Kaspersky IS vs. F-Secure IS

[Firecat]

Hello everyone,

My local reseller is offering a nice discounted price for 1-year licenses for KIS and FSIS. I like the offer, and renewals are at the usual rates of 30- to 50%.

I'm basically getting FSIS for USD 32, and KIS for USD 34. Now the question is, which is the better deal? Any help would be appreciated. I've tried KIS once and I liked it, but I've never tried FSIS. As both use the Kaspersky engine I imagine detection rates will be top-notch anyway, I wanted to know which of the two suites functions better.

Thanks for your help. :)

[ink]

For our experienced users, of course KIS, much more flexiable.
FSIS did a much silent job, it is for common users.
Detection rate, FS maybe an unnoticeable higher and a little slower than kis

[NAMOR]

I own/used both... For me I like KIS better for a few of reasons. First, system startups are a bit slower with F-Secure IS 2007. Not terrible but, noticeably slower. Second, the F-Secure GUI also loads slower than KIS. Third, F-secure does not have as many "tweaking" options for fine-tuning. Forth, the firewall rule creation in F-secure isn't as straightforward as it is in KIS. Fifth, Kaspersky has a nice support forum. Also, I noticed that some programs would open slow with F-secure installed. I'm not sure if it has to do with Norman's sandbox...

You can get an idea of firewall rule creation for F-Secure here (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=164654).

[Legendkiller]

i would suggest kis as well......seems lighter,firewall is good and nothing needs to be said about detection-rates...

[DonKid]

I'd buy KIS.
Like said Legendkiller, KIS is lighter, the firewall is one of the best around, and new heuristics is on the way, and the beta of version 7.;D

[C.S.J]

well id choose f-secure,

sure you get a slower boot up time, but f-secure DOES run more silently than kaspersky (some have said this as a negative above) and the software just 'feels more secure', hence the name.

love the fact it has deepguard, aswell as f-secures own heuristics and it all does run very well for security software.

sure it uses more ram (although not terrible) and has a slower bootup, but its security software and f-secure is the best at this ;)

[lodore]

f-secure didnt make me feel any safer than kis6.0.
if anything kis6.0 makes me feel safer with its PDM module.
also in the event log in windows it showed alot of f-secure couldnt finish scanning file e.g. blah blah.
kis6.0 is lighter only has two processes uses around 20mb of ram.
compare that to 13 processes and over 100mb of ram....
f-secure doesnt have many options to change.
as far as i know you cant even get f-secure to deal with threats automatically only ask the user.
it seems pointless to have all those extra engines for hardly any extra detection rate.
f-secure has its HIPS deepguard and kaspersky has PDM.
it can be a bad thing if f-secure is silent since it blocked my soundcard driver without asking me first.
i think f-secure should ditch most of the engines and keep the following.
kaspersky engine,kaspersky extended bases,norman sandbox and f-secure's blacklight.
the rest of the engines are rubbish and should be scrapped.
lodore

[C.S.J]

yes, f-secure can silently deal with threats and a little pop up that vanishes.

in my experience, f-secure used around 50mb ram and processes mean sh1t, i never understand why 'processes' even gets mentioned.

sure, kaspersky has PDM, but invader alerts by the massive and many pop ups to users, most which state things most users dont even understand (hmm, do i allow it or deny?...erm, i just dont know)

at least when f-secure and deepguard pop up (which are not as annoying and frequent as kaspersky), it shows information including pathnames that is understandable to the user, sure it might have blocked your drivers, but you changed your setting and it fixed it right? so no problem

f-secure definatly has another options, but not as many as kaspersky.

f-secures engines work well together, detecting different things and yes it does have only a slightly better detection, but still better.
i cant see, other than a slower boot up how using f-secure would affect a user.

id recommend installing f-secure without parental control (in the installation)

[lodore]

{QUOTE-> yes, f-secure can silently deal with threats and a little pop up that vanishes.

in my experience, f-secure used around 50mb ram and processes mean sh1t, i never understand why 'processes' even gets mentioned.

sure, kaspersky has PDM, but invader alerts by the massive and many pop ups to users, most which state things most users dont even understand (hmm, do i allow it or deny?...erm, i just dont know)

at least when f-secure and deepguard pop up (which are not as annoying and frequent as kaspersky), it shows information including pathnames that is understandable to the user, sure it might have blocked your drivers, but you changed your setting and it fixed it right? so no problem

id recommend installing f-secure without parental control (in the installation) <-QUOTE}
f-secure never asked me if i wanted to install parental control or not.
it just installed it and i didnt want it installed.

