Ad-Aware Pro Security 10

At a minimum, every security suite must offer a personal firewall as well as antivirus protection. Most ad spam filtering, some extend to parental control, backup, and more. Ad-Aware Pro Security 10 ($36 direct, $48 for three licenses) sticks close to the minimum, and its antivirus protection hit some rough spots in our testing.

This product is not a successor to Ad-Aware Total Security 1.0 ($59.95 direct for three licenses, 3.5 stars), which is actually a re-branded edition of G Data's suite. Rather, it extends the newly-revamped Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ 10 (free, 2.5 stars). In fact, the user interface is almost exactly the same, except that the suite-only features (grayed out in the standalone antivirus) are all available.

The main window includes simple on/off controls for a large collection of security features, but a closer look reveals that the actual number is a bit smaller. E-mail Protection is a kind of Real-Time protection, and External Storage Scan is a variation on the Antivirus & Antispyware scanner. Safe Browsing and Shop & Bank Safely Online are variations on the same theme, and the Safe Networking feature could easily be subsumed under Advanced Firewall.

Each component on the home screen includes a link for more detailed configuration, but in several cases the detailed configuration offers nothing more than the same on/off as the home screen. I got an overall impression of "feature inflation," making the product look like more than it is.

Rocky Malware Protection
In the current product line, for the first time Lavasoft offers exactly the same malware protection in the free product as in the paid suite. That being the case, I'll simply summarize my test results for the free product; please read that review for full details.

The independent labs haven't tested Lavasoft's updated technology. In fact, the only test results available are three tests by Virus Bulletin in 2010. Lavasoft failed to achieve VB100 certification in two of the three tests. The chart below summarizes recent lab results. For information on the labs and their tests see How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests.

Ad-Aware installed and scanned fine on 11 infested test systems, but it totally killed the remaining system. After its scan, the system crashed with a blue screen of death after every reboot. I found that it could still function in Safe Mode, but after a couple lengthy remote control sessions Lavasoft's tech support couldn't find any way to restore the ability to run normal Windows. A user whose computer was killed by security software would not be impressed.

That problem aside, Ad-Aware detected 91 percent of the threats, the same as GFI VIPRE Internet Security 2012 ($49.95 direct, 3 stars). Given that Ad-Aware relies in part on the VIPRE engine, that's not too surprising. Only Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete ($79.95 direct for three licenses, 4.5 stars) and Comodo Internet Security Pro 2012 ($4.99/year direct, 4 stars) detected more, with 94 percent and 97 percent respectively.

Given that Ad-Aware scored 5.6 points for rootkit removal compared to VIPRE's 3.3, it appears Ad-Aware's own anti-rootkit technology is hard at work. Still, 5.6 is just a bit above average; Norton Internet Security 2012 ($69.99 direct for three licenses, 4.5 stars) scored 8.9 for rootkit removal. To understand where these scores come from, see How We Test Malware Removal.

With 8.3 points for malware blocking, Ad-Aware is a hair above the current average. Webroot blew this test out of the water, achieving a perfect 10 of 10 points. Ad-Aware did have a small problem with one rootkit sample--despite its blocking attempts the threat managed to install and run (though without rootkit protection). For an explanation of my malware blocking test and its scoring, please read see How We Test Malware Blocking.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/sYNs_vP7wUU/0,2817,2402182,00.asp

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