Latest Product Reviews

Product reviews > Software > Anti-Virus

Trustware Bufferzone Pro
Price: £18.74 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Will Head

This review updated: 27/09/2007
Featured in magazine:
Issue 171
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Trustware
Tel: www.trustware.com



Traditional anti-virus and malware protection software generally takes a wait-and-see approach to defending you against threats. It works by identifying known malicious applications and blocking them before they attack your system. As new threats are identified, their distinguishing features are added to signature files and applied to your system through updates. However, if your software isn't up to date or if a new threat has not been identified your computer is still vulnerable to attack. BufferZone takes a different approach by placing a protective wrapper around your system and letting untrusted applications only run in a quarantined environment where they can't do any real harm to your computer.

Features:
Once installed, BufferZone Pro runs in the background with little need for intervention. By default it will latch on to any web applications like Internet Explorer and run them inside its own protective sandbox rather than let them loose on your computer. Downloads are also segregated, but when you launch any programs you're given the option of running them within BufferZone or outside it. Applications that it's protecting are identifiable by a rather extreme red box around their border. Your personal documents are also protected from untrusted programs – any applications running within the quarantine area can't access your My Documents folder.

Performanc:
When applications are first run, there's a noticeable pause as BufferZone moves them into its protective bosom. On subsequent launches applications are quicker to run, but still slightly slower than when running natively. When installing a particularly dodgy screensaver, BufferZone identified all the accompanying guff that it tried to install and moved it all into its cordoned-off area. Removing it was just a matter of clearing out the BufferZone quarantine rather than trying to find all the individual components to remove.

Ease of use:
BufferZone is a 'set it and forget it' application – as long as it's running in the background you're protected. You do need to occasionally clear out nasty applications or move trusted ones out of its protected area, but it's not an overly complex process. In theory it should work happily with any other anti-virus or malware protection you've already got installed on your PC. We found we had to disable a few leftover security applications on our test PC, but most users probably won't have so many conflicting security utilities installed in the first place.

Value for money:
With an asking price of just £15.95, BufferZone Pro is a fairly cheap safety net, especially considering that it can protect you against unknown threats as well as those your anti-virus application should pick up. A free version is also available, although it doesn't offer the same level of protection.

More Anti-Virus reviews:

• Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009
• Trend Micro HouseCall
• F-Secure Online Virus Scanner
• PC Pitstop
• Symantec Security Check