Kaspersky Internet Security: Difference between revisions

Kaspersky Internet Security

Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 (version 8.0)
Developer(s)	Kaspersky Lab
Stable release	8.0.0.506 (2009) / November 19, 2008 (2008-11-19)
Preview release	9.0.0.446 (2010) Pre Release Candidate / May 22, 2009 (2009-05-22)
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Type	Antivirus, Personal firewall, Parental control, Anti-spam, Anti-phishing
License	Proprietary
Website	www.kaspersky.com

Kaspersky Internet Security (often referred to as KIS) is an Internet security suite developed by Kaspersky Lab and designed for computers running Microsoft Windows. It supports the detection and removal of malware (which includes viruses, worms, trojans, adware, spyware, keyloggers, dialers, rootkits and ransomware), as well as protection against spam, hackers, phishing attacks and data leaks.

Version History

Version 2006 (6.0)

This was the initial release of Kaspersky Internet Security and was built upon the same engine as Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0, and essentially was the merger with Kaspersky Anti-Hacker, a standalone firewall previously offered by Kaspersky, with the addition of anti-spam, "anti-spy" and dialer protection. PC World magazine highlighted that the graphical user interface was awkward to navigate and that certain features present in competing products, such as parental controls and instant-messaging protocol filtering were missing, but at the same time praised the firewall and malware detection ability.

Kaspersky Internet Security 6.0 supported Windows Operating systems including Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP and soon after release, Windows Vista

Version 2007 (7.0)

Version 7.0 introduced an improved graphical user interface which was modified with the view to make it more user friendly, by renaming certain components (such as the Anti-hacker module, which became known as the "Firewall") and a reorganization of other components, with the components which made up the "Anti-Spy" module being incorporated into the "Privacy Control" module. One of the most notable additions to this version was parental controls, with filtering categories such as drugs, porn, violence, explicit language and weapons, and the ability to assign restriction profiles to different users. PC Mag expressed the opinion that the parental controls module was "confusing" and raised some privacy issues by logging URLs visited by any user whilst parental controls were enabled.

Other notable additions in Version 7.0 included the ability to detect DirectX keylogging methods via the Proactive Defense module and the addition of a new heuristic emulator for detection of emerging threats.

Office Guard, a part of the Proactive Defense module in V6.0 was removed in V7.0 as its functions were seen to be redundant and covered by other parts of the proactive defense module, according to Kaspersky forum moderators.

Version 2010 (9.0)

Version 2010 of Kaspersky Internet Security introduces an overhauled user interface and a sandbox for running applications in a virtualised environment.

Features

Kaspersky Internet Security includes all the components of Kaspersky Anti-Virus, as well as some additional ones which are detailed below.

Anti-Malware module

The anti-malware module consists of three protection layers:

• Files and memory protection

Files and memory protection is responsible for scanning for and alerting the user to the presence of all types of malware stored, accessed and placed in the computer memory. This protection layer works in real time to scan files as they are created, accessed and modified. All the scanning modules utilize heuristic detection techniques to detect new, mutated or unknown malware. Suspicious files are also detected using suspicious packer recognition technology.

• Email and IM (instant messenger) protection

Email and IM protection is responsible for scanning for and alerting the user to the presence of all types of malware transmitted via email or instant messenger applications to or from the computer. Instant messenger conversations, attachments and emails are scanned in real time and any suspicious files are blocked. Links to known bad sites are blocked using an internal blacklist which is periodically updated.

• Web traffic protection

Web traffic protection is responsible for scanning for and alerting the user to the presence of all types of malware transmitted to and from the computer via the Internet. Web traffic is scanned in real time and detection of malware or suspicious objects will trigger an on-screen alert. Links or attempts to access known bad sites are blocked using the internal blacklist utilized in the Email and IM module.

System Security module

The System Security module consists of the Application Filtering component (a HIPS system), a firewall and a proactive defense component.

• Application filtering (HIPS)

The Application Filtering component is an HIPS system which monitors the actions of all applications on the computer and prevents them from performing dangerous actions. By default, the application filtering component will make decisions automatically about application classification, behavior and categorizes all applications into one of four groups: Trusted (for known safe applications), Low-restricted (for unknown applications), High restricted (for potentially dangerous applications) and Untrusted (for known dangerous applications), using whitelisting technology licensed from the Bit9 application database According to testing done by AV Comparatives, the Application Filtering component was effective at blocking unknown malware and succeeded in blocking around two-thirds of their malware test set on first execution, not taking into account any of the other protection components of KIS.

• Firewall

The firewall component can be used to control application Internet access and is partly integrated into the Application filtering component. By default, KIS automatically decides which applications can access the Internet based on their rating by the Application Filtering component. Detailed network rules can be created and customized by the user to prevent unwanted inbound traffic or data leaks.

• Network attack blocker (Intrusion detection system)

The Network attack blocker protects the computer from web based/network attacks, worms and hacking. It filters web traffic and blocks any incoming attacks, automatically placing the attacker onto a blocklist to prevent any further intrusion attempts. By default, attacking computers are placed onto the blocklist for 60 minutes.

Other features

Kaspersky Internet Security also include parental controls, spam and phishing protection. Updates to virus definitions and other protection components are done automatically, and a tool for creating a rescue disk is available to perform offline scanning of a machine.

Kaspersky Internet Security also includes a self defense component which prevents the application from being tampered with by malware, and a virtual keyboard to prevent keyloggers from capturing keystrokes.

Kaspersky offers free version upgrades to all users who are holders of a valid license for the duration period of the license. There is also an official technical support service and an active user forum where users can seek help.

System requirements

	Windows 2000 (SP4 or higher) / XP (SP2 or higher) / XP Professional x64 Edition	Windows Vista (32/64-bit)
Processor	Intel Pentium 300 MHz or higher (or equivalent)	Intel Pentium 800 MHz or higher (or equivalent)
RAM	128 MB	512 MB
Free hard drive space	50 MB	50 MB

A DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive (for installation from a CD/DVD disc), Internet Explorer 5.5 or above and Windows Installer 3.0 or above are also required for the installation of Kaspersky Internet Security.

See also

• Eugene Kaspersky
• Kaspersky Anti-Virus
• Kaspersky Mobile Security
• Kaspersky Lab

External links

• Kaspersky Internet Security product page
• Kaspersky.com
• Kaspersky Fan Club
• Kaspersky Lab Forum