Spotting a good antivirus package that will not hog down on your resources is pretty hard. VIPRE Antivirus, however, is a perfect example of that particular model.
Installation & Requirements
The setup process is probably one of the simplest antivirus installations I have witnessed as well as one of the fastest ones. The application supports all versions of Windows starting from XP SP3 and beyond.
Interface
During the first run, the application will automatically update the virus database. You will obviously need an active internet connection but even if you cannot complete the update the application will resume normally. You just will not have the best protection available as the virus databases have to be constantly updated to combat the ever-changing malware. In addition to that, you might have to enable the real-time protection by going in the appropriate tab in the main interface window.
Navigating the program is very simple. In the Overview tab you will be able to check the state of the application like the update status and whether you have enabled the protection or not. You will also be able to quickly access some utilities like the scanning mode and the protection module for Facebook. For more in-depth options though you will have to navigate to their specific tabs. The clear look of the interface helps ease users into the application but it is so simple that no one should have any issues anyway. If you find yourself lost you can always click on the help icon located in the top right corner of the application which will take you to the detailed user manual.
The scanning modes are quite simple and if you have ever used an antivirus utility before you will have no issue. You have the regular fast, complete and custom scanning modes that are pretty self-explanatory. More advanced users will definitely want to check out the scanning settings though. By default, any threats are dealt with automatically by the application. Even though that is really good for beginners, it might prove to be nuisance for experienced users so they might want to disable the feature. Regarding the scanning speeds, VIPRE ranks as one of the fastest ones I have encountered yet but the quick scan might miss a lot of malware although the things it misses are not very important security-wise.
The Manage tab offers more options for the advanced user, with the ability to check out the quarantined items, allow files or folders to pass through the antivirus and schedule automatic scans for whenever you want. Finally, the Tools tab provides some extra utilities like the Social Watch that will scan your Facebook for security threats and the Secure File Eraser that will completely erase files from your computer so that they cannot be retrieved by conventional recovery tools.
Pros
-Fast installation
-Minimal system resources required
-Fast and simple scanning mode
-Extra utilities and security tools
-Clean interface with up-to-date visuals
-Helpful user guide
Cons
-Misses some advanced utilities
Conclusion
If you want an antivirus package that will require almost no resources to run but will still offer you a sense of security, then VIPRE Antivirus is perfect for you. Although some more advanced features are missing, the application offers enough protection versus malware for most users.
