PC-cillin Internet Security 2004 [AntiVirus, Firewall, Spam, Spyware]

Rating:
Summary: Upgrade Internet Security
Review: My Symantec anti virus/firewall was up to date. But a virus got through, and fouled up our PC. In checking, the Trend Micro-PC-cillin got such good reviews, I ordered it for my new lap top.
It installed so much easier than the Symantec 2004 version. I had no conflictions, and it was easy to customize for my needs.
I did have a question, got right through to their customer service, could understand the person, and answered my question without putting me on hold.

I am glad I changed. R. Holmes

Rating:
Summary: It was voted the best Antivirus for a reason
Review: That reason is that it is true. I have been working on computers for 14 years and I recommend NOTHING but PC-cillin. My customers have had problem after problem with Norton and McAfee. In my pinion, Norton is the worst antivirus program on the market.

I personally used PC-cillin 2000 four FOUR years before I had to finally upgrade. Updates were free for the entire time the company supported the 2000 program. I would still be using it except that the virus definitions had to be renumbered.

Let me repeat a bit more clearly about a point I made - UPDATES WERE FREE. Unlike Norton, McAfee and some of the others, I did NOT have to repurchase every year. I got four years use from one purchase.

During the time I have been using PC-cillin, I have not had a single virus get past it. This goes all the way back to the earlier versions as well. I have been using Trend Micro products since 1996 and am extremely pleased. Their customer service leaves a bit to be desired, but the only reason I contacted them was to test the service they provide. I have actually NOT had a reason other than that to contact them.

If you are not a total idiot, setting up the program is a breeze. One thing you should ALWAYS do - set it so that it DELETES infected emails. DO NOT TRY TO CLEAN THEM - DELETE THEM. Don't take a chance.

If you set this thing up correctly, you will absolutely LOVE it. By the way, I don't know why that one guy Brian says that he was told PC-cillin will not work with XP-SP2. I have it and it works fine. You just have to know how to set up the firewall. For one thing, SP2 comes with its OWN firewall. Just in case you don't know, computers DO NOT LIKE TWO FIREWALLS TO BE RUNNING AT THE SAME TIME. You need to either disable the firewall in XP-SP2 or the one in PC-cillin. I disabled the one that came with the service pack as I like my antivirus program to be all it can be. :-)

To sum up: I give the program 5 of 5 stars for functionality, ease of use, price, and just for the fact that it is a damn good program.

Rating:
Summary: Nice alternative to Norton, McAfee and ZoneAlarm
Review: When Norton Internet Security 2003 started crashing regularly on my XP box, I looked for an alternative. I've never heard of Trend Micro or PC-Cillin but with all the great reviews I gave it a try. Its a nice program with easy to use interface. Included in one box is anti-virus software with regular updates plus a firewall. I find all the features work as described. One thing you should be aware of is the firewall is based on ports that you select yourself to allow or deny. It may take some work on your part to find all the ports you want open. Things like Quake, eDonkey or IMAP mail from Netscape.net require dozens of ports and you may have trouble finding a definative list online. Norton did a different (and I'll go ahead and say better) job with the firewall where you can simply say "allow eDonkey to use all the ports it needs". Then those ports are only open with eDonkey is running. With PC-Cillin those ports are open all the time, or else you have to remember to open them before starting the program and then remember to close them after you are done.