Pc-CILLIN

Good one? 2002-2004 versions. Which is difference between 9.02 and 2003? Or v11 and 2004?

 

Asking if any particular anti-virus utility is "good" is like asking if there is a god, or what political philosophy is best. This is no exaggeration.

I have tried a very wide range of anti-virus utilities, and recently switched back to PC-cillin 2003. In the past, I've used PC-cillin 2002 and PC-cillin 2003 extensively. I switched back to PC-cillin 2003 because it is by far the least-problematic anti-virus utility for my system. It has minimal impact on CPU usage, and is more "set it and forget it" than any of the others I've used. I have better things to do than to diagnose blue-screen crashes or spend two hours per day tweaking my real-time scanner just so it doesn't slow my system down to the level of a circa-1992 P-33. Then again, the phrase "your mileage may vary" (YMMV) exists for a reason.

One thing that some people won't like about PC-cillin 2003 is the fact that it doesn't seem to support command line usage, and doesn't offer a shell extension, for performing on-demand scanning (Edit: I must have been on crack when I wrote that, because PC-cillin 2003 does have a shell extension--but has no icon in the context menu to make it stand out). You can, however, perform on-demand scans using the main interface. So, this doesn't bother me. (I don't know if PC-cillin Internet Security 2004 differs in this regard.)

Like religion or politics, people will argue on how good any anti-virus scanner works. I couldn't care less about that type of argument. The fact is that PC-cillin 2003 has done well in recent VB100 tests, which seems to be the de-facto standard anti-virus review (again, barring argument from people who want an anti-virus utility to detect everything in the world).

As you can see here and here, PC-cillin 9.02 corresponds to "PC-cillin 2002", PC-cillin 10 is "PC-cillin 2003", and PC-cillin 11 is "PC-cillin Internet Security 2004". Why so many vendors adhere to those annoying year designations is beyond me. I guess they want to give you a "It's named after the current year, so it must be the latest and greatest!" feeling. A big [YAWN] from me for confusing and unnecessary marketing practices like that.

I have not tried PC-cillin Internet Security 2004, so I can't comment on it. I do know that if you have one of these anti-virus utilities or firewalls installed, you will be prompted to remove it before PC-cillin will allow itself to be installed. However, here is a Trend Micro support document that explains how to circumvent the pre-install "product check", and continue with PC-cillin installation, even if you have a listed anti-virus or firewall application installed. You cannot avoid installing the PC-cillin Internet Security 2004 firewall, but you can remove it after the fact if you choose. The PC-cillin 2003 install routine takes a more sensible approach, and gives you the option up-front not to install its firewall (which is a pretty lame one at that). You can always choose to add or remove the PC-cillin 2003 firewall after the fact.

 

Not too familiar with the 2002 version. I have owned the 2003 which was fast and light on my system. The 2004 has Spam filters and Webmail scan for MSN etc. You can remove the firewall after installing if you wish with the PCC Tool, and I am using Kerio's 2.1.5 as my firewall with a Router.
It seems to catch all the bugs, and all the lates JS type trojans, and by default sends everything to the Quarantine List, where one can delete these files for good. Updates are as frequent as 3 times a day, and so far this programme has performed flawlessly on my machines here. Scanning is fast and accurate. You can also try their free scan at http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
and get a good idea of what it can catch. Out of 5 stars, I would give it 4.5 IMHO. Just my opinion.

 

The one thing about PC-cillin 2004 that makes me consider upgrading to it (from PC-cillin 2003) is as follows:

I have no idea how significant, if at all, that really is.

 

I have used pc-cillin internet security and it seems to work pretty well. you don't have quite the control over the firewall as some others but it still seems to work alright. I have no complaints with the antivirus either. Try it, if it suits you use it it is a good program.

 

another thing about PC-Cillin is it is an intragal part of Linksys router
along with ZoneAlamr, if you chose to use them


con

 

Does serial number for Pc-cillin 2004 (I bought it) work with version 2000? Because I want to put it on mother's slow computer.

 

serial no. is different will not work.

 

One of the best there is. Have used for two years and wouldn't use any other Much better than Norton