i had to get deepguard to ask me on all changes to allow the soundcard driver which makes it almost as annoying with popups as SSM.
since i used it for over 2 years i think my experience with it could proof useful to the OP.
folowing about kis6.0,
for the record once you put the safe programs in trusted zone you get hardly any popups anymore.
i have to say when i used f-secure 2005 it worked flawlessly for me.
f-secure 2006 worked fine for a while but always had a red exclamation mark over the blue icon indicating automatic updates disabled which took about 20seconds to go after every logon this was fixed in the 2007 version but the problems above where all from the 2007 version.
lodore

[C.S.J]

all depends on your settings,

it offers to install without parental control on the FIRST SCREEN of installation i think.

sure you can name this soundcard thing as a negative, but change your settings and it was allowed so i dont see the problem here, whereas kasperskys PDM flags most things, very annoying... IE7 favourites even an INVADER!! warning warning, in red with allow deny of mumbo jumbo that most users dont know about, scaring users i think, whereas f-secure doesnt do this and when it does pop up, it states proper information and pathnames.

i think both are good, but with f-secure having deepguard which i prefer, and a more 'in the background setup' it gets my choice, plus their anti-phising is amazing, catches em all.

but i really would install without parental control.

[lodore]

i prefer kis6.0 with PDM and those popups dont come up as much as you state dont try to scare the OP or anyone else.
when you tryed it did you put the safe programs in trust zone or not?
also did you use basic or advanced protection mode for PDM?
lodore

[C.S.J]

default settings, with that training mode thing.

[lodore]

{QUOTE-> default settings, with that training mode thing. <-QUOTE}
training mode isnt default settings as far as i know.
basic and advanced mode for PDM are different.
basic mode will give you hardly any prompts but wont have all the modules active. advanced mode means more protection but more popups until you have the safe applications added to trusted zone that need to be.
lodore

[C.S.J]

ok maybe i should have added the word 'and'

default settings, and that training mode thing.

:D

still prefer f-secure, been a valid licence holder in the past, its never let me down, changed only for .. well, a change.

[Firecat]

Seems to be an interesting discussion. The best thing about F-Secure is that a single license allows you to use it on 3 PCs (at least for me anyway), while Kaspersky is still just one PC...

I think I'll wait for a few more opinions before deciding. In either case, I've got a great product I think. :)

[lodore]

{QUOTE-> Seems to be an interesting discussion. The best thing about F-Secure is that a single license allows you to use it on 3 PCs (at least for me anyway), while Kaspersky is still just one PC...

I think I'll wait for a few more opinions before deciding. In either case, I've got a great product I think. :) <-QUOTE}

i wish kaspersky would allow me to install kis6.0 on more than one pc...
i mean cmon even norton let you install nsis2007 on three pc's...
lodore

[C.S.J]

isnt kaspersky just a key-file or licence number?

cant you just use it on another computer, copy the key-file if there is one, or just use the same serial, does it not work?

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> isnt kaspersky just a key-file or licence number?

cant you just use it on another computer, copy the key-file if there is one, or just use the same serial, does it not work? <-QUOTE}
Isn't that illegal? I mean, if KIS records your IP address or MAC address when you update, and you use your keyfile on multiple PCs, then I believe you'll be busted....

[C.S.J]

i dont think so, if its YOUR licence and its paid for, its up to the company to make sure it doesnt work on another machine, if they try and sell it for 1pc only.

[lodore]

{QUOTE-> Isn't that illegal? I mean, if KIS records your IP address or MAC address when you update, and you use your keyfile on multiple PCs, then I believe you'll be busted.... <-QUOTE}

yes your right they would black list the license if found to be used on more than the license allows.
i just posted a message on the kaspersky forums about licenses and how most companys now allow you to install on up to three pc's
to get kis6.0 legally on two pc's for one year would cost £100!
i think they should change they policy and be more leniant.
if they allowed it to be installed on more than one pc i would install that on my new pc im building soon but as it stands i will have to buy a cheap av that i can afford for it.
lodore

[C.S.J]

ok, but if your behind a router at home, isnt the IP that kaspersky is logging the same for all the machines, im pretty sure they dont log the 192.168.1.100 etc., but the IP for the connection.

[Firecat]

If they log the MAC address, wouldn't that be different for every PC?

Either way, I don't have a router, so I cannot do this.

[C.S.J]

either way, i doubt they would block a user from say 2pcs.

i think they will only blacklist the ones that are obviously circling the internet, 10,20-50-100+ users on the same licence.

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> either way, i doubt they would block a user from say 2pcs.

i think they will only blacklist the ones that are obviously circling the internet, 10,20-50-100+ users on the same licence. <-QUOTE}
I doubt it too, but nobody would want to take that risk....

