Where there's a computer, there's a virus. Or at least there would be, if it wasn't for the vast range of anti-virus and Internet security programs out there. Trend Micro is an established name in the field, and the latest version of its Internet Security Pro package covers a number of security bases, with some added extras for good measure. However, the program remains largely unchanged from last year.

The interface is almost identical to the 2009 version, save for some minor graphical embellishments, and it's still divided into two main sections. There's the My Home Network tab, which maps out a live diagram of your local network, showing what's connected and flagging up anything dodgy. The main tab, entitled My Computer, offers an overview of your level of protection and buttons to access specific modules such as the anti-virus, firewall and Internet monitoring.

Trend's anti-virus and spyware module boasts the usual sort of features you'd expect, including scheduled and custom scans which can be tailored to examine specific file types. Scan times are reasonable, taking four minutes for a quick scan and eighty minutes for a full system scan of a half-full 120GB hard drive.

The virus definitions did particularly well in a recent (September 2009) NSS Labs “real world” protection test, where a range of anti-virus products were exposed to a two-week assessment of their ability to deal with emerging threats. It seems that Internet Security Pro 2010 has strong behavioural detection routines, as it came top of the table and picked up 96 percent of the malware thrown at it. Impressive indeed, beating the well respected Kaspersky into second place (with 88 percent).

Trend IS Pro 2010's firewall boasts four levels of security and an advanced settings tab which makes it easily customisable. It's also a two-way firewall, meaning it won't let any unauthorised data leave your machine, should malware be trying to send anything out. The suite provides a range of other online protection measures, including a spam email filter, some nicely implemented parental controls and anti-phishing protection.

As with 2009 the Pro version of the suite adds a toolbar to your browser. This marks URLs with different symbols and colour highlights, so you can clearly see anything dodgy when Googling around the net. Suspicious material is flagged yellow and dangerous pages red. A few pages pop up in grey, which indicates Trend hasn't yet tested the site, but not that many. The highlighting process slows Web browsing down a touch, although not to any really noticeable degree.

Other extras the Pro version provides remain the same as with the previous incarnation of the program. There's a secure vault for sensitive data (which can be locked if your PC is stolen; very handy), protection for your mobile device (Windows Mobile and Symbian) and a system tuner. The latter is only a very basic affair, mind you, just whizzing through and cleaning up cache and temp files along with obsolete registry entries.

All is much the same as last year, aside from the improvement in the virus engine, which is an important stride forward. Perhaps best of all, though, is the price. Our main beef with the 2009 product was its retail price tipping the scales at £55. That has been reduced slightly to £50, but currently there's a 20 percent off promotion running, meaning you can grab the suite for £40. That makes Trend's offering a tempting security solution.

Verdict
There hasn't been much in the way of innovation since the 2009 version, but strengthened anti-virus protection is obviously a key area. Another welcome change is the current reduced price, which means you're getting quite a lot for your money here. The basic non-Pro package is even more wallet friendly at £30 (although it has none of the extras such as the secure vault and mobile phone support).

Company: Trend Micro

Contact: 01628 400500

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