Like other antivirus packages from the leading security vendors, Kaspersky Anti-Virus is a very comprehensive antivirus solution which offers real-time protection against the usual suspects, i.e.

• Viruses
• Worms
• Spyware
• Bots
• Trojans

Kaspersky Labs are rightly well known in the security arena and this latest incarnation of their antivirus software will do their reputation no harm at all.

Easy Installation

To be fair, most antivirus programs can be installed quite easily, and Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 is no exception.

All you need to do is follow the sort of setup wizard that you have probably seen many, many times before with just about every program you’ve installed on your Windows computer.

You get to choose between a standard or custom install; the standard installation will do just fine for almost all users.

Once installed you will want to run the update immediately and then you are good to go and will be safe from all manner of threats.

Simple To Use

I’ve tried many antivirus programs over the last few years and most of the ones I’ve looked at have been good or at least ok.

Some, however, have been a nightmare to get to grips with, despite the fact that I like to think I know what I’m doing.

Thats been down to poor interfaces that leave the user wondering what on earth they should be doing with the program.

Fortunately, Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 doesn’t fall into that category – it is, in fact, very easy to navigate around and has a straightforward and simple interface.

The main screen that you will see in this program is the dashboard which displays navigational tabs on the left hand side; these tabs lead to the main features that you will want to use -

• Scan
• Update Centre
• Tools
• Quarantine
• Reports
• Scheduler

Advanced users will find plenty to tinker with in there but basic users need not be worried that running a scan or updating their virus definitions will be beyond them.

Features And Benefits

Unlike some free antivirus programs, Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 is fully featured as I’m sure you would expect.

It also has one interesting key feature – the virtual keyboard.

Naturally, a virtual keyboard isn’t something you would want to be using all the time (I have one on my laptop and it isn’t fun to use for long periods of time) but it does add another layer of security when it comes to typing in sensitive information such as online banking passwords, etc.

This is because it will effectively freeze out any keylogging programs that may have crept onto your system.

Some of the other features include the ability to schedule future scans as well as determining how deep those scans should be.

And when you do run a scan you may be pleasantly surprised by how quick it is as Kaspersky use iSwift technology which will vary the speed of the scan according to what demands are being placed on the syste,, i.e., if you are not doing anything else on your computer then the scan will be quicker and, conversely, it will be slower if you are multitasking at that time.

Another feature, iChecker, allows for scanning of only those files that are new, or that have been changed since the last scan, which again decreases the time taken.

Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 also comes with a Gamer mode which is a feature that I personally like as there is nothing worse than having a notification pop up on your screen when you are frantically trying to kill your online mates in the latest online shooter!

Scope Of Protection

As mentioned at the very beginning of this review, Kaspersky Antivirus protects your machine from a large range of threats such as -

• Viruses
• Worms
• Spyware
• Bots
• Trojans

but there is a lot more to it than just that.

Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 offers you protection from other threats too, such as -

• Keyloggers (see the virtual keyboard comments above)
• Browser exploits
• Operating system exploits
• Adware
• and other malicious scripts

Regular Updates

A staggeringly large number of new threats are released every week.

For an antivirus program to combat these new threats, as well as the numerous variations of existing ones, it needs to be updated frequently.

Kaspersky Antivirus has that covered because it updates itself hour in order to ensure that your computer is well protected.

Such updates are performed automatically which is never a bad thing as I know far too many people who would forget if it was left to them to keep their security software up to date.

For those of you who prefer manual updates that option is still possible as well.

If an update goes pear then you don’t need to panic as you can revert back to the previous working version of the database via the update centre tab.

My Opinion

After playing with several free antivirus programs over the last month or two it was quite refreshing to get into a program that was familiar to me, fully featured and easy to use.

Everybody’s needs are different of course and I have always said that the best antivirus program for one person isn’t necessarily the best choice for someone else.

For me, Kaspersky Antivirus 2011 would certainly be good enough and the gaming mode is a feature that all the vendors should include by default in my opinion – not having notifications during gaming sessions is a big deal for those of us who like to get immersed in what we are doing.

I’ll be looking at other paid antivirus programs over the coming weeks which may or may not be better than Kaspersky but, for now, I’m happy with the antivirus program I have running on my laptop.

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