Kaspersky has been our A List choice for nearly 18 months, thanks principally to its stellar malware detection. This month it's topped by a few of its rivals, but it remains a convincing suite.

Its 88% malware detection rate still sits at the head of the pack, and though a 40% score in the web test may sound low it's no worse than average.

And when we tried to launch a network-based attack on our test PC, Kaspersky warned us we were being scanned, then automatically blocked connections from the attacking IP address for 60 minutes - very reassuring.

Kaspersky also takes an agreeably cautious approach to infected email, bringing up a preview of suspect emails so you can reject them before they even reach Windows Mail.

Its antispam plug-in is ugly, though: it gives Windows Mail a whole extra toolbar to accommodate just three new buttons.

The main interface feels a little overwrought too, at least compared to the likes of Eset Smart Security. Each tab contains several sub-tabs which in turn are divided into multiple panels, and buttons aren't always where you expect to find them.

But it loads very quickly and keeps resource usage impressively low: you certainly won't need to worry about it getting in the way.

Our experiences weren't quite hiccup-free: the package got hung up on one of our test files, and wouldn't let us repair or ignore it - in the end we had to reboot to silence the constant warnings.

But overall Kaspersky Internet Security is still a capable anti-malware package, especially for file-based threats - and it's highly efficient too.