Let's face it. Having an antivirus or even better, an Internet Security suite, is an essential for today's computer. With the proliferation of Internet Banking, Online Demat Accounts, Online Shopping, Online Utility Payments and Online Ticket Booking, the threat of someone stealing your data, and even worse, hacking your bank accounts/credit cards becomes very real.
Yes, with the availability of one-time SMS codes for transactions, there is a certain level of security. But really, when it comes to your money, do you want to take any chances. Really?
It is for this reason that I have been using Kaspersky Internet Security for the past 3 years, currently the 2014 version. Yes, that is Internet Security and NOT Anti-Virus. What is the difference.
*In simple terms, an Internet Security software combines an Anti-Virus with
A Firewall+ Anti-Spam+ Online Banking Protection+ Parental Control Features**.
It may differ from software to software, but those are the essential requirements.
A lot of people look at the price and think. why should I spend Rs. 300 - Rs. 500 per year for a security software when there are so many free options?
Well, one simple reason: Peace of Mind.
The internet is not a clean and nice place these days. You download software / music, surf websites and conduct money transactions. In all this, there are malicious codes of software, websites and keyboard loggers who try and compromise your safety.
From my personal experience, I have tried free built-in solutions like Microsoft Security Essentials, Avast Antivius, AVG, Avira etc. No doubt, they appear to provide good enough protection. But one day, you will find that something has gotten into your system and is wreaking havoc. Is it worth the pain of losing one's personal data, work data for saving a few bucks. Not for me, and I learnt it the hard way.
On my infected system 2 years ago, I installed Kaspersky Internet Security 2012, and ran a full scan. It managed to find 34 traces of viruses which were missed out by my free AVAST and Spybot Anti-Spyware. A couple more scans later and the system was working ok.
Now, comes the reason, ok an Internet Security is what I need. But why Kaspersky?
Here are some reasons:
1. Price: If you are really concious about the price, you can get a 1-License version of Kaspersky Inernet Security 2014 for Rs. 500 - 550 from Flipkart. I would recommend you buy it from such third party vendors, because the price is much higher if you buy it from kaspersky.co.in.
Comparable good rated Internet Security Softwares cost the same, if not more.
E.g. Norton Internet Security costs Rs. 750 for 1 year license. Eset Smart Security costs Rs. 600. AVG Internet Security costs Rs. 700
2. Not heavy on system resources: Let's face it, there is no point getting a security software if it slows your computer to a crawl. In this respect, Kaspersky is quite good. On my 3 year old system, it consumes 60 MB of RAM in the background. I have personally tried Norton, which consumes around 150 MB even when running in the background.
3. Security Features: Kaspersky's Internet Security features work quite well. The one I really like is Safe Money, where you can specify certain websites, like your Banking Sites, to run in a protected browser mode, thereby providing an extra layer of security for all your money transactions. The parental filter works quite well, allowing you to block your child from accessing certain websites, esp useful to stop them from stumbling across pornographic sites.
4. Easy to Use: Kasperky Internet Security is a fill it - shut it - forget it kind of software. You can just install it and let it run unobtrusively in the background. By default, it will update itself and keeps running background scans. If it finds a malicious virus, it will notify you with a small popup window and take care of it. You really do not have to do much with it installed.
Kasperky is an excellent security suite, and one of the most popular in the country. But it does have a couple of small drawbacks:
1. Initial Installation: After Installation, it has to update the software for the first time, and on a 512 kbps broadband connection, this took the better part of around an hour. Not really a big deal, but something to note.
2. System resources during full system scan: The full system scan seems to be a bit more resource heavy on the computer in the 2014 version as compared to previous ones. You can feel a lag in using different programs when the scan is running. Best to let it run at night so it can finish while you are sleeping.
Conclusion: Using the internet these days means taking certain precautions, like updating your Windows with the latest patches, running an updated web browser and most importantly, running a proper Internet Security Suite.
I am sure that there are other suites which probably work well, but there is one thing over three years that Kaspersky has won from me, and that is Trust. It is for that reason that I wholeheartedly recommend it as the Internet Security Suite to have.
