All System utilities

The Bottom Line: McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008's protection keeps up with the changing threats on the Internet, but the product itself doesn't excel.

Specs: 3 users, Complete package, Windows

The Bottom Line: Trend Micro Antivirus plus Antispyware 2008 offers a variety of features designed for the home and small office. However, lack of independent testing data keeps us from giving a final rating at this time.

Specs: Complete package

The Bottom Line: Norton AntiVirus 2008 didn't wow us this year. While the protection is solid, the user experience could be much, much better, and the product itself could be more streamlined. Also we can do without the addition of paid services in the technical support section.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2, Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition SP2, 300 MHz or higher, 300 MHz, CD-ROM, 300 MHz or higher, 300 MHz, Windows

The Bottom Line: Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7 continues to outshine its competition with its ease of use combined with thorough antivirus protection.

Specs: Complete package, Intel Pentium 300 MHz or higher (Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP 4 and higher), Intel Pentium 300 MHz or higher (Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP 2 and higher), Intel Pentium 300 MHz or higher (Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP 2 and higher), 7.0, CD-ROM, Intel Pentium 300 MHz or higher (Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP 4 and higher), Intel Pentium 300 MHz or higher (Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP 2 and higher), Intel Pentium 300 MHz or higher (Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP 2 and higher)

The Bottom Line: If you need to partition your live hard drive, Norton PartitionMagic 8 is still the application to beat.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0, 150 MHz, 233 MHz, 8.0, CD-ROM, 150 MHz, 233 MHz, Windows

The Bottom Line: For home and student use, we think Norton 360 represents the best value for ease of use, tools offered, and overall system performance. We recommend it over McAfee Total Protection and Microsoft Windows Live OneCare.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, 300 MHz or higher, 300 MHz, 1.0, 300 MHz or higher, 300 MHz, Windows, Internet Explorer 6.0 or later

The Bottom Line: Roxio continues to improve a strong suite and keep Toast current with the release of version 8. If the Mac OS and Apple's bundled apps don't meet your disc-creation needs, pick up Toast at once.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, 8, CD-R, DVD-R, MacOS, QuickTime 7.1 or later

The Bottom Line: Norton Internet Security 2007 makes significant gains over last year, including cutting-edge rootkit and behavioral monitoring features found nowhere else, but the overall package could be serious overkill for the average desktop owner.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, 300 MHz or higher, 300 MHz, CD-ROM, 300 MHz or higher, 300 MHz, Windows

The Bottom Line: Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 is light and fast and consistently wins detection awards against the competition; it's worthy of our Editors' Choice designation.

Specs: 1 user, Subscription license, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP6a, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP1 or later, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP3 or later, Intel Pentium, 133 MHz, 150 MHz, 300 MHz, 6.0, CD-ROM, Intel Pentium, 133 MHz, 150 MHz, 300 MHz, Windows

The Bottom Line: As a security app, Laplink PCDefense needs a thorough interface overhaul and a perhaps a rethink about its purpose before we can recommend it.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Windows