PC Tools Internet Security 2010 review

We recently looked at the PC Tools Spyware Doctor with Anti-virus program (click here to see our review of that program).

The same company's Internet Security product combines all the protection you would get from that program, which protects against viruses and spyware, with a firewall and spam email killer.

It was easy to install and use, and started scanning as soon as we had rebooted the computer for the first time. The main screen of the software contains bold and simple icons so it's easy to see at a glance whether anything is wrong. And it's possible to delve in deeper by clicking any of the options that appear.

Of the tools that are not in the other edition, the spam blocker compares suspect emails against several databases - there is an impressive list from which users can choose if they wish. As you would expect, you can mark email addresses so anything they send will be automatically approved or blocked.

The firewall takes over from the basic one included with Windows. The PC Tools firewall improves the protection, although there is a free firewall tool available from the company's website.

This means the only real difference between Internet Security 2010 and Spyware Doctor with Anti-virus, which costs £10 less, is the spam protection and browser toolbar included with Internet Security 2010.

While this program's spam protection is impressive, unless you are really suffering under a torrent of junk email we recommend going for the cheaper version without it.