****What is it?****

Shield Deluxe 2009 is antivirus software powered by BitDefender that uses “integrated methods to scan for viruses and other nasty little things that may infect your computer and affect its performance. The Deluxe includes antivirus, anti spyware and adware and rootkit detection. Providing you don’t use your computer for anything “too dodgy” or visit “threatening sites” this should provide all the protection you need for safe internet use.

****System requirements****

The requirements for the Deluxe software is 128MB RAM and 10MB of hard-disc space for program installation. The requirements are minimal, but since most antivirus software programs are small and un-intrusive programs this is to be expected. Deluxe is compatible with many operating systems include Vista, XP, Windows 98, Windows 2000 and Windows ME, so even those of you with much older machines will be able to benefit from Deluxe.

****Downloading and installing****

This antivirus software is downloaded direct form PC Security Shields website. It is an extremely easy process that involves setting up an account and logging in, checking the “download” box, inputting all relevant card details and submitting the information. Within seconds the download will be sat in your on-line account ready for you to install.

The exact download time of the software will depend upon your computer and internet connection type, but as previously stated it is a very small program so shouldn’t take too long whatever your computer/internet connection combination. I have a Inspiron Laptop running BT broadband (right out in the back end of nowhere achieving a download speed of 3M, which is nowhere near BT’s claimed 10M +) and it took about 10 minutes. Once the software is downloaded, the software installation wizard kicks in. It is then simply a matter of following the on-screen instructions before restarting your computer for it to take effect. It really is that simple. However, prior to installation you must disable your existing antivirus software and totally uninstall it from your computer, otherwise the install will fail.

****Using and updating****

Like all bits of antivirus software Deluxe sits as an icon on the bottom toolbar monitoring internet use and alerting you when potential threats come along, which gives you the opportunity to take the appropriate action.

When Deluxe requires updating, like all antivirus programs do on a regular basis, you are informed and advised to take the appropriate action. The updating process takes ages, much longer than McAfee but as long as the computer is fully protected does it really matter? In addition to long updating times scanning also takes an age, again much longer than McAfee, and this is more problematic in my opinion. However, as all the scans were giving negative results, i.e. no problems, it appeared to be doing its job well.

****Price****

I paid .99 US for a year’s Deluxe protection, and this includes the complete package. Considering it came very highly rated by specialist sites and was considered to be better than more commonly known antivirus software I thought this was great value at the time.

****My experience****

The Deluxe appears to be highly rated in the world of computing and after seeing it in the top ten table of antivirus software from many “trusted” computer specialist sites I thought it would be ideal, and since it was rated higher than McAfee (which was my previous choice and had given me 5 years of trouble and problem free internet use) and Norton (which the computer systems where I work use) I truly believed I was on to a winner.

Once I started using Deluxe I noted that the speed of my computer increased. I had read reports that McAfee is notorious for slowing down computers, but since I had never used anything else on my home computer I never really appreciated just how much, so I was quite happy with Deluxe.

When the first round of updates came through and the “Issues that need fixing” box popped up I duly pressed the “fix” button and sat back and waited for Deluxe to do its thing. The process took ages, much longer than McAfee, but it finally reached the end. All issues, except for one were fixed so I repeated the process. Once again, it did not want to resolve one issue so I set it off again. After the fourth failure I gave in and went to contact PC Shield. The only contact details was an email address so I fired off an email for assistance.

Despite the unresolved issue the Deluxe appeared to be doing its job whilst I was using the computer and I got all the usual notifications about pop ups being blocked, and warnings that something was trying to be installed etc. etc. so I was not overly concerned. Besides, the unresolved issue was in respect of updates.

After two weeks of waiting I still had not received a reply from PC Shield so I fired off another email. A response came two days later giving a link to the download instructions, along with a couple of lines of text suggesting removing the software and re-installing it once more, ensuring that any trace of my previous antivirus software was eradicated. I must admit that this advice was pretty useless and they PC Shield were stating the obvious. Everyone knows that if you can’t get software working properly the first port of call is removal and re-installation, and this was something I had tried previously but to no avail. Not impressed with the advice I was given I sent another email and many subsequent emails but to this day I have never received a response.

The nail in the coffin for Deluxe arrived two weeks ago when I managed to get a virus, my first ever. Whilst using Ebay my computer crashed and after a reboot everything froze. I couldn’t use the internet, open a word document, view a spreadsheet, listen to an MP3, view a Jpeg or watch a DVD. I couldn’t do anything, other than run a virus scan with Deluxe.

My pop-ups were going crazy and they all stated my computer was infected with a virus. Shortly after I was directed to a website selling the Anti Virus Pro 2009 software where I was informed all problems would be sorted if I bought it. After clicking “no” and then closing the window I was directed to an adult site, and after closing this down I was directed to a Viagra site. This process went on and on whilst the computer was still running. As previously mentioned, I could run a scan with Deluxe which I did in order to identify what I had managed to pick up. The quick scan results showed no problems so I a deep and full scan was run. This also showed there were no problems. What was going on? Why was Deluxe not picking this up when there was clearly something wrong? Why did Deluxe not pick this up, and deal with this virus before it made it to my computer? After doing an internet search, on my McAfee protected notebook, it appeared I had managed to get the AV2009 virus which appeared to be quite common.

****The AV2009 virus****

As mentioned above this is a nasty little virus that blocks all files and features of your computer rendering it useless, and directing you to a website that sells antivirus software that will (supposedly) solve the problem. It appears that this software is a hoax, so if you are directed to this do NOT enter any credit card details at all. If you close this window you are directed to an adult site and then on to a site selling Viagra.

Whilst I had the virus I did some research on getting rid of the AV2009 virus, and whilst there were many articles, “how tos” and guides on Youtube, I couldn’t get one to work. I couldn’t even find one where I could reach the end of the process as I couldn’t connect to the internet on the infected computer. I didn’t want to spend a fortune getting a “specialist” to sort my computer out so I did a complete factory restore and lost everything. Luckily I had backed all the important stuff up, but I still lost a fair amount of stuff. Many people said I should have taken it to PC world or somewhere like that to get the data retrieved but after an event at work I am glad I chose the route I did.

The ironic thing was that the Thursday prior to me getting the virus one of the computers at work got a virus with the same symptoms I had, which we now know is the AV2009 virus, although we didn’t know this at the time. The computer was sent to a specialist for data retrieval and after spending a long time trying to retrieve the data they admitted defeat and wiped the hard drive. We were told there was nothing they could do and my employer was presented with a bill for £150. So, the same outcome was achieved but my employer parted with £150 in the process.

I admit that in the past I have been slack when it comes to backing up data and I only ever did it as my hard drive became full. Luckily, my Inspiron’s hard drive is only 40GB. I’d hate to think how much I would have lost if I had a more modern laptop with 240GB hard drive. I now ensure I back up my computer at least every other day, I appreciate it may be a bit of an overkill but the problems the AV2009 virus caused has made me a bit OTT, and I would strongly recommend other computer users back up on a regular basis as well.

****Conclusion****

Based on my experience, I would never recommend Deluxe 2009, and wouldn’t touch any other antivirus software that PC Shield currently offers, or will be offering in the future, and I this opinion will remain regardless of how many PC specialists recommend it or how cheap it may appear. The after sales service