*NEW!*
VIPRE Antivirus Premium 2010
Even though VIPRE Antivirus Premium is relatively new software in the highly competitive arena of antivirus firewall software, it still managed to out-perform the other top competitors
in our 2010 antivirus tests.
VIPRE Premium is a unified antivirus firewall software that combines the antivirus protection of VIPRE Antivirus 4.0 and the overall Internet security of Sunbelt's Personal Firewall Software.
Before, you had to buy VIPRE Antivirus then add on Sunbelt's Personal Firewall to complete your Internet security suite.
TOP FEATURES
Solid real-time protection
Great resource usage
Secure firewall
That was fine, and they worked together as expected, but now they've combined the two programs into one: VIPRE Antivirus Premium.
In doing so, our main concern was that VIPRE would lose its highly-regarded speed and low resource usage, but the people at Sunbelt, VIPRE manufacturers, pulled it off.
They managed to keep the power and light resource usage of their antivirus software and combined it with their lean, mean firewall.
You still get the same top-notch antivirus and anti-spyware engine that's built into VIPRE but now there's the benefit of having a strong, integrated firewall, and without the hassle,
however minor, of having to purchase, install, and run two separate programs.
The UI remains clean and easy to navigate. They've removed some redundant settings and integrated the firewall settings, thankfully, without feeling like they just slapped it together.
The memory usage of the unified antivirus firewall program is still very low, comparable to the combined resource usage of VIPRE Antivirus and Sunbelt Personal Firewall. Impressive.
Equally important, the antivirus and Internet security protection you get from VIPRE Antivirus Premium is still the best we've seen this year.
While there are only a few weak points with VIPRE Antivirus Premium, the good far outweighs the not-so-great.
VIPRE Antivirus Premium 2010 Features
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- Real-time Protection
Prevents viruses, spyware and other malware from infecting your PC 24/7. Stops dangerous files from doing any harm.
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- Spyware Removal
Keeps dangerous spyware and annoying adware off your PC. Detects, finds, and destroys spyware trying to access your computer.
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- Email Protection
Stops dangerous email viruses from invading your PC. Scans incoming and outgoing email for malicious files.
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- Instant Messaging Protection
Scans and prevents viruses, spyware, and other malware from transferring through your IM conversations. Helps keep your Instant Messaging safe.
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- Solid Two-way Firewall
Filters incoming and outgoing traffic. Incoming traffic is blocked and scanned for threats until you let it through. Outgoing traffic is stopped and scanned to prevent dangerous programs from communicating with their makers.
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- Improved Network Performance
Allows connection to and from the Internet to flow more quickly and efficiently while still filtering for suspicious activity.
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- Excellent Packet Filtering
Inbound and outbound traffic is inspected for malicious activity.
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- Prevents Process Injection Attempts
Prevents malicious trojans and other malware from pretending to be safe programs by injecting themselves inside.
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- Improved Stability
Software performs well even under high-volume network attacks and other load.
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- Updated Translations Files
Improved support for several languages including Spanish and French.
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- Secure File Eraser
Permanently deletes sensitive or personal files. Keeps spyware from seeing sensitive information you delete.
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- History Cleaner
Permanently cleans browser history and cookies so spyware can't see where you've been.
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- Free Malware Removal
If a virus, trojan, worm, or other malware somehow gets through your defenses while you're a VIPRE or VIPRE Premium antivirus subscriber, Sunbelt's dedicated in-house team of malware removal specialists will remove the infection free.
VIPRE Premium Antivirus Firewall Software 2010 Assessment
Here we've listed a breakdown of each category we've tested for VIPRE Antivirus Premium. Each category was given a percentage rating based on those tests.
Security Suite Installation: 98%
Installation was easy and straight forward with only a few additional steps. The installer only takes about a minute to finish, then a reboot is needed to continue.
After the reboot, there's a setup wizard which allows you to customize VIPRE Antivirus Premium's settings (definition update frequency, Internet access, registration code, etc).
At the end of the wizard is a link that launches a video that describes the software and basic usage -- a helpful touch.
Select whether you want to use the simple or advanced mode for your firewall, and you're done.
Total install with full definition updates was approx 7 min.
VIPRE Premium Installation Screenshots
Un-installation: 100%
If you ever need to un-install VIPRE Antivirus Premium, the un-installation process is clean and simple.
There's an option during the uninstall to leave certain data files if you plan on reinstalling at a later date. This saves time and makes your re-installation much easier.
To uninstall, you can use Windows' ADD/REMOVE Programs feature with no problem. A reboot is needed to complete the uninstallation.
