Product Description

PC-Cillin Internet Security 2007 combines award-winning AntiVirus security and a Personal firewall for comprehensive protection against viruses, worms, Trojans, and hackers. It also detects and removes spyware and blocks spam. It even guards against identity theft by blocking phishing and pharming attacks. Plus, PC-cillin protects your wireless Network with Wi-Fi Intrusion Detection, an innovative security feature that alerts you when an intruder uses your Wi-Fi connection. Special license for installation on up to 3 machines. Advanced spam-filtering blocks spam from flooding your inbox, with User-friendly tools and reports. New integration with Microsoft Outlook makes it easy to set preferences. Enhanced personal firewall prevents intrusion from hackers and blocks network viruses.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #891 in Software
• Brand: Trene Micro, Inc.
• Model: TIS075406
• Released on: 2007-02-10
• Platforms: Windows XP, Windows Vista
• Format: CD-ROM

Features

• Comprehensive antivirus security from emails, Internet downloads, removable media, and your PC
• Improved Outbreak Warning System sends alerts to warn you of new threats
• Anti-spyware technology blocks spyware and grayware in real time; manual and scheduled scans detect and remove spyware that is already installed on your PC
• Phishing fraud defense with URL filtering, anti-spam, and patent-pending technologies working together to block fraudulent Web sites
• Wi-Fi intrusion detection for wireless home networks

Customer Reviews

PC-Cillin has improved on its previous version
I have no financial incentive to defend PC-Cillin, but this program has been bashed so extensively that I feel compelled to offer a counterpoint view of someone with positive experience.

When at the end of 2006 Trend Micro introduced PC-Cillin Internet Security 2007, I was planning to upgrade (PC-Cillin 2006 worked very well for me). However, the new 2007 version drew heavy criticism from numerous users, who reported the software to be buggy and unstable. It appeared that Trend Micro had rushed an unfinished product to the market.

So I decided to wait. In the interim, I tried out Microsoft Live OneCare (see my review on that). While it was easy on computer resources and had a pleasing interface, the program lacked many features that I was used to being a former PC-Cillin user, and it was overall too unrefined in its performance to justify the $50 price tag.

Now I am back to PC-Cillin, whose updated version was released in February 2007. Feeling cautious, I first downloaded and tried out the 30-day evaluation version from Trend Micro Web Site, before finally purchasing the full package. I am pleased to report that whatever instability issues the software suffered from in its initial release seem to have been fixed. It is better than its predecessor (Internet Security 2006), with extensive customization features and phishing protection.

Beware, the program does eat your RAM (utilizing a whopping 125 Mb of memory, according to the Task Manager). A system with inadequate memory will get constipated by PC-Cillin. My computer is 1.8 GHz Pentium 4. It had 256 Mb of RAM when I installed PC-Cillin, and even though it got more sluggish, it was still by no means crawling along, -- just slower. I went ahead and upgraded to 512 Mb RAM, and since then have experienced no slowdown issues whatsoever. Trend Micro specifies a minimum requirement of 128 Mb for your computer RAM. This number is frankly unrealistic, as the program will eat every last kilobyte of your memory, leaving the rest of your computer to exist off the virtual memory on the hard drive. So, in my experience, 256 Mb RAM has been adequate, but 512 Mb is the amount you really need (on Windows XP) to efficiently run PC-Cillin in the background.

The interface has become more colorful and appealing. Menus and root submenus may take some time getting used to, but to me this was not an issue, as I previously used PC-Cillin 2006 and was familiar with the layout.

The widely reported incompatibility issues between Lavasoft Adaware and PC-Cillin 2007 must have been resolved in this version, as both programs run fine alongside each other on my computer without interference. As far as Windows stability goes, I use Windows XP Pro, and it has incorporated PC-Cillin well. No offense to other operating systems, but I wonder whether many of the users who have had or still having problems with PC-Cillin are using a less stout OS (like Windows Media).

