Internet hacking is ever on the rise and becoming more devious.
Sensible choice and application of internet security software can go a long way for your protection.
The Consumer Council in a joint test with the ICRT (International Consumer Research and Testing) has evaluated a total of 3 computer operating system, 3 anti-virus software (freeware that can be downloaded from the homepage of software developers) and 15 internet security suites.
The test covered: protection performance (60%), ease of use (25%), management and resources (10%), installation and uninstallation (5%). Used in the protection performance test were various viruses or malware such as trojan horse, worms and macro.
7 of the 15 internet security suites included in the test claimed to include all 7 main functions: anti-malware, firewall, anti-spyware, anti-phishing, anti-dialer, parental control and anti-spam. All these are major potential problems with internet hacking.
The suites were rated on a scale of 5. None scored the full 5-point rating in overall performance, though one was awarded 5 points for its performance test on firewall.
The top 3 performers were awarded 4 points, while 4 others received only 2.5 points.
Consumers should take note that usage of computer resources (e.g. memory and hard disk space) differs from software to software.
As some software may occupy a large proportion of system resources during operation, they should be aware of the system requirement of different software before purchase.
For instance, the space used by the software on the hard disk varies vastly from 39 MB to 380 MB; and on memory from 11 MB to 93 MB.
Other tips in purchase of internet security suites:
- In general, they range in price from $312 (with 1 user) to $802 (with 3 users)
- Many suites provide multiple-users version of either 2, 3, 5 or 10 users.
- Some anti-virus software are freeware which can be used free of charge.
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