Comodo Internet Security 3.12

CNET Editors' review

by: Seth Rosenblatt on June 22, 2009

Comodo has merged its antivirus program with Firewall Pro, creating a free security program that aims to be more to more people. Although this may frustrate some users who want only one program or the other, the installer does let you opt out of either of the components. Users are also asked to install the Comodo SafeSearch and Ask.com toolbars, so be careful if you tend to install on autopilot. CIS requires a reboot.

Resource management is better than before, with hogging all but eliminated. It provides a smorgasbord of information and options for advanced users, but it's simple enough for beginners, and runs smoothly and silently in the background. The version 3 interface utilizes a plain white color scheme and replaces old terminology with more intuitive terms such as Summary, Firewall, Defense, and Miscellaneous. In each, there are links to relevant security issues so users can drill down to learn more about how the firewall is performing. The firewall rears its head most often when Security Alerts ask about new Internet connections as the program "learns" your computer's behavior.

Shield-shaped buttons at the top facilitate switching between the antivirus and firewall modules, as well as a summary tab that provides a general overview. Users can toggle automatic scans of archives or downloads, scans on start-up, manage the quarantine, and schedule scans and definition file updates through a clean and comprehensible list of links. The definition file update crashed during its first use, but was stable thereafter. Scans completed at a reasonable speed, but were not blazingly fast.

A third pane, Defense+, provides more-advanced security options including locking down specific files from modification, perusing an active processes list, and protecting specific Registry keys. Comodo Internet Security's wide range of free services are generally good, but the firewall is clearly the strongest of the bunch.

Publisher's Description

From Comodo:

Comodo Internet Security, Comodo's award-winning free security suite, offers prevention-based, Default Deny Protection (DDP) technology to prevent malware in your PC. Conventional security suites ignore prevention, focusing only on the eventual detection of viruses. Basically, this means that it will allow all applications to access your PC resources by default as long as the application is not on your security software's blacklist of already known malware. Comodo Internet Security includes an extensive white-list of safe executables called the 'Comodo Safe-List Database'. This database checks the integrity of every file and application asking for access to your PC. Comodo Internet Security will alert you of potentially damaging applications before they are installed. This is a ground-breaking method of protecting your PC. Traditionally firewalls only detect harmful applications from a blacklist of known malware - often-missing new forms of malware that are being created and launched daily. Comodo Internet Security is continually updated and currently almost 3,000,000 applications are in Comodo Safe list, representing virtually one of the largest safe lists within the security industry. Put simply, the good stuff gets in, and the bad stuff gets nowhere near your PC's insides. Our latest version includes both DNS protection, to make sure the URLs you visit are safe, and the option oh installing the HopSurf toolbar, a new and innovative way to surf the Web. Comodo Internet Security is now available in 15 different languages, and comes included with a free 30 day trial of LivePCSupport. Best of all, it's free for life.

What's new in this version: Version 3.12 is a bug fixing release.