PCSECGRD.RVW 931217 Comparison Review Company and product: Command Software Systems Jupiter, FL 407-575-3200 800-423-9147 75300.3645@CompuServe.COM Lance McKay or 93 Dewson St., Suite 101 Toronto, Ontario 416-588-8341 fax: 416-537-0998 BBS: 416-532-0456 Security Guardian Summary: Full featured PC security program. Cost US$250 Rating (1-4, 1 = poor, 4 = very good) "Friendliness" Installation 2 Ease of use 3 Help systems 2 Compatibility 2 Company Stability 2 Support 3 Documentation 2 Hardware required 3 Performance 3 Availability 2 Local Support 2 General Description: Mid-range functionality security package. Comparison of features and specifications User Friendliness Installation The program is shipped on two unprotected 720K diskettes. As is usual with general security programs, installation is taken to mean only copying the files to the hard disk. However, the configuration is menu-driven and relatively straightforward. Ease of use Menu driven. Help systems Online help is available. You may also build help screens for your own menu items. Compatibility As usual for an operation restricting program. Company Stability Unknown. Company Support The company is accessible via the usual channels, plus Internet access and an 800 number that even works from Canada. My experience with them has been amicable, but has indicated some problems with shipping. Documentation The documentation is reasonably clear in terms of the operation of the program itself, but fails to fully explain some of the program functions. For example, the system is intended to run as an extensible menu front end to DOS. While the operations of the edit menu itself are fairly clear, the creation of new menus is less so. Again, as with many security products, there is no general discussion of security. The full value of the system may not be achieved without further study. System Requirements No special hardware is required. The serial and parallel ports may be secured, as well as the floppy disks. Performance Security of the system is not absolute, but a careful setup should be adequate for most purposes. The program has most features one would want, and is good value at the price. The system does not provide protection against boot sector viral programs. Local Support Internet access and an 800 number. Support Requirements A security background would be helpful in order to take full advantage of the package. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 PCSECGRD.RVW 931217 ====================== roberts@decus.ca slade@freenet.victoria.bc.ca Rob_Slade@mindlink.bc.ca "No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft" - H. G Wells Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)