Software : Trend Micro Internet Security 2008 3-User [OLD VERSION]

Rating: - Should Be Called "WinThrax 08"
Trend Micro came within a hair's breadth of destroying my six-month-old PC (and all its data) over the past couple of days. Without going into the grizzly details, it cost me several hundred dollars in software and a 3-hour technician visit to bring my PC back to life. Trend Micro IS a virus. If you rely on your computer and data for your day-to-day life and livelihood, as I do, DO NOT INSTALL Trend Micro!

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Rating: - For mainstream users only
The GUI (graphical user interface) calls everything a virus without differentiating between worms, trojans, viruses and spyware. Only by reading the log are these differences shown.

Trend Micro flags many items as viruses that are not. These invariably appear as "TROJ_GENERIC.ADV" or "WORM_GENERIC" because they do not actually match any current signature on file.

That is fine because you want the security software to protect against unknown threats. However when it is wrong it is wrong. I have told Trend Micro to ignore certain folders because it keeps giving a false positive there but it keeps quarantining the files there. It seems to ignore the white list feature in it's own interface.

Trend Micro Internet Security is much less configurable than others I have used. It is not for a power user or IT pro that might have advanced software debugging, network trouble shooting, or PC diagnostic software on their system because these "dual use" tools are often mistaken for malware.

If you need protection from yourself or have other users downloading unknown software and you want to have your system protected from them then Trend Micro Internet Security might be right for you. Just do not use any software that is not mainstream and you should be fine.

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Rating: - Trend Micro's greastest strength is its greatest weakness...
I decided to upgrade to TM because I was having quite a few problems with Norton not having as many virus definitions as it should have, basically, a lot of what was slipping through should not have been. The good news is Trend Micro is an EXTREMELY secure anti-virus software that will protect you from just about any virus, spam, spyware, or someone trying to hack into your network. The biggest problem with trend micro is that it sometimes is way too secure. With some of the older versions I had a very irritating access blocker that would pop up, similar to a very bad version of the windows firewall, constantly. This will block absolutely everything that tries to access the internet whether it be malware or just Firefox, Steam, or an online game. Whenever something is updated, Trend Micro will again attempt to block it and there is no way to stop these pop ups without either completely disabling security or hitting "allow" every single time. I've had many times with the newer version in which TM blocked something as a trojan when in fact it was just a game file necessary to play it. Also, networking is a pain, anytime I have people over for LANs I drop the security down just so I can see other people's games.

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Rating: - It works without any problems
It does what it says and does not chew up system resources. I have had no problems installing and configuring the software for the 2008, 2007 or 2006 versions. I run XPpro SP3 on fairly mainstream motherboards in 7 self-built PCs, two basic Dell PCs and one basic Compaq laptop. The 2008 version picked up 7 threats undetected by my prior 2007 version and seems less of an interference in normal situations. I love the fact that I get 3 PCs covered by one license and Trend makes it convenient to track the systems that are registered. I was able to transfer the license from a failed PC to a replacement model without too much difficulty. This software just seems like a convenient package and a good value, particularly if you have to manage multiple systems. Trends support is OK and I've used it once or twice. Nothing is perfect, but this package is the lesser of all the evils in my experience.

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Rating: - Trend Micro - One of the top packages
I purchased this product from their website, downloading it straight onto a Vista Platform with a Pentium 4 3 GHz processor and 2 Gb RAM. Installation and exection from then on has been smooth. I have also owned it in the past on an XP platform where it ran smoothly as well. I am writing this review as a frequent Amazon.com customer, former computer programmer, and because of some negative comments about this product.

First, look at the Consumer Reports website. This is the number one package for both the antivirus and the suite. In terms of speed, it is faster than Norton, slower than Kaspersky, but consider that it does not bog down my system before, during, or after it runs (i.e., I don't have to reboot to clear RAM). Additionally, products that run faster (Kaspersky) often scan for changed files only, which means there is a potential for them to miss something.

I ran Kaspersky for about 6 months. It is a nice product, and very fast. Security is tight. My only negative is that it bogs down RAM a lot. So much so, that my system often locked up after it ran and also while it was continually running in the background. It is memory intensive.

Norton is very system intensive. It is slow. It does a decent job with coverage (firewall/virus/spyware). Have fun trying to completely remove it from your system if you decide to change products. Don't read that the wrong way, it is a good product overall. I would stay away from their package that cleans up the registry.

ESET appears to have good ratings, but during a brief trial download I could not get the firewall to work on Windows XP.

There are other products, all of which have good coverage. The most important thing is to have a package. This review is mainly to say that Trend has a good solid product that is average speed and not system intensive.