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: Give Gmail an extreme makeover with Gmail Offline

The Web interface for Gmail has a very distinct look. Your office mates can probably recognize it at a glance. This Chrome extension, however, might cause a few double-takes in your office: Gmail Offline, an extension by Google, puts a completely different face on Gmail, making it more similar to the tablet version used on Android tablets.

Even if you're working while connected, you may appreciate Gmail Offline's clean, uncluttered looks.

To me, Gmail Offline is somewhat of a misnomer: Yes, the extension makes it possible to use Gmail without an Internet connection. When you are offline, it allows you to read your mail and write replies in an Outbox where messages are saved, and then sent as soon as you're connected. But the most noticeable thing about Gmail Offline is that it doesn't even look like Gmail. It features a dual-pane interface, where you can toggle the left pane to show either messages or labels. The right side shows the current thread, so you can quickly move between email conversations. This split view is now available on Gmail's regular Web interface, but the aesthetic is completely different. Whereas the regular Gmail is flat and minimalistic, the Offline version is much more colorful, with subtle gradients and large, chunky buttons.

Gmail Offline can either be used as an alternative Gmail interface while connected, or as an offline client.

Gmail Offline supports keyboard shortcuts, so many of the shortcuts you learn with KeyRocket will serve you with this version of Gmail too. The regular version of Gmail supports far more shortcuts, but many of the essentials are here, too: You can compose a new message, reply, forward, archive, and more – all using the keyboard. Most of the missing shortcuts are for functions that Gmail Offline doesn't have, like chat. Overall, it’s an excellent addition to the regular Gmail client, and a new way to approach using a tool you probably use every day.

Note: The Download button takes you to the Chrome Web store, where you can install the latest version directly into your Chrome browser.

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AVG Internet Security 2013 Review: Adequate antivirus program gets a makeover

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

AVG has given its Internet Security suite a makeover for the new year. AVG Internet Security 2013 ($55 for one year, as of 12/17/12) now has a pretty, Windows 8-style tiled interface, complete with large, colorful buttons that are optimized for a touchscreen. That said, it seems as if AVG has put most of its effort into improving its program’s looks, as the suite managed a respectable, but below-average, showing in our tests.

In our real-world attack test, AVG completely blocked 94.4 percent of attacks and partially blocked 5.6 percent of attacks. This indicates how well the program will block new malware attacks when it encounters them in the wild, and this is a good score, actually. However, since five of the nine security suites we tested completely blocked 100 percent of attacks, this score still puts AVG in the bottom half of the list.

AVG’s ability to detect 97.8 percent of known malware samples seems respectable at first glance, but it’s actually the worst detection rate of all the suites we tested. All of the other security suites were able to detect at least 98.8 percent of malware samples, while the top contender in this category, Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2013, was able to detect 100 percent of samples. AVG also flagged five safe files (out of a pool of over 250,000) as being dangerous; while this isn’t a bad false-positive rate, almost all of our other tested
suites posted lower rates.

In our system cleanup test, AVG detected 100 percent of infections, but only disabled 90 percent, and only managed to completely clean up 60 percent. This isn’t a great rate—F-Secure Internet Security 2013 managed to completely clean up 90 percent of malicious files—but it’s also not the worst of the suites we tested.

AVG Internet Security 2013 is quick and fairly painless to install. It has just five screens to click through, and the program does not require you to reboot your computer. You do have to opt-out, rather than opt-in, of the company’s browser toolbar and SafeSearch. If you choose just to install the browser toolbar, AVG will still change your default search bar in Firefox to its SafeSearch bar.

AVG’s new interface is very nice—simple, clean, and totally in line with the look of Windows 8. The main window features large, brightly-colored tile-like buttons arranged in an easy-to-understand layout. At the top of the window is a protection status notification, which lets you know whether you’re protected (green) or in danger (red). Below this status lie five large green tiles.

These tiles are buttons that represent the suite's main security components: Computer, Web Browsing, Identity, E-mails, and Firewall. On each button there’s a little status notification that lets you know if that particular area is currently protected. Below these five green tiles are five smaller teal tiles that link to other security options and services from AVG: Fix Performance (installs AVG’s PC Tuneup program), Mobile protection (links to AVG’s free AV program for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone), Speedtest (links to Speedtest.net), TechBuddy (links to AVG’s remote tech-support program), and More from AVG (links to other
available AVG apps).

Finally, there are two turquoise buttons near the bottom of the screen: Scan now and Update now. The scan button lets you scan your computer or manage your scanning options, while the update button checks AVG’s website for updates to the program.

When you roll over any of the tiles or buttons, you’re presented with further information about that feature. This information pops up in the lower half of the window, underneath the rows of tiles. While this new tile look makes AVG’s software seem more user-friendly, the settings (in the Advanced Settings or Firewall Settings menus) are still a bit intimidating for non-advanced users.

The program itself is lightweight overall, but its scanners aren't the quickest. It adds about 1.5 seconds to startup time (as compared with a test PC that has no antivirus installed), and its overall impact on PC performance was low. The program completed our on-demand scan test in a mediocre 1 minute, 38 seconds (the sixth-best of the group), but its with on-access scan time of 6 minutes, 31 seconds was the worst of the suites we tested.

AVG Internet Security 2013 is a perfectly respectable antivirus program with a great new top-level user interface. But that’s the problem—in these malware tests, “perfectly respectable” doesn’t quite cut it, and we saw several programs that outdid AVG at nearly every turn.

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Android Phone Makeover: 29 Ways to Make It Like New

You don’t know when it happened, but it did. That whip-smart Android phone you bought not that long ago is performing like it’s on its last legs. Where swiping through screens was once smooth and seamless, now there’s lag and stuttering. And if you’re very unlucky, the whole device abruptly resets when it’s overwhelmed.

If your Android is beginning to feel a little too “lived in”, use this collection of tips, apps and accessories (plus two bonus suggestions) to make your phone (almost) like brand new again.

From Laptopmagazine. Visit Amazon Computer and Notebook Center Here

Android Smartphone Makeover: 29 Ways to Make Your Phone Like New

You don’t know when it happened, but it did. That whip-smart Android phone you bought not that long ago is performing like it’s on its last legs. Where swiping through screens was once smooth and seamless, now there’s lag and stuttering. And if you’re very unlucky, the whole device abruptly resets when it’s overwhelmed.

If your Android is beginning to feel a little too “lived in”, check back here each day this week for a new set of tips, apps and accessories.

Check back Tuesday for another set of tips!

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