I am not going to repeat the information listed in the overview provided by the vendor. Suffice it to say that the advertized features seem to work well. Spyware detection has been beefed up to the point that Lavasoft scans report clean system in the wake of PC-Cillin scans (last year Lavasoft would routinely find little tidbits overlooked by PC-Cillin). I don't particularly care for Trend Secure Online Services included in this subscription, but I suppose someone else might find them useful. This is also the first year that PC-Cillin offers protection against root kits (although I have no idea how effective or extensive this protection may be).

Cannot attest to the technical support, as I have had no reason to contact them. The program works and works well for me. This is a welcome change from Norton and Windows Live OneCare.

I like the fact that PC-Cillin regularly scans the system for Windows and Microsoft Office vulnerabilities and, if needed, provides references to Microsoft sites from which I can download patches. It also keeps extensive logs of everything that has transpired with the computer and Internet connection, which occasionally, I suppose, may come useful, although I have not had any need for it.

Overall, I have been pleased with PC-Cillin Internet Security 2007. If price were a bit lower (not everyone needs a 3-user license) and if it didn't slow the system down at all, I would have given it 5 stars. Even then, it is a solid and very customizable security suite. I recommend it, and I don't even get anything from Trend Micro for saying so.

Hope this review helps.

An Improvement Over 2006
Ok, right off the bat here, I have had virtually no problems whatsoever with the 2007 PC-Cillin program and have been running it for almost two months now (our 2006 version expired end of July). I have a Dell XPS running Windows XP Media Center with 2 gigs of ram.

The only issue I had in loading the program was with my Ad-Aware SE program. PC-Cillin advised me it had to uninstall it before proceeding. No problem for me since I simply reinstalled it later. I also have Spybot Search & Destroy and there was no problem with that one.

Once installed, it brings you up to date with the latest updates, a process that only takes a couple of minutes or so.

Once installed, I have had no problems with RAM or anything else other than when 'Cillin is performing a scan, the systems slows down just a little. But like before, you can specify when you want scanning done so that it won't interfere with you when you are most active.

The frequency of updating daily seems about the same as the 2006 version, like three, maybe four times a day.

What really impresses me with this version is, it is VERY pro-active in identifying potential spyware problems unlike 2006. For example, if you are about to visit a "suspect" site, PC-Cillin advises you via red-banner warning screens of the specific spyware located there and warns you to go no further. Sorta scares hell out of you when you see them flash onto the lower right portion of your monitor! You can make your own determination if those are nefarious or not and either proceed or back out. These screens are actually small windows that you can close by clicking on the "X".

On one occasion the program identified two pieces of spyware which had gotten into my system, specified their names and locations and asked what I wanted to do with them. This is a feature also not available in the 2006 version.

In terms of catching viruses, this program seems to be every bit as proactive as before, particularly with Trojans and Bytever versions, by catching them and quarantining them immediately.

But if this program has a weakness it is still with spyware. One program still doesn't do everything. That's why I have Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad-Aware Se. Spybot is by far the best of the two and will identify specifically up to forty or pieces of spyware. I use Ad-Aware as secondary. These, of course, are free and there are other, better fee-based programs out there as well.

Ok, who knows how effective any program really is since you can't see everything going on in your system. But what I can tell you is my computer performs flawlessly with no glitches or hangups whether I am on the net, or playing one of the new high capacity computer games. I don't use Windows Explorer for the net but Firefox instead and always ensure that my firewalls are turned on and auto-updates are working.

My wife and I both use this program and are quite pleased. The wife uses it for her lap top. Never before have I felt this confident about exploring the net without fear of my computer being trashed by some scumbag's virus. And with an in-store rebate, we're getting this program basically for free!

Works well
I've used pc-Cillin for several years with good results. The email service that I use is "protected" by Norton Antivirus. Every now and then, pc-Cillin
catches something that the Norton product missed. I'd say that's pretty good. Also, pc-Cillin doesn't appear to slow the machine to any noticeable degree. The couple of times that I've needed support, they were very helpful. I suggest that you always go for the disc rather than the download version. It's much handier when reloading a pc from scratch.