PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

PCMag UK

F-Secure Internet Security 2014

Neil J. Rubenking
 & Neil J. Rubenking Principal Writer, Security

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS
F-Secure Internet Security 2016 includes most of the expected suite components, but it lacks a firewall and its parental control system is rudimentary. - F-Secure Internet Security 2014
3.5 Good

The Bottom Line

Antivirus is the best part of F-Secure Internet Security 2014, especially if you can install it on a clean system. The quality of the other suite components varies quite a bit.

Pros & Cons

    • Top scores in PCMag's hands-on antivirus tests.
    • Good scores from antivirus labs.
    • Online Safety protects against malicious and fraudulent sites.
    • DeepGuard controls Internet access, even from leak tests.
    • Banking protection, Facebook privacy checking.
    • Tiny impact on system performance.
    • Very difficult installation on malware-infested systems.
    • Processes and services could be killed by malicious code.
    • Parental control ineffective.

Security vendors are all over the map when it comes to what features they put in their antivirus and security suite products. Some jam spam filtering, firewall, and other typical suite features into the antivirus product. F-Secure skews the other way. The F-Secure antivirus is just an antivirus. And F-Secure Internet Security 2016 ($49.99 per year; $69.99 for three licenses) includes just enough features to be considered a complete suite (except for the absence of a firewall component).

At first glance, it's hard to tell the suite apart from its corresponding antivirus. Both use the same blue, white, and black color scheme. Both feature three tabs representing Status, Tools, and Statistics. Only the program name at top right makes the difference unequivocally clear.

View All 10 Photos in Gallery

Final Thoughts

F-Secure Internet Security 2016 includes most of the expected suite components, but it lacks a firewall and its parental control system is rudimentary. - F-Secure Internet Security 2014

F-Secure Internet Security 2014

3.5 Good

Antivirus is the best part of F-Secure Internet Security 2014, especially if you can install it on a clean system. The quality of the other suite components varies quite a bit.

About Our Expert

Neil J. Rubenking

Neil J. Rubenking

Principal Writer, Security

My Experience

When the IBM PC was new, I served as the president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years. That’s how I met PCMag’s editorial team, who brought me on board in 1986. In the years since that fateful meeting, I’ve become PCMag’s expert on security, privacy, and identity protection, putting antivirus tools, security suites, and all kinds of security software through their paces.

Before my current security gig, I supplied PCMag readers with tips and solutions on using popular applications, operating systems, and programming languages in my "User to User" and "Ask Neil" columns, which began in 1990 and ran for almost 20 years. Along the way, I wrote more than 40 utility articles, as well as Delphi Programming for Dummies and six other books covering DOS, Windows, and programming. I also reviewed thousands of products of all kinds, ranging from early Sierra Online adventure games to AOL’s precursor Q-Link.

In the early 2000s, I turned my focus to security and the growing antivirus industry. After years of working with antivirus, I’m known throughout the security industry as an expert on evaluating antivirus tools. I serve as an advisory board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), an international nonprofit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.

The Technology I Use

Much of the testing I do, particularly testing with real-world ransomware, is just plain dangerous. To perform such tests safely, I sequester them inside virtual machines managed by VMWare Workstation. For cross-platform testing, I use a MacBook Air, a Google Pixel 4, and a 6th-generation iPad.

I rely on my Delphi coding skills to create and maintain small applications. These include programs to check whether an antivirus correctly handled the malware it detected, launch dangerous URLs and record the security program’s reaction, and analyze the malware that I collect for use in testing. I also wrote a tiny browser and text editor for use in testing security apps that have predefined reactions for known products.

I do my writing and research on a Dell OptiPlex desktop, relying on Microsoft Word (my fingers know all the shortcuts). Many of my articles include charts and analysis; Excel is my go-to for those. When work hours end, though, I escape the bounds of Microsoft and Windows. There’s an iPhone in my pocket, I relax with my oversized iPad, and my Kindle Oasis is always loaded with the best science fiction and fantasy.

Read the latest from Neil J. Rubenking

Read full bio