CA Anti-Virus 2007 uses one of the best anti-virus software engines around, one that has been used in the IT industry for years as a preferred method for detecting malicious software on corporate computers. As such, the AV portion of this offering is well proven and can be relied upon to keep your desktop or laptop clear of known viruses and Trojans.

Installation is a breeze, with a simple wizard that walks you through the installation process. After rebooting, the program adds a CA Security Center icon to your System Tray, for easy access to CA Anti-Virus and any additional CA security applications you may have installed. We're happy to note that CA Anti-Virus 2007 allows you to install the application on up to three computers, making it a natural choice for families and small businesses.

Navigation is straightforward, with a user interface divided into two panes. The left pane contains four objects (Overview, Quarantine, Options, Reports); the contents of the right pane varies, depending on the object you select in the left pane.

After the initial installation, CA Anti-Virus informed us that our system needed scanning. Scanning time is fairly average. CA Anti-Virus is no speed demon, but it does allow you to pause or stop a scan, a convenient feature that is missing in some antivirus software. In addition to a full system scan, you can scan specific files and folders.

CA Anti-Virus uses three scanning systems (on-demand, real-time, email), which you can configure independently. The on-demand and real-time scanners allow you to set up lists of files and folders you don't want included in scans. One interesting aspect is that while the scanners can look inside compressed files, they don't automatically clean any viruses they find; instead, CA Anti-Virus marks the compressed file as infected and then quarantines it.

Easy to use and easy to configure, CA Anti-Virus 2007 anti-virus software can protect your computer with the same scanning engine that has served the corporate world well for many years.


Pros: Well regarded anti-virus scanning engine, three-user license, easy to use
Cons: Lacks anti-spyware tools, yearly renewal required to keep anti-virus engine up to date