Customer Reviews

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Just a reviewer background: I am a new user to the Kaspersky AV series with the 2009 version, so I cannot compare it with previous versions or any license renewal issues. Like many others, I wanted something different than what Norton offered - I felt the last several versions of NAV were too resource heavy and intrusive, even on a 2.0GHz Core Duo (Centrino) XP laptop with 2GB RAM which this program was installed on.

I tried Trend Micro last year, but wasn't overly impressed with the AV performance and had been using a combination of AVG 8.0 freeware and Lavasoft's Adaware freeware since reformatting with a clean XP install. So it came down to either Kaspersky or ESET NOD 32 after review reading, and Kaspersky won over because a brick & mortar store with the initials BB had it on sale.

INSTALLATION:

This was less than desirable. I knew that AVG had to be removed prior to installation, and just used the Windows XP removal utility. Once the CD was popped in I was off and running, or so I thought. Immediately it asked a stupid question: "Do you want Windows firewall to block this program?" Well duh, how can I access it otherwise? So after it checked the CD, I was prompted to download the latest updated files from the internet and reboot.

About ten minutes later I was ready to roll and proceed with the install after plugging in my access code, and used the "most users" vs. the "advanced users" installation option. Ooops, another prompt suddenly. KAV detected leftover remnants of AVG 8.0 and pointed me to their webpage for a removal utility called KLeaner.exe. Absolutely nothing happened when I clicked the executable, and after several minutes of frustration trying to run it, I decided to go to Grisoft's website and hunt around for their removal utility (and hunt around you have to do). For some reason, the .exe file worked from their website. KAV did not prompt me to remove Lavasoft's Adaware, so I did not (and I haven't tried to use it).

After running the Grisoft removal utility, I had to reboot again and essentially start all over with the KAV installation process including downloading the latest updates again! Another 10 minutes or so of that and I plugged in the access code and was rolling. I do not know who is in charge of the installation processes with this software, but it is perhaps the worst experience and hassle I had ever had. Heaven help those less tech saavy than me with this program with other AV programs that were loaded at one time.

INTERFACE, EASE OF USE, AND PERFORMANCE:

Overall, the interface is easy to use and information is at your fingertips for running the program. The first time a full system scan was run, it took about 40 minutes on a 120GB 5200RPM laptop hard drive loaded with pictures, home movies, and various MS office files. A faster hard drive would have shaved that down some. Right away there were twelve infections discovered, all tied to MS office applications that AVG did not pick up.

One thing that is ambiguous is that there are no instructions to remove, quarantine, delete, or anything else with these infections found. The interface is not clear here and you have to hunt around with the buttons to find information. However, I feel about as safe as can be with this program, and it does earn high marks from respectable places like ZDNET for AV protection.

There is a very informative 95 page .pdf user manual that comes on the CD. Nearly half of it is used for explaining the different viruses, Trojans, worms, and other threats and vulnerabilities. It also digs deeper into the different settings and more advanced controls, but still does not offer the user more detailed information on how to use said options and what exactly is happening with the program.

Resource wise, KAV is hardly noticeable on the CPU and memory. There is a slight delay when accessing web pages (Firefox - or bookmarks in the drop down menu) while running it in the background, and I assume this is the phishing checker. There is no noticeable difference in boot time either, something that NAV was absolutely horrible with. Kudos to KAV here.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION:

From start to finish including going through all the rigmarole mentioned above, it was about an hour and a half job to get the laptop up to speed and current. Overall, I would score this program a 7 out of 10. I would have given it higher marks had the KAV team made installation more straight forward and clear, especially with the removal information of previous AV programs. You will need to go to the respective manufacturer website for removal utilities. KAV's links as of this writing are outdated or something, at least for AVG. In all fairness however, everyone should know that completely removing an AV program can be a hassle without completely wiping out the HDD and re-installing the OS (Norton especially).

Finally, the interface and information tool bars could use some rework. That said, the limited resources this AV program uses makes up for any of the nuances mentioned. Even though it wasn't used by me, reviews say that Kaspersky's tech support is pretty good. I will be buying ESOT next for another PC and will report on that as well. In the meantime, those who are tired of NAV's programs the past few years will not be disappointed with this Kaspersky product.

