Kaspersky - More than your normal anti-virus!

With the increasing number of threats on the cyber world, both qualitatively and quantitatively, one needs to make sure that he has the right protection against them. But with hundreds of Anti-virus softwares around, how does one make the right choice? Well, the answer to that is quite subjective and may vary as per personal requirements and conditions but we can certainly evaluate such softwares on the basis of certain parameters and test their efficiency. That is exactly what we are trying to do here by picking on Kaspersky this time. So here is a review on Kaspersky Anti-virus based on the key parameters identified by us.

Efficiency

This obviously becomes a key issue. If the anti-virus is able to trace even the minutest of threats to your system it can be called an efficient one. But at the same time, it should not be over aggressive in nature and slot even the day to day softwares as threats. Kaspersky in this regard shows a very balanced approach. It notifies you about all possible threats detected and asks you for further action. Further these notifications are not too frequent to bug you. However an option such as ‘apply to all’ could have helped a little more. It does have a similar feature of making an action a rule for similar threats but for some reason the particular feature is not very effective.

Updates

With hundreds of viruses and injected into the net every day, the Anti virus software providers too need to match the pace by finding solutions for them and updating the softwares at regular intervals. In that respect Kaspersky scores really well against some other competitors as it releases updates virtually on a daily basis.

Features

Kaspersky comes with all the expected features of an anti virus software like real time scanning, a firewall, updates, backups etc. To add to that it is packed with certain other features like a Mail Anti-virus, Rootkit scan, Startup objects scan, Critical areas scan, protection while using IM clients etc which add to your repertory.

These features not only make the software more versatile but also a lot more user friendly. Thus this is one key area where Kaspersky scores over others.

Interface

Kaspersky comes with a decent interface which is neat and well organized. Its notifications too allow you all the essential actions thus leaving few things to be desired.

Settings

The settings pertaining to the functioning of the software often play a big role in making it user friendly. Kaspersky gives you a a variety of options here too and has very flexible settings which enable you to tune it as per your requirements.

Speed

Fast action is what is expected from everyone and everything these days and Anti virus softwares are no exception. The time taken by the anti virus to perform large scans is often crucial. Kaspersky shows no remarkable difference in this regard when compared to some others in the market.

Resource consumption

Although Kaspersky is not exactly a light Software, it hardly affects system performance except a little while updating its database and scanning the startup objects. You can have it running in your system tray without any hassles.

Compatibility

While compatibility with Windows Vista is a plus on Kaspersky’s part, not having a version for Mac or Linux based operating systems can be seen as a let down

Software Version and Summary

Version : 7.0.0.125
Licence: Free to try Price: $39.95 (Buy)
OS supported: Windows XP, Vista
Homepage: Kaspersky

Overall Review and Views

Overall I would say Kaspersky Anti-Virus is a good buy as it gives you very few reasons to complain. It is effective and user friendly.So if you have a windows machine running, Kaspersky can prove to act as an effective guard.