From The Naked PC issue #5.01...

Evaluating Anti-virus Software for Ease of Use: Trend Micro PC-cillin 2000

by Lee Hudspeth
January 3, 2002

Since my previous ease-of-use review (Panda Antivirus 6.0 Platinum), I have added two new criteria: ICSA Labs certification status and the ability to scan Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2000 (and higher) documents before they are opened by the host Office application. On my supplemental page I have updated the table containing the comparison data to reflect these two new criteria, added footnotes, and added several new data values for each product (MSRP, one-year virus update subscription renewal fee, a purchase link, and version tested). The link to that supplemental page--which also points to my reviews of other anti-virus programs--appears at the end of this article.

Here's how Trend Micro's PC-cillin 2000 fared against my test criteria.

* Installation time? 1 HOUR 10 MINUTES. Criteria: This involves a full install plus these tasks: register; run an "update cycle" after install; create and test a rescue disk set; scan the entire system for viruses after install; schedule weekly scans; and schedule daily updates.

* Easy to automatically register on-line during installation? (range: very easy, easy, average, difficult, very difficult) VERY EASY.

* Easy to automatically connect for updates? EASY. However, there's no UI for displaying when your subscription expires and this is inconvenient. Here's how Trend handles upcoming expirations. According to Bob Hansmann, PC-cillin Product Marketing Manager, Trend sends out an email near the 90-days- remaining mark to bulk groups of customers, reminding them that their subscription will expire in approximately 90 days. Trend doesn't have a product that's solely a subscription upgrade, instead, the firm relies on its product's one-year revision cycle and a competitively priced product upgrade price ($14.95). Hansmann has an important message for PC-cillin customers (applies to anyone running an anti-virus program), "It's vital that customers register with us using a legitimate email address. Otherwise, we can't communicate with them about upcoming subscription expirations and other critical product or malware news." Good tip.

* Easy to contact technical support about bugs? AVERAGE. The technical support phone number is a toll, not a toll-free, number; when I called it, a representative came on the line within eight minutes. (Nitpick: their on-hold Muzak is heavily distorted to the point of almost being unbearable. Don't you hate that?)

* Easy to contact technical support about subscription problems? N/A.

* Is the CD bootable into a set of recovery tools? NO.

* Easy to configure overall? AVERAGE.

* How easy is it to view the package's virus list? EASY (UI: click the "Virus Info" menu command, choose "Virus List"). Unfortunately, the program doesn't allow you to search for a specific virus and this is inconvenient. I also don't like the program's main dialog being a fixed size; when viewing logs and the quarantine list you can't easily see all the content for each column. There's a horizontal scroll bar but I'd prefer to simply be able to maximize the dialog.

* How does it handle the EICAR standard anti-virus test file? PASSES ALL.

* ICSA Labs certified? YES.

* Scans Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2000 (and higher) documents before they are opened by the host Office application? NO. According to Hansmann, PC-cillin 2000 supports Microsoft's Exchange/Outlook virus scanner API, but not Office's API. Trend will release PC-cillin 2002 this month and it will support Microsoft Office's virus scanner API (for more technical details about this API, see my supplemental page).

The key to your success with any anti-virus vendor's product is to use it, and use it aggressively.

To see my evaluation of these anti-virus products--and more to come in future issues--in a table format, refer to my supplemental page:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/501/tr.cgi?lee1

Amazon.com currently offers Trend Micro PC-cillin 2000 on CD for $32.99:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/501/tr.cgi?lee2

You can reach Lee Hudspeth at:
mailto:LeeHudspeth@TheNakedPC.com

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