A two-headed calf might cause a sensation at the State Fair, but two-headed antivirus tools are more and more common. The concept makes sense. By integrating two antivirus engines into a single product you get better detection without the potential conflicts from using two separate antivirus tools. TrustPort Antivirus 2011 ($34.10 direct) integrates two well-known antivirus engines, but doesn't demonstrate any real benefit from the pairing.
Double Anti-Spy Professional v2 ($29 direct, 4 stars) another twin-engine antivirus, labels its two engines "A" and "B" (though it's no secret that A comes from Sunbelt and B is a combination of Agnitum and VirusBuster). TrustPort clearly identifies its engines by name. One is the engine behind AVG Anti-Virus Free 2011 (Free, 3.5 stars), and the other powers BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 ($39.95 direct for three licenses, 3.5 stars).
True experts can choose Expert Settings for more configuration choices. This mode also reveals the program's logs, quarantine area, and scheduling options. There's even an option to change the user interface "skin". Really, most users can do everything they need without ever leaving the default main window.
Many Lab Tests
I check results from a number of big independent labs to see how each product's technology rates. The results aren't always based on the current version under review, but they're still informative. It gets more complicated with a product like TrustPort that combines technologies from multiple sources.
West Coast Labs certifies AVG, BitDefender, and TrustPort itself for virus detection and cleaning. It also certifies the two component engines for Trojan detection and general malware detection. ICSA Labs hasn't tested TrustPort itself, but it certified both components for virus detection and BitDefender for virus removal. TrustPort has received the VB100 award in nine of Virus Bulletin's last ten anti-virus tests.
Austrian lab AV-Comparatives.org runs a regular series of tests that evaluate products on their on-demand scanning ability and on their ability to proactively detect new threats. TrustPort rated ADVANCED in both tests, the second-highest rating. Outside of this repeating series, last December AV-Comparatives published a dynamic protection test and rated the impact of various products on system performance. The then-current version of TrustPort rated STANDARD in both of these tests, the lowest passing grade.
AV-Test.org doesn't routinely include TrustPort in testing, but its current round of certification tests for different Windows versions covers both AVG and BitDefender. Each product gets a rating from 0 to 6 points each for protection, repair, and usability. Certification requires a total of 12 points. In August's Windows 7 test AVG scored 14.5 and BitDefender 14.0, with no score less than 4. But in the just-finished Windows XP test both totaled 12.0, barely passing. Norton topped both tests with 16 points in each and no score below 5 points.
TrustPort's lab results, both direct and through its components, are good; they're just not as good as those of top-rated vendors like F-Secure, Kaspersky, and Norton.
Scanning and Scanning Again
I didn't have any trouble installing TrustPort on my thirteen malware-infested test systems, but getting through the scanning process took more effort than usual. The main window offers a number of scanning choices including "Quick Scan", "Scan All Disks", and "Scan Registry". For testing I chose to scan all disks, naturally.
TrustPort took about 48 minutes to scan my standard clean test system, about twice the average time. Double Anti-Spy took 70 minutes, visibly scanning with first one engine and then the other.
On completing a scan TrustPort presents a page of statistics and a separate page with details of the scan. The cramped and hard-to-read detail page often gives the incorrect impression that TrustPort failed to clean up a threat. Fortunately, you can click a button to view a nicely formatted report of exactly what happened during the scan.
When TrustPort needs a reboot to complete its cleanup it doesn't pop up and ask whether to reboot now or later. In fact you could easily miss the small note in the summary window that asks for a reboot. After rebooting, one test system seemed to start a new scan on its own initiative. Just to be sure, I manually ran a second scan on each system that requested reboot.
While collecting screen shots for this review I noticed that all of the summary pages listed only file activity, no Registry activity. My TrustPort contacts confirmed that in order to clean up malware traces in the Registry users must run the separate Registry scan. It's hard to believe, but there is no single, simple choice to run an actual full scan of the entire system.
