F-Secure Internet Security 2006 review: F-Secure Internet Security 2006

F-Secure Internet Security 2006 provides a strong defense against Internet baddies, including viruses, malware, spam, phishing attempts, and cracker intrusions. It's aggressively priced $20 less than competing suites from McAfee and Symantec, and its well-crafted interface makes it easy to change security settings. Even better, F-Secure won't slow your PC to a crawl during full system scans. But F-Secure needs to be more proactive in blocking spyware. Also, it takes a very long time to run a full scan, and it doesn't provide an antispam toolbar for Microsoft Outlook. Phone support costs a bundle, too. Still, F-Secure packs plenty of muscle to ward off security threats. It's a worthy upgrade for F-Secure Internet Security 2005 users, and a solid, affordable choice for newcomers.

During setup, F-Secure was more demanding than other security suites we've tested. For example, it made us uninstall potentially conflicting applications, including Spybot Search and Destroy, Lavasoft Ad-aware (which F-Secure's antispyware technology is based on), and Yahoo Toolbar, which also has antispy features. F-Secure automatically uninstalled these apps with one click; however, we question the wisdom here, since running more than one antispyware app is often necessary to thoroughly protect your system.

The start-up wizard in F-Secure made it easy to configure our security settings, including the new Time Lock feature, which lets parents limit Internet access to a specific time--9 a.m. to 9 p.m., for instance--to prevent their kids from going online unsupervised. Total installation time ran about 30 minutes--on a par with best-selling competitors McAfee Internet Security and Symantec Norton Internet Security.

F-Secure's interface will appeal to advanced users who like to tinker with security settings. Like Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2006, F-Secure lets you add and remove individual file formats from the list of scanned file types. Granted, most people won't ever touch this feature, but security aficionados may choose to remove specific formats from the list to shorten system scans or to add formats to bolster protection. This level of granular control is pervasive throughout the interface. For instance, F-Secure lets you run scheduled scans after your computer is idle for 5 minutes--handy for lunchtime virus checks. None of F-Secure's competitors offer this level of configurability.

F-Secure Internet Security 2006 improves the 2005 version's security suite by adding several security tools at an affordable price. It now has real-time antispyware protection based on Lavasoft's respected Ad-aware. It also has Time Lock, a parental-control device that sets time limits on your kids' Internet access. Unlike any of its competitors, F-Secure detects and destroys mysterious root kits that can plant Trojans and keyloggers on your system. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide an antispam toolbar for Microsoft Outlook--a handy way to block or allow individual e-mail senders. By contrast, security suites from McAfee, Norton, and PC-cillin all ship with this feature.

Real-time spyware detection is a good thing, and F-Secure has it, but it should be more proactive. Like PC-cillin and Norton, F-Secure allowed us to download and install WhenU WeatherCast, a free desktop utility known to contain adware. Once WeatherCast was installed, however, F-Secure detected and offered to quarantine it. McAfee was a more aggressive spyware defender, identifying WeatherCast as potential malware before we downloaded it.

F-Secure's scanning performance is a good-news/bad-news scenario. The bad news is that F-Secure takes an eternity (well, almost) to run a full-system checkup. The good news: you'll be able to get work done during an F-Secure scan. Overall, unlike some well-known security-suite competitors, F-Secure isn't a huge burden on your system performance.

F-Secure's phone support is pricey: $3.99 a minute for North American users. McAfee and Norton customers pay similar rates, but PC-cillin customers get one year of free phone help. F-Secure's e-mail support is free, and our mail queries to the company's tech reps were answered promptly and accurately within one business day. F-Secure's support site has a new series of E-Learning tutorials, which are well-designed Flash-based lessons that show beginners how to set up and use Internet Security 2006. The site also includes a fairly comprehensive set of FAQs on installation issues, program features, and other security topics.