Product Pick: Kaspersky 2011 Internet Security

     So, once again one of my favorite security suites is on the chopping block.  Though, sadly, this product pick will be initially incomplete.  I'm just going to be covering the user end of things, I'll be covering the security end of things in another post once we've worked with it on another system.
     First things first, this installment of the popular Kaspersky internet security suite, Kaspersky 2011, is chock full of features, not all of which might seem immediately useful.  But trust me, they are features selected with a lot of forethought.
     Now, it comes with the standard disk scan and active protection it always has, which are work amazingly well, but there are some other features that I enjoy that will help keep you safe.
     There is the link scanner, which lets you know if Kaspersky labs knows if a server is infected or not.  This is your first step in preventing problems before they start.  This has become almost a universal feature for all anti-virus, and I use it all the time.  Kaspersky's is top notch.



     On top of this, I've found some new features that I think will go a long way towards helping people keep from getting infected with crud.  Kaspersky 2011 offers three different safe-runs, one for applications, one for web-browsing, and one for your keyboard.  Now these three modes are based on a technology I've been pushing for people to use for the last year now, a sandbox.  The concept of a sandbox is simple, yet it can be amazingly effective in stopping viruses.  The concept; nothing can play outside the sandbox.
     So what does that have to do with safe-runs?  Safe Run for applications will let you try out installing an application before really installing it to see if the application contains a virus, or if it will try and download a virus once installed.  The Safe Run for web prevents malicious code on websites from actually running on your computer.  It isn't allowed outside its little box.
     The third run mode is a little different though, you use this one to keep on-line peeping toms and applications from seeing your keyboard strokes.  This keeps them from obtaining sensitive information with applications like key loggers.
     Over all, these three elements make this the ultimate in security protection.  The only problem now is the user.  If you are serious about computer security, and you use Kaspersky, make these three Safe-Runs a part of your regular computing routine.
     Also available are the rescue disk, vulnerability scan, browser configuration, privacy cleaner, and system restore tools.  All of these can be useful, but they're more icing on the cake than really necessary functions.  You can also set parental controls, which work as an internet filter to keep kids and guests off of unwanted web domains and applications.  But unlike most filters, you can go overboard with this one.  Almost any computer function you could ever really want can be blocked.  Be careful with this one, too much restriction can almost be as bad as not enough.
     Over all, Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 is the pinnacle of personal internet and computer security.  This one definitely gets five out five fruit, plus my personal mark for being top notch.