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Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2014

 & Neil J. Rubenking Principal Writer, Security

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Pros & Cons

There's a trend among some security vendors to enhance their entry-level antivirus product with features more commonly found in a security suite. Of course, doing so raises the bar for the company's actual security suite. Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2014 ($59.95 direct; $79.95 for three licenses) definitely rises to the challenge. It takes the full range of features found in Trend Micro's standalone antivirus and adds a significant collection of additional security components.

The main window for this suite summarizes your security status with a great big icon, in most cases a green checkmark indicating full protection. If there's anything wrong with your security configuration, you just click a button to fix it. This window also summarizes recent security activity; additional tabs offer access to more security features. Three tabs labeled Privacy, Data, and Family house most of the suite-specific features.

If the product's appearance isn't to your liking, you can replace the main window's background. The product comes with eight widely varied background images, flowers, clouds, stars, and more. Or choose an image of your own to truly personalize the installation.

This suite shares the same antivirus protection found in Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus+ 2014, along with quite a few other security features. You'll definitely want to read that review for full details. I'll summarize my evaluation of the shared features here.

Better Defense than Cleanup
Getting Trend Micro installed on twelve test systems for malware removal testing took hours of back-and-forth with tech support, including quite a bit of remote control diagnosis and repair. Trend Micro earned two stars for installation experience and 5.8 points for malware removal. The best scores among products tested with my current malware collection went to Bitdefender Internet Security (2014)£24.99 at Bitdefender UK, AVG Internet Security 2014£30.37 at Amazon UK, and Norton Internet Security (2014). For a full explanation of how I test malware removal, see How We Test Malware Removal.

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Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2014 malware removal chart

With 94 percent detection and 9.2 points, Trend Micro fared much better in my malware blocking test. Only AVG and Ad-Aware Pro Security 10.5 scored better against the same malware collection. Trend Micro also did a great job blocking access to malware-hosting websites. To learn just what goes into this test, please see How We Test Malware Blocking.

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Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2014 malware blocking chart

Like Symantec, Trend Micro downplays the value of old-fashioned static malware detection tests and praises dynamic, real-world tests. Trend Micro's technology took the highest rating in the whole-product dynamic test by AV-Comparatives, and it also did well in AV-Test's three-way certification test. To learn more about the testing labs summarized in the chart below, please read How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests.

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Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2014 lab tests chart

Final Thoughts

 - Security Suites

Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security 2014

None

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.

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