Kaspersky Internet Security 2015—Multi-Device review: new interface, same excellent protection

Given that the average person owns several Internet connected devices, straight PC security doesn’t really cut it anymore. That’s why companies like Kaspersky are starting to offer cross-platform solutions for marginally more than their traditional PC-only antivirus programs.

For just $70 a year, Kaspersky Internet Security—Multi-Device 2015 protects up to five devices, including PCs, Macs, and Android phones and tablets. In addition to antivirus, you get some useful Android safety features such as anti-theft and loss protection, remote management, and automatic app scanning.

Kasperksy polished Internet Security's interface, but it remains touchscreen friendly.

Kaspersky remains one of the best antivirus programs on the market: Independent security research institute AV-Test found no major differences between the 2014 version of Kaspersky’s software (which received our highest score in this year’s security showdown) and the 2015 version.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2015—Multi-Device offers an array of protection for Android phones and tablets.

In AV-Test’s real-world tests, Kaspersky Internet Security—Multi-Device 2015 successfully blocked all 31 malicious URLs. In the “malware zoo” test, which evaluates a software’s ability to identify and block widespread known malware discovered within the last month, Kaspersky successfully detected and blocked 12,608 samples out of 12,618. The suite also got a perfect score for distinguishing between threats and non-threats. Performance-wise, the suite is similar to the 2014 software, which was one of the lightest programs in our recent round-up.

But while the software offers virtually the same protection, Kaspersky has revamped the interface. It’s still very touchscreen-friendly, with large buttons and toggle switches and larger-than-average checkboxes in the settings menu, but the overall look is more polished.

The main screen features a computer monitor—with a check mark denoting your PC is protected and a red X indicating it’s not—and four menu buttons: Scan, Update, Safe Money, and Parental Controls.

The Scan button takes you to a more detailed menu where you can run a full scan, quick scan, custom scan, scan your removable drives, or set up a scan schedule. Safe Money is Kaspersky’s online banking and payment protection software—selecting it allows you to add a list of websites you want to use with Kaspersky’s Protected Browser for extra ecommerce protection.

Kasperksy's main screen on a Mac.

Additional tools, accessed via a link in the lower right corner of the window, include “Browser Configuration,” a wizard that helps you optimize web browser settings; “Privacy Cleaner,” which clears your computer of recent commands and accessed files; and “Cloud Protection,” which connects you to Kaspersky’s Security Network and offers “instant response to new threats.”

Kaspersky always does a great job with its settings menu, which you can access by tapping the Settings link in the lower left corner of the main window. It’s organized into five categories (General, Protection Center, Performance, Scan, and Additional), and features touch-friendly controls and easy-to-understand explanations, even in the more advanced settings screens.

The bottom line

Kaspersky’s Internet Security—Multi-Device 2015 is easy to recommend if you’re a device junkie. Protection and performance are excellent, and this year’s interface is more polished than its predecessor without losing any usability. If you’re just looking for PC protection, you can save $10 with Kaspersky Internet Security 2015, which costs $60 for one year of protection for up to three PCs.

Sarah is a freelance writer and editor based in Silicon Valley. She has a love/hate relationship with social media and a bad habit of describing technology as "sexy."
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Smart Defrag 3 sports a newfound speed and a Metro-style interface

Though the benefits of defragging your hard drive are minimal in this day and age, after long periods of heavy use, a pass on the platters with a defragger isn’t a bad idea. Iobit’s Smart Defrag 3 is about as good a program as you’ll find at optimizing your files at the block level. And it’s free.

Smart Defrag 3 offers both a classic Windows, and a Metro look that appears right at home in the Windows 8.x modern GUI. I like the 2D Metro look even under Windows 7 so I stuck with that. As a company, Iobit has made hay with the Metro interface, offering both a classic start menu for Windows 8 users, and a Metro-style interface for XP/Vista/W7 users.

Smart Defrag has a host of options that make it more flexible than Windows' own hard drive defragger.

Smart Defrag is easy to use and smart enough not to auto-select SSDs for defragging. Defragging has no effect on SSD performance and simply wastes an SSD's precious read/write cycles. In other words, don’t do it.

In addition to normal whole-drive defragging, Smart Defrag 3 will also limit operations to partitions, single files and folders. This can help reduce load times for frequently used files without costing you the time a full defrag requires. There’s also boot time defrag and a scheduled defrag, but I suggest you skip the latter option as defragging more than once every few months takes more time than it saves. Necessary or not, In my testing Smart Defrag 3 did a very good job, and wrapped things up rather quickly given that all my hard drives are 2GB or larger.

Smart Defrag 3 is free, but it’s a loss leader for Iobit’s Advanced System Care and will install that as well unless you un-check the option. There’s also some minimally invasive advertising for Advanced System Care inside Smart Defrag 3.

Ads aside, if you have a drive that’s been in heavy service for a while, or want to defrag a heavily used folder without wasting time on a whole-drive operation, there are worse choices than downloading Smart Defrag 3 and letting it straighten things out.

Jon L. Jacobi has worked with computers since you flipped switches and punched cards to program them. He studied music at Juilliard, and now he power-mods his car for kicks.
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McAfee Internet Security 2014 review: Intuitive interface, decent protection

McAfee Internet Security 2014 ($56 for one year of protection on up to three PCs) offers adequate protection and an intuitive interface. The installation process can be a chore, and finding specific settings can be difficult, but its main shortcoming is that it offers fewer features than some of McAfee’s other products, despite its higher price.

In AV-Test’s real-world protection tests, McAfee successfully blocked 98 percent of all zero-day malware attacks (including Web and email threats). Though quite good in comparison to Microsoft Security Essentials’ performance (71 percent of samples blocked in the same tests), that mark lags behind the perfect scores posted by Eset Smart Security 7, F-Secure Internet Security 2014, Kaspersky Internet Security 2014,  Norton Internet Security 2014, and Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2014. Like most of the other suites, however, McAfee detected 100 percent of widespread malware that had been discovered in the month prior to the test.

In usability tests, the suite blocked a couple of legitimate software actions on suspicion that they were dangerous.

In AV-Test’s performance assessment, McAfee received a score of 5. This translates into slightly slower startup and shutdown times and some lag in opening programs.

McAfee Internet Security 2014's interface makes it easy to find your way around.

Installing McAfee Internet Security 2014 is somewhat arduous. First, the program scans for threats to ensure a smooth installation. Next, it asks you to log in to your McAfee account, using the email address and password that you used when you downloaded the program. Then it downloads the rest of the installer—which can take some time if you’re on a slow connection—installs the program, and requires a system reboot.