User Interface: 98%
The UI (user interface) is good looking and easy to navigate with muted background colors and a simple tab system. Red and green are color-coded logically to mean and work as you'd expect:
| red |
needs attention |
| green |
on / functioning normally |
From the main screen, you can manage all settings for all categories. There are tabs for quick navigation all in one place which makes things easier since you don't open and close
several windows to find what you need, as you do in many competitors interfaces.
If you'd like more control or security than the default settings provide, the "Advanced" links are next to each setting. (The default settings should be effective for most users.)
Each tab has a help button that opens the appropriate page in the fully indexed help file. Within the help file are several links our reviewers found useful and handy.
Finally, a link to VIPRE's support system is at the bottom of every page in the help file. Clearly, Sunbelt is making it easy for users who need help to get it quickly.
VIPRE Premium User Interface Screenshots
Real-time Protection: 94%
VIPRE Premium's real-time protection proved itself fast and effective. During our tests with default settings, VIPRE Antivirus Premium detected over 90% of the viruses, worms, trojans, and other malware we threw at it in testing.
Given that no antivirus software can ever be 100% accurate 100% of the time, VIPRE Antivirus Premium does very well. With the inclusion of their firewall software, VIPRE Antivirus Premium becomes a powerful tool in real-time antivirus protection.
What's even more important though was what we found later on in our testing: those viruses and other infected files VIPRE Premium didn't initially identify were quickly captured and removed when the virus tried to run, thus making the viruses and malware powerless to do any damage.
With the inclusion of a firewall, VIPRE Antivirus Premium's real-time resource usage is still lean and mean. Even with the extra security benefit of the included firewall software, VIPRE is still the lightest footprint this year with just 66MB of memory used.
Overall, VIPRE Antivirus Premium does exceptionally well in the real-time protection department. They've kept the excellent VIPRE antivirus engine and added powerful firewall software. Together, real-time protection is fast and reliable.
Manual Scan: 89%
More than 85% of the viruses, spyware, trojans, worms, and other malware were successfully detected, deleted, or quarantined by VIPRE Antivirus Premium during a manual scan --
one of the best performances we've seen this year.
The VIPRE antivirus/firewall combination relies more heavily on real-time protection than on the manual scan process. This allows the software to have a much higher
virus detection rate than one might think. Here's why:
Modern computer viruses are designed to hide themselves by any means necessary. This means they're well-hidden even from the best antivirus software that relies on antivirus
definitions (also called signatures.) These signatures are a little like the DNA of a computer virus, with every one different.
The problem is that like real viruses, computer viruses have gotten smarter and are better able to change, morph, and hide themselves from detection.
Because of this, a manual scan may not always be able to detect dormant viruses or malicious files. That's where having true real-time antivirus firewall software, acting
like a watchdog for you 24x7 is critical.
When one of these dormant software files tries to do something bad, VIPRE's real-time protection is designed to detect, stop, and deal with it on the spot--before it can do any harm.
Viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, and other malware are good at lying low when they're not active, but once they spring into action, it's much harder for them to hide.
That's why it's so important to always keep VIPRE Antivirus Premium running 24x7. Of course you should still run a full-system, manual scan regularly for thorough cleaning, but don't rely on manual scanning alone for maximum protection.
VIPRE Premium Manual Scan Screenshots
Resource Usage: 95%
Considering this is an antivirus
and firewall Internet security software, resource usage was still extremely low (even during heavy web browsing and active protection).
0.5% of memory was used during real-time protection.
CPU usage peaked at 50% - 60% during a full-system, manual scan, then quickly dropped back to normal.
A manual scan only used about 60MB or memory.
This is still a very light-running Internet security suite compared to some of VIPRE's competitors.
The user interface (UI) is held in memory, so it opens quickly with no lag and no additional resource usage. Good thinking.
VIPRE Antivirus Premium 2010
Antivirus Scanning Resource Usage
|
| Real-Time Memory |
0.5% |
| Manual Scan Memory |
60MB |
| Manual Scan CPU |
60% |
Note: These are the average results we found during our testing.
Every PC is different, of course, so your results may vary, but we expect these results to be fairly representative.
|
VIPRE used only 0.5% memory during real-time protection.
VIPRE used only 60MB of memory during a manual scan.
VIPRE used only 60% of CPU during a manual scan.
Spyware/Adware Protection: 89%
70% of the spyware and adware we tested were captured by VIPRE Antivirus Premium during our tests with a quick scan.
Those that slipped by were captured by the real-time engine when they tried to run. So no real harm was done to our testing PC.
