As is often the case with betas, it has a few issues to contend with. There’s no firewall just yet, for instance. And we found application launch times seemed to lengthen considerably once the beta had been installed.
The program’s interface proved straightforward, though, providing easy access to on-demand scans, and a lengthy list of the tools that are available in this version: parental controls, data theft prevention, encryption, secure file deletion, antispam, antiphishing, browsing protection, and more.
As is becoming increasingly common these days, Titanium Maximum Security 2012 can also clean up your PC with its System Tuner. This will detect and remove hard drive junk, clean up the Registry, delete instant messaging logs and assorted application histories, even disable unnecessary startup programs to help improve your system’s boot time. You can run any of these functions at a click, but primarily the System Tuner is aimed to be run on a schedule, so it keeps your system in good condition without you having to think about it.
The program’s other features may be configured via an interesting Settings dialog, which offers an unusual degree of control over precisely how Titanium Maximum Security 2012 actually works. When it comes to boot time, for instance, you get to choose how early the program’s drivers will load. Select “Extra Security” and they’ll fire up right away, very secure but also slowing you down; choose “Extra Performance” and the drivers will load late, weakening your security but having less of an impact on performance; or opting for “Balanced Security” delivers a compromise, loading some drivers right away but leaving others until later, so minimising delays.
And overall, Trend Micro claim their 2012 technologies should mean improved scanning performance, higher detection rates, and better social networking protection (the program now scans your Twitter and Facebook streams for malicious URLs).
We’re not entirely sure the program is ready to deliver on this just yet, and like any security suite beta, you shouldn’t rely on it to protect an important system for a prolonged period of time. Still, if you’re interested in where Trend Micro are heading then offers some useful clues, and it’s definitely worth a day or two of your time. The beta is available now.
This article originally appeared at softwarecrew.co.uk
