Vipre Antivirus 2012 is the latest version of the award-winning fast Vipre antivirus. Just like ESET, Vipre offers a fast antivirus software for home computers and home office computer users.

Their software provides maximum protection while staying easy on system resources, it does not slow down the computer while scanning and/or updating definitions.

Also, a great feature of their antivirus software is the Malware Detection which constantly checks your computer and while you browse or navigate over the internet.

If Vipre finds any harmful website links, it flags them to inform the user of the potential risks involved. Users can then avoid harmful websites and web pages to keep themselves safe.

Vipre antivirus 2012 is power packed with amazing features and we concluded that Vipre takes the #2 spot in our top ten antivirus programs list.

Features

• Next-generation anti-malware technology

VIPRE detects and remediates viruses, spyware, rootkits, bots, Trojans and other malware via a single, powerful anti-malware engine.

• High-performance PC security

VIPRE utilizes an advanced technology stack to scan large volumes of information quickly, with minimal performance impact.

• Advanced anti-rootkit technology

VIPRE finds and disables malicious hidden processes, threats, modules, services, files and alternate data streams (ADS) on user systems.

• Real-time monitoring and protection

VIPRE monitors and protects against malware threats including zero-day threats, in real time. It leverages multiple detection methods, including heuristics, behavioral analysis and traditional signature based technologies, to analyze malware.

• Antivirus, anti-phishing email security

VIPRE includes comprehensive protection against email viruses and phishing scams, with direct support for Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail and any email program that uses POP3 and SMTP.

• Remote device scanning

VIPRE includes a remote device scanner that auto-scans removable drives and files for threats.

Some Installation Troubles

Like F-Secure Anti-Virus 2012 ($39.99 direct for three licenses, 3 stars), VIPRE downloads the very latest components at install time and then downloads the latest antivirus signatures. This is a good way to make sure the user has the very latest protection. However, the initial download failed on three of the twelve infested test systems, and the signature download failed on four of them.

Running the installer again solved most of the installation problems, and launching an update manually solved the problems with signature updates.

I used GFI’s live chat support to get help for the one system that still had trouble. The support agent pointed me at the command-line VIPRE Rescue tool, which cleaned up the system enough to permit installation.

I got VIPRE installed and updated on all twelve infested test systems, with a little suffering along the way. I worry, though, that a regular consumer encountering a failed installation or failed update might lose confidence in the product.

Good points

• • Simple to use
• • Light footprint
• • Great at identifying potential threats
• • Comes with multiple home licenses

Bad points

• • Lengthy scanning times
• • Annoying update notification pop-ups

System Requirements

Your computer must meet the following system requirements in order to run the application effectively:

Note: This product should not be installed on any type of storage media that may be inaccessible at times. This includes network drives, removable drives, hot-swappable drives, USB drives, and FireWire (IEEE 1394) drives that may be disconnected.

Supported Operating Systems:

• • Windows XP SP2+ (32- & 64-bit)
• • Windows 2003 Server SP1+ (32- & 64-bit)
• • Windows Vista, Vista SP1+ (32- & 64-bit)
• • Windows 7 (32- & 64-bit)
• • Windows Server 2008+ (32- & 64-bit)

Note: Installation is not supported on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4, Win 2000, XP with SP1 or older, Macintosh or Linux computers.

1 GHZ Computer with 512 MB of RAM (memory) and 300 MB of available free space on your hard drive.

Miscellaneous:

• • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher
• • Internet access for definitions updates (Broadband recommended)
• • 2x CDROM if you are having the CD shipped to you (not necessary for online download)

Protection

The VIPRE system uses integrated antivirus and anti-spyware technology, and a two-way firewall, to protect your PC from viruses, malware, adware, worms, spyware, phishing attacks and rootkits. The FirstScan system bypasses the Windows operating system to scan the hard drive for malware by using advanced heuristic detection, including MX-Virtualization.

Internet - The website filtering service is something we wouldn’t recommend using (not, at least, until Sunbelt develop it further). It’s a nice idea, but it was far too keen to block downloadable files from even the most reputable of websites – great in theory, but not so good in practice.

Email – VIPRE Antivirus Premium scans and detects malicious links and attachments embedded within email messages and supports Outlook, Outlook Express and Windows Mail plus any email that uses POP3 or SMTP.

IM – VIPRE monitors any links and files coming through instant messenger in order to evaluate them and save them to disk or browser if needed.

Results from Independent Labs

ICSA Labs and West Coast Labs both certify GFI’s VIPRE technology for virus detection; ICSA Labs further certifies it for virus cleanup. Virus Bulletin has put VIPRE through its VB100 test seven times over the last few years. It passed six of those seven times.

AV-Test.org performs dynamic testing to evaluate a product’s ability to clean up a malware infestation and fend off malware attacks. It also rates the product’s overall ease of use. In each of these three areas, a product can receive from 0 to 6 points, with a total of 11 points required for certification. In recent tests under Windows 7, Vista, and XP, VIPRE has barely made the cut with 12.5, 11.5, and 11 points. For a description of the independent testing labs and the way I interpret their results, see How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests.

System Tools

The secure file eraser feature, enabled from VIPRE’s system tools page, adds a secure file erase menu choice to the right-click context menu for files and folders. Choosing this menu item overwrites sensitive files and folders before deleting them, making forensic recovery of the deleted items impossible.

Another tool, the history cleaner, wipes out traces that could reveal details of your Internet and computer usage. It wipes out browsing traces for Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari, as well as various lists of recently used files in Windows. In addition the history cleaner can clean up file history for a number of third-party applications.

The third system tool, PC Explorer, is clearly designed for use by experts. It lists such programs involved with things as running processes, Browser Helper Objects, and Shell Execute Hooks. An icon identifies each program as safe, suspicious, hazardous, or unknown. The only action you can take from this page is to add a specific application to the whitelist of always allowed programs.

Help & Support:

When you buy the VIPRE antivirus system you get free access to a US-based toll-free phone line for technical support. The support for this antivirus software is pretty good, and the technicians are experienced and knowledgeable. There is also assistance available through the in-program help files, the user guide and the knowledge base.

Summary

Vipre Antivirus is good antivirus software with all of the essential and advanced features. In addition to checking threats against a database of known threats, this antivirus software is refreshed as many times per day as necessary to block every new malware that is just making its debut. Vipre users can opt in or out of ThreatNet in order to contribute to the stream of potential risks that the publisher needs to update for every installation. Participation in ThreatNet increases the likelihood that any particular Vipre installation will not be compromised by brand-new Zero Day malware. The VIPRE software offers all the essentials and it does solid work to deliver a complete security package.