Kaspersky Standard / Plus / Premium (formerly Kaspersky Anti-Virus)

Kaspersky Anti-Virus is a premium anti-malware utility designed to detect and eliminate viruses, worms, Trojans, adware, auto-dialers, suspicious packed and multi-packed files, along with other web-based threats that may harm or steal data from the computer. It is backed by a real-time safeguard and other security utilities made to ensure round-the-clock PC protection against malicious software.

The installation procedure is speedy and does not require customization, unlike other popular antivirus products. Its interface has a pleasant look and well-organized structure with four large and flat buttons providing fast access to scans, virus definition updates, reports and the quarantine. Expanding this section reveals two extra buttons for tools and software upgrades.

Depending on the user's file priorities and time willing to spend looking for malware, Kaspersky puts at their disposal four scan types, namely full, quick, custom and removable drive mode, in addition to the contextual scan that permits users to rapidly verify any file, folder or drive via Windows Explorer's right-click menu.

Those who are not satisfied with the app's factory settings are free to make modifications when it comes to the security level, automatic action on threat detection, removable drives scan mode on connection, scan scope, administrative or other user accounts, and task scheduling if necessary.

Additional options focus on types of detected objects, exclusion rules, trusted applications, self-defense mechanism (block any attempts to modify or delete Kaspersky Anti-Virus files, memory processes and registry entries), software compatibility (to run Kaspersky smoothly alongside other apps and avoid conflicts), monitored ports, and encrypted connections.

The app can become non-intrusive by disabling notifications on events, audio, news and promotional materials. Users may examine all program activity in reports and manage suspicious items in the quarantine, as well as limit the size and duration of logs and contained objects.

Kaspersky can be optimized to preserve battery life, play video games without any intrusions, and reduce system resources consumption at startup, as well as to perform idle and rootkit scans. Ongoing tasks can be monitored and modified from a task manager.

Additional utilities are designed to scan the OS and third-party apps for vulnerabilities, create a bootable disc with the Windows files in case of severe malware infections, scan the system and fix issues caused by viruses or OS crashes, clean up the HDD by eliminating unnecessary files, as well as evaluate the security status of Internet Explorer settings.

Kaspersky has always been viewed as a top-grade security program and this edition makes no exception. It provides very good virus detection results and scan speed, while generally remaining light on system resources. Plus, its presence is barely noticeable when deactivating all notifications.

To sum it up, users who are on the market for an approachable, feature-rich, customizable and fast anti-malware application cannot go wrong with Kaspersky Anti-Virus. Those looking for additional features may resort to Kaspersky Internet Security.