The balancing act with antivirus and anti-spyware is managing to be light-running while still providing PC protection. This is one place where VIPRE delivers on its promise better than any of its competitors. Our testing consistently showed VIPRE to be among the best performing software in every test we ran.
In fact, some of the older better known antivirus programs like McAfee and Norton didn't do nearly as well as VIPRE this year. In comparison, VIPRE's light resource usage, strong antivirus and antispyware protection, and excellent customer service consistently pushed it to the front of the pack. We really were impressed from start to finish. Installation is a snap. The user interface is clean and easy-to-use. Email protection is reliable and solid.
Overall virus, spyware, and malware protection is equal to or better than we've seen in most any antivirus software--especially from software that's a relative newcomer compared to the household names like McAfee, Norton, and Kaspersky.
We're glad to see such a strong competitor like VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware enter the field with such solid antivirus software.
Overall virus, spyware, and malware protection is equal to or better than we've seen in most any antivirus software--especially from software that's a relative newcomer compared to the household names like McAfee, Norton, and Kaspersky.
We're glad to see such a strong competitor like VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware enter the field with such solid antivirus software.
Antivirus Installation
VIPRE Antivirus installation is easy and straight forward. Just download and run the initial installer which sets up the files you need for installation. After the installation, a wizard runs to configure your initial options. These are for things like:
- definition update frequency
- Internet access settings
- registration options
At the end of this wizard you'll find a link that launches a video which describes the software and some basic usage (nice touch!). Even if you're a seasoned computer professional, you'll be well-served watching the video. It's well done and may introduce you to some features in VIPRE you're unaware of.
Installation only took about 1 minute, and total time from download through reboot was about 6 minutes.
VIPRE Antivirus Installation Screenshots
User Interface
The user interface (UI) is very good looking with easy-to-use navigation. The background color is muted, and alerts are color-coded green or red when they need attentionm making it easy to see what's important. We're glad to see VIPRE got it right with a simple, single screen management page that lets you access all other categories. This makes easy to quickly find what you need without having to open, close, search, and dig through multiple windows and pop-ups as some competitors do. Once in each category, there are clearly labeled tabs from which you access each of the features or settings you'd like to.
VIPRE marks the appropriate settings by default for the novice user, but more advanced users can click an "Advanced" link that allows you to adjust more detailed settings. In our opinion, the default settings should be adequate for most users. Each tab has a help button that opens to the appropriate page in the help file where you'll also find a complete, indexed help section.
A nice touch is the added links within each help section that allow you to further explore any topic. Plus, perhaps best of all, is a link to VIPRE antivirus support at the bottom of every page in the help section. This easily accessible support link is one of the many ways Sunbelt Software, makers of VIPRE, show they're serious about standing behind their software and helping users.
VIPRE marks the appropriate settings by default for the novice user, but more advanced users can click an "Advanced" link that allows you to adjust more detailed settings. In our opinion, the default settings should be adequate for most users. Each tab has a help button that opens to the appropriate page in the help file where you'll also find a complete, indexed help section.
A nice touch is the added links within each help section that allow you to further explore any topic. Plus, perhaps best of all, is a link to VIPRE antivirus support at the bottom of every page in the help section. This easily accessible support link is one of the many ways Sunbelt Software, makers of VIPRE, show they're serious about standing behind their software and helping users.
VIPRE Antivirus User Interface Screenshots
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