f Secure Internet Security Suite - Antivirus, Antispyware, Anti Spam, Firewall, Parental Controls

f-Secure Internet Security is an "all inclusive" suite of computer security products that offers excellent protection against computer viruses, Trojans, hackers, spyware, phishing attempts, and spam. fSecure Internet Security also includes a good parental control option, which allows parents to block known "bad" websites. Parents can also block access to any other websites they don't want their children to view, and the internet timer can be used to only allow internet use during specific times of day. fSecure claims to have the worlds fastest updates against new internet security threats, and also the most powerful personal firewall. f Secure has one of the best antivirus programs available, ranking number 4 in PC World's "top 10" anti virus products for 2006, just under Bit Defender, McAfee, and Kaspersky antivirus. fSecure antivirus also ranked #3 with TopTenReviews.com, receiving their prestigious "bronze" award.

I've been using fSecure Internet Security for about a month now, and have found it to be very easy to use. The installation is very simple, and a built in "wizard" walks you through configuration of the antivirus, personal firewall, and spyware setup. The ease of installation and setup is great, especially for PC novices who can just "set it and forget it". By default, the parental control software is not turned on, but the simple user interface makes this a simple thing to do if needed.

As with most computer security suites, fSecure "bogs down" your system a bit when the computer is first turned on, making it take a little longer to fully load. Once you're up and running however, you don't even know it's there. I'm running fSecure on a Windows XP computer with 1GB of RAM though. If you are using less than 512 MB of RAM, you will likely notice a serious performance drain when running fSecure or any other computer security suite.

The f Secure Internet Security interface is clean and easy to understand and use, and the initial default view provides all the information you need at a glance. You can quickly see the status of protection from viruses, spyware, firewall, and spam. The fSecure interface also tells you the status of your subscription, and lets you know when it expires. From the f Secure Internet Security control window, you can easily make configuration changes to the antivirus, antispyware, spam control settings, or personal firewall settings. By default, these settings are set to "normal" protection, which provides the recommended level of protection. Your other choices are "high", "off", and "custom", which allows more advanced users to finely tune and control the way fSecure works. The "normal" security settings produce the least amount of drain on system resources while providing excellent protection.

The "custom" setting allows more advanced users to control various aspects of fSecure Internet Security, including how often files are scanned for viruses and spyware, and which files should be scanned. From the custom configuration settings window, you can also control personal firewall rules and services, browser security, the level of spam filtering, and just about any other aspect of fSecure Internet Security.

All in all, I like the fSecure Internet Security Suite and find it to provide excellent protection against viruses, spam, hackers, and spyware. With all internet security suites, usually one of the "bundled" products is exceptionally good, and the others are merely "acceptable". F Secure's antivirus is by far one of the best virus protection products I have used, providing exceptional protection against zero day attacks and rootkits. The personal firewall is also very good, and I feel that my data is safe while protected by fSecure. The parental control software is pretty basic, and doesn't allow configuration for multiple users. If you want the same protection for everyone in your family though, it serves its purpose well. Internet security suites provide an excellent way for users to protect themselves against all the dangers on the internet. For the absolute best protection against viruses, spyware, spam, and hackers, it would be necessary to install the best individual products available.

For example, you might choose f-Secure for antivirus, SpyCop for anti spyware, Sunbelt Kerio for a personal firewall, and BitDefender for anti-spam. This "pick and choose" approach is not recommended for "average" computer users however, because running several different types of security software (and associated subscriptions) can get pretty complex and costly. Computer security suites are an easy, economical way to protect your computer from a host of internet security threats, and are therefore the recommended method of protection. http://goarticles.com/cgi-bin/add.cgi f-Secure is a very good "all in one" product for protection against viruses, spyware, identity theft, intruders, and spam. It costs around $80 for the software and a year's worth of updates. Once you own the software, it costs around $60 for a renewal subscription.

f-Secure Internet Security - Review
Computer Security Suites

About the Author:
Debbie Jacobsen is an information technology professional and author of Antivirus, Firewall, and Spyware Resources, Laptop Security Basics, and Computer Security for Everyone
Submitted: 2006-10-21
Article Source: GoArticles