In Issue 284 we asked you how many times the word 'Free' appeared on the cover (see image above). It was a fiendish question, so we were impressed that so many of you emailed us the right answer - which is 490.

If anyone knows if this is a world record, please tell us!

Bitdefender Internet Security 2012 £18.49 (one year, one PC)
www.bitdefender.co.uk

FEATURES ★★★★★  PERFORMANCE ★★★★★  
EASE OF USE ★★★★★  VALUE FOR MONEY ★★★★★ 

Bitdefender’s anti-virus tools and signature database (the list of activities it recognises as malware at work) are used by a number of other anti-malware suites we’ve reviewed in this Group Test, including BullGuard, G Data and F-Secure. But each program’s accuracy depends on how this detection software is implemented. Factors such as the stage at which potential threats are scanned, the software’s default options and what it allows its users to tinker with can all affect performance.

Our tests favour programs that defend with the least amount of fuss and explain what’s happening in simple language. The software should also keep you informed about what action it’s taken on your behalf.

Bitdefender met all the criteria on our wish-list, scanning and blocking malware from the web before it had a chance to run, but still displaying a pop-up to tell us exactly what had been blocked and why. It protected our PC against every virus we exposed it to, and didn’t let us down with false positives either, with none of our harmless test software flagged as potentially malicious.

Bitdefender’s interface has also had a facelift and it’s now visually arresting and very clear. The main page shows the status of your key anti-virus, firewall and anti-spam modules, along with the detection engine’s update status. If you scroll right, you’ll be able to check on other components, including parental controls, privacy settings and a system tune-up kit.

If you buy a boxed copy from an online retailer, rather than downloading it from Bitdefender’s website, Internet Security 2012 can be bought for as little as £20 for a single-PC licence.

VERDICT ★★★★★

It’s hard to find fault with Bitdefender Internet Security because it has so much going for it. The software coped with all the security problems we threw at it and achieved a perfect score in our false-positive tests. We found the integrated suite for £18.49 at Amazon, which is a very reasonable price to pay for perfect protection.

Epson Stylus SX445W  ★★★★
£50
www.epson.co.uk
FEATURES ★★★★  PERFORMANCE ★★★★★  EASE OF USE ★★★★  VALUE FOR MONEY ★★★★ 

Epson’s Stylus SX445W is an inexpensive all-in-one printer for typical home users who aren’t doing vast amounts of printing and scanning, but need the device ready and waiting for when they do. The printer has a colour LCD screen, which makes basic functions like copying relatively easy, and there’s a built-in card reader, so you can scan to and print directly from a memory card. Or you connect it to a PC by USB or Wi-Fi and control the printer from there.

Photo printing was slow, but the results are worth the wait, with smooth shading, realistic skin tones and fairly accurate reproductions of pale colours. We found a slight magenta tint, but  because the effect is consistent across the board, you can compensate the driver’s colour balance in the advanced settings tab. The SX445W produces sharp, clear mono text, and our image-loaded colour documents had smooth, accurate colours. Small text is legible, even when printed in tiny fonts, although close examination reveals that it’s a little wobbly around the edges. As with the photo printing, however, it was slow when printing at best quality. It’s possible to speed things up with the draft mode, which is blisteringly fast, but the printing turns out pale and rough around the edges.

Running costs are about average, with mono prints costing 2.4p per page, though adding colour increases the costs. A page of mixed black and colour will cost 8.2p, while a 6x4in photo printed on Epson Premium Glossy paper costs 23p.

The 1,200dpi scanner does a brilliant job of capturing colour, shading and detail at high resolutions. Low-resolution text scans are also sharp and legible. Epson’s advanced scanner interface provides great control over sharpness, colour and image correction. Also included is ABBYY FineReader Sprint OCR software, which turns scanned documents into editable text or searchable PDFs.

VERDICT

In the balance between speed and quality, the Epson SX445W’s scales are definitely tipped in favour of quality. This is particularly true of its photo printing, which produced impressive pictures at a reasonable cost. But if you’ve got a lot of stuff to print, your patience will be tested. The scanner is also good, and the price is very affordable. We found the printer on Amazon for £50, which is excellent value. If quality is less important than speed or price for you, consider the Silver Award-winning HP Deskjet 3050A, which is cheaper and prints faster.