I have been seriously impressed with Trend Micro's Titanium Maximum Security. After trying several products in this market I can safely say that this can be compared with the best.
The installation of TMS was quick and simple - one restart later and all was working. I did, however, notice that one of the ways TMS tries to limit its impact on startup time is to loading components at different times, spreading CPU load. This means that the time required for the computer to become usable is significantly less than it is with other products - however you cannot open the UI for five minutes after the computer has started. I found this a tad annoying when wanting to fiddle with settings after startup.
The time taken for the program to scan the computer is minimal. Literally - it takes minutes! I am, however, concerned about its effectiveness at scanning on the default 'quick mode'. I hate those quick checks! When you click 'scan now' you expect it to scan your computer, not just files in one or two locations. Having said that, a full scan option is available! Even this option is very quick, taking below 30 minutes to scan a well-populated file system.
The features offered go beyond that of any other IS suite. As well as including standard firewall and AV protection, it also offers parental controls, data theft protection, system tuning tools, an online 'vault' and a secure data eraser.
The parental controls are some of the best I have seen outside of specialist software, offering default settings for children, pre-teens and teens (as well as the ability to create a custom profile). Whenever the person with the limited profile tries to access sites which are restricted, the attempt is logged, and a polite message displayed by the software. There is also a handy feature which allows the password-holder to allow access to the site for one session, or add an exception. All settings are, of course, password protected. This feature also allows the user to set internet usage limits, and specify what times it can be used. It is important to remember, however, that a simple change of the system clock can fool this feature!
Data theft protection blocks the submission of data specified in the program (e.g. credit card number). If it detects the data being submitted, it is blocked, and the software displays a dialogue box informing you of this occurrence - an option to temporarily disable this feature is also available (and is password protected).
The system tuner is a handy piece of software which helps to maintain the system registry, as well as clean disk space, modify the startup programs list, clear internet and software histories and delete IM logs. These features are all extras which would not usually be included with an internet security package - and seem to work relatively well. You can also set a schedule for maintenance to take place - which is useful.
The Trend Micro Vault offers 10GB of online space for precious files. I have not actually managed to gain access to this - so I will have to update this review when I manage it!
Finally, the secure erase feature allows you to remove unwanted files - leaving no trace on your hard drive (if you delete files via recycle bin they can be recovered without too much hassle). The secure erase option can be found populating the already over-used 'right-click' menu, and the program can be initiated quickly when required. Two options are available for secure erase - you can either quickly erase the file, or permanently erase (overwrites 7 times to US government standards). I chose the latter, because I can! I have tried to recover the deleted data using recovery programs available on the internet to no avail. So it seems to be secure.
In conclusion, Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security offers a wide range of features which you would struggle to find on any of their competitor's products. It effectively incorporates several suites in one - highly recommended!
