Lab

Internet security suites

It wasn't that long ago when all you needed to protect your data from the big wide world was a basic virus scanner. Then the world got bigger, got attached to your computer and got nasty. Now the virus is just one prong of a seemingly endless attack on not only your data but your system resources, your sanity and even your identity.

To cope with the many faces of the Internet security threat, your computer needs to be protected by a firewall, spam filters, spyware scanners and privacy tools. And, if you have a young family, parental controls are a must over and above the anti-virus that we started with.

The trouble is, when you take a layered approach to security, you run the risk of getting bogged down in the complexity of it all, while your system resources are bogged down by the demands made upon them. This is where the Internet Security Suite comes into play: all the tools you need but with a central management console for simple administration and operation.

We subjected eight of the class leaders to a barrage of real-world tests (see How we test), but also applied that most rare of commodities: common sense. And, aware that some people always want the best of all worlds.

Read on to see which best suits your needs, and find out who picked up the award for the best overall protection.