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 - Make the best of a bad situation folks.All of these protection softwares slwo things down. Stipultated. However, of the lot, Trend Micro has givien me the fewest problems and is much faster than the Norton product. I will not even discuss the Mcafee product. Yes, Trend is a bit obnoxious in insisting for a scan, but I have found that if you do an update first thing every morning and a scan at least once a week, you will be in good shape. Trend has never caused a crash for me, or created a problem at any time. And like I said, compared to the others, it is lightening fast. BTW - I have never needed to call customer support, so I cannot speak to that. All of my computer geek friends prefer a trend mico. spy sweep combo. Rating: - Same as 07, but slower boot timeThis is my 4th Internet Security software from 05 to 08 and got to say it is the slowest of the bunch (use to be called PC Chilin also). Trend Micro has been known to use the least amount of resource and computer RAM. The first thing you noticed is the slower install time and to continue that the software is a slow loader during computer boot-up. This is noticeably slower then previous version on the same PC and OS. I use Window Vista Ultimate and Professional with 4GB and 2 GB of ram respectively. Scanning Takes about the same amount of time as previous version and length is dependent on your hard-drive size. The major issues are the spy and virus scanning. In previous version you get an option that said delete the next time the same cookies or virus is detected. In 07 and 06 the scan will just delete it, so you can and scan and have the PC automatically shut down when done. For some reason even with this feature is on , once it finished scanning it always show the cookies that it just deleted as a showoff, so you never really have a PC auto shut down features anymore (most for same cookies). This is an annoying feature that was not present in the previous. I don't know how good PC Chilin virus detection is compared to Norton and Mcfree, I hardy or never gotten a computer virus in years. There is a new option of background scanning as you work. Firewall: The same as all other version. Wi-Fi detection, office, home or public settings are the same. The user interface is the pretty much the same as 07 and 06ish. The weird internet thing on the side for 07 is gone. Overall this is basically the same as 07. With the notion that boot-up I s a tad slower and the annoying scan auto shutdown blocker. Micro Trend rebate is one of the reason I continue to use this antivirus. I received all my rebates from previous years. So they are basically free every year, if you keep all the rebate items (CD, user manual etc.) I have used all 3 licenses and wish there is the 4th user package. Over all it is still the cheapest and most reliable antivirus I have used for 4 years after using Norton and Mcfree. Basically Rating:  - Complete Melt-Down with PC-Cillin - What Were They Thinking?Thanks to Trend Micro's PC-Cillin 2008, I lost about five working days trying to resolve colossal problems on my main system and two laptops. Windows Vista Premium blew up entirely--giving me a slew of error codes and finally locking me out with "not genuine" messages. Adobe Design CS3 suite went crazy--also with all manner of error codes. I had to reinstall windows and much of my application software on two of the machines, and lost a lot of material. The worst was the lost time when I was mid-project with looming deadlines. I've been using the software and recommending it for about 5-6 years. I bought the 2008 upgrade and installed it with total trust and confidence. As I tried working through these new problems with Microsoft and Adobe tech support, I simply would not have believed that my newly-installed PC-Cillin could be the culprit. Then an IT friend of mine took a look and asked the simple question: "What's different?" Well, guess what was common to all three computers, all melting down in different ways, but at the same time? PC-Cillin. Unbelievable! A glitch, I can understand. But to blow up three computers simultaneously--in different ways, so you couldn't even tell what was going on--is an absolute outrage. This is especially important because of the way anti-virus programs work--how they weave into your operating system and your hardware. I will never, ever do business with this company again. In my 31 years with microcomputers, I have seen a lot of companies bite the dust over issues like these. This is the most egregious I have seen. Rating: - Trend Micro 2008: Improvements and FrustrationsThis is the third year in a row I have been using Trend Micro Internet Security. Each year the program improves both on its interface and ease of use. Unlike the previous versions of this software, the 2008 edition handles most of malware threats automatically. It hardly ever now asks for your input. Gone are the days when I had to delete tracking cookies one by one. Of course, if you are a major geek who likes to manage every decision made by antivirus software, you might not like Trend Micro taking such liberties. But major geeks usually go for something like Kaspersky anyway. Pros 1. Customizable to your needs. If you want to block specific types of Web Sites, it is easily arranged. The program explains all the options in a simple to understand language right there on the screen, allowing you to make an informed decision. Trend Micro keeps logs of all events and interactions under its watch, in case you might want to know what kind of evil Trojans attempted to infiltrate your computer. 2. Cleaner and more intuitive interface, compared with the previous versions of Trend Micro. 3. The scans will alert you to unresolved bugs and holes in Microsoft software programs, and then direct you to Microsoft Web Site, if you want to patch those. Cons: 1. The free 1 month trial is very difficult to install and activate. This is a serious drawback. I generally would not use any antivirus program unless I have had an opportunity to evaluate it first on my system. The reason for this is that programs tend to perform differently in different operating system environments. A piece of software that works seemingly well on a single computer with Windows XP pro can turn into a goblin when installed on a network running Windows Vista. So, ability to evaluate a security program for free is essential. 2. A memory hog. Trend Micro Internet Security 2008 utilizes 170 Mb of RAM, according to the Task Manager report. Do not try to run it on anything with less than 512 Mb of RAM. 3. Not everyone needs a 3-license version, but Trend Micro makes it hard to find a much less expensive 1-license version (those can be purchased from other vendors, like ZTech Software). 4. I ran into problems with the initial virus definition updates. For some reason Trend Micro could not properly install them on the first try. I had to re-install the program, after which everything worked fine. It took an extra couple of hours. Somehow I doubt Trend Micro reimburses its customers for wasted time. 5. Others have already commented on difficulties encountered when trying to stop a virus scan in progress. This is a known glitch in the program (which was not present in the previous versions). The good news is that a couple of minutes after the virus scan begins, the pause/stop buttons become active again (they stay grayed out in the initial stage of the scan). To me it is a minor issue. Rating:  - Is it worth it?This may be the top rated security software and yeah it does it's job well enough, but their customer service is among the worst I have ever experienced. If you're savy and can figure it all out by yourself, fine. If not hope and pray that you don't ever run into problems.
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