast to the green-is-good/red-is/bad user interface that most
other security packages use. It’s a good program that will keep you safe from
most incoming attacks,
In our real-world attack test, Kaspersky
completely blocked 95 percent of attacks. Unfortunately, the 5.6 percent of
attacks that if failed to block completely were not blocked at all – in other
words, our test system got infected 5.6 percent of the time.
Kaspersky
Internet Security 2013
Kaspersky’s suite was able to detect 98.1
percent of known malware samples in our malware-zoo detection test. This
detection rate is okay, but seven of the nine suites we tested had higher rates
(98.8 percent or more). Kaspersky did have an excellent false-positive rate, as
it didn’t flag any safe files as malicious.
In our system cleanup test, the Kaspersky
software did an excellent job of detecting, disabling and fully cleaning up
infections. It detected and disabled all infections on our test PC, and fully
cleaned up all traces of malware 80 percent of the time.
Kaspersky will add a little weight to your
system, and it will slow down some operations more than most of its
competitors. In our test, the program added just over two seconds to startup
time, and just over 10 seconds to shut down time. Those extra seconds make
Kaspersky’s suite one of the heaviest antimalware programs we tested (it placed
seventh in startup time and last in shutdown time). In addition, Kaspersky
dragged down the speed of life downloads and copying operations.
Its manual scan times are better than
average, however: the program took first place in on-demand scan time (1min, 10
secs), and ninth place in on-access scan time (6mins, 8 secs). Its on-demand
scan time is significantly better than the average scan time of 1 min, 33 secs,
but its on-access scan time is more than a minute slower than the average scan
time of 4 mins, 50 secs.
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 is quick
and painless to install. It has just four screens to click through, and
registering your product is as easy as typing in your email address. The
program doesn’t try to install a toolbar, but it does attempt to install the
Kaspersky Anti-Banner Firefox add-on, which appears to be an ad blocker.
Installation doesn’t require a reboot.
In
the upper-right corner of the main window are buttons for reports and settings
Kaspersky’s user interface is simple,
straightforward and easy to understand. The main window features a large top
banner that shows whither the software is running, with smaller kinks to
important features below: scan, update, Safe Money (a feature designed to keep
you secure when you make financial transactions online), parental control,
applications activity, network monitor, quarantine and tools. In the
upper-right corner of the main window are buttons for reports and settings.
The settings menu looks a little
intimidating at first glance, but it’s easy to navigate. It presents four tabs
– Protection Center, Scan, Update and Advanced Settings – and each tab has
several sub-categories, which lead to setting screens. Each settings screen has
a short description of what the feature does, and all wording is simple and
lacking in security jargon.
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 is a
competent antimalware program. We like how it combines advanced settings with simply
worded explanations to help all users get the most out of the product.