Feeling slightly put-upon, I went back to all thirteen test systems and ran a Registry scan, with absolutely no benefit. The scans didn't turn up a single Registry-based malware trace.
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Specifications
Type
Personal
OS Compatibility
Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7
Many modern antivirus utilities throw in bonus features like Web site rating, spam filtering, or firewall protection. TrustPort sticks to what's important, and its main window reflects this focus. Users can check for updates, scan for viruses, or make simple changes to the configuration. What more do you need?Type
Personal
OS Compatibility
Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7
True experts can choose Expert Settings for more configuration choices. This mode also reveals the program's logs, quarantine area, and scheduling options. There's even an option to change the user interface "skin". Really, most users can do everything they need without ever leaving the default main window.
Many Lab Tests
I check results from a number of big independent labs to see how each product's technology rates. The results aren't always based on the current version under review, but they're still informative. It gets more complicated with a product like TrustPort that combines technologies from multiple sources.
West Coast Labs certifies AVG, BitDefender, and TrustPort itself for virus detection and cleaning. It also certifies the two component engines for Trojan detection and general malware detection. ICSA Labs hasn't tested TrustPort itself, but it certified both components for virus detection and BitDefender for virus removal. TrustPort has received the VB100 award in nine of Virus Bulletin's last ten anti-virus tests.
Austrian lab AV-Comparatives.org runs a regular series of tests that evaluate products on their on-demand scanning ability and on their ability to proactively detect new threats. TrustPort rated ADVANCED in both tests, the second-highest rating. Outside of this repeating series, last December AV-Comparatives published a dynamic protection test and rated the impact of various products on system performance. The then-current version of TrustPort rated STANDARD in both of these tests, the lowest passing grade.
AV-Test.org doesn't routinely include TrustPort in testing, but its current round of certification tests for different Windows versions covers both AVG and BitDefender. Each product gets a rating from 0 to 6 points each for protection, repair, and usability. Certification requires a total of 12 points. In August's Windows 7 test AVG scored 14.5 and BitDefender 14.0, with no score less than 4. But in the just-finished Windows XP test both totaled 12.0, barely passing. Norton topped both tests with 16 points in each and no score below 5 points.
TrustPort's lab results, both direct and through its components, are good; they're just not as good as those of top-rated vendors like F-Secure, Kaspersky, and Norton.
Scanning and Scanning Again
I didn't have any trouble installing TrustPort on my thirteen malware-infested test systems, but getting through the scanning process took more effort than usual. The main window offers a number of scanning choices including "Quick Scan", "Scan All Disks", and "Scan Registry". For testing I chose to scan all disks, naturally.
TrustPort took about 48 minutes to scan my standard clean test system, about twice the average time. Double Anti-Spy took 70 minutes, visibly scanning with first one engine and then the other.
On completing a scan TrustPort presents a page of statistics and a separate page with details of the scan. The cramped and hard-to-read detail page often gives the incorrect impression that TrustPort failed to clean up a threat. Fortunately, you can click a button to view a nicely formatted report of exactly what happened during the scan.
When TrustPort needs a reboot to complete its cleanup it doesn't pop up and ask whether to reboot now or later. In fact you could easily miss the small note in the summary window that asks for a reboot. After rebooting, one test system seemed to start a new scan on its own initiative. Just to be sure, I manually ran a second scan on each system that requested reboot.
While collecting screen shots for this review I noticed that all of the summary pages listed only file activity, no Registry activity. My TrustPort contacts confirmed that in order to clean up malware traces in the Registry users must run the separate Registry scan. It's hard to believe, but there is no single, simple choice to run an actual full scan of the entire system.
Feeling slightly put-upon, I went back to all thirteen test systems and ran a Registry scan, with absolutely no benefit. The scans didn't turn up a single Registry-based malware trace.
Hitech-trends is your complete information about PC computers | peripherals | Internet-related products | gadget reviews | technology trends and news | hitech trends | news | computers | desktops | software hardware | digital | camera | consoles | printer | scanner | electronics | laptop | notebook | gadget | technology | product | reviews
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