Comment on Kaspersky Pure 3-User by mhnstr.
Outstanding internet security without impacting your computer’s performance,
I was given the opportunity to evaluate Kaspersky PURE on computers where I had been running Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 and Norton Internet Security 2010. The two computers I used for the evaluation were a 6 year old laptop running Windows XP Professional with a 2 Ghz processor and 2 GB of RAM and a 2 year old netbook running Windows XP Professional with an Intel Atom 1.6 Ghz processor and 2 GB of RAM. Both computers have about 10 GB of free space on the hard drives. Neither of these computers has significant processing power or disc space by today’s standards and so the use of a internet security package that provides excellent protection but does not bog down the system is a priority. I found that Kaspersky PURE excelled at this.
When I first tried to install PURE, I received an alert that I needed to remove other Kaspersky programs prior to the installation of PURE. This required a reboot of my machine after Kaspersky Internet Security was removed. Otherwise, the installation of PURE was straightforward and easy. My netbook does not have an optical drive, but the packaging with the installation disc noted that I could download the program from the Kaspersky website.
As part of the installation, you are asked to participate in the Kaspersky Security Network which allows anonymous data to be sent from your computer to Kaspersky Lab. The data sent to Kaspersky Lab is used to create a behavioral engine to further strengthen security safeguards. I didn’t want to send data to Kaspersky and so I did not accept the terms and conditions of joining the Kaspersky Security Network and was able to proceed with the installation.
Once PURE was installed, I received alerts that the program’s databases were out of date and that updating was required. Updating the program can be done manually or automatically. If you choose manual update, PURE will start to alert you that the databases are out of date if you do not update for a few days. A really nice feature of the Kaspersky update is that it will update even with a slow internet connection. Norton, on the other hand timed out if the internet connection wasn’t fast enough during updates. This is a very nice feature by Kaspersky to allow for users with slow internet connections.
Full scans on my computers can take up to several hours. I have noticed that the scanning time is faster with PURE than with Kaspersky Internet Security. Unlike Norton Internet Security, using PURE I could easily access a detailed report of events such as banners that were blocked, scans that were performed and applications that were controlled. This level of detail in the report may not be needed, but it is nice that it is available if you want to see what PURE has been doing.
A very good feature that was not included in Kaspersky Internet Security is the Open Vulnerabilities Scan. This scan found outdated versions of Firefox, Java and even Photoshop on my computer. I was given a link to which the problems with the older versions of these programs were listed and a link that I could follow to get the latest version if I didn’t want the software to upgrade myself. The scan also found vulnerabilities on my computer such as allowing autorun on usb drives or problems with Internet Explorer. I think that the Open Vulnerabilities Scan is a very good feature and an important part of the defense for a computer. Although I am pleased with the scan, I am disappointed that Kaspersky did not make the Open Vulnerabilities Scan a part of the full scan. Not everyone may run the Vulnerabilities Scan as a separate option. An annoyance with this feature was that it continued to list Java and Photoshop as being vulnerable even after I updated the correct version of these programs. I am not sure if the scan did not recognize that the latest version had been installed or if there really is a problem.
In comparison to Norton Internet Security, PURE is very light on the computer resources. Norton IS was a resource hog and there were times when my computer would be running full out due to something that Norton was running. In Kaspersky PURE runs virus scans run quietly in the background.
In comparison to Kaspersky Internet Security 2011, PURE includes a password manager and is supposed to be better at guarding your home network. PURE also included the Open Vulnerabilities Scan. A full comparison of PURE and Internet Security can be found on the Kaspersky website.
The password manager if a good option for people who want a repository of their passwords. Access to the password manager can be by a password you type, the presence of a Bluetooth device with the key or a USB device. You can also generate a list of passwords onto a USB device to take with you which would be handy if you need to access secure websites from different computers.
Other features that PURE…
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