To its credit, McAfee Internet Security 2014 has among the best interfaces for Windows 8 touchscreens, with large buttons and banners that even clumsy fingers can easily tap. The main window has a large banner across the top that appears green if you’re protected, and red if you’re not. Below the banner are four large buttons for virus and spyware protection, Web and email protection, updates, and your subscription status. To the right of these buttons are three smaller buttons for data protection and backup, PC and home network tools, and parental controls.

Each section has its own settings menu—an arrangement that can be a bit confusing. Settings menus have clickable banners that you tap to open. Inside, they look like typical checkbox-and-radio-button menus. McAfee explains most of the advanced settings in simple language, and each menu features a ‘Learn more’ link that leads directly to the appropriate help section.

McAfee Internet Security 2014 offers reasonable protection and an intuitive interface, especially for Windows 8 users. But the company sells other products that offer greater functionality at a lower price. For example, McAfee All Access costs just $50 (for a limited time) and provides unlimited protection for all of your devices (including mobile), as well as online and social network protection. McAfee says that it continues to carry the Internet Security line for people who aren’t ready to switch to its all-inclusive products, which are equally effective against malware.

Sarah is a freelance writer and editor based in Silicon Valley. She has a love/hate relationship with social media and a bad habit of describing technology as "sexy."
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F-Secure Internet Security 2014 review: bulletproof protection, bad user interface

Looking for ironclad protection? F-Secure Internet Security 2014 ($80 for the “lifetime” of your PC—up to seven years) is bulletproof, ranking among the best performers in AV-Test’s protection assessments. But its interface is another story: If you don’t think user-friendliness matters, wait until you see this suite.

Along with Eset Smart Security 7, Kaspersky Internet Security 2014, Norton Internet Security 2014, and Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2014, F-Secure Internet Security 2014 offers the best protection of the ten security suites we tested. It protected our test systems from 100 percent of real-world (unknown, zero-day) malware attacks, including web and email threats, and it also shielded systems from 100 percent of widespread known malware attacks. F-Secure isn’t invincible—even Superman has a weakness—but it’s pretty darn close.

In usability tests, F-Secure identified five legitimate programs as threats during a routine system scan. That put it in a tie with Vipre Internet Security 2014 and Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Complete for the most false-positive flags in our roundup.

In AV-Test’s performance tests, F-Secure scored a 2, meaning that it imposed less strain on system resources than all but one of the other most effective malware-blocking suites, that one being Kaspersky Internet Security 2014.

No touchscreen-friendly tiles on this settings menu.

Installing F-Secure is arduous, with a few screens stretched across a long process. The first screen is a license and user agreement (no other suite has this). The second screen walks you through downloading the rest of the installer, which can take awhile if you have a slow connection. A third screen asks whether you want to participate in F-Secure’s real-time reporting program, and the fourth screen commences the actual installation process. F-Secure detects conflicting programs, such as rival security suites, and requests that you uninstall them before proceeding. And you’ll have to reboot your computer before the installation is complete.

Instead of using a big, touchscreen-optimized window, F-Secure opts for a small, unobtrusive launch pad that hangs out at the bottom of your screen. The launch pad has five buttons, for Computer Security, Online Safety, Safe Profile, Search, and F-Secure. Clicking Computer Security opens a window that’s closer to what you see in other suites: It provides a picture of a computer with a green checkmark (if you’re protected) or a red ‘x’ (if you’re not), and quick links to scan and settings. The window also includes tabs for tools (advanced scan, firewall settings, quarantined files) and statistics.

The settings menus are not designed for amateurs—they're full of checkboxes with little accompanying explanation. Each icon from the launch pad has its own settings menu, except ‘Safe Profile’ and ‘Search’, which are browser-based options.

We should also underscore F-Secure’s unique approach to pricing: Whereas most of the nine other suites in our security roundup charge between $40 and $80 for a single year of protection but offer coverage for between one and three systems, F-Secure charges $80 to cover only one PC—but its coverage lasts for seven years (only Vipre, which charges $50 for two years of coverage for a single system offers more than a one-year term of coverage). Its pricing structure makes F-Secure a real bargain if you have just one PC to protect.

F-Secure Internet Security 2014 may offer top-notch protection, but so do several other suites in our roundup. Unfortunately, the program’s antiquated interface mars an otherwise great product.

Sarah is a freelance writer and editor based in Silicon Valley. She has a love/hate relationship with social media and a bad habit of describing technology as "sexy."
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VIPRE Internet Security 2014: Adequate protection, interface needs a makeover

The name Vipre Internet Security 2014 sounds impressive. But this security suite ($50 for two years of protection on one PC) offers merely adequate protection, and its interface needs a makeover.

In our real-world (zero-day) tests, Vipre blocked 87 percent of unknown malware attacks, compared to 98 percent or better for most other products (only Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Complete fared worse than Vipre on this measure). Vipre performed extremely well against known malware attacks, however, successfully blocking 100 percent of them.

Though Vipre didn’t incorrectly tag any safe websites as threatening, it did flag five legitimate programs as dangerous in our usability tests. Only F-Secure Internet Security 2014, and Webroot SecureAnywhere (again) had as many false positives in our ten-suite roundup.

Vipre adds some bulk to your system resources, with a performance score of 7–that’s marginally better than Norton Internet Security 2014 and Eset Smart Security 7, but significantly slower than Kaspersky Internet Security 2014, F-Secure Internet Security 2014, and AVG Internet Security 2014, among others. With Vipre running, you may see some lag in startup and shutdown times.

Word links, checkboxes, and radio buttons don't fly in the touchscreen era.

Installing Vipre is a quick process, but it does require a system restart. The program identifies incompatible software, such as other antivirus programs, but it doesn’t require that you uninstall them before continuing (though it recommends that you do so).

The main console window has Vipre’s logo in the upper left corner, next to five tabs: Overview, Scan, Firewall, Manage, and Tools. The Overview screen shows you your protection level in four status indicators (scan status, protection, updates, and firewall). Each status indicator has a circle with a green checkmark (if you’re protected) or a red x (if you’re not), and a link to that status’s settings menu.

The other tabs offer more-advanced features, such as quarantine and scan schedules in the Manage tab, and ‘Social Watch’ and ‘History Cleaner’ in the Tools tab. Though the main buttons and tabs are touchscreen-friendly, most of Vipre’s interface is full of word links, checkboxes, and radio buttons.

Vipre’s settings menu needs a lot of work. You can access specific settings (such as settings specific to scanning, or to the firewall) from the main screen, but the menu is confusing, unintuitive, and not at all touch-optimized. The program doesn’t explain terms and features, though you can always click the Help button if you want to slog through VIPRE’s Help literature.