Still, 70% isn't as good as we'd like to see. After running a deep scan, VIPRE was able to detect and deal with 80% of spyware and adware. Much better.
Virus Removal from a Pre-infected Machine: 90%
We installed VIPRE Antivirus Premium on our testing machines which were already infected with viruses, spyware and malware. We wanted to see how well it would perform.
VIPRE Antivirus Premium doesn't do a pre-scan during installation, so you'll need to run a full system manual scan right after install.
After we ran our manual scan, VIPRE removed about 90% of infected files.
Overall, VIPRE's pre-infection detection rate was very good. Even some of the sneakiest trojans and worms that weren't initially detected were blocked by the firewall or detected by
the real-time protection engine when they went active.
Email Protection: 94%
VIPRE's email antivirus protection works well and is easy to use. It's straightforward and doesn't take much for it to be fully effective.
POP3, SMTP, and IMAP are supported for Outlook Express and Outlook. However, you'll only be able to use POP3 and SMTP for other email clients.
We're a a bit disappointed that VIPRE Antivirus Premium doesn't support IMAP for Thunderbird or other popular email clients, but it's unlikely to be a major issue for most people.
Configuration is very easy. Just check a box during installation (or afterwards in the settings panel) telling it which email client you're using, and that's it. All incoming and
outgoing email will be scanned.
There's no toolbar to mess with, no learning curve. Just set-it-and-forget-it.
It's important to understand that email protection depends on having real-time protection turned on. So make sure VIPRE Antivirus Premium is always running
(as any antivirus software should be!) All email and email attachments will be scanned just as any other file is scanned.
During our tests, we didn't notice any significant system slowing when the email was being scanned. Overall, a clean and easy-to-use email protection.
Firewall: 92%
VIPRE Premium Antivirus Firewall Software 2010
Firewall Scores
|
|
Firewall Performance
|
| Inbound Blocking |
98 |
| Outbound Blocking |
96 |
|
Other Firewall Ratings
|
| Firewall Ease-of-Use |
98 |
| Configuration Flexibility |
98 |
|
VIPER Premium's firewall is based on the strong, popular Sunbelt Personal Firewall.
We're glad to see Sunbelt successfully incorporated the best personal firewall software into their new Internet security suite.
There are two modes for the firewall: Simple and Advanced.
Simple Mode allows all outgoing traffic, but blocks all incoming traffic until you approve which programs and connections you can trust. This is sufficient to block hackers from trying to break into your computer.
Using Simple mode is easy. You'll get a notification anytime something needs your attention. Other than that, the firewall is ready to go with zero configuration necessary.
For those wanting more control over inbound and outbound traffic, Advanced Mode is up to the task but is a bit more involved. At first, Advanced Mode will give you many alerts as you train the firewall software what's "normal" traffic and what isn't.
As you permit or deny traffic to your PC, the firewall creates customized rules for your PC based on these decisions. Then as time progresses, and the firewall software has learned
what's normal, if anything unusual happens, like a trojan coming to life and trying to make a connection, the firewall will block it.
Advanced mode might be a little too cumbersome for beginning users, but those comfortable with firewalls will have no problem. (Simple Mode will do the job just fine for beginners;
however, if you know your PC is heavily infected, you might want to consider setting the firewall to Advanced Mode--at least temporarily--to help ferret out any malware.
During our tests, our reviewers found basic firewall tasks like opening ports, blocking malicious traffic, and other common firewall tasks were quick, accurate, and easy.
All-in-all, the firewall software did it job: stopping network-based attacks and preventing malware from "phoning home."
VIPRE Premium Firewall Screenshots
IM Protection: 94%
Just like email protection, VIPRE Antivirus Premium real-time protection needs to engaged for IM (Instant Messaging) conversations to be protected.
Any incoming files will automatically be scanned for viruses and other malware. So, there's nothing to configure as long as real-time protection is turned on.
Overall, we found VIPER's IM protection to be effective: when testers tried sending viruses and other malware to a VIPRE-proteted machine, it was blocked.
Antivirus Definition Updates: 92%
Definition updates are available every two hours by default. You can adjust them to be as often as every hour or as infrequent as 24 hours if you'd prefer.
It's vital for any good antivirus or Internet security suite to have the most current definitions available for maximum protection; therefore, if you use your PC heavily throughout
the day you might want to set it even lower (i.e. 1 hour).
If your PC use is lighter (i.e. a couple of hours here-and-there at night or on weekends), the default settings should be fine.
Customer Support: 97%
Sunbelt (the makers of VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware, VIPRE Antivirus Premium, and Sunbelt Personal Firewall) is well known for its dedication to customer service as well as technical support.