[JerryM]

Not only that but it is dishonest.
Best,
Jerry

[C.S.J]

dishonest? :P

ROFLMFAO

[Simon6776]

Nice to see this old FSIS vs KIS chestnut again! I have tried both, and agree / disagree with several points above, but overall, prefer F-Secure at the moment, despite having one problem with it, which has never been rectified, but I think it's just something on my machine. One thing that I'd like to pick up on, if I may, is Lodore's comment re KIS:

{QUOTE-> basic and advanced mode for PDM are different.
basic mode will give you hardly any prompts but wont have all the modules active. advanced mode means more protection but more popups until you have the safe applications added to trusted zone that need to be. <-QUOTE}
OK, this is the main reason why I switched to F-Secure. The PDM pop ups had become ridiculous in the latest KIS versions, and often, I also found that it didn't remember the answer given, and repeatedly kept popping up warnings for the same programs. In basic mode, not all the modules are active, but I believe, unless I am mistaken, that F-Secure offers much the same protection as KIS's advanced mode, but with far fewer pop ups, and when a pop up does appear, it's easier to understand, and to make an informed decision. The firewall, in Training Mode is also quite fiddly in KIS, what with the drop down menu of options, instead of just a simple allow / disallow.

Many of the above points regarding FSIS using more resources are correct and valid, so I won't go over them again. It does take a little longer to boot up than KIS, but I can honestly say that I have not noticed any slowdown on my machine, which, at over 4 years old, is now quite ancient, but was mid-high spec when built. In fact, I am convinced that internet and download speeds are significantly faster when using F-Secure. That, and the fact that's it's cheaper than KIS, is why it's my preferred choice.

The only issues I have are that FSIS doesn't have KIS's technology for skipping files already scanned, when running a full scan, so this process does take significantly longer, but at least you know that everything that can be is being scanned. I say 'that can be', because it does tend to skip several files during the scan, and to go back to my one problem, the Quick Spyware Scan and Full Computer Check doesn't work on my machine, but the Scan Hard Drives options is fine, so that's what I use.

[Simon6776]

{QUOTE-> either way, i doubt they would block a user from say 2pcs.

i think they will only blacklist the ones that are obviously circling the internet, 10,20-50-100+ users on the same licence. <-QUOTE}
Not sure about KIS, but F-Secure will definitely not allow multiple use of a single license. If you reinstall using an existing license, it will tell you that the previous installation will stop working. I have to admit, I have tried many *cough* "alternative" methods of registering FSIS, and have never found one that works, and allows updates. Although slightly annoying, I also find that quite reassuring. What does it say about a security suite, if it can easily be cracked? (ZASS take note!) ;)

[Macstorm]

I can't say much about FSIS but I've tried FSAV 2007 once and found it a pretty 'stable' program (compared to KAV -and despite of the several processes running with FSAV-), the 'only thing' I didn't like was the little long boot delay.
I switched back to my current AVK 2007 subscription only because of the latest on-demand av-comparatives review :)

[JerryM]

I posted this on the wrong thread, so I'll try again.
I cannot comment on KIS, but I have been using FSIS for several weeks and it just runs without any problems.
While it is slower to update in terms of how long each update takes to download and install, and starts up a little slower, it is pretty much an install and forget application.

I have a high degree of confidence in its ability to provide top notch security. Unless something changes, I would not unload it for KIS. It does not seem buggy at all, and I can't say the same for KAV 6 (which I have used,) or KIS looking at the forums.

I would have to draw the conclusion that my own experience indicates that FSIS is the more stable of the two.

Regards,
Jerry

[midway40]

For me FSIS was very stable and non-intrusive as well. It did it's job quietly with only alerts for more serious threats.

It has been a while since I have used KIS (I think it was 6.0 beta the last time I used it) but something about it I didn't like and I can't remember what it was. I remember getting a lot of popups though.

[Firecat]

Given the fact that Kaspersky will soon introduce its new heuristic engine, I am beginning to wonder whether there remains any point at all in using a clone now. Kaspersky seems to have grown greedy and hence probably will not license its heuristics engine to its technology partners.

A point I need to make is that I do not like Kaspersky's iSwift and iChecker technologies. I'd much rather prefer that KAV scan all files on my HD every time. For this sole reason, I would lean towards F-Secure. But with all the stuff about heuristics, I wonder what F-Secure will do moving forward. :)

[Firecat]

I have a question about F-Secure. If I purchase a boxed (retail) license and then I purchase a renewal for one-year, then will the one-year period of the renewal key start from the day of purchasing the renewal, or the day of using the renewal license key to install the program?

