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Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2008 Pro
 

In ancient times, Knights had armour and in modern times, computers have internet security software to protect from a variety of nefarious threats and breaches. Trend Micro, one of the world's most trusted anti-virus software developers have just released their latest edition to the world of internet security programs with "Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2008 Pro" hitting the software shelves in Australia.

Selling for a recommended retail price of $129.95AUD at all good software stores, this current version comes with 3 computer licenses, ensuring that homes and small businesses with 1 - 3 computers are almost totally protected from viruses, spyware, Trojan horses, SPAM and other computer threats.

The installation of Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2008 Pro (now known as PC-cillin for this review) auto-installed once the software was detected by our operating systems. This review was tested on a Windows XP 32-bit operating system, however the program is also certified with Windows Vista. Once the installation was the complete, the program scanned our hard drive and network drives and connected to the internet to ensure that our system had the latest updates available.
 

#: As per most anti-virus programs, you will need to install any other virus program that is currently running on the system.

Users familiar with PC-cillin will be pleased to know that the easy to use interface continues from the previous version with only a few changes. Even those unfamiliar to the program will find the self-explanatory interface easy to use without getting bogged down on a myriad of menus. The interface keeps the windows to a minimal and everything is neatly displayed in select areas.

What about viruses? We installed a few viruses as executables and zip files in select areas on our hard drive and also installed a key logger and "presto!", PC-cillin immediately isolated these threats and informed us that we had a key logger running in the background. Key loggers (although some legitimate) basically monitor every keystroke on your computer so if you are entering your credit card information or bank information, this program will send this information across to an unauthorized user. The program itself has a few features that Norton 360 is currently boasting such as identify theft prevention which PC-cillin handles quite well.

To keep up with the competitors, the 2008 version of the program also features some great additions such as a two-way firewall, website authentication (prevents users being taken to unauthorized websites or websites that mirror real sites) and a great PC tuning utility. The PC tuning utility optimizes your PC for its best performance and has a great utility to restore Windows if you have been victim of a malicious attack.

The parental control interface is also easy to use, however this is as only as good as the user, depending on their computer skill level. We tested the parental control interface and it did block most of the sites that we tested to try and bypass this feature.

The program also offers 12-month subscription to Trend Micro which automatically downloads the latest updates and threat lists from their database, ensuring the user is always protected. Although viruses are being created everyday, the software will monitor for new threats and will alert the user if something strange is occurring on the system.

For laptop users or for those on a wireless network, the program has the ability to validate wireless hotspots and Wi-FI networks which will prevent any of your information being monitored or sent to unauthorized websites. This is a great addition for laptop users and will ensure that your information is not stolen while using a wireless connection.

Unlike some other internet security software, PC-cillin is not resource hungry and will sit quietly in your system tray monitoring your system. Depending on how large your hard drive is, the program does take quite a long time to scan the system but it's a small price to pay for computer security.

Although PC-cillin has a 12 month subscription and a 2-year discounted subscription, Trend Micro have a 30 day money back guarantee for online users and best of all, free phone, email and chat support which is definitely a feature that many of us enjoy, even though we may never use it.

In conclusion, Trend Micro PC-Cillin Internet Security 2008 Pro provides great protection against a variety of internet based threats and comes with some great bonuses such as 3-licenses and a sturdy validation system for Wi-FI connections. All in all, a very impressive defense program!