Vipre Internet Security 2014 pales next to the competition. The level of protection it offers is just adequate, and its interface lacks polish.

Sarah is a freelance writer and editor based in Silicon Valley. She has a love/hate relationship with social media and a bad habit of describing technology as "sexy."
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Review: 64-bit PaintShop Pro X6 is faster, but its interface is still clunky

For most professionals, Adobe Photoshop CS is the only photo editing tool worthy of consideration. Casual snapshooters can choose from a wealth of free and Web-based editors. For everyone in the middle—photo enthusiasts, serious shooters, and even pros dissatisfied with Adobe's new Creative Cloud—there's Corel's PaintShop Pro.

A viable Photoshop alternative for 20 years, PaintShop Pro offers 90 percent of Adobe's features for a tenth the price. In PaintShop Pro X6, Corel offers almost nothing new...which isn't such a bad thing. With a few exceptions, this upgrade is all about improved performance.

At long last, PaintShop Pro is a 64-bit application. That should mean faster processing and the ability to work with larger and more numerous images. Corel offers a slew of benchmarks to show that X6 runs faster than its predecessors, and in practice I found it to run notably quicker.

PaintShop Pro’s Edit workspace is essentially unchanged from previous editions, but that doesn't diminish its power, including layer and mask support and a bevy of selection tools.

Using my own stopwatch, I found that on the same PC, X6 shaves a few seconds off the startup time. Images—both JPG and RAW—load about 10 percent faster, and X6 catalogs folders and displays images more than twice as fast. Everything is snappier, giving the impression that you're at the helm of a tightly run ship.

The ship needs a new quartermaster, though. PaintShop Pro's relatively unchanged interface puts efficient design second to displaying lots and lots of tools. You access the three workspaces—Manage, Adjust, and Editing—via tabs at the top of the screen.

The Manage workspace makes it easy to review and edit metadata, as well as index your photos into "collections" for faster searching and browsing.

The Manage workspace is sort of like a light box mode. You inspect photos, review metadata, and enter ratings and keywords there. Although this view is perhaps the most crowded and confusing, it's all highly configurable. You can turn various panes, palettes, and toolbars off and rearrange things to your liking.

You can avoid the Manage view entirely, if you like: The program doesn't force you to import photos into a proprietary library, so you can always navigate through existing folders. If you don't use Corel's "collections," though, you're missing out. They let you tag photos for easier retrieval, and they load more quickly as well.

They also give you access to a face recognition mode, but it's perhaps more trouble than it's worth. Among other difficulties, browsing photos by people is difficult because you see tightly cropped faces only, not the entire image.

For a fast, lightweight editor, head over to the Adjust workspace, which houses about a dozen common tools Corel deems useful for lightweight editing and as go-to tools for novices. Here again, though, Corel's interface instincts strike a sour note. Some tools, such as cropping, red eye, and straightening appear in toolbar form under the histogram, but you have to access Smart Photo Fix, white balance, fill light, and others from a textual list below. There's no apparent rhyme or reason for why it's organized this way.

For lightweight editing, you can stay in the simpler Adjust workspace, which has a surprising range of tools—from exposure adjustments and Instagram-style effects to a clone brush.

That said, the tools are great. You could spend most of your time in this simplified interface, especially if all you need is to touch up digital photos with some exposure adjustments, noise reduction, and the occasional tourist removal via a clone brush.  This is also the easiest place to reach the hundred-odd Instagram-like Instant Effects.

The Editing workspace is where PaintShop Pro most closely resembles Photoshop. It's chock-full of layer support, selection tools, levels and curves controls, and even the ability to use industry standard Adobe Photoshop plug-ins.

There are relatively few "big ideas" that PaintShop Pro doesn't deliver on. Not only does the program include a very serviceable High Dynamic Range feature for combining a series of photos shot with a range of exposures, it can split one RAW image into three, and then reassemble them into an HDR shot. The effect isn't nearly as good as a true HDR, of course—PSP can't magically extend the dynamic range beyond what the camera sensor captured—but the effect can be convincing with the right source material.

Emphasize your subject with some depth-of-field style blurring.

Jealous of Photoshop's context-aware fill? You won't find that here, but you can use the Smart Cleaver to cut out objects and shrink the image as if they were never there. Depth of Field lets you blur the background with a few clicks. And  Photo Merge combines multiple photos of the same scene so you can keep the best shot of each person in a group. Just one surprising omission: There's still no panoramic stitching tool.

Good luck memorizing where to find these tools, though. They're scattered across multiple menus as if the wind blew them there.

Aside from the snappier performance, you'll have to look closely to notice the handful of differences from X5. I particularly like the new Auto Selection tool: Just draw a box around something in your photo, and PSP automatically selects it. You can then fine-tune the selection as usual.

The HDR compositor can accept multiple photos with a variety of exposures, or just one image that it splits apart using an exposure bias that you specify.

PaintShop Pro is currently available only as an upgrade to existing customers. It comes in two flavors: PaintShop Pro X6 ($60 upgrade) and X6 Ultimate ($80 upgrade). Ultimate includes a few extras, including the standalone FaceFilter program for editing portraits. On September 4, anyone can buy X6 for $80 and X6 Ultimate for $100.

A useful upgrade at a palatable price

If you're seeking an alternative to Photoshop, Corel PaintShop Pro is an unquestionable bargain. Unless you program Photoshop Actions in your sleep, you won't be missing much, if anything.

Whether you should upgrade from X5 is a trickier question. Casual photo tweakers probably won't notice much of a difference. But if you are currently frustrated by X5's 32-bit limitations for managing a large number of photos in your workspace, stepping up to X6 will save you considerable time.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

Dave Johnson is a writer and photographer who has covered technology for magazines such as PCWorld and Wired. He is currently the Editorial Director for eHow.com's Tech channel. Dave is the author of How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera, and over a dozen other books.
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Review: Dashlane is a robust password manager with a gorgeous interface

Dashlane With its simple interface and myriad of features, Dashlane is a powerful password manager anyone should consider.

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A password manager is a must. Unless you're using the same password for everything (not recommended) or have a truly phenomenal memory, your productivity can benefit from a place to store all your passwords and easily use them whenever necessary. There are several strong players in this field, such as LastPass and KeePass. Dashlane (free for basic version, $20/year for Premium) aims to take on both.

Dashlane is a robust password manager with additional room for your various IDs, credit cards and other payment methods, receipts, and notes. It comes with an auto-fill feature for online forms to which you can add different addresses, phone numbers, and other personal information you're tired of typing repeatedly. There are two features that make Dashlane stand out when compared to both LastPass and KeePass: Its beautiful and easy-to-use interface, and its optional cloud syncing.