Our testers regularly contact all the companies when we're testing the software. We do so anonymously to make sure the manufacturers are doing their jobs and standing behind their
software.
In our tests, we found Sunbelt's staff did a consistently excellent job helping us, no matter if we threw easy (what some people would consider "dumb" questions) or very difficult
questions at them, things were always answered to our satisfaction. We never got a sense that they were "getting rid of us" in our conversations.
Phone, live chat, and email support are all US-based and 100% free. Phone and chat support hours are 9am-9pm EST. Email is available 24/7 (but may take up to 24 hours for them to respond.)
After dealing with VIPRE and Sunbelt for over a year now, the customers we've heard from report back good experiences, too. Sure, there's the occasional issue that crops up for some
PC users, but even for them, they report happiness and satisfaction with how things are handled.
Sunbelt makes their phone numbers and contact information easy to find everywhere we could ask them to: on their website, in their help pages, and even in their software. Getting in
touch with them is easy. They obviously want to provide support to their customers and don't want to hide like we've, unfortunately, seen with other antivirus and Internet security
companies.
With 100% free support that's extremely easy to find, Sunbelt scores high marks in our book for their support. Given the great job Sunbelt does, it's hard to understand why so many
other competitors can't seem to make this happen.
Sunbelt easily has the best customer and technical support we've seen.
VIPRE Premium Antivirus Firewall Software 2010
Review Conclusions
|
VIPRE Premium Antivirus Firewall Software 2010 Scores
|
|
Antivirus
|
$39.95
|
| Overall Internet Security Protection |
98 |
| Real-time Security Protection |
94 |
| Manual Antivirus Scanning |
89 |
| Resource Utlization |
95 |
| Virus Removal (Pre-infected Machine) |
90 |
| Antivirus Definition Updates |
92 |
|
Additional Internet Security Features
|
| Spyware/Adware Protection |
89 |
| Email Protection |
94 |
| Anti-Spam Protection |
|
| Firewall Software |
92 |
| Parental Controls Software |
|
| IM/Instant Message Protection |
94 |
| Anti-Phishing Protection |
|
|
Other Software Ratings
|
| Installation |
98 |
| Un-installation |
100 |
| User Interface |
98 |
| Customer Technical Support |
97 |
|
Combining VIPRE Antivirus with Sunbelt Firewall was a logical step for Sunbelt. VIPRE Antivirus Premium brings together the critical components of an Internet Security Suite:
- antivirus software
- anti-spyware
- firewall software
Its resource usage is still very light and low. Its core antivirus and antispyware protection is still more accurate than its competitors.
Its firewall is still easy to use, yet strong enough to block malicious attacks. And their customer support is still at the top of our list.
VIPRE Antivirus Premium is the best Internet security suite we've tested for 2010.
- Best combination of antivirus protection & resource usage
- Excellent real-time protection
- Average spyware protection
- Best customer and tech support
- Easy-to-use email protection
- Best user interface
- Best firewall
Is it perfect? No.
Is it excellent? Yes.
For starters, we'd like to see better antispyware protection. Our testing revealed some weak spots in VIPRE Antivirus Premium's ability to accurately detect and remove all spyware
and adware during real-time protection.
Our pre-infection tests should have seen better results at detecting latent viruses on machines that were already infected.
That said, after running a full-system, manual scan, the majority of these viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware, and other malware were detected. Then letting VIPRE Antivirus
Premium run in real-time, stopped any future attempts for the malware to run.
Overall, VIPRE Premium and Sunbelt do what you'd expect the best antivirus firewall software and Internet Security Suite to do. It keeps your PC clean and virus-free, runs without bogging your system down, and is backed by top-notch tech support.
Because of that VIPRE Antivirus Premium earns our 2010 Editor's Choice Award.
VIPRE Premium Antivirus Firewall Software 2010
System Requirements
|
| Software
|
- NEW: compatible with Windows 7, (and also compatible with XP mode in Windows 7)
- Windows Vista+ (All versions)
32 and 64-bit
- Windows Server 2003 (32/64-bit)
- Windows XP SP1, SP2, SP3 (Home, Pro, Media Center, Tablet) 32 and 64-bit
- Windows 2000 SP4 RollUp 1
|
| System Memory/RAM
|
512 MB
|
| Email
|
- Outlook 2000+
- Outlook Express 5.0+
- Windows Mail on Vista
- SMTP and POP3 (Thunderbird, IncrediMail, Eudora, etc. SSL supported only in Outlook and Outlook Express.)
|
Note: VIPRE Premium is not supported on Windows 95, 98, NT, or ME, Macintosh or Linux.
