Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 (3User)

Switched from Symantec Norton to Kaspersky this year after long hesitation. Had been using Nort for past 2 years. Both have 1-star & 2-star reviews, making it hard to decide. Question was whether to stick with the mediocre but familiar product or risk pain & suffering by switching to an unknown and a potential humiliating return back to the old one. Av-test website played a decisive role in the switch. Many of the other websites/magazines like cnet, pc tools, pcmagazine seem to base their evaluations on Av-test. Of late they just regurgitate Av-test findings. This year Av-test reported gap between N & K widened to the extent that it was hard to ignore. This fact, coupled with N letting some malware/adware slip in (ie personal experience parallels Av-test results), occasional failure to start when the computer is turned on, slowing access in XP to Windows Explorer for about half hour at startup helped with the decision. Last year wasted several hours with the live Nort help on the phone to tackle the Windows Explorer slowdown. The tech support assured N wasnt the cause of the slowdown yet when it was uninstalled the delay disappeared. Yet it was still hard to quit.Installing Kasp wasnt particularly easy because the instructions and status reporting during the installation are not sufficient or clear. In particular, it is absolutely essential that the system is completely cleaned off any previous security software. JV Powertools was recommended by Kasp to remove any registery remnants. However Kasp still found traces and wouldnt install. Finally downloaded a Nort-specific cleaning tool using the link at Kasp website which did the trick (all this is explained in the Kasp website btw but who wants to read all that...unless there is no choice). It took maybe a day of struggle to get the tool running on the XP. Full Scan (including downloading of the latest virus/malware signatures took a very long time but then if you want a really effective product, makes sense for it to take its time to do a good job. The faster full scan of N obviously wasnt catching everything. Last year, when Malwarebytes was ran afterwards it identified several malware/adware that Nort had missed. Windows 7 installation of Kasp went much more smoothly, took much less time. Kasp tech support is not live and the email response was not fast enough. The problem was solved by the time they responded. But then what is the point of having live support if they are a waste of time like in Norton's case.Kasp is running smoothly on XP & Windows 7 now. The tool does its job competently without any drama and stays out of the way. Another neat feature is the keystroke logger protection. Keystroke loggers are a huge loophole in cybersecurity so it is great this is included in the basic tool. Norton doesnt have this in their comparable version. Keylogger protection needs to be manually turned on after the tool is installed. There is however a design flaw in the Kasp Windows 7 product's GUI. The Windows 7 is a laptop, so has a small screen, and it is also set up to display large fonts so every object appears bigger on the small screen. So Kaspersky GUI's bottom strip (where the Settings button resides) is masked by Windows 7's taskbar. There is no way to move the GUI up to access the Settings button..without changing to smaller fonts or undisplaying the taskbar. So each time there is a need to do a Kasp settings change the Windows font will need to be changed and then changed back. Not very smartly designed. It should be possible to move the GUI up a bit or resize the GUI so that the button becomes accessible without having to change the Windows 7 settings.Right now Norton is the #1 & 3rd,4th,5th,6th selling product in Amazon and Kaspersky is 2nd. Norton obviously has been resting on its laurels for too long and slacking off. It is hard for people to switch to an unknown product but if Norton isnt doing a good job, its exposing you to unnecessary danger. Its worth a little inconvenience and the time invested to minimize risk.

I have been using Kaspersky ever since my computer contracted a terrible virus/malware/trojan whatever that I thought had killed my computer. For over 4 years I have been worry free with Kaspersky, no problems, no hassles and it did not bog down my machine while running seamlessly in the background. It was easy, maintenance free and did its job well without slowing down my machine.2014 arrived, I purchased, uploaded the software, checked to make sure it was working, it was a breeze. There were no problems, I turned the machine off with confidence and when I went back the next day, I could no longer access the internet with the Kaspersky software turned on.Tried trouble shooting the issue myself and with no progress turned to kaspersky customer support. Within 24 hours of me logging the problem I was contacted by customer support and for the next few weeks we tried trouble shooting the issue to figure out what the problem was. Everything about the software was working perfectly except no matter what we tried, I could not access the internet. Well my first tech turned me over to the next guy up the ladder who came in with confidence and unfortunately was unable to make any headway.After almost a month trouble shooting the issue I decide to get a refund and move on only to find out I missed my return window by 3 days, grrrrrrrrrr. Decide to try Geek Squad before purchasing new software from a different company. If they were able to fix the issue the cost would be less than a new purchase and if they did not, I would not be charged. After a couple of weeks, I finally said enough, gave up and gave in.I have since removed Kaspersky from my computer, purchased and installed a different security suite and it is working just fine.So why did I still give this 4 stars : I really like Kaspersky, it works well (usually) behind the scenes so you don't really know its there. I have friends who also purchased this software and it works the way it is supposed to for them, no hitches and no issues. Although we could not solve the problem, Customer Support was excellent to the point if I went a couple of days without responding to our latest attempt, I was contacted for a follow up to see if the issue had been resolved. On all counts it is so much nicer in my opinion than so many of the other options out there for example Norton (since someone always wants examples) which eats away at resources, is intrusive and whose customer support sucks (I had to troubleshoot an issue on my parents computer and they use Norton 360).I would still recommend Kaspersky Internet Security software. HOWEVER, I would recommend it with the new understanding that all these Internet Security Software Suites offer free trials at their sites. Before purchasing, try the free download, make sure it will work on your machine and go from there.And just to cover all my bases: my computer is old, running XP service pack 3

Have not installed this update yet, but I have used Kaspersky software for several years. Does not require as many computer resources as previous software I have used, but has provided good protection. The only problem experienced was self-inflicted when unwanted utility programs (malware in that I did want these programs and they were difficult to remove) were packaged with an update to a freeware program when I used a Google reference for the update instead of the upgrade in the program.Given the option I would have rated the program 4.5 stars

It's always hard to judge an antivirus software when you are not an AV specialist but it seems to work fine and did not have major issues. It also seems to have less problems than Norton Antivirus that I was using previously.

I have been using Kaspersky for years and would never switch to another. I usually look early for a good price and got this on a steal @ 30 clams! It is great and it helps protect against the dreaded malware that can really mess up your computer. So, I would definitely get this again and at this price it can't be beat.

Once installed Outlook would not open - this occurred on all the installations. It reached the point that it was costing more than the value of the product to try and resolve the issue. With no resolution in sight we bought another product as having access to e-mails was critical to us. Turn around for help was slow with their resolution being the re-installation the software and then running a diagnostic program to be sent to them for analysis. Turn around to await their response/recommendations was not an option as their is just way too much time involved. In the past I have used and loved this product, but not any more.

I really enjoy this product. All the programs that come with this product great. I haven't had a virus yet with this product.