F-Secure Internet Security Reviewer's Comments

F–Secure Internet Security is a good product for the family computer. It is user–friendly and offers extensive parental controls. This is a program you can install on your PC, and then let it do its job quietly in the background.

F-Secure Internet SEcurity has all of the essentials, but doesn’t include some of the extras like anti–phishing, IM attachment scanning or P2P file sharing protection.

F-Secure Internet Security Screenshots. Click for more
       


Firewall:  

The firewall settings are located under the Internet Shield tab. Here you can configure the firewall and other protective features. The average home user will most likely leave these settings to default.

Antivirus:  

The F–Secure antivirus and antispyware functions rank among the best. Both are located in the same section of the program. Here you can schedule your scans and configure real–time scans. You can dictate the files you want to scan and what to do if a virus is found. You can also decide how your emails are scanned and what to do if a threat is found.

Antispyware:  

F–Secure will detect keyloggers, trojans, browser hijackers and other spyware threats. You are able to scan your entire computer for spyware with the click of a button.

Other Security/Features:  

You can set up the parental controls in the initial setup of F–Secure Internet Security. You have three options: Children—the user can only access the websites that you specify without a password. Teenagers—the user can access all websites except those containing restricted content. This content may include drugs or adult material. Both children and Teenagers—the program creates both the Children and the Teenagers profiles.

You can also create a password during the initial setup and it will be required to access the control panel of the software.

F–Secure issues radar alerts if there are any potential threats lurking around cyberspace. For example, we received an alert that stated, “A new variant of the Warezov email worm has been spammed out today. This new version, known as Warezov.AT, updates itself via web. Every update looks different as they are packed with a variable packer.”

The security software also provides a link to the web for more information.

Ease of Use:  

The start–up wizard will guide you through the initial setup and help you configure the basic settings. This is good software for the person who wants to install it and leave it, and for the person who wants to customize every single feature—there are numerous options.

We experienced a horrible slowdown after installing F-Secure Internet Security. While it didn't appear that F-Secure was stealing too many resources, the system slowed nearly to a halt. Rebooting took almost 40 seconds longer. 

Ease of Installation/Setup:  

We didn’t encounter problems during installation and setup. Uninstall was easy, but caused a few problems with connecting to the Internet with certain programs.

Help/Support:  

F–Secure provides many self–help options including a tutorial, user guide, FAQs and a user forum. You can contact customer service by telephone or email.

Summary:  

F–Secure is a user–friendly suite that will protect your computer and your family against viruses and spyware. The biggest drawback to this software is the lack of additional security features like anti–phishing and IM attachment scanning.