The Security Dashboard analyzes your database, alerting you of weak, recurring, or breached passwords

Setting up Dashlane is exceptionally easy. LastPass and KeePass are both fairly easy to use, but they have nothing on Dashlane. The installation process takes you step by step through setting up the program, with clear instructions and smooth guidance. After choosing your master password for Dashlane--unlike LastPass, there's no "password reminder" here, so you must remember it or lose access to your database--Dashlane will install itself on your browsers (Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer are supported), and will lead you through trying out its different features and interface elements.

If you're already using a different password manager, you can import your database into Dashlane pretty easily. The import tool supports databases from Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, LastPass, 1Password, RoboForm, PasswordWallet, KeePess, and custom CSV files, but the tool is a little finicky. For example, my KeePass CSV did not contain a filled-in URL field, as this is not mandatory in KeePass. Dashlane ignored every password that did not come with a URL, leaving me with no way to import my large password database into Dashlane. Fortunately, Dashlane can automatically add new credentials upon logging in to websites, so after using it for several days, most of my oft-used passwords were transferred to Dashlane without much effort on my part.

On every new login, Dashlane will offer to automatically save your credentials

Dashlane's strong yet subtle browser integration makes logging in to websites a seamless operation, but doesn't add unnecessary clutter to your browsing experience. Once a password is stored in Dashlane, it can log you in automatically every time the website is loaded, or auto-fill the credentials without logging you in. If you're opening an account on a new website, Dashlane can generate a strong password for you right from your browser, and store it in your database in one fell swoop.

You can categorize passwords and other information for easy access, and a small blue impala icon in a browser text field will alert you to the fact that Dashlane can auto-fill this for you. If you have more than one account with a website, more than one email address you like to use, etc., clicking the blue impala will open a dropdown menu where you can choose the desired information.

One of the most important aspects of a password manager is security, and with Dashlane, you can select your level of paranoia. Your database is encrypted with AES-256 encryption, only you know the master password to decrypt it, and you can enable Google Authenticator for extra security. Unlike LastPass, where everything is in the cloud, automatic cloud syncing and backup is a Premium feature in Dashlane, so free users don't have to worry about it.

Even if you're a paid customer, however, you can easily opt out of cloud syncs, meaning your password database is only stored locally, just like with KeePass. Unlike KeePass, though, Dashlane's free mobile apps can be managed as separate databases, so you can access your passwords on the go without worrying about constant cloud syncs. When enabled, Dashlane syncs happen every 5 minutes, and there's no way to control or reduce this frequency.

The Premium version also includes Web access to your data from any browser, anywhere

Dashlane is an impressive password manager with some excellent features and a beautiful interface. It does require a certain amount of trust in the company, especially when using its syncing options, and for $20/year, its Premium version is expensive when compared to the alternatives. Nevertheless, it is the perfect password manager for the less tech-savvy, and even the experienced are sure to enjoy it, if only for the merits of its interface. It's available in Android, iOS, and Mac editions, in addition to the PC edition I reviewed.

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Review: Easily edit images and create collages using Fotor in Windows 8's Modern interface

Fotor Fotor is no Photoshop, but it's simple, fun, and works well for basic image editing.

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If Picasa has taught us anything, it's that not every image editor has to be Photoshop. Sometimes you just want a quick, fun way to enhance your photos, add some neat effects, and maybe create a collage or two. If that sounds like fun and you happen to be rocking a Windows 8 device, you should check out Fotor, a free photo editor that uses the Modern interface. It's fast, visual, and has virtually no learning curve.

Fotor makes it easy to add text overlays to images, but you can control the font size independently.

When you launch Fotor, it lets you open an existing photo to edit, or start working on a collage. It also comes with six sample photos arranged in an attractive grid, to get you started. The simplest way to get a feel for what Fotor is like is to click a sample photo. Do that, and you'll find yourself in the editing interface.

In editing mode, the image dominates most of the screen, and an editing toolbar lines the right side of the screen—opposite where you'd normally expect it, but in keeping with the Modern interface convention. The toolbar is subdivided into eight sections, six of which contain editing tools: Basic editing (color corrections), cropping, effects, borders, focus effects, and text tools. The other two sections let you open new files for editing, and save your work.

Fotor offers numerous effects, including crowd-pleasing Lomo looks

The color correction interface uses sliders, with live image updates: Just move the slider and see the change instantly. Cropping is similarly intuitive, with 11 preset aspect ratios, and a free-crop mode (to set your own aspect ratio). Just drag a frame across the image to set out your crop area, and click Confirm when you're happy with the composition.

Fotor's selective focus tool is the most nuanced one in the app, allowing for fine adjustments.

Image effects are divided into five categories, ranging from Classic to "Dark Corners" (i.e., vignette effects). While each category contains many different effects, individual effects cannot be adjusted in any way. Many of the image modifications are heavy-handed, and Fotor offers no way to tone down the amount of influence a given effect has. Also, you can't layer effects one on top of the other. You need to pick one effect for your image and stick with it. The Borders category is similar: There's a rich selection of borders, but you can't tweak anything, like the size of the margin or the color of a given border.

Fotor's collage mode makes it easy to pick a number of images for your collage.

One category that does offer fine-grained adjustments is the Tilt-Shift Mode, whereby you can apply selective focus effects to your image. Tilt-shift (a "miniature look") isn't the only option: You can also apply a center focus effect, where the subject appears sharp and surrounding detail is blurred out. Both center focus and tilt-shift effects offer many adjustments: You can change the tilt shift's angle, and change either mode's blur radius and virtual aperture size. Of all the tools Fotor offers, selective focus is the most nuanced.

Finally, you can also overlay your image with some text. The text tool offers a limited number of fonts (you can't pick from any font installed on your computer), and lets you pick one of several overlay templates, such as speech or thought bubbles. There is no way to control the font size independently of the template: You can only resize the text along with the speech bubble it's in.

In collage mode, it's easy to move images around, resize the different parts of the collage, or pick one several premade layouts.

All in all, Fotor does what it does quite well. It excels in being quick, and quick to master. Few features are cryptic, and none appear to rely on hidden toolbars you need to slide into view. If you want to edit images in the Modern user interface, Fotor is a great option.

Note: The Download button takes you to the Windows Store, where you can download the software to your system.

