 | April 2, 2009
Review: The NEW Rogers Online Protection
 Andrew Steer, a.k.a. "The Trouble Ticket Guy", likes helping others. Seriously, he gets paid by Rogers to do it. So visit Tech Mates often and take advantage of his extensive expertise.  Email Andrew
DOWNLOAD Rogers Online Protection now!
Whether you currently have the old Rogers Yahoo! Online Protection, a security software suite from another provider (gasp!) or you don't have protection at all, I highly recommend downloading and installing the new and improved Rogers Online Protection suite as soon as possible. It will give you peace of mind, just like flossing!
1. Installation experience
Downloading and installing was a snap. The download took about 15 minutes and another 15 minutes to install on my desktop computer. It took a little longer on my laptop and on my older desktop (I told you I was a tech-geek).
So far so good. That's pretty standard for all anti-virus software. It also did a seamless job of removing my old online protection program behind the scenes. After the installation was complete, I couldn't find any trace of the old protection software on any of my computers. Impressive.
Rating: 9/10
2. Anti-Virus and anti-spyware protection
The scanning process for viruses and spyware with the new Rogers Online Protection suite was excellent. Once the software was installed and the latest virus definitions downloaded, it started an automatic scan of my computer. The total scan was comprehensive and took about 30 minutes - that's average. Surprisingly, it found 30 instances of spyware that my old online protection did not detect. The program automatically removed any threats or I was able to get clear instructions on how to remove them individually.
Once the total scan is complete, the security software runs automatically, constantly checking for updates on various forms of viruses, spyware and malware. Although the default settings are good, it's also easy to customize almost all features such as regularly scheduled scans to meet your needs. Again, impressive.
Rating: 9.5/10
3. Firewall
The Firewall feature prevents unauthorized intrusions or malicious attempts from others to access your computer from the Internet. It also gives you control over which programs have access to the Internet.
This feature was also quite comprehensive and highly customizable. Once installed though, it was a little too diligent (which is not always a bad thing). Anytime a program attempted to access the Internet, the Firewall feature asked for permission (with options like Always Allow, Allow this Time, or Always Block). This is a good feature, but it shouldn't have to ask permission for common browser programs like Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Once you've made your choice for a particular program, it saves your choice so you don't have to grant it permission (or block it) going forward. You can choose to edit your settings later if you wish. Thankfully, this Firewall doesn't automatically show you alarming alerts anytime an outside computer attempts to connect to your computer. It simply blocks unauthorized connections and stores them in a report that you can view through Rogers Online Protection's control panel whenever you want.
Rating: 8.5/10
4. Parental Controls
This is one area the new Rogers Online Protection excels. In the previous protection suite, Parental Controls were not integrated with the software and required you to launch a separate program. In this new version, it's comprehensive and lets you control how your kids use the Internet. It does so by allowing you to identify and block websites you decide are inappropriate, restrict access to the Internet by preventing them from using programs such as chat, email and instant messaging software.
It even lets you schedule when your children can access the Internet and limit their time spent online. You can also view a list of websites your kids visited (or tried to visit). I found the interface for this feature very easy to use and configure. By default, it contains a list of millions of sites that are identified as having inappropriate content (such as pornographic content). You're also able to manually add sites to the list if you wish.
Rating: 9.5/10
5. System Performance
I have a love/hate relationship with online protection software. I love the level of protection it gives, but hate the way it can bog down my system as it aggressively scans for viruses. Some security suites use up a lot of your systems' resources and can slow you down to a crawl. In my tests, the new Rogers Online Protection performed much better than the older version. It used considerably less system resources (like my processor, RAM and hard drive) and just felt faster.
Rating: 9/10
6. Value
This one's easy! The new Rogers Online Protection suite is free for all Rogers Hi-Speed Internet customers. Why go out and spend money on other software when Rogers is committed to your online security and provides this suite free of charge?
Rating: 10/10
Overall Rating: 9.25/10
I highly recommend downloading and installing the new Rogers Online Protection! Learn more and get the all-in-one security package now!
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