The eScan Security Suite 11 is the latest anti-virus solution released in the MicroWorld Technologies stable.
eScan is an anti-virus, anti-spam and content security solution that aims to provide protection against Trojans, rootkits, keyloggers, malware and spam.
The company touts the product as being equipped with a MicroWorld Winsock Layer technology that detects security threats at the Windows socket layer before it gets to the application layer. This is to prevent applications from getting infected.
Its strongest feature, I found, is that it has a wide range of security policies that can be set - even a novice can easily set it up.
I found the eScan management console's user interface very user-friendly, and it clearly informs whether the PC is protected and where it is vulnerable.
Administrators can assign privileges on what files or programs can be accessed, and can even block removable devices such as USB Flash disks from accessing the PC.
The anti-virus solution also allows users to set a user-based parental control function that can actively block specific types of content.
On the online banking front, eScan 11 features a virtual keyboard for typing sensitive information such as passwords and user credentials in online banking sites. While most banks have a virtual keyboard, this is an added layer of security.
As an avid gamer, what I liked about the solution is that once it's installed, gaming mode can be selected where it can enter a 'low-priority mode' and performs tasks quietly in the background without impacting the quality of gameplay or releasing pop-up messages.
Many gamers tend to turn off their anti-viruses while playing online games in order to reduce latency or to speed-up the game - eScan has taken this problem into account.
The anti-virus solution works on notebooks and netbooks and has a built-in on-demand scanner, which detects whether the device is running on low battery. The scanner then restricts resource-intensive processes such as scheduled malware scans in order to prolong battery life.
The anti-virus element was very light on system resources and did not slow down my PC, even while performing processor-intensive tasks.
Some of the new features that eScan included in version 11 are live alerts and reports about applications USB and Flash devices as well as Web browsing.
In addition, it has a two-way firewall with predefined rule sets that monitors and logs all incoming and outgoing traffic.
If the user is unable to access a problem on their PC, eScan support technicians can access computers from a remote location and fix it remotely.
One of the features I particularly liked was eScan's auto backup and restore feature. It automatically backs-up all frequently used files and stores them in an encrypted form.
However, my PC with Windows Security Essentials detected a Trojan threat that eScan had failed to spot and quarantine. While the solution has all the added features - which some of its competitors don't have - its detection rate was below average, as was its malware removal capability.
Overall, while eScan is highly customisable, very user-friendly, and speedy, it is not that powerful when it comes to threat detection and removal.
The product would be better suited to users doing a reasonable amount of Web browsing and online gaming and not looking to break the bank on an entry-level anti-virus solution.
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