Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7.0

When I think about antivirus software, some names always come up in my mind, like Norton, McAfee, Bit Defender, Panda, NOD32, or Kaspersky. All these pieces of software are powerful and each have something unique. Kaspersky was the slowest and most difficult to setup in my opinion. I used version 5 for a while, but I wasn't convinced about its capabilities. The interface was not so intuitive and it was a real resources hog.

The current version (6.0) was a surprise, because I didn't expect to install it this easy. I had to restart the system only two times. I was impressed of how it looks. The interface is very simple and looks much like Norton Antivirus's interface. The design is well integrated in the Microsoft Windows style. Kaspersky is now much more colorful than the previous version. It displays popup windows, that show you important information about your system.

Of course, the first step was to scan my entire system. I could choose whether the software asks what to do with the infected files, each time it finds a threat. Kaspersky Antivirus was able to detect a couple of adware and trojans that were previously blocked by Bit Defender, but never cleaned.

The main parts of the program are the file, mail, and web antivirus. Each of these provide active scanning, meaning that your system is always protected. A nice feature of the program is called proactive defense. It combines reactive antivirus detection with proactive technologies for a better protection against malicious programs, dangerous behaviours, hidden processes, Microsoft Office dangerous macros, etc.

The interface is intuitive because of the expandable areas in the main window and the play/pause/stop commands. Therefore beginners might be astonished by the simplicity of the product, while advanced users would appreciate the flexibility of the program. This software should suit the requirements of both types of users.

The definition updates, along with the whole user interface, are similar to Symantec Live Update, making you aware of the size of the current updates, remaining time, download progress, etc. KAV also comes with spyware protection, which is pretty good. It is integrated in the web antivirus.

Version 6 seems to be much faster than version 5. Scanning takes up less processing time, allowing you to use your computer efficiently. The overall memory usage is also much lower.

Pluses: The proactive defense, the Microsoft Office guard, the spyware protection, and the simple interface make Kaspersky a worthy competitor on the antivirus market. I would also like to mention the performance improvement in the current version.

Drawbacks / flaws:

In conclusion: Kaspersky has grown from a popular home antivirus to a powerful one that can be a real commercial threat to other products in this category. You can download an evaluation version from our site and take it for a spin.

version reviewed: 6.0