This is the only way for me to get a 2 year license. I know this isn't the case with KIS, but I am not aware of how it works with F-Secure. Also, if I register the renewal subscription key before my license actually expires, do I lose the remaining period of my current license?

[NAMOR]

{QUOTE-> ... Kaspersky seems to have grown greedy and hence probably will not license its heuristics engine to its technology partners...

<-QUOTE}

Hiya Firecat,
I was just wondering what makes you say the statement quoted above?

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> Hiya Firecat,
I was just wondering what makes you say the statement quoted above? <-QUOTE}
Why? Because the proactive defense module of KAV was one of its major good points in the way of proactive protection. This module was not licensed to any partner. I suspect the same will happen for the heuristics engine too, because Kaspersky seems to be aware that its clones are beginning to become better products and they need to retain an edge over the clones in order to maintain and improve their profit/sales margins.

[Simon6776]

{QUOTE-> I have a question about F-Secure. If I purchase a boxed (retail) license and then I purchase a renewal for one-year, then will the one-year period of the renewal key start from the day of purchasing the renewal, or the day of using the renewal license key to install the program? <-QUOTE}
Not certain about that, but I would think the new license would run from the date of activation, rather than date of purchase. I'm curious as to why an additional renewal purchase is necessary, assuming I understand you correctly, and you intend to purchase the renewal at the same time as purchasing the retail product? I can confirm, that the retail version (http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/120759) is a 3 user license, but I'm wondering if it might be more economical to purchase 2 OEM versions (http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/122781), which would also give you two years, but for only one user.

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> Not certain about that, but I would think the new license would run from the date of activation, rather than date of purchase. I'm curious as to why an additional renewal purchase is necessary, assuming I understand you correctly, and you intend to purchase the renewal at the same time as purchasing the retail product? I can confirm, that the retail version (http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/120759) is a 3 user license, but I'm wondering if it might be more economical to purchase 2 OEM versions (http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/122781), which would also give you two years, but for only one user. <-QUOTE}
The additional renewal purchase is necessary because my local store is an official reseller, but he doesn't ordinarily honour 2-year license requests (i.e. he is authorized to sell one-year licenses only). He says that he'll need to get the requisite permissions for this and that may take time of up to two weeks. And I don't want to wait, thats all.

As for OEM editions, I haven't quite asked about them, but it seems to be a good deal. :)

[the_sly_dog]

hello firecat i would go for kis6 i did try f-secure awhile ago very good product but wasn`t much to tweak in settings wise

as for which one is better i would lean towards kaspersky but im not saying f-secure is not as good it`s just i didnt feel as safe with it ??

weird i know but thats my honest reason :-[ :-[

firecat i see in your sig you have nod32 have you had enough of it ???

i just bought kaspersky kis6 for my new laptop have got nod32 on tower and depending what the suite beta is like i might get another kaspersky suite for my tower

i just want a all in one now bored of seperate firewall+antivirus then conflicts and other probs

sorry abit off topic

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> hello firecat i would go for kis6 i did try f-secure awhile ago very good product but wasn`t much to tweak in settings wise

as for which one is better i would lean towards kaspersky but im not saying f-secure is not as good it`s just i didnt feel as safe with it ??

weird i know but thats my honest reason :-[ :-[

firecat i see in your sig you have nod32 have you had enough of it ???

i just bought kaspersky kis6 for my new laptop have got nod32 on tower and depending what the suite beta is like i might get another kaspersky suite for my tower

i just want a all in one now bored of seperate firewall+antivirus then conflicts and other probs

sorry abit off topic <-QUOTE}
Hi,

I personally prefer KIS myself, but their licensing policies are a bit...harsh. I'm not going to buy it immediately though, so I still have time to think about it, though I'll admit I'm leaning towards FSIS at the moment.

As for NOD32, my license is still active, but I've put it "on hold" now. Like you, I'm also tired of separate AV+Firewall and want a suite. So I'm spending time trying different products out. I'll see what happens when the beta for Eset's suite comes out. ;)

[Macstorm]

{QUOTE-> I have a question about F-Secure. If I purchase a boxed (retail) license and then I purchase a renewal for one-year, then will the one-year period of the renewal key start from the day of purchasing the renewal, or the day of using the renewal license key to install the program?

