Sunbelt Vipre

To fully protect your PC, anti-virus programs need to run all the time no

matter what the computer is doing, but leaving a program running constantly can

slow the computer down especially when it’s performing demanding tasks such as

if you’re playing a game.What caught our eye about the new Sunbelt Vipre anti-virus and anti-spyware

software was the big yellow sticker on the box that says 'does not slow down

your PC!'We were pleased to find that the program lived up to its claim. We installed

Vipre on our test PC and then fired up the recent game Call of Duty 4, noticing

no obvious slow-down in the on-screen action. And once it had been installed it

ran a thorough scan of our PC’s 120GB hard disk in a very respectable 30

minutes.

The initial installation could have been a little smoother, though. There is

no printed manual supplied and the 100-page PDF manual that’s included on the CD

is rather daunting.We were also worried when the program’s setup wizard asked about technical

details such as what proxy server we were using and requesting ‘user

authentication’ settings, but these turned out not to be a problem. Still, the

developers of Vipre could have done more to simplify the initial installation

process for less-experienced users.Fortunately things ran more smoothly once the program had been installed. The

wizard allows users to schedule regular virus scans, and specify the email

programs they use so that Vipre can check incoming emails for viruses and other

threats (though it can’t monitor web-based email services such as Hotmail or

Googlemail).Our only complaint is that Vipre doesn’t offer a recovery disc option to

start the computer in case a virus infection means it can’t load normally.There is no firewall or spam killer but at just £30 a year Vipre is cheaper

than many other similar programs so it’s worth considering if you don’t need

those extra tools and you only have one computer (a further £20 covers all the

computers in your home).

Taken from here