F-Secure is among the leaders in computer security for home and business users since 1988. In 2007, F-Secure was among the first security vendor to introduce Host Based Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) technology in their product line. Today, we will be reviewing F-Secure Anti-virus 2008 after a month of experiencing it.
Product Info
F-Secure Anti-virus 2008
Price: 69.50 EURO
License: For 3 computers
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Try F-Secure for 30-days
Product Features
- Fast virus signature updates
- Set automatic scanning with schedule
- Prevent zero-day attack with DeepGuard technology
- Rootkit removal with BlackLight technology
- Very good web traffic and e-mail scanning
Installation
The F-Secure Anti-virus installation file fs2008.exe is about 81mb which is kinda huge compared to other anti-virus softwares. Comparison as below:
F-Secure Anti-virus - 81mb
Kaspersky Anti-virus - 28mb
Avast! Anti-virus - 18.8mb
ESET NOD32 Anti-virus - 15.9mb
Okay, installation didn’t take very long. Just a couple of minutes. Total program size took up 354.0mb. Shocking!
Program User Interface
As you can see, the interface is pretty simple. This is what F-Secure is aiming for, interface so simple that you just need to leave it running in the background. There are four options to choose from when setting Virus & Spy Protection Level - High, Normal, Off and Custom.
High - All files types are scan during real-time protection
Normal - Only defined files scan during real-time protection
Off - No real-time protection
Custom - Set your own settings
We chose to stick with the Normal option. That’s pretty much just the thing you need to configure unless you opt for Scheduled scanning which you have the option to turn on scanning for any particular day at the required time.
Performance
Memory:
F-Secure is a memory eater using up to an average of 50mb. But it does not slow your computer down if you have at least 512mb on your system.
Scanning speed:
Average speed. Not among the fastest scanner.
Detection:
F-Secure managed to detect recent malwares that ran malicious scripts through the iFrame exploit on several reputable websites.
It was able to detect the latest rogue anti-spyware installer - Cleanator as riskware but did not delete or quarantine it.
It wasn’t able to detect Virus Heat (rogue anti-spyware) installer as a fraud file even though Virus Heat does not cause damage to your computer. It just trick users into buying their fake anti-spyware.
Other than that, F-Secure have very good heuristic detection technology through its DeepGuard technology.
CPU usage:
When the on-demand scan is running, it only takes an average of 35% of the cpu usage. This leaves you plenty of CPU power to do other things.
When surfing to a site, CPU usage increase to a max of 57% for a duration of 2 seconds.
Updates
If you’re online, the program automatically check for updates. Downloads are fast.
AV-Comparatives test
You can view here how F-Secure scores in malware detection compared to other anti-virus programs.
Conclusion
Basically, you will be able to feel safe during your internet surfing session. However, F-Secure is just a little high on memory usage which we will not recommend using on a 256mb RAM PC. 512mb is sufficient if you do plain computer functions like documents and web surfing. While it is best to have 1Gb RAM if you do play high requirement games.
In terms of price wise, you can install F-Secure on up to 3 computers with just a price of 69.50 EURO. That’s 23.2 EURO per PC. Even if you don’t have three PCs, you can share the price with your mates. Therefore, that makes F-Secure a value buy for home users.
Overall, F-Secure is one of the best anti-virus with also one of the best research team.
Our rating 4.5/5.
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