Posted 01/04/2009 at 02:08:02pm

This review smacks of a transportation review that would go something like this:  The fleet Ferd T-155 is the baddest, toughest most powerful pickup in the group.  The Ditge's forty foot trailer allowed us to haul several cords of wood.  The GMZ's leather seats and satellite radio kept us comfy and entertained.  Three points for the Ferd, eight for the Ditge and a Kick Ass for the GMZ.  While the free shuttle got us to the airport on time, it exposed us to food wrappers, sticky gum and smelly people.  The $60,000 Licksus drove us in smooth comfort, luxurious appointments and... no riff raff!

All we gwet from this is a free single-task app won't do as well as an pricey full-blown suite.  DUH.

Comparing the performance of packages with a "yes" under every feature (McAfee and Symantec) to AVG with three and those in between was absurd.  BTW, did anyone notice that, according to that comparison chart, PC Tools does... nothing.

This article is a shining representation of what has become the dumbing down of Maximum PC, more in tune with the likes belonging in the publications catering to the computer illiterati.  ("An AV app should...be able to do its job with minimal interaction from the end user, ...some level of customization." Oh yeah, that's why I buy MAXIMUM PC.)  We geeks would need an analysis of stand alone apps and how well they protect and behave together.  Say, Avira and Threatfire with Spyware Doctor and/or Comodo Firewall and BoClean?

Seems here that instead of a article on assembling a killer vehicle built on the best chassis with the most useful components, we get a review of assembly line cars and trucks picked from the catchiest commercials after a round of channel surfing from those  expert at pushing a remote button.

Finally, I don't believe for a minute that PC Tools provided an AV-only app as their "the most robust" package.  A simple visit to their Web site would reveal PC Tools Internet Security fits that bill (followed by Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus and the Email Guard and Behavior Guard add-ons).  If indeed Maximum PC did receive only AntiVirus Free from them, it should have raised a red flag, the very least being some kind of miscommunication.  I singled out PC Tools here as the most blatant misrepresentation in this review.  Obviously, there were several others.

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"Machines making machines! How perverse..." -3CPO