OVERVIEW: • Installation time of 2 minutes and 24 seconds. • Failed several important Antivirus Certification tests. • Worst System Resource Usage we tested of any Antivirus program this year. • Overall Rating: Average  |
Just a few short years ago, the 2005 version of Trend Micro Antivirus was one of the top antivirus programs in the industry - with awards from CNET and other technology websites. However, 4 years later Trend Micro doesn't appear to be at the top of the antivirus industry any longer. See our Trend Micro Review below to see how it currently compares to the competition...
1) Installation:
Trend Micro AntiVirus 2009 installed in 2 minutes and 24 seconds and the computer was immediately ready for use - requiring no reboots. The installation process was smooth and easy, however it would have been nice to see some customization of options built into the install process since users rarely alter options after installation. Overall, a good installation process.
2) Features & Ease of Use: From a quick look at Trend Micro's software we are unable to find any glaring flaws in its user interface, however it does seem very similar to the same program of 2-3 years ago. Nonetheless, Trend Micro is a very easy to use program and gives its users an excellent set of options for control over the program (although there are no cutting edge features to speak of). Trend Micro Antivirus also protects against Spyware and Rootkits, as well as having Email scanning and Proactive intrusion blocking capabilities. 3) PERFORMANCE 3a) Virus Scanner: Trend Micro offers 3 scanning alternatives - Quick Scan, Full System Scan, and Custom Scan. A full scan of our test computer with 70 GB of used space on its hard-drive took just under 65 minutes, this was the 4th slowest virus scanner we tested this year. The Quick Scan of our test computer took just under 3.5 minutes - giving users a nice quick check of their system's security. There have also been several reports on various forums (including Trend's own forum and support website) that the program can crash or stall when the virus scanner starts up. We were unable to reproduce this issue, however these negative reports should be given some consideration. Updates: Our testing showed that Trend Micro updated its virus definition database on average only 2.2 times per day - much less than Norton Antivirus, which updates its software on average 242 times per day. 3b) System Resource Usage:  Trend Micro AntiVirus was the worst program in our System Resource Usage Testing this year. View the results of the Antivirus tests we performed below...
3c) Effectiveness: 
4) Help & Support:  Trend Micro's support is very thorough. They have an extensive online Knowledge Base, Free Email Support, Free Chat, and Free Phone Support - which not many Antivirus vendors offer anymore. We tested Trend's email support and received an answer 80 minutes later. The email reply was prompt and answered our question very well. Our only problem with Trend's support was that on several occasions their support website often lagged out or gave an error - obviously overworked servers. CONCLUSION: From a quick glance, Trend Micro appears to be a good Antivirus program, but when you look at the program's all-important Performance its failures become very apparent. Its System Resource Usage was the worst we tested this year, and it failed several important Antivirus Certification tests - making one question its Effectiveness as an Antivirus program. An Antivirus program that appears quite good, yet fails in terms of Performance and Effectiveness should be a red-flag to avoid it and to instead try another Antivirus program.
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TrendMicro Software Description:
What's New:
- Prevent Unauthorized Changes
Improved security finds and stops unwanted attempts to change your operating system & other critical software.
- Enhanced Software History Cleaner
Protect your privacy by getting rid of records listing Websites visited & files recently opened.
- Improved Web Browser Cookie Management
Get rid of Internet browser cookies deposited on your PC.
- Customizable Security Warnings
Decide exactly when you want to receive warnings about security threats.
- Security Activity Report
Regular reports inform you how Trend Micro AntiVirus plus Anti-Spyware has protected you.
- Fully Compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista
Install Trend Micro on computers running any version of the latest Microsoft operating system - Windows Vista.
Key Features of Trend Micro AntiVirus plus AntiSpyware:
- Protects against current and future Viruses
An award-winning Anti-Virus engine protects against computer Viruses, Worms, Trojan horse programs, and other security threats. Automatic updates immunize you against new computer virus outbreaks for the full duration of your subscription.
- Defends your personal information with Anti-Spyware technology
Powerful Anti-Spyware technology guards your personal information and privacy against spyware, rootkits, and other malicious software.
- Provides real-time protection with automated computer scans
On-demand, scheduled and real-time scanning options actively protect your computer from viruses or spyware in files, incoming and outgoing mail, webmail and instant messages.
- Prevents unauthorized changes
Improved security policies find and stop unwanted attempts to change your operating system and critical software.
- Quarantines suspicious files
Trend Micro AntiVirus plus AntiSpyware isolates potential or uncleanable threats in a quarantine folder rather than deleting them immediately, allowing you to recover specific files and programs.
- Cleans browser history, cookies and unnecessary files
Protect your privacy by removing records listing recently opened websites, and allows you to manage cookies and temp files deposited on your computer from websites.
- Provides customizable security warnings
You can decide exactly how often you want to receive warnings about security threats.
- Includes free product support
FREE phone, email, and chat support with your annual subscription.
