(Taken from MaximumPC February 2008 Edition.

Whether you know it or not, you’re constantly under attack by nefarious netizens.  Why? Because your computer contains a gold mine of goodies just waiting to be exploited by wrongdoers.

Everything from your banking information and credit card numbers to your processor cycles and Internet connection are valuable commodities sought after by online theives.  We’re talking about denail of service (DoS) attacks, threats to your finances, and all-out identity theft.  And if that weren’t enough, the culprits are continually developing new and increasingly complex techniques to take over your system for their personal gain, spurring an arms race between the digital crooks and the PC security vendors cashing in on the mayhem.  But just how much protection do you really need?

In response to these ever-increasing threats, a host of new security applications have started to emerge, and each one promises to offer a level of protection beyond that of your traditional anti-malware arsenal.  The developers of these programs claim it’s no longer enough to rely on databases of known threats to catch viruses and spyware, and that today’s strains of PC pestilence are able to outsmart traditional safety measures.  But is this truly the case, of is this simply another attempt to sell more crapware?

To find out, we gathered a host of next-generation security apps, installed them on our systems, and then put their claims to the test.  We’ll tell you whether these new apps deliver on their promises and whether you should be rushing to upgrade.

(The following is a summary of the results, please check out MaximumPC for the full details.)

Trustware BufferZone Pro – Arroved
ZoneAlarm ForceField – NOT Approved
Norton AntiBot – NOT Approved
PC Tools ThreatFire – Approved, and it’s FREE (and ICS’ favourite)
DriveSentry – Approved

Out with the old, in with the new?

Still, the best bang-for-the-buck choice is AVG Free Edition, and of course, it’s paid-for counterpart, AVG Anti-Malware.  Combined with Window’s built-in firewall and Windows Defender, it makes a pretty good (and cheap) protection suite for the average user.  In fact, we here at ICS never let a machine leave our shop without a virus scanner installed, and our favourite is AVG.  However, our own personal machines also run ThreatFire for that extra added protection.