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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Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 review: An all-around performer

The best security suites are the ones you never notice, because they work silently in the background. But when you want to dig into the settings, you’ll appreciate dealing with a well-designed user interface that even a novice can understand.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 ($60 for one year of protection on up to three PCs) is one such suite. It offers great protection, and its design works well on touch and nontouch systems.

In AV-Test’s real-world battery of tests involving Web and email threats, Kaspersky blocked 100 percent of zero-day attacks, matching the performance of Eset Smart Security 7, F-Secure Internet Security 2014, Norton Internet Security 2014, and Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2014, and making it one of the strongest security suites in our roundup. AV-Test’s baseline security program, Microsoft Security Essentials, blocked just 71 percent of zero-day attacks. Kaspersky also sailed through our malware zoo test (identifying and blocking widespread known malware that had been discovered within the previous month), stopping 100 percent of attacks.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2014: ready for touchscreens.

Kaspersky’s algorithm is tight: Internet Security 2014 didn’t flag a single nonthreatening website as risky, nor did it falsely block or issue warnings to users installing legitimate software. During system scans, Kaspersky didn’t flag any legitimate programs as unsafe. The most trigger-happy packages in our roundup—F-Secure, Vipre Internet Security 2014, and Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Complete—registered five false positives each.

Internet Security 2014 is also one of the lightest-impact suites in our roundup, scoring a 1 (a mark bested only by the far less effective Webroot SecureAnywhere suite) that reflects minimal adverse impact on overall system performance.

Installing Internet Security 2014 is easy. You have just four screens to click through, and the suite doesn’t try to push additional software or settings changes. The only potential hiccup during installation arises if Kaspersky detects “incompatible” software, such as a rival antimalware suite, in which case it asks you to uninstall the offending program. Uninstalling a competing suite may require a reboot, but simply installing Kaspersky’s suite does not.

Kaspersky’s interface is optimized for Windows 8 without having too distinctly a Metro style. Though buttons are large and easy to click, not every setting is a colorful square.

The main screen features a big computer icon with several large button icons beneath it. A checkmark on the computer icon indicates protection, and you can click the icon for details about any security issues. The buttons provide quick links for scanning your system, updating your security database, and accessing Safe Money, which protects your online banking and payment information. Tap an arrow to the right of these links for access to features including reports, parental controls, and quarantined files.

The top level of the settings menu is designed to meet the needs of regular people, with easy, touchscreen-friendly toggles and plain-English explanations for all settings. More-experienced users can click top-level settings to find additional options.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 is a well-rounded suite, with excellent protection, minimal strain on system resources, and a user-friendly interface. Its jargon-free settings explanations won me over last year, and now its protection capabilities are just as impressive.

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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Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 Review: Effective Antimalware Performance

Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 ($80 for one year and three PCs as of January 25, 2012) ranked fourth in our 2012 roundup of security suites. Although it finished outside the top three, it's a solid all-around suite that will do an effective job at keeping you safe.

In our real-world malware blocking tests, Kaspersky's suite fully blocked all samples that it encountered. This result means that it should do very well in protecting you from brand-new, as-yet unknown malware. In addition, it detected 99.34 percent of known malware samples in more-traditional signature-based detection tests. On its own, that's a great showing--but believe it or not, that's merely an average result this year due to the overall strength of 2012's suites.

False positives are largely a nonissue: Kaspersky’s product misidentified only one safe file out of a pool of 250,000 files as dangerous. And the suite was effective at disinfection, detecting and disabling all sample infections on our test PC. It removed all traces of malware 60 percent of the time, performing slightly above average in that regard.

In general the Kaspersky suite has a low impact on PC performance, though it did slow our test machine a fair amount when we copied files over a network: It took 3 minutes, 34 seconds to complete this test, landing well behind the average of 3 minutes, 2 seconds.

It was faster than average, however, at scanning. It completed an on-demand scan (which runs when you manually click the 'Scan Now' button) of 4.5GB of data in 1 minute, 11 seconds--the third-best showing, and a considerably better result than the average of 1 minute, 59 seconds for the suites we looked at. It wrapped up on-access scanning (which kicks off when you open or save a file) of 4.5GB of data in 4 minutes, 40 seconds, about 8 seconds faster than average.

On the rest of our speed tests, Kaspersky finished either around average or above average as compared with its competition.

Kaspersky gave its software a face-lift in 2012, abandoning the curiously divided interface in last year's suite. While the new interface is fine, it isn't outstanding. Kaspersky uses a fairly standard multistep wizard installer that's fairly painless, but some of the other suites we looked at this year have one-click installation processes. Once the package was installed, we navigated its screens fairly easily. The main screen gives a clear indicator of your protection status, with buttons along the bottom to adjust settings for the suite's major components. Some parts still could use a redesign, though. For example, a few panels open in the main window, while others spawn new windows, which can be a little disorienting. And from a purely aesthetic perspective, I wasn't a huge fan of the teal-and-white theme--but that's picking nits.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 falls a little short of the absolute top competitors, mainly because of the all-around strength of this year's suites. Nevertheless, Kaspersky’s latest offering is worth a look.

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