Product Review: PC Security Shield 2008
Author: Lisa Carey
Anyone who uses the internet for any use, even one as basic as
email, shopping, or conducting a business, needs to utilize an
effective and up to date anti virus and spyware monitoring
system to protect their personal, business and financial data.
Although credit card theft is the number one form of identity
theft, computer theft crimes rank in the top five dangers of
identity theft.
There are three main ways that identity theft can occur from
your internet usage:
-Phishing. You receive an email from one of the more well known
online services or your bank, warning you with the message that
your bank or other account may have been compromised, then
asking you to clink a link and "log-in" If you follow those
instructions, you end up providing a third party with your
account information and access. I have most often received this
type of message from a group alleging to be "PayPal," however I
have also received it from an entity pretending to be a local
credit union.
- Spyware: You may not even know that this is on your computer
without a spyware detection system. This software is used to
record keystrokes to obtain either personal and financial
information whenever you shop or bank online. It can also be
used to access confidential information on your hard drive.
- Spoofing: A legitimate internet site will be "hi-jacked",
redirecting people to a fake internet site where they are asked
to provide confidential information.
It is important when shopping for your anti virus software to
make sure that it contains protection against these dangers and
includes regular updates. One of the many antivirus systems
currently available is PC Security Shield 2008. This system,
like many others, offers: anti virus, spyware and adware
protection, personal firewall, automatic daily updates, your
choices of real time, and/or scheduled scanning, as well as
parental controls. You may complete your purchase of the
software online or via telephone and then download the anti
virus software to your personal computer.
However, what is unique about this service is:
1. You may purchase your service either monthly or yearly; with
most services you must purchase one full year.
2. If a virus does occur, Security Shield provides a "patch"
within 2-3 hours and a complete repair of the virus within 5
hours. According to PC Professionals Security Shield, using
F-Secure technology responds 3-4 times faster in repairing
viruses as well as updates customer's service with the latest
antivirus protection "twice" as often as other anti virus
software systems. (PC Professionals, Issue Aug. 2006)
3. The software uses a Bayesian filter as well as a "blacklist"
of sites that send unsolicited email for use in phishing schemes
and stores these emails in a separate folder for your safety.
4. With the PC Security Shield 2008 Parental Control features,
parents can not only block web sites that contain specific
content, such as pornography, weapons or drugs, but they can
also set specific times of day when the internet may not be
used. This is especially important for those late nights or
directly after school when parents may not be present.
5. No additional or hidden charges for the technical support
services assistance, in contrast to other businesses whose anti
virus programs charge an additional amount to correct virus or
spyware damage either per minute or per event.
Technical support for this system includes an online product
guide, instant chat, email and telephone support as well as a
Frequently Asked Questions site. However, the telephone support
does not have a toll free number. The chat online support
responds quickly, however you should have your product codes
available. My hold time via telephone support was a little more
than 5 minutes, which is longer than I would like to hold, but I
have held longer for utilities and cable. Be sure to check the
website for system requirements; however, they seem to be the
standard for any anti virus software system that you may be
considering for purchase.
The cost for this service is currently $39.99/year after a
$20.00 mail in rebate. The rebate is offered after 90 days of
service and after ending your pre-existing anti virus software
support with any one of those listed by PC Security Shield. You
may also purchase a monthly service program for $5.99 a month
for one computer or $9.99 a month for up to three computers.
My favorite feature with this service is not only than just the
ability to control web content, but also the times that my
children are permitted to be on the web and that I can change
these times according to my schedule. The other favorite feature
is that it protects emails from spy ware, phishing, and
keylogging types of emails through two different services, the
one being up to date research and the other by compiling a log
of "bad" sites that may attempt to hi jack your personal
information.
To purchase this service, you simply register online, choose
either monthly or a yearly subscription, confirm your purchase
via email, obtain your key code and download your anti virus
software system. Setting your preferences is intuitive; however,
the online chat is quite helpful in providing direction.
This may be an anti virus software program most likely of
interest to parents, especially with the offers of multiple
computer coverage, no additional charges for technical support
and the excellent extended parental controls. It protects your
PC and personal data from theft, making it worth considering.
About The Author: Lisa Carey is a contributing author for
http://www.IdentityTheftSecret
Identity theft protection, software, and monitoring your credit,
as well as learn more about the secrets used by identity thieves
at http://www.IdentityTheftSecret
