PC Tools Releases 2012 Security Software

by ivy

PC Tools, the famous Security vendor has released its new-look website and 2012 products. It is focusing very much on ease of use, with the claim that all the new releases provide “powerfully simple protection”. There...

PC Tools, the famous Security vendor has released its new-look website and 2012 products. It is focusing very much on ease of use, with the claim that all the new releases provide “powerfully simple protection”.

There are four major programs available.

PC Tools Spyware Doctor and AntiVirus offers good all-round antivirus protection, with built-in browsing and antiphishing protection. New features include Scam Alerts, which "protect against the latest cybercrime schemes like "get rich quick" offers and fake antivirus "scareware" that trick people into divulging confidential information. And the new Malicious Site Monitoring "guards against exploits that cybercriminals often target like the latest movie trailers and breaking news headlines". There’s also a more basic PC Tools Spyware Doctor, which omits the anti-virus module, plus the completely free PC Tools AntiVirus Free, which does not include the Behavior Guard, the Site Guard or Browser Guard modules, found in the commercial edition.

PC Tools Internet Security adds a firewall, and a spam filter. It also supports the new Scam Alerts and Malicious Site Monitoring, and adds many improvements all across the package: more accurate scanning, better browsing protection, enhanced real-time guards, better behaviour monitoring, and more.

PC Tools Registry Mechanic cleans your Registry, deletes system clutter, optimizes Windows, and maintains your privacy, while an interface revamp makes it easier to use and clearly view all the program’s optimisations.

And the PC Tools Performance Toolkit contains everything in Registry Mechanic, and adds plenty more. So it can optimise your file layout for better performance; recover accidentally deleted files; improve your startup and shutdown times; analyze and repair hard drives; and, new this time, a Duplicate File Finder helps you free up drive space by deleting duplicate files.

Trial versions of each package are available now, however keep in mind that one thing which hasn’t changed is PC Tools’ less-than-generous policy on evaluations. So the programs can scan for malware and Registry errors, but won’t remove them until you’ve purchased a license.