Computer Associates is offering a free 12 month subscription of eTrust to all Microsoft users as part of Microsoft's international PC Protect campaign. The problem is that most home users will find it too difficult to configure.


EZ Armor is a cut-down version of Computer Associates' enterprise level security solution and it shows in the interface. When it loads up, the user is presented with a daunting screen similar to that used by system administrators when tweaking the back end of Windows 2000 Server.


Thankfully the one icon that sticks out on the toolbar is the 'Scan Now' button, which means novice users will manage to at least scan their computer for viruses.
Using a typical Windows drop down menu set-up, users can then access and modify configurations using the options wizard. However, the wizard isn't novice friendly and uses too many screens that must be dealt with sequentially.


The general program options are easier to modify, using a basic tab style layout linked to a toolbar button that even the home user should be able to figure out with minimal experience.


The saving grace for inexperienced users is that the default settings provide instant protection and enable automatic updating and scanning.


Intermediate users should fare better and be able to modify to achieve maximum customisation. Like all the anti-virus programs tested, EZ Armor picked up every virus thrown at it, but couldn't detect many of the Trojan and backdoor programs. In the end this meant that it was the worst performer, with only 66.4 percent of malware detected.

While we would not normally recommend this program for the average home user, it is free until 30 June, so that's a big incentive to persevere with it. However, it is much better suited to the small business with someone who's a bit more computer savvy.