PC-cillin
 

Trend Micro Internet Security (formerly known as PC-cillin Internet Security and currently known as Virus Buster in Japan) is an antivirus/internet security program developed by Trend Micro. The program safeguards users computers, home networks and small networks. Trend Micro Internet Security 2007 is the first security suite that is VISTA certified and therefore is fully compatible with any edition of Microsoft Windows Vista.

Features

In the latest version, Trend Micro Internet Security 2007 offers the following features:

• Anti-Malware protection against viruses, worms, trojans, dialers, adware, spyware, grayware, riskware, rootkits and other forms of malware.
• Personal Firewall which protects against hackers
• Fraud Defense component which provides protection against phishing
• Wireless home network protection

Purchasing a license for Trend Micro Internet Security 2007 also gives any user the right to access TrendSecure, which is an online set of specialized services which help in securing/protecting online transactions made at public places, protecting private files in case of loss of a portable computer and a cell phone Antivirus.

Effectiveness

In a recent test published by PC World and performed by AV-test.org in April 2007, Trend Micro AntiVirus + AntiSpyware 2007 (the standalone Anti-Malware application) was tested along with several competing Anti-Malware applications by various vendors. Trend Micro scored somewhat poorly in this test, scoring the lowest of all applications tested at 82% detection rate.

AV-comparatives also published a single test report in March 2007 which tested the Internet Security edition. Trend Micro fares somewhat better in this test, reaching an 87% detection rate, while the minimum detection rate to qualify for testing in AV-comparatives is 85%. However, the author of the test notes that Trend Micro was tested later than other products which are normally included in its comparative reports, and says that considering that Trend Micro had about 2 months more time (and hence was updated to a more recent date) than the other tested products, Trend Micro may or may not have reached the minimum certification level at the actual time of testing (i.e. 2 months earlier).

However, Trend Micro frequently acquires the Virus Bulletin VB100 award, and has also acquired certification from ICSA Labs for Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware detection, as well as Check Mark, which signifies that it is able to provide at least basic protection against in-the wild (i.e. highly spreading dangerous malware with a high infection rate) malware.

Trend Micro's firewall has only undergone limited testing, however, the test reports on Matousec seem to indicate that Trend Micro's firewall has a very good Anti-Leak protection, which means that it will usually not allow any unauthorized application to gain access to the Internet by using certain tricks to fool firewalls.

History

Previous versions of the program as of October 2006, are:

• PC-cillin
• PC-cillin 2000
• PC-cillin 2002
• PC-cillin 2003
• PC-cillin Internet Security 2004
• PC-cillin Internet Security 2005
• PC-cillin Internet Security 2006

Only versions from 2005 onwards are currently still being supported by Trend Micro.

PC-cillin 2000 and earlier versions were purely virus scanners without any additional features. PC-cillin 2002 and 2003 were stand-alone virus scanners which also included a firewall component as a bonus and improved the scanning engine somewhat. The newer PC-cillin Internet Security bundle offers more features such as spyware protection, anti-spam and an integrated firewall along with an even more improved scan engine and better heuristics. After PC-cillin 2003, Trend Micro did not offer a stand-alone antivirus program for the consumer market till 2007, when the company finally released a standalone Anti-Malware product which offers protection from viruses and spyware.

A separate AntiSpyware program is also available from Trend Micro which protects computers from spyware only.