Everybody knows about computer viruses and their risks, and so many of us have antivirus programs installed. While this is an effective method to stop computer viruses, the truth is your PC is still vulnerable to attacks from other threats. For total protection and peace of mind, you require a security suite, that will assure you full control over your computers security.

In this article I will look at what you get with a good security suite and then review my top 2 picks of 2012.

The benefits of a top security suite include the following:

• Antispyware protection which protects your personal information such as bank login details, personal and credit card information. This function is not performed by an antivirus program alone.
• Personal firewalls protect your computer from invasion from an outside source, such as the internet. Most modems today come with a firewall built-in, but these can be easily manipulated and once a malicious program is inside your firewall can’t do anything about it.
• Antispam is an email plug-in that can filter your email for obvious and not-so-obvious spam (unsolicited or junk email). Spam currently costs businesses in the United States approximately two billion dollars a year, in lost revenue.
• IM (Instant Messaging) encryption stops outside software and parties from seeing and recording your instant messages and conversations. This is an important factor in preventing identity theft.
• Parental Control can be used as a web filter, to stop all users of the computer from accessing undesirable content. Web filter hardware is used by companies wishing to block all network access to these sites, but it can be just as essential to have parental control as a feature in a security suite.
• File Shredders ensure that files you delete, are permanently inaccessible. Without a file shredder, even files purged from the recycle bin can be recovered using easy to obtain software.
• Virus Protection, also known as antivirus software is the software that scans your files for viruses and malware. Some virus protections even detect greyware, which are items that while technically not harmful to your computer, are still undesirable. An example of greyware are tracking cookies, which download to your computer and point your web searches towards pages which contain content based on prior surfing.

Bitdefender Total Security 2012

Bitdefender is my top pick because it provides the broadest protection for all windows platforms from XP onward and does it at a reasonable price.

Bitdefender easily prevents identity theft. You can shop and bank online, confident that none of your personal information will make its way to the wrong hands via emails, messages or even web browsing.

With Bitdefender you get 2Gb of online storage, with the ability to securely backup important files online, while the antivirus scans all of your downloads automatically.
Parental controls have been vastly improved over earlier versions of Bitdefender. Parents can now be assured their children are not accessing undesirable content. You can even set the times that you wish your children to be able to access the internet.

The file scan is also much faster than that of previous versions, as it only scans changes made to your computer, since your last scan. The virus control also monitors all files in real time.

You can also set up a security profile to match your PC use, which makes security management with this package easier for both the novice and expert alike.

Kaspersky Internet Security 2012

If you use this security suite from Kaspersky you don’t have to worry about security when you surf the web. The safety of your applications is automatically detected, and appropriate security measures are taken to protect you. You can bank safely, input private information without fear of discovery, and your identity is protected. Kaspersky keeps itself updated from their company’s server and protects you from: identity theft and phishing, you also get parental controls and free tech support.

You will be able to send and receive email without worrying about messages being infected, and share documents with confidence. Inappropriate content can be blocked for the protection of your family members, especially young children.

This is also the ideal software for the gamers out there. The software isn’t too resource hungry and when it performs scans it does so quickly and without disrupting your gaming.

All websites are instantly verified as to whether they contain malicious threats. Considering how much Kaspersky is able to do and how little it costs, this package is a real bargain.

I hope you found best internet security 2012 usefull.