Scope of Protection:  

CA’s antivirus suite is fairly encompassing; protecting your computer online and off. CA Anti-Virus Plus Anti-Spyware even includes parental controls (a feature usually only found in the upgraded internet security suites or premiums security suites). CA protects from viruses and spyware (as the name would suggest), as well as worms, Trojans, and other malware.

CA Anti-Virus Plus utilizes real-time scanning, checking all files on access (when opened, saved, or even closed). Combine this with the proactive heuristic scanning to protect from viruses before they make the signature database (list of malware’s “most wanted”), and you’ve got a pretty comprehensive desktop security solution.

Effectiveness:  

CA provides relatively effective protection from a number of malware. The software has received the VirusBulletin VB100% (for Windows XP), signifying that they effectively located and blocked 100% of in-the-wild viruses. However, it should be mentioned that their combined reactive/proactive score was a very low 33.2% (compared with AVG’s high 80.6%). Furthermore, CA failed the most recent VB 100% test (for Windows Vista).

We have no doubt that CA Anti-Virus Plus Anti-Spyware is decent, but it just doesn’t seem quite up to snuff.

Ease of Installation:  

It only took us about 6 minutes (and 1 restart) to have CA Anti-Virus Plus Anti-Spyware up and running. The installation process is straightforward (whether you choose from the standard or customized installation).

Our tests point to the fact that CA Anti-Virus Plus Anti-Spyware isn’t as resource efficient as it could be. The idle footprint of 15MB wasn’t too bad, but the in-scan footprint clocked in at nearly 76MB, considerably higher than several competing antivirus software. And while we don’t want you to think that CA will slow your system to a crawl, the resource use might be noticeable on lower-end computers.

Ease of Use:  

CA Anti-Virus Plus features a very sleek and graphically impressive interface. More than simply being flashy however, the software is easy to use and comprehend. Performing manual scans or updates is as easy as clicking a button. You can tweak settings or setup the scheduled scans with ease.

Even better than easy setup is simple maintenance. Like most current antivirus software, CA is set to run on its own, with little or no required user interaction. CA scans files as they are accessed, but doesn’t cause any noticeable slowdown.

Furthermore, CA Anti-Virus Plus Anti-Spyware includes a smart auto-scheduling feature that recognizes when your computer is idle, and performs the scan then.

Features:  

CA includes a number of unique features in the antivirus software, but leaves some others noticeably missing. One unique feature that is included is the inclusion of 2GB of free online storage from Mozy (though to be fair, anyone is able to get 2GB of storage just by signing up with Mozy).

Another simple but useful feature we noticed was with right-click scanning. Not only can you right-click on any file and have it specifically scanned for viruses, but you can also quickly set the file to be whitelisted (always trusted) with the same ease.

A few features we would have liked to see from CA’s basic antivirus software include antiphishing protection, a silent “gamer” mode, and intrusion blocking.

Updates:  

Regular virus signature updates are checked for automatically every day, or can be specifically scheduled. Unfortunately, CA hasn’t implemented “push” updates that are delivered to users immediately as needed.

Help & Support:  

CA offers a complete lineup of help and support available, directly in the program and online. Online you’ll find several help resources as well as phone or online chat assistance. They also have a community forum.

In the program itself, CA Anti-Virus Plus Anti-Spyware has the usual help file/manual, but also has several additional help files, including video tutorials.

CA Anti-Virus Plus Anti-Spyware is a good antivirus software. There are several included features (online storage, parental controls) that you won’t find in many base-level antivirus applications. However, the comparatively low level of protection and high amount of resource usage is a significant setback. We really liked the modern interface, but have to recommend looking into other antivirus software or an internet security suite for a better security software.