Thorough virus scanner

BluePoint Security Personal provides an interesting take on traditional virus-scanning programs. With a simple layout and a surprisingly thorough scan, we found this free scanner to be a slow but thorough and useful tool for securing your PC from hackers and other online predators.

The program's interface is broken down into pieces that are a cinch to navigate. BluePoint's commands remind us of many other virus scanners, so it feels familiar to use. The program offers some standard features, such as a timer, but it's fairly unoriginal otherwise. For its main function, BluePoint offers both a quick scan and a deeper complete scan. We were somewhat disappointed that even the "quick" scan took more than a half hour to complete; however, the results made up for any inconvenience. When the scan finished, BluePoint presented a list of possible threats, including the potential threat posed by each. The program claims not only to search for popular viruses, but also unknown commodities. We had no way of testing its thoroughness, but we were presented with several threats with odd names that led us to believe BluePoint was doing its job well. BluePoint easily isolated and eliminated these viruses on command. Overall, this program impressed with its results but disappointed with its speed.

BluePoint Security Personal is freeware. It installs desktop icons without permission. Although its scan was slow, the results were impressive enough for us to recommend this program.