Notice the blank space on the Firefox browser window. Only after removing Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2007 did the windows resize correctly.
There are some caveats should you decide to remove Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security Suite. First, Trend Micro warns that removal of the software from your machine means you may not use the software again. We're not lawyers but that would imply if you upgraded to a new computer, you would not be able to install it on that new computer. No other antivirus product warned us in this way. We also found that if you have downloaded the optional TrendSecure features, they would have to be removed separately. From All Programs, there are two uninstall icons, one for the suite and one for the antispam toolbar. Because we installed various applets from TrendSecure, we also were prompted to uninstall the TrendSecure Vault, which required a reboot. The same installation glitch that kept us from accessing the Internet returned once we uninstalled the product; after the uninstall we were unable to access the Internet. Trend Micro says it is aware of this problem; they also say it affects only a handful of users. After the reboot, we were surprised to find system registry entries and several files in several folders still on our system. Of the suites we reviewed this year, only ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 7 uninstalls clean.
Features
Out of the box, we again noticed a number of security features are turned off within Trend Micro PC-cillan Internet Security 2007. In previous years Trend Micro says this improved the overall performance of the product. However, the disabled feature list includes several selling points of this suite listed on its box, such as the wireless network monitor (the vendor says it's turned off because of busy office environments), the ability to scan ZIP files for computer viruses, and the automatic protection of other PCs on your network -- features enabled by default in competing suites from ZoneAlarm, McAfee, and Norton, but disabled within Trend Micro's product. A novice using Trend Micro wouldn't necessarily think to enable these. As was the case last year, we enabled every disabled feature in 2007 and found little or no system noticeable system performance hit.
Digging down, we discovered a very cool feature that checks to see if your system has all the current Microsoft update patches installed. And we also like that Trend Micro's antiphishing tools plug seamlessly into Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers; no toolbars, just notifications when necessary. We also like Trend Micro's monitoring of wireless connections to our wireless network, but we think Trend Micro could do much more with wireless in future releases.
We downloaded three optional online-only applets from the TrendSecure Web site: Remote File Lock, Trend Micro Mobile Security, and Transaction Guard. Unfortunately, we found most of these applets were not yet ready for prime-time use.
Remote File Lock secures data files in a password-protected folder. The idea is that if your laptop is ever lost or stolen, you can log into the TrendSecure site and use this password to remotely lock any files stored within the folder. We found it didn't quite work as advertised. We dragged two files into the TrendSecure vault, yet we still were able to view the files in their original locations. Usually when a file is dragged between folders within Windows, the files move from one folder to another; in this case the files are merely copied. Trend Micro says our observation is correct; when you drag a file into the vault for securing, you must remember to delete the sensitive file from its original location, otherwise where's the security in that?
We then used another computer to remotely lock our TrendSecure vault; however, even with the vault locked, we could still see the contents of the TrendSecure vault within Windows Explorer. We also were able to open the "locked" documents. Thinking that the laptop needed to reboot (after all, all thieves reboot their stolen laptops), we did find the vault to be secure. The secured vault required a password for access, and we could no longer see the contents within Windows Explorer. Trend Micro confirmed that our observations are correct. One niggling issue, though: the secured vault still advertises itself on the desktop and within Windows Explorer. By comparison, Steganos Security Suite creates encrypted vaults that are invisible to outsiders and are not displayed within Windows Explorer.
Another optional feature, Trend Micro Mobile Security, protects up to three different smart phones from mobile viruses and malware. This is advanced protection that is not found in any competing Internet Security suite product. We had no problem with this feature.
A final TrendSecure download feature, Transaction Guard, protects online transactions by enabling a real-time spyware monitor and installing a secret onscreen keyboard on a remote PC. Transaction Guard is designed for use on public computer terminals, not necessarily your home terminal. The idea behind the onscreen keyboard is that you evade physical keyboard key strokes that spyware loggers intercept to steal passwords and other private information. That's the idea. The reality is these onscreen keyboards don't always work as advertised; keystroke-logging spyware can still record the typed text from an onscreen keyboard, clipboard, or other resources within Windows. Also, some spyware applications capture screen images. Trend Micro knows this and concedes Transaction Guard is just a first step in providing secure online transactions. By providing real-time antispyware protection along with the onscreen keyboard, Trend Micro hopes to detect and remove any known keylogger applications from the remote system being used.
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As a Trend Micro PUG member I was surprised at this article,
while I have had some issues, I am yet to experience anyt issues with Firefox 2.020 at all with Trend Micro Products.