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Review: Skitch Touch makes it easy to annotate images in Windows 8's Modern interface

Evernote-owned free utility Skitch is a great way to annotate images and screenshots. It comes in both Windows and Mac OS X editions, and mobile versions for iOS and Android are available, too. And somewhere between the mobile and desktop versions comes Skitch Touch, the version built for Windows 8's Modern Interface. It has the same simple and pretty annotation tools as the other versions, but being a Modern app, offers less power and features than the traditional Windows version.

Like many other Modern apps, Skitch Touch seems to be designed for screen in the 11- to 13-inch range. On a 24-inch monitor, it ends up displaying vast expanses of white, unused space. As you launch it, Skitch Touch shows a beautiful Create New area on the left side of the screen, letting you create a pull in material to visually annotate from a camera (presumably a tablet's built-in camera, but this feature also works with a regular webcam connected to a computer), a map, a photo or screenshot you've previously taken, an image saved into the clipboard, or a blank canvas.

Skitch Touch makes it easy to start annotating a new image from a variety of sources.

Notably missing is the option to capture a new screenshot. You'll have to use a third-party tool for this, such as Screenshot Captor or ZScreen.

Once you have an image open for editing, annotating it is just as easy as on other Skitch versions. Part of what makes Skitch fun to use is that it doesn't overwhelm the user with numerous tools: There are just seven of them to master. You can draw arrows on your image, enter text, demarcate areas with rectangles, and squiggle with a marker. Other tools let you style your annotations (pick a color and stroke width), pixelate areas of the image, and crop the image. That's basically it—but really, that's all you need to get your point across when annotating an image.

When you're ready to share your work with others, click the Export button, and you can save the image as a JPG or PNG file. This isn't as convenient as being able to drag the image off the window to save it (a feature Skitch for Windows offers), but it works. To save your work as a Skitch document for editing later, click the checkmark on the top-right corner of the screen. Saving files for editing later is another area where Skitch Touch could do better: Unless you log into your Evernote account using Skitch, you only have access your most recently edited file. Once you log into Evernote from Skitch, the main part of the window shows previous files, and you can easily click through to edit them.

Skitch's simple annotation tools go well with the simple Modern visual aesthetic.

Skitch is a fundamentally simple tool, and it already offers mobile versions for iOS and Android, something that helps when designing a Modern app. It's also visual, which is a great quality for a Modern app to have. Thanks to these advantages, Skitch Touch offers a better Modern experience than most apps I've seen so far, and should work especially well on a touch-enabled tablet screen.

Note: The Download button on the Product Specs page takes you to the Windows Store, where you can download the latest version of the software.

Endlessly tweaking his workflow for comfort and efficiency, Erez is a freelance writer on a mission to discover the simplest, coolest, and most effective software and websites to make tomorrow happen today.
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Roku 3 Launches with New Interface, Remote with Headphone Jack

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G Data InternetSecurity 2013 Review: Excellent protection, but a terrible user interface

Sarah is a freelance writer and editor based in Silicon Valley. She has a love/hate relationship with social media and a bad habit of describing technology as "sexy."
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G Data InternetSecurity 2013 ($35 for one year, as of 12/19/12) is a comprehensive security suite with an excellent protection record: It blocked, detected, and disabled all of the malicious files we threw at it, and cleaned up 80 percent of infections in our system cleanup test. However, it’s not the most user-friendly suite, with a tedious installation process and an advanced-users-only settings panel. As a result, it ended up toward the bottom of our rankings.

In our real-world attack test, G Data completely blocked 100 percent of attacks. This indicates how well the product will successfully block brand new malware attacks when it encounters them in the wild. Of the nine security suites we tested, five completely blocked all attacks: G Data, F-Secure, Bitdefender, Norton, and Trend Micro.

G Data also has an excellent malware detection rate. In our malware-zoo detection test, the program detected 99.7 percent of known malware samples. This detection rate puts G Data in fourth place for malware detection. G Data did have a higher false positive percentage than other security suites—it flagged three safe files (out of over 250,000) as malicious. Although this is a very low false positive rate, seven of the suites we tested flagged fewer than two safe files as malicious.

In our system cleanup test, G Data detected and disabled 100 percent of infections. It also managed to completely clean up 80 percent of infections, which puts it in third place (alongside Kaspersky and Trend Micro). This test shows how well a product can find, disable, and remove every last trace of an infection, so you can rest assured that G Data will do a respectable job.

G Data is one of the lightest security suites we tested this year. It adds practically nothing to startup time (compared to a PC with no antivirus installed), though it adds about 5.5 seconds to shutdown time. G Data’s scan times aren’t quite as good—it takes one minute and 56 seconds to complete an on-demand (manual) scan, which is the second-worst time of the tested suites. It also takes six minutes and two seconds to complete an on-access scan, which puts it in third-to-last place.

G Data’s installation process is, simply put, annoying. It has ten screens to click through, several of which require user input, such as choosing services and registering for a G Data account. The program automatically changes your screensaver, although it does offer up a one-click option to change it back. This seems over-the-top, considering a screensaver is not in any way associated with antivirus protection. G Data does not have a toolbar.

The suite's interface isn’t very attractive, nor is it very usable. At the top of the main window sits a large banner that displays your security status. Underneath this are separate modules for different areas of protection, including virus protection, Web protection, spam protection, and the firewall. The modules’ titles are clickable, and when you click on them you’ll get a drop-down menu that relates to that module, with quick links to different types of scans and settings.

Here’s where it gets difficult: The settings menu in G Data isn’t quite as intimidating as Avira’s settings menu, but it’s also not designed for beginners. The nested menus seem simple enough, but aside from the general settings menu (which lets you optimize settings for a standard computer, a slow computer, or a user-defined type of computer), everything is confusing. There are no simple explanations for different features and settings—instead, there is just a help button that takes you to a comprehensive online help manual.

Overall, G Data InternetSecurity 2013 is an effective antimalware suite that will keep you protected from almost all new threats. However, it suffers from a confusing, overly complicated user interface and settings panel, both of which seem to be designed more for advanced users than less experienced ones.

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Review: Bitdefender Internet Security 2013: Excellent protection, user-friendly interface

Sarah is a freelance writer and editor based in Silicon Valley. She has a love/hate relationship with social media and a bad habit of describing technology as "sexy."
More by Sarah Jacobsson Purewal

Bitdefender Internet Security 2013 ($70 for one year and three PCs, as of 12/19/12) may just be everything that you’d want in a security suite. This program, which earned the highest rating in both our real-world attack test and our system cleanup test, has a user-friendly interface that will appeal to both regular and advanced users. It also comes with several extra services, such as antitheft protection for various mobile devices.

