Some people regard antivirus products as being rather conservative, software which doesn't evolve very quickly. But that couldn't be more false - cyber criminals don't lose time in creating malware that's the same as last year's. If that were true, we wouldn't have to fight today against things like advanced ransomware. Viruses and other cyber crime vectors are evolving at a very fast pace, and antivirus products must follow suit. That's why antivirus products tend to be one of the most innovative types of software applications in the world, and that's also why we decided to award this year, the prize for the "Best Innovation" in the antivirus space. Read this article and learn which antivirus product is awarded our prize for innovation:

Digital Citizen - The Best Innovation of 2017 goes to F-Secure

For us, the "Best Innovation" prize goes to the antivirus product that stands out in the crowd with a tool or feature that has a powerful impact in securing Windows computers and devices. While it might not be the best antivirus product overall, it does have one innovative feature that makes a difference when compared to other antivirus products.

This year, we decided to give this prize to F-Secure, for their inclusion of the F-Secure Freedome VPN service, in their F-Secure Total Security and Privacy 2017 antivirus product, at no extra cost.

Why F-Secure Total Security and Privacy 2017?

Because F-Secure Total Security and Privacy 2017 is the only antivirus product that we tested which offers a full VPN service. It's called F-Secure Freedome, and it's better than other VPN services included in other antivirus products, for the following reasons:

• It offers unlimited bandwidth
• It doesn't cost you additional money. If you have paid for F-Secure Total Security and Privacy 2017, you get this complete VPN service included
• It offers extra protection when browsing the web, by blocking websites that may contain harmful content or steal personal or financial information
• It protects you against tracking systems while you browse the internet and use apps
• It uses strong encryption to protect all network traffic
• A recent study made by security experts on VPN services that also work on Android devices found that F-Secure's VPN service is one of the best in the bunch and one of the very few that provides real privacy and robust encryption

During our testing of F-Secure Total Security and Privacy, we've found that it is a security product with an efficient antivirus engine, that's also fast at scanning your computer. It also includes a web shield to protect you against online malware, and it has a small negative effect on your computer's speed and performance.

F-Secure Total Security and Privacy offers a minimalistic user interface, with very few settings and options to adjust, which will be loved by non-technical users.

Why offering a VPN service into a security suite is a good idea

Although having a good security solution installed on your computer is a must, such products protect you mostly against malware, network threats, malicious websites, and malicious emails. While an antivirus product can protect you against many types of threats, it can't protect you against every security risk. We believe that security suites should also include VPN services like F-Secure does. That's because only VPNs can keep you safe in a couple of specific ways:

• VPN services encrypt all the traffic that goes on through your network connection, making it virtually undecipherable. Nobody will be able to see what you do on the internet
• You get improved protection against criminals who monitor the networks to which you connect. A good VPN service will block anyone who tries to intercept your network traffic by using man-in-the-middle attacks or injecting malicious code in your web browsing sessions. It is especially useful when connecting to untrusted public wireless networks, like those you find in public places like cafe's, airports, trains and so on
• A VPN helps you remain anonymous, and anonymity often translates into better security

If you would like to learn more about VPN and why it is important, read this article: What is VPN? What does it do?.

What do you think about F-Secure Total Security and Privacy 2017?

In the end, we would like to congratulate F-Secure for the innovative approach they took with F-Secure Total Security and Privacy 2017 and to ask for your opinion. Did you test their F-Secure Freedome VPN service? Did you try their Total Security and Privacy Suite? What was your experience with these products?