CA Antivirus Reviewer's Comments

CA Antivirus 2008 is a solid virus scanner that works well to find and eliminate viruses. Unfortunately, this is all it can do. No extra features are included with CA Antivirus beyond the bare minimums. In many cases, this could be considered an asset due to speed increases associated with many minimalist programs. CA doesn't take advantage of this in the 2008 version which still slows your computer down all around.

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Ease of Use:  

CA Antivirus is extremely easy to use. Full system scans are only 2 clicks from the main program screen. If you need to change any advanced options, of which there are very few, you will have to go a little bit deeper within the program to find them.

Effectiveness:  

CA has been known for having solid products throughout their history. They didn't fail to impress this time around. The engine that is used for CA Antivirus is WCL, ICSA and VB100% certified and is well equipped to find and clean any viruses that it finds on your computer.

Updates:  

Updates are checked for once a day if set to update automatically. If you have a need to get faster updates, there is an option to change the frequency of the automatic updates. You also have the ability to update manually if you have the need to do so.

Feature Set:  

CA Antivirus includes no extended features that we could find in our testing of the product. Standard antivirus features such as a virus scanner, scan scheduling utility and quarantine are present, but are the extent of features included with CA Antivirus.

Ease of Installation:  

Installing CA Antivirus was fast and easy. There was a glitch on the registration screen that wouldn't allow us to register the product correctly. This issue did not hold us back though as we could just cancel the registration.

Help/Support:  

Support for CA Antivirus 2008 includes in program help as well as online support options. The options available online consist of a knowledgebase/FAQ. CA also offers direct phone support for $19.95 per incident. If you are inclined to search around the support website, you will find that they also offer free chat and email support. These additional options are somewhat buried and may be difficult to find.

Summary:  

CA Antivirus 2008 is a good product for specific antivirus needs. It includes a good antivirus engine and stops there. Extended features are saved for other products within the CA family. If you have a specific need for JUST an antivirus program though, CA Antivirus is a good option.