Kaspersky Internet Security Review 2018

For Sure, antivirus is the necessary minimum security protection for your computers, but upgrading to a full security suite gives you so much more. Firewall, spam filter, parental control, these are typical features that a suite adds beyond antivirus. Kaspersky Internet Security includes all of these, along with other useful security features, and all of its components do their jobs well.

Pricing and Licenses :

This suite costs $76.99 per year for three licenses, $86.99 for five, the same as Bitdefender. And you can use your licenses to install protection on Windows, macOS, or Android devices, also the same as Bitdefender. Yes, Bitdefender supports iOS, but installing its limited iOS protection doesn't use up a license. Kaspersky follows a pretty standard pricing scheme, but there are variations. For example, with McAfee Internet Security that same $79.99 gets you unlimited licenses to install on all of your Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices.

If you've seen the new Kaspersky Free, you've had a preview of this suite's main window. Both products feature a security status banner across the top, with six icons below: Scan, Database Update, Safe Money, Privacy Protection, Parental Control, and Protection for all devices. The difference is, in the free edition all but the first two are unavailable. Clicking the More Tools button at the bottom reveals a collection of additional tools; I'll cover those later on.

Antivirus Shared Features :

Clearly, this suite includes all of the security protection found in Kaspersky Anti-Virus; they wouldn't take any of it out, after all! Read my review of the antivirus for a complete rundown of its features, which I'll summarize here.

In my hands-on malware protection tests, Kaspersky didn't do as well. However, any time there's a discrepancy I give more weight to the labs, especially when the lab results are uniformly excellent, as they are here.

Other Shared Features :

Some of this suite's features even show up in the new Kaspersky Free. All products in the current Kaspersky product line include an on-screen keyboard, so you can enter passwords with no chance of capture by a keylogger. And all of them mark up dangerous links in search results.

All of the Kaspersky products also include Kaspersky Secure Connection VPN. However, even in the suite products what you get isn't the same as an actual subscription. Rather, it's the equivalent of a free installation, meaning you're limited to 200MB of VPN-protected traffic per day.

One feature not shared with Kaspersky Free is System Watcher. This component backs up the many layers of antivirus protection with a behavior-based detection system that aims to detect unknown malware and even roll back any mischief it may have accomplished before detection. While it targets all types of malware, not just ransomware, it proved effective at stopping ransomware attacks. When I turned off all other protection layers and released real-world ransomware samples, it detected them all as malware and eliminated them.

Kaspersky's Mac Protection :

In a cross-platform security service, it's very common for Mac users to get the short end of the stick. Installed on Windows, such a product manifests as a security suite exploding with features; installed on a Mac, it's a simple antivirus.

It's refreshing to see that Kaspersky doesn't follow this trend. Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac offers a full suite of protective features but (as a standalone) costs no more than most Mac antivirus products. Please read my review for a full report of my findings; the digest that follows sums them up.

Kaspersky's Android Protection :

Kaspersky's Android edition has evolved since our review of Kaspersky Mobile Security (for Android). Anybody can download and use the free edition, but by logging in to My Kaspersky and adding the device to your license, you get the full set of features.

Immediately after installation, it runs an update and a scan. Even after that first scan, the app's main window remains yellow, meaning you've got work to do. Once you actively turn on web protection, you reach serene green status. In addition to this on-demand scan, Kaspersky offers real-time protection, checking all new apps and processes.