UPDATE 9/16/2008:

After having KAV for one week, it has performed (mostly) flawlessly and stopped one Trojan from getting through. However, it is apparent it is a little deficient in spyware/adware detection. As mentioned above, I never removed Lavasoft's Ad-Aware 2008 because there was no prompt to during installation. I decided to download the latest update and run it (after temporarily disabling KAV) due to receiving several Spam emails recently - specifically after I stopped using it - hmmmm. Sure enough there were 9 detections Ad-Aware found that KAV did not pick up on.

The good news here is that you can run Ad-Aware and not conflict with KAV, so long as both are not running simultaneously. It's a little disappointing to not have a "one stop does all" AV, but considering the price of KAV and the fact that Ad-Aware is free and just as resource friendly, I'll take having to deal with these two over a single NAV program any day. I found a review site that mentions this deficiency with KAV's spyware detection:

http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/kaspersky-review.html

I'm surprised CNET/ZDNET didn't mention it their KAV 2009 reviews.

A little over a month ago, as careful as I usually am, I misclicked somewhere and a trojan keylogger was able to find it's way into my computer. I had just downloaded the newest Norton internet security and after the keylogger had begun it's damage I ran several scans, but Norton couldn't find it. My options were: reformat, pay Norton $100.00 to scan my system remotely from their tech. support, or try another anti-virus. I picked up Kaspersky and followed the install directions (had a bit of a hangup with uninstalling AVG, just need to check with the troubleshooting feature Kaspersky provides). Kaspersky found the trojan in 4 minutes and deleted all versions of it from my computer. I have not had any trouble, and my computer loads faster since installing Kaspersky.

10-22-2008
I have used Kaspersky Anti-Virus for the past 4 years with great success.
I was leary of buying the 2009 version reading the 4 previous customer comments. But, I did.

I uninstalled the old version 7.0 and rebooted the PC. I then downloaded and ran the AVG removal utility, and rebooted. Then turned off the Firewall.

I then installed Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009. No problems. Installation, updating, and configuration took only 20 minutes.

It was cheaper buying the software thru amazon.com than renewing the 2007 version thru Kaspersky, which would had to be uninstalled anyway, and install the 2009 download. Plus this gives you a C D should you have to reinstall it at a future date.

Richard in Irving, TEXAS

I've tried pretty much every major retail (and some not retail) versions of anti-virus software. Kaspersky AV is right in the middle of the pack. There were several installation issues and some fairly disappointing software compatibility issues. I wanted to run a different firewall and K-AV is incompatibile with it. The software was installed on a completely fresh windows install and there were installation/compatibility issues. Technical support was able to solve them fairly quickly through some patches and software removal tools. I have some concerns that a novice computer user would not be able to get to the point of a working installation. I had to know a few pretty technical issues to be able to work with the tech support folks.

If I am in the market again for A-V software, I'll shop around. Don't believe everything you read on CNET or PCMAG etc. I had better experience with Norton (despite its impact on system performance). Bit Defender is another option that I'd rate at about equal if not slightly better than KAV.

I had Kaspersky Internet Security Suit 2008 and was pleased by its performance. That is why I have bought Kaspersky Antivirus 2009 (KA2009) on the Kaspersky web site. Here it started.
(1) The product was sold for installation on 3 computers. However, even on second computer, it proclaimed itself one-month trial version.
(2) Kaspersky customer service appeared to be unreachable - they did not answer my three e-mails, their phone number is permanently busy.
(3) The product backdates the installation date, diminishing this way proclaimed one-year term of use. However, this is minor with respect to first two points.
Is its performance worth efforts? No. In distinction of 2008 product, the KA2009 appears to be totally paranoidal. Even with relaxed settings it is annoying beyond the limits. Needless alarms defy the purpose of buying it - it eats your time instead of saving it.
I do not recomment buying it. I had to buy another antivirus to cover computers originally supposed to be covered by two remaining KA2009 licenses (which I cannot use - see above). Panda Antivirus appeared to be a good, fast and friendly product with good customer service. I recommend Panda (Staples sells it) instead of KA2009.

