Comodo has released a free internet security program with a lifetime (unlimited) subscription and asks nothing in return.  The software has an excellent virus scanning ability that will be discussed in this article.

Installation:

    The Comodo Internet Security 3.13 installation was very quick and it only took about 3 minutes.  The download was only 41.3 megabytes and Comodo provides a 32 and 64 bit binary. The only hold up was the program wanted to install a toolbar etc. (Keep in mind this is becoming very common with free antivirus software.  For example, Avast includes chrome and AVG’s link scanner includes yahoo search advertisements.)  However, the user has the option to not install the toolbar and can just install the antivirus program.  Another problem with the installation was that the test system needed to be restarted twice.  One time was for the firewall to become active, the second time was for the first update to be applied.

Interface:

    I really like how the Comodo Internet Security’s interface is laid out.  From the main page a lot of settings can be tweaked and it displays only important information.  For example, the firewall traffic area displays the most active process by how much data they have been sending and receiving.  The main page also tells the user how many network connections are currently active.
    The next thing I like is the amount of control that is available right on the home screen rather than digging into the settings like most other free antivirus programs.   For example, The Firewall, Antivirus engine, and pro active defense engine can all be easily tweaked to more secure checking or less strident checking.  In addition, the program can be switched into installation mode with a click of a button. 
    Finally, other antivirus software such as Panda Internet Security provide little to no explanation on how the antivirus settings function.  However, on Comodo there is a link to “What do these settings do?” which will instantly open up a help prompt for an explanation.  Comodo also dedicates a support section to beginners which explains features in even more detail.

Features:

    Comodo Internet Security has a lot of unique features in addition to the firewall but lacked identity protection and spam filters found in competitor’s software.

Pro Active Defense+:

    This is a unique feature to this software and is essentially an intrusion prevention system.  The file monitors executable files etc. that try to access the memory, modify a protected operating system file, or modify a protected registry file etc.   If a malicious file alteration is detected, than the software will automatically block the file.  In addition, the Pro Active Defensive gives the user the ability to add a registry key or certain file to be protected by pro active defense.  A user can also add a trusted software vendor to the already comprehensive list.   Pro Active Defense also comes with a convenient settings slider where, for example, the “Paranoid” mode will ask for a confirmation on every file to the “Training” mode where Comodo Internet Security will actively learn all active processes for later use.  Essentially, if the user is a security nut and wants to know exactly every process that is running and how it interacts with the O/S, Comodo is perfect.  I think a user could potentially setup an iron clad computer with this software.

Firewall or Network Defense:

    Comodo also includes a highly configurable firewall that essentially mirrors a Microsoft ISA firewall while giving the usability of a Zone Alarm type.  The Firewall again has a slider in which exists a “Custom Policy Mode” which relies only on set application rules, a “Training Mode” discussed earlier but used for network activity, and also a “Safe Mode” which is a balance between the first two modes.
    However, what I find the most fascinating about the firewall are its settings. In addition to trusted and un trusted ports and application settings there are a myriad of other features. The first feature is DOS or denial of service protection.  (Notice this section is for advanced users only) A user can actually tweak the sensitivity of TCP, UDP, ICMP packet checking frequency to fit the given network environment. This feature is great for internet or file servers.  Next, Comodo Internet Security also offers protocol analysis, protocol checksum verification, and the big daddy, other NDIS protocols monitoring.  I say the big daddy, because often viruses will mess with the network stack or a user will have an additional network protocol installed other than TCP etc. that wouldn’t be monitored under most consumer firewalls.  The final feature that I really liked was stealth port configuration. A user can setup stealth ports for only non trusted networks (again great for a server with 2 NIC’s.)   A user can also specify to be alerted whenever a stealth port is accessed and by whom. 

Virus Scanning and Detection:

    During Virus Scanning CPU and Memory usages were exceptionally low; not exceeding 15% utilization and 41 megabytes.  The program used a surprising 2.9 megabytes during idle activity.  However, high hard drive utilization was pretty much out of control and virus scanning really put an added burden on the test system.  For example, any additional activity such as browsing the web or saving word documents was severely hampered and a wait period of 20 seconds ensued.  Comodo Internet Security pretty much doesn’t have an idle CPU detection capability like Norton or other antivirus competitors.   Therefore, if you are going to be doing a scan make sure you have time to wait.

    Finally, Comodo detected all of the test viruses loaded on my removable drive.  Comodo did detect one false positive (exactly the same one as Panda) called GameMon.des.  This again is an anti cheating component for certain multiplayer games. The software stated that the file was an unclassified malware program.  Deleting this file would prevent the game from launching.
    The scan finished in about 1 hour and 20 minutes which is essentially on par with the competition.  The software also updates definitions before each virus scan.     One final note about the resident shield and that is also has a setting slider.  The “stateful” mode will increase performance as it only works after a virus has been executed.  There is also an “on access” mode which will proactively detect the viruses before they can be executed (surprisingly this is not the default protection.) Finally, the impact on computer operation during non scanning is extremely small as if the antivirus isn't there.

Conclusion and Download:

   Why is Comodo Internet Security free?  My only response is that Comodo is trying to gain market traction in the face of entrenched competitors.  I think it is the best internet security software out there right now and it comes with an unlimited free subscription. This is my new antivirus/internet security software of choice and it is currently protecting my computer.

Download Comodo Internet Security 3.13 here