In our real-world attack test (which indicates how well a suite will be able to block new malware attacks as it encounters them), Bitdefender completely blocked 100 percent of attacks. (Four other tested security suites also put up perfect scores in this test: F-Secure, G Data, Norton, and Trend Micro.) Bitdefender was also able to detect 98.8 percent of known malware samples in our malware-zoo detection test. That’s not a bad detection rate, but five of the nine security suites in this year’s roundup had detection rates of 99.0 percent or higher.

Bitdefender managed to detect and disable 100 percent of the infections in our system cleanup test, and it successfully cleaned up all traces of infections 90 percent of the time. This result is the best full-cleanup rate of any of the suites we tested—only F-Secure Internet Security 2013 had a similar cleanup rate (90 percent). Bitdefender flagged just one file (out of over 250,000) as malicious, which gives it a very low false-positive percentage compared with its competition.

The program adds just a little extra weight to your system—in other words, its slowdowns are tolerable. It added 3.5 seconds to startup time (compared to a PC with no antivirus program installed), which puts it in the lower half of the suites we tested. It also added a second or so to shutdown time. Bitdefender has the longest on-demand scanning time (2 minutes, 1 second) of the programs we tested, and the fourth-longest on-access scanning time (5 minutes, 41 seconds).

Bitdefender’s installation process is a little tedious. It has only six screens to click through, but a couple of those screens re­­quire user input (such as choosing whether to turn on certain features), and the last screen requires you to log in to, or create, a Bitdefender account. Bitdefender does not come with a browser toolbar, but it does install a widget that sits on your desktop and displays protection status and notifications.

Bitdefender’s user interface is attractive and nicely laid out, with a large banner that shows protection status and smaller modules for specific areas of protection. It’s easy to find things on the main screen: A big settings button, for example, takes you to a comprehensive list of settings, to a notifications area, and to smaller modules (for antivirus functions, online privacy, the firewall, program updates, and so on) that allow you to quickly access and configure those features.

Settings and options are abundant, but not overwhelming. Bitdefender does a good job of keeping things simple, unless you want to see more-advanced options. If you do start to get a little confused, you can always click the help button in the bottom-right corner of each screen to see pop-up messages that describe what the settings do.

Bitdefender also lets you manage your services, apps, and mobile devices from a Web portal called MyBitdefender. This portal, which you sign up for when you install the program, lets you configure online parental controls, manage Facebook and Twitter protection, set up antitheft protection for your devices, activate identity theft protection, and access Bitdefender’s Safebox cloud backup storage (you get 2GB for free).

Overall, Bitdefender’s 2013 Internet security suite is an excellent, user-friendly program. It does have some mild scanning-speed issues, but otherwise it’s an easy-to-use suite that gives you several nice extra services.

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Review: Norton Internet Security 2013: Solid performer with a polished interface

Sarah is a freelance writer and editor based in Silicon Valley. She has a love/hate relationship with social media and a bad habit of describing technology as "sexy."
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Symantec’s 2013 edition of Norton Internet Security ($50 for one year and three PCs, as of 12/19/12) is a solid performer with a polished, touch-optimized user interface. This security suite didn’t totally dominate its competitors, but it did completely block, detect, and disable all malware in our real-world tests, and it performed well enough overall to snag second place in our roundup.

Norton’s excellent showing in our real-world attack test indicates that it should be effective at blocking brand-new malware attacks as it encounters them in the wild. As noted in the F-Secure review, of the security suites we tested, four others were also successful at completely blocking 100 percent of attacks: Bitdefender, F-Secure, G Data, and Trend Micro.

Norton produced stellar—though not absolutely perfect—results in detecting known malware. In our malware-zoo detection test, the program successfully detected 99.8 percent of known malware samples. Norton Internet Security also put up a perfect score in our false-positive test: It didn’t mistakenly identify any safe files, out of more than 250,000, as being malicious.

Norton does an acceptable job of cleaning up a system that has already been infected, but it missed some infections completely in our evaluation. In our system cleanup test, the program detected and disabled 90 percent of infections, and completely cleaned up 60 percent of infections. This is a decent but not fantastic showing—seven of our tested suites detected and disabled 100 percent of infections, and six cleaned up all traces of infection at least 70 percent of the time.

On the other hand, Norton Internet Security is a relatively lightweight program that won’t bog down your system. It added about half a second to startup time (compared to a PC that had no antivirus program installed), and also added 3 seconds to shutdown time; in all of our other speed tests, it was faster than average. Norton is faster than average when it comes to scanning speeds, as well. The package required just 1 minute, 19 seconds to complete an on-demand (manual) scan, and 2 minutes, 55 seconds to complete an on-access scan—both are times that represent better-than-average results.

Norton’s interface is very polished and simple, and the program installs with just one click. The main window has tilelike buttons, which look designed to work well with Windows 8 touch systems. You’ll find four tiles on the main screen: a tile that shows your protection status, along with information about your CPU usage; a ‘Scan Now’ tile; a LiveUpdate tile (which you’d use to install any updates to the suite); and a tile for advanced settings. You can also access the settings via the Settings tab, which is located at the top of the screen.

The settings menu is relatively easy to navigate, though it has more options than a beginning user really needs. Still, Norton does a good job of explaining different features and toggles, and a little help button (which takes you to Norton’s online support site) is always located next to confusing terms.

The 2013 version of Norton Internet Security is definitely worth a look, especially if you’re a Windows 8 user.

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Paragon Software Hard Disk Manager 12 Professional Review: Storage Tools Wrapped in a Middling Interface

Paragon Hard Disk Manager 12 Professional ($100 as of June 1, 2012) is as comprehensive a toolset for hard drives as you'll find. It has full backup, imaging, and partitioning capabilities, and it also supports virtualization software such as VirtualBox and VMware by allowing you to create virtual machines for those programs.

The Paragon Hard Disk Manager 12 Professional interface is relatively straightforward, but the dialogs could stand some improvement.HDM hasn't changed a whole lot since the last version; it was already so comprehensive, however, that Paragon simply didn't have that much to add. The short list of partition functions includes creating, moving, formatting, deleting, backing up, burning to CD, converting the file system, and wiping. You can do the same things with entire disks, as well as convert them from MBR to GPT. You can also back up and restore individual files and folders.

Included in HDM 12 Pro are all the features offered in the company's Virtualization Manager: You can convert a partition to a virtual machine and back, convert a Windows 7 backup image to a VM, and restore from a VM to diverse hardware. The program also handles dynamic disks, merges images, manages multiple backups in archives, and performs a host of other tasks I don't have the room to discuss here. A features list comparison between the professional edition and the less expensive suite version is available at the company's website.