I purchased this product to replace McAfee because their last update made my computer freeze and than it would not let me completly install Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009. I had trouble getting the Kaspersky Anti-Virus to Authenticate. There is no number on the package to call for support. Amazon had trouble finding the number and the number they gave me was not the right one. After calling 5 different numbers I finally got the correct number to call for support 866-525-9094 is the number for Kaspersky Home Product Support. The first person I spoke to was suppose to email me a tool to remove McAfee compleletly put she did not. I called back and this tech support person had to give me a key code because the Activation Code on the disc did not work. Now the software will not update. When you call you have to wait over 20 minutes for help. My system runs better than when it had McAfee but there are still problems with Kaspersky. I have not had the time to wait for support yet.

Kaspersky is a very good antivirus product but you need to know what you are doing because it is NOT user friendly. There are constantly making changes so you need to uninstall the old version and install the new one whenever your renewal is up. (It's not automatic).

To avoid this, I upped for 3 years-and ended up short by 4 months. Instead of expiring in Sept of 2011, it expires in May. It took three days to get a reply to my email. It contained all kinds of files to uninstall my old and install the newest version (which I already did which is how I learned I was short by 4 months). 2 and a half hours on the phone. Unfortunately, it closed before someone could actually answer the phone so that time was wasted. And now I sit here waiting for someone to come "live chat" with me. Their 12 mins approx time is going on 1 hour and 9 minutes.

If I had to do it all over, I'd check out something that has a half way decent Customer Service.

Watch out when you get a message asking if you want to delete something. Because of this "feature" I deleted a Windows system file. This program is not as user friendly as it could be.

I have used Kaspersky AV 2007, 2008 and 2009. The first two years it was fantastic. This year it is wretched. In the past it had very informative easy to understand reports. This year the reports are unintelligible gibberish. Not only that, nine out of ten times when I attempt to access the reports it takes so long to load that I have to end the program with Windows Task Manager. Additionally, it repeatedly identified Microsoft IE and Office as viruses with annoying pop-up messages. On one of the few times the reports page would load in my own lifetime it showed that it had done this 1700+ times in one day. I contacted product support with an email three weeks ago and still have no answer.

Regardless of the fact that I still have seven months remaining on my subscription I have uninstalled Kaspersky and installed AVG Antivirus instead. In the first scan AVG identified over one hundred threats that Kaspersky had missed, five of which were Trojans. AVG effectively and automatically got rid of each of them.

In Summary:
1. No product support.
2. Unintelligible reports.
3. Ineffective virus protection.
4. Falsely identifies non viruses as being threats.

I honestly don't know what has happened to Kaspersky but would have given this program zero stars if that were possible. Hopefully they will get the message and improve next year but unfortunately I need virus protection this year.

Most effective solution as far as my experience goes. Before switching to Kaspersky last year, I used security software from other so-called big name vendor. Once a virus made into my PC through a torrent download. After searching much on the internet, I came to know that only Kaspersky had solution for that trojan and it was the only solution which could fix the issue. Then on I have been a loyal customer of their products. This year I bought Anti-virus 2009. Happy with the purchase. Simple installation. Quick too. Least intrusive. Even full scan is very fast. Updates happen in the background without affecting what you are doing. The software does not hog resources at all. This is a big distinction from other name band AV products which hog a lot of resources. Over the years, I have been disenchanted with other software vendor whose products have become too bloated while their secret sauce has diluted. Kaspersky seems to focus on the core while keeping other parts simple. Other vendors are more interested in signing you up for yearly updates and once you give your credit card details, that's it, they keep charging you whether you need their useless protection or not. Getting out of their automatic renewal is not very straightforward. You may have to call their support, be on hold for several hours, even after that you may be lucky to get out of their hook. Thus far Kaspersky has been very straight forward with gentle reminders and nothing else. Lack of sales pressure was also a reason to stick with them.

Best solution on the market. Go for it.