This is the only way for me to get a 2 year license. I know this isn't the case with KIS, but I am not aware of how it works with F-Secure. Also, if I register the renewal subscription key before my license actually expires, do I lose the remaining period of my current license? <-QUOTE}
I'm not sure about their full retail licenses policy but I have read somewhere (don't remember where exactly) as for the 9.95euro -180day- chip magazine offer, the subscription starts from the day that your current valid license expires. http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edv-buchversand.de%2Ff-secure-estore%2Furl.php%3Fcnt%3Dchip-fis2007%26apid%3D60065&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8

[Simon6776]

Slightly off topic, but I think perhaps relevant to those making a decision, who want to know something about F-Secure OEM products, is a reply a received to my enquiry to their support team, regarding re-licensing or upgrading OEM editions, given that the licenses are not compatible with retail versions. I asked how one goes about obtaining product updates for OEMs, and this was the reply:

{QUOTE-> With regards to your enquiry, each year we release a completely new version that fixes any problems on the previous ones as we do not send out patches for home products. Because our licenses are for 1 year (majority of it) when customers renew with us we give them the latest version so that every year they will have the latest version installed.

To answer your question, yes you will have to contact us for the latest OEM download unless upon renewal of your OEM license you are able to get a OEM CD as well. <-QUOTE}

It depends how you look at this, but it could be one of two ways - 1) that the product is good enough when released, not to require patches throughout the year, or 2) that they can't be arsed to issue them! I am remaining positive, and sticking to option 1 myself. They also sent me the latest OEM download with their reply.

One other point I would make is that the OEM versions do have "OEM" displayed on the interface. It doesn't bother me particularly, but I would have preferred it not to. It might, however, bother some more than others, so I thought it worth a mention. :)

[Macstorm]

Hi Simon, are you using OEM version now? I remember last time when I tried the full version of FSAV 2007 I noticed it includes an option for auto-updating 'packs' (or 'builds'?) under 'updates' settings, if I remember correctly..

[Simon6776]

Hi, no I'm not using it yet. I have a current retail licence valid until May 1st. I did try an OEM version under evaluation, and can't recall noticing any additional options, but then I probably wasn't looking at the time. Also, it would have been the suite, which is slightly different to the stand alone AV. :)

[Metal425]

Go With KAV+Firewall+HIPS
It's better than KIS.
KIS is a hog.

[lodore]

{QUOTE-> Go With KAV+Firewall+HIPS
It's better than KIS.
KIS is a hog. <-QUOTE}
why do you think kis6.0 is a hog?
memory usage atm is 8mb and almost no cpu usage.
when AH gives popups it does use 100percent cpu thou and i hope kaspesky will fix it.
lodore

[Simon6776]

I always thought KIS was one of the least 'hoggish' of all the suites. If that were my only criteria, I would probably still be using it.

[javagreen]

I'd choose F-Secure.. mainly because I love the way it operates, unobtrusive to the maximum, excellent heuristics and above average multilayered defense strategy (multiple engines) with quite a decent firewall. and I've never been let down on any front by it.

I dont really mind a slightly slower start-up (its just about less than 5 seconds for me and is completely fine with me) in return for the ease of operation and the quality and level of online/offline protection it offers me ;)

I still am a F-Secure user (F-Secure Client Security 7.0 at the moment)...for me It always has been an "Install and forget" type of security suite.. and I am an extremely high risk surfer :D

[lodore]

being a home user i couldnt get access to the client versions of f-secure so i had to use the more bloated home versions.....
lodore

[nixie21]

A friend I know may be able thru his company get me a free F-Secure Client Security ver 6

Is this as good as KIS?

[freewill07]

I have to agree with everything what people had said before and it's true that KIS 6 is very light and powerful with its PDM. It simply makes users feel safe. I've been using KIS 6 since PROTO.

regards,

EDIT: BTW there is KIS 7 beta.

[C.S.J]

i bought kis cos it was just sooooo cheap,

it gave my brother that chkdsk problem, so this obviously hasnt been fixed, and his system rebooted once while doing a full scan, his system is clean and newly formatted.

i think, he wont use my licence for it till it works a bit better. :dry:

[javagreen]

{QUOTE-> A friend I know may be able thru his company get me a free F-Secure Client Security ver 6

Is this as good as KIS? <-QUOTE}

For roughly a year that I had used the 6.xx version of F-Secure Client Security, it was a solid performer and a trustworthy defense.. didnt let anything bad across its fence, blocked every single virus/trojan, intrusion attempt on my machine... with just an elegant "flyer" appearing and disappearing on the bottom right of my screen informing me about it blocking the item... like I said in my earlier post, its a stellar performer and I'm sure you wont be disappointed. The 6.xx version does not have Deepguard, Sandbox and Blacklight which the 7.xx versions have, but regardless of that It is still a very capable security suiite.

Take it, i'd say....