I love the everything-under-one-roof concept of HDM 12's interface. It's far more convenient than jumping around between modules, as with other programs such as Acronis True Image and Disk Director. I also like the fact that you define a series of actions, and then set them in motion using the Apply button. However, I don't see why the program needs to instill even a slight hint of paranoia by asking if you really want to apply the changes when all you're doing is backing up. (On the other hand, you can set several backup jobs to go off consecutively using the define/apply methodology.) On top of that, while the interface is fairly straightforward, I'd rather see standard Windows file dialog boxes, which are to my mind easier to use than Paragon's custom boxes.

For version 12, Paragon is touting a new imaging engine with better performance. Normally I dismiss claims like this as overblown before I've even tested them, and usually I'm correct in my assumptions. In this case, though, I found HDM 12 to be not only fast but also noninterfering. In fact, I wrote the majority of this review with the program humming away in the background, and I forgot that it was running.

One feature that is missing from HDM 12 is the ability to mount an image as a virtual hard drive that you can peruse in Windows Explorer. R-Drive Image and True Image do this, and I've found it to be a handy way to quickly pull a file or two out of a backup. HDM 12 lets you connect to an image to perform partition and other operations on it, but doesn't mount it.

Backup, virtual machines, partitioning, conversion--Hard Drive Manager 12 Professional is a powerful toolkit. At $100, it is a bit pricey for the average user, so be sure to check out the aforementioned $50 suite version to see if that will cover your needs.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you must register to download the latest version of the software.

--Jon L. Jacobi

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Ad-Aware's New Interface Appeals to Novices and Experts Alike

Over the years, Lavasoft's Ad-Aware product line has made itself a name in the highly competitive anti-malware marketplace, and today's release of version 10 introduces a new UI, new pricing ($12 per year for Personal, $36 per year for Pro), and more features--and a new name--for the popular free edition. This blog item discusses only the new design and features. PCWorld has not tested yet tested Ad-Aware 10's effectiveness in fighting malware.

Ad-Aware's free version offers comprehensive protection at no cost, with a slick new interface.The work Lavasoft put into the UI shows right from the installation phase. Ad-Aware uses its own custom installer, which downloads the most recent definitions file as part of the installation process, so you don't have to update Ad-Aware immediately after installing it. Slick as this is, the installer does still require a system restart before Ad-Aware can start working.

As part of the installation process, Ad-Aware suggests installing its browser toolbar, and switching your default homepage and search engine to Blekko. These are enabled by default, but you can opt out of them if you wish.

The browser toolbar is a small part of the Ad-Aware experience. Ad-Aware 10 introduces all-new UI: Gone is the compact bluish window with the radar-like Scan System icon, replaced by a more spacious window with dark accents and a greenish theme. The entire interface changed, and the home screen is now split into Basic Protection on the left (Antivirus & Antispyware, Real-Time Protection, Gaming Mode), and Advanced Protection on the right.

Advanced Protection is a collection of features such as E-Mail Protection (assuming you use an email client such as Outlook), External Storage Scan (to check USB storage devices as soon as you plug them in), and an Advanced Firewall. In the Free and Personal editions, most of the iPhone-esque toggle buttons controlling Advanced Protection features are switched to the off position, and if you try to switch them on, you get a popup saying that this feature is only available on Ad-Aware Pro. Even after upgrading to the Pro version, I was unable to switch on the Advanced Firewall and Shop & Bank Safely features: No matter how many times I clicked the toggle button, it would slide to On, and then immediately slide back to Off, with no error message or any other hint as to what might be wrong. Other Pro features toggled on just fine.

Ad-Aware Pro Security enables features such as email protection and scanning USB drives as you plug them in.The work Lavasoft put into simplifying the interface shows. Like any self-respecting anti-malware product, Ad-Aware makes sure you know if your computer is at risk. A huge (138-pixel tall) banner on top of the window displays an exclamation point, along with a message in all-caps saying COMPUTER STATUS: AT RISK. Can't really get much clearer than that. A large, soothing orange button on the bottom right corner exhorts you to "Scan Now!" and once you click it, launches a quick scan. The scan took about five minutes to run on my computer, and completed without delivering any further alerts.

The home screen feels like the dashboard of a powerful application, but will not confuse even a novice user. The Scan Now button can't be missed, nor can the current system status. More technically inclined users will be able to view scan reports, quarantined files, protection settings, and definition update status with ease, via links on the top-right corner.

It is very easy to switch features on and off via the interface, although there is no real reason to toggle protection off. The only toggle button I see users routinely using is the one for Gaming Mode, newly available in the free version. This is a silent mode in which Ad-Aware doesn't show pop-ups. Another significant new feature in the free version is real-time protection, which scans your computer as you work.

All in all, Ad-Aware 10 is a promising product, and it feels polished and modern. Its free version is very functional, and is a viable alternative to free offerings like Microsoft Security Essentials, at least in terms of interface and ease of use. For its effectiveness, only testing will tell.

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Avast Mobile Security Review: Extra Safeguards but No Web Interface

Avast Mobile Security provides antivirus, Web, and app protection for your Android-based phone or tablet. Though the software isn't optimized for tablets, Avast says that it expects to offer better tablet support sometime in the first quarter of 2012. On phones, Avast provides features such as SMS and call filtering, remote locking, and remote wiping. For rooted phones and tablets, it offers a firewall and enhanced uninstall protection.

The first time you run the application after downloading and installing it, Avast Mobile Security will prompt you to complete the setup the first time you run it. Though setup is a bit more involved for AMS than for most other mobile security apps, it helps you disguise the antitheft component. Once you're done, you'll find that the main screen of the app lists shortcuts to each of the software's main features.

The Virus Scanner checks newly installed apps for malware and lets you perform on-demand scans of all installed apps and of the memory card content, whether initiated manually or on days and at times you schedule.

The Privacy Advisor searches for apps that have access to your sensitive data or device functions, and organizes them for you to investigate further.

The Application Manager lists running user and system apps. You can browse through the list and select an app to view its privacy information, force it to close, or access the app's system information screen.

The Web Shield integrates with the default Android browser and alerts you when it detects a malicious or phishing site, in much the same way that antivirus programs do on desktop computers.

The SMS and Call Filter lets you block communication with select numbers--useful when you don't want to be bothered or you want to ignore a certain person. You can specify who to block by choosing contacts and manually entering numbers, or you can block all hidden or unknown numbers. The app maintains a log, so you can see all blocked communications.

The Firewall, which works only for rooted phones and tablets, enables you to deny apps access to Wi-Fi, data, and/or cellular connections. This feature could increase your device's security, reduce battery drain, and save on data usage.

