An effective antivirus engine that's also lightweight and easy-to-use
VIPRE Antivirus is a straightforward antivirus engine which delivers quality protection without slowing you down.
The program is very easy to use. From its launch screen you can see your current protection status, which your system was last scanned, and when your subscription expires, and it only takes another click to launch a new scan or update your virus definitions.
There is plenty going on in the background, though. Real-time protection sees processes monitored as they run, with the program looking out for signs of danger; a remote device scanner checks removable drives as they're connected; and incoming emails are carefully examined, with dangerous attachments being stripped out.
You can also run on-demand scans, of course ("Quick", "Deep" or "Custom" scan types are supported). Or these can be scheduled to run automatically. The scheduler isn't as capable as some, as you can specify a starting time and day only, but it's sufficient for most purposes and is definitely easy to use.
And if you click the Tools tab then you'll find VIPRE Antivirus 2012 does have a few bonus extras. So the Secure File Eraser securely deletes confidential files so they can't be recovered, while the History Cleaner can clear your tracks in Windows and a few browsers and applications. And the PC Explorer displays low-level system details which may help you diagnose an infection: downloaded ActiveX controls, startup programs, Internet Explorer BHOs, HOST file changes, LSPs, Shell Execute hooks, and more.
The real advantage of the program, though, is that it won't slow your PC down. VIPRE Antivirus 2012 generally only uses 2 or 3 processes, which consume under 50MB of RAM while scanning, and a mere 5-6MB and minimal CPU time at other times. So if your current antivirus engine is weighing you down, then this may be an interesting alternative.
Service Release 2 brings these changes:
Fixed issues where the firewall or web filter drivers would hang
Fixed instances where browsing the internet, or using uTorrent, with web filtering turned on would cause a system hang
Resolve issues with Active Protection
Resolve an issue where incompatibilities with other drivers would result in
Windows shutting down with STOP error
Fixed a service crash during product registration on certain machines
Now correctly reports incompatible programs on computers running 64-bit versions of Windows
Final Verdict: VIPRE Antivirus 2012 is easy to use, effective, and doesn't slow your PC down
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