The Anti-Theft component provides remote functionality and SIM card protection. Keep in mind that initiating any of the remote-control functions involves sending text messages to your device from someone else's phone: As yet, Avast doesn't provide a Web interface for accessing them, though many competing security apps do provide such an interface. Avast says that it will launch a Web interface for this purpose soon.

Avast Mobile Security offers more than the usual array of remote features. Among them is the option to call a number remotely, possibly to get the new phone number after a change in SIM or to listen for clues as to where your phone might be. You can also retrieve recent SMS messages, contacts, and call logs, and you can set the app to forward SMS messages and call alerts to another phone.

To help locate and protect your device, Avast allows you to activate its settings remotely via SMS commands--for example, turning on the data connection and GPS, turning off USB debugging, and blocking access to the program manager and phone settings. In addition, you can set some of the general antitheft settings, such as the owner name, the custom lock message, and the password.

Aside from the remote functions, Avast Mobile Security provides some automatic antitheft features. You can lock the SIM card so that, if it's removed, the phone locks itself and sounds a siren (which says "This phone has been lost or stolen"). If the thief swaps out your SIM card, the app automatically text-messages the friend or friends you specified in the antitheft settings, informing them of them the new phone number and the current location of the phone. For rooted devices, the app can automatically prevent USB debugging to foil hacking via USB and to force the data connection on in order to help get the remote SMS commands through.

The app itself (including its uninstallation process) is password-protected by default, and the user must enter the correct four- to six-digit PIN to uninstall the software. On many other security apps, the usual uninstallation protection is fairly easy to bypass, but Avast Mobile Security supplements those methods with a few other techniques to help hide and preserve the antitheft component from thieves or snoops.

When you set up the app, it invites you to customize the name of the separate antitheft app it installs, which you can be named something inconspicuous so that thieves will have a harder time finding it. Avast can also hide this antitheft component from appearing in the app drawer. For rooted devices, it can even store the antitheft app and settings in a way that survives hard-resets of your device, so you can still remotely control your phone or tablet after a thief sets the device back to to its factory defaults.

Overall, this is a great app to protect your Android-based phone or tablet against malware and theft. It provides some extremely useful features--and it's free. But because it currently doesn't provide a Web interface for the remote location and antitheft features, you must be comfortable with sending SMS commands from someone else's phone if you do indeed lose yours.

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HDD Recovery Pro Works Well, Has a Clean Interface

There's a bottom line with data recovery software: Does it get your data back or not? If it's on a FAT or NTFS partition--as it will be on any Windows PC--then the odds are that HDD Recovery Pro ($140, free demo) will recover it.

HDD Recovery Pro's interface mimics Windows XP Explorer, but has a wizard to help you through the recovery process.HDD Recovery Pro has a lot of nice features. You can create images of partitions for future recovery as well as mount them.It also supports removable media such as flash drives and will recover files to any drive visible on your network. It recognizes and previews a large number of file types, making it easier to find that one particular file you were looking for.

HDD Recovery Pro's interface is clean and attractive, though it sometimes mistakes simple for easy. All that is required is to select a drive or partition, the file system (rule of thumb: Windows 9x = FAT, XP and later = NTFS), then click Search. The program will search the drive and come back with a list of the files that it finds. The demo version will only preview files, but the company guarantees that if you can see them, the full version of the program will recover them. Logical enough.

In my brief test spin with HDD Recovery Pro, the program performed flawlessly. It found and recovered files from new and deleted partitions, including all the files that seem to confuse freebies such as Recuva and cheapies such as Ashampoo Undeleter. It also found a lot of stuff that the average user won't recognize, so be careful when you browse the files and even more careful if you delete any.

My only issue with HDD Recovery Pro is the price. $140, despite being considerably cheaper than EasyRecovery Professional, is far more expensive than R-Studio Data Recovery, which is tried and true and also supports Mac and Linux partitions. That said, HDD Recovery Pro works well and has probably the nicest interface in its field.

--Jon L. Jacobi

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Bitdefender Internet Security 2012 Review: Great Protection, Excellent Interface

Bitdefender Internet Security 2012 ($70 for one year and three PCs as of January 25, 2012) comes in third in our 2012 roundup of security suites. But although it earned the bronze overall, it captured the highest rating in our malware detection, blocking, and removal tests. Those fantastic results, combined with the software's excellent interface, make it a great choice.

The Bitdefender suite found and blocked 96 percent of samples in our real-world malware tests (which help to show how well antivirus software can stop brand-new malware), and it spotted 99.96 percent of known malware samples. Both of those results are very good--the latter was the third-best result in that particular test that we saw this year. False positives were almost nonexistent, as the suite misidentified only one safe file as being malicious. And the Bitdefender software was the best of the test group in cleanup, too: It detected and disabled all active sample infections, and removed every last trace of malware 90 percent of the time.

Bitdefender’s revamped interface is our favorite. Last year we criticized BitDefender's old approach: The previous version of the suite had three different modes tailored to beginners, intermediate users, and experts. We found that this setup overcomplicated matters, since the basic mode was a little too simplistic, but the advanced mode was an overwhelming mix of tabs and toggles.

Its new design, though, should be easy for beginners to understand, but it still maintains plenty of flexibility for advanced users. Screens are laid out nicely, and at no point did I feel overwhelmed by the settings panes. At the top of the main window is a status indicator that lets you know whether you're protected; below that is a side-scrolling panel that allows you to turn various suite components on or off, or to drill down deeper to toggle more settings.

The individual settings panes have lots of controls, but they're arranged nicely. Clicking the help button in each one (denoted with a question mark) produces pop-up messages that describe what the settings do. And the program’s new “Auto Pilot” mode puts protection levels at their recommended settings; you can toggle it with a simple on/off switch located on the main control panel.

Bitdefender could stand to improve its suite's impact on overall PC performance, though. The Bitdefender package slowed startup times more than any other suite we looked at, adding over 10 seconds to our test PC's boot time as compared to a fresh install of Windows. It also dragged our PC down significantly when we copied files over a network, completing that test in 5 minutes, 37 seconds. (By comparison, our test machine finished the copying operation in 60 seconds without antivirus software installed.)

Its scan speeds are respectable: Bitdefender's on-demand (manual) scanner checked 4.5GB of data for malware in 1 minute, 56 seconds, placing around the middle of the pack. The on-access scanner (which runs whenever you open or save a file) completed its check of 4.5GB in 4 minutes, 25 seconds; although that's a slightly better-than-average result, it still ranked seventh among the 14 suites we looked at.

That said, if you can tolerate such system performance issues, Bitdefender Internet Security 2012 is an excellent suite for novice and advanced users alike.

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