Vista-certified, are you sure?

Vista-certified? What’s that? Silly me, I thought it meant that Vista-certified programs--like Trend Micro Internet Security 2007—will work on Windows Vista. Oops, my mistake.

The firewall works (apparently) but the scanning function, either scheduled or manual, does not. It’s not like my computer is an old workhorse over-stuffed with the accumulated detritus of years of use. This computer is less than three weeks old, and “Vista-certified” IS2007 has *never* worked properly.

Over the past week and a half Trend Micro customer support has suggested 5-6 different ways to fix this scanning issue. None of them have worked. Customer support was prompt—I received replies by e-mail within 24 h—until recently, where it’s now been approaching three days since my e-mail to them, which all can be summarized as, “I followed your instructions but scanning still not working. What do I try next?”.

At one point, at their request, I sent Trend Micro my system information. I was mildly surprised to be subsequently told that I had McAfee antivirus software and that it was interfering with IS2007. I say “mildly” because the day I purchased my computer I spent some time uninstalling pre-installed software, and I have a dim, murky recollection that McAfee antivirus might have been one of them. Anywhoo, following Trend Micro’s instructions, I performed a “forced” uninstallation of McAfee to remove anything left behind after using Vista’s “add/remove programs”. Scanning was still non-functional. I only mentioned this particular failure because days later I realized that I could no long sync with my HTC s620. To cut the story short, after much head scratching and “woe is me’s” I discovered that the “forced” uninstallation of what may or may not have been McAffee was the culprit. Luckily I had an appropriate system restore point—otherwise I would have been really annoyed. Needless to say, but I’ll say it anyways, this temporary hiccup did nothing to encourage confidence in Trend Micro’s technical support.

I’m tempted to move on to other software even though I have more than 8 months left in my paid subscription. I’ve always liked the free version of Zone Lab’s firewall. This is a little odd, now that I think about it: I stopped using ZoneAlarm because its True Vector Service started crashing repeatedly on my previous computer. Perhaps I’ll uninstall IS2007, and just install Trend Micro PC-cillin 2007—would this be worthwhile? I’m not sure. As I mentioned, the IS2007 firewall appears to work, but maybe there’s a conflict/issue within the IS suite and my computer, an issue absent with just the Trend Micro antivirus software.

Hmmm, maybe I’ll try that, then. I already have PC-cillin 2007 for Vista, so no additional $$$ will be involved, and I’ll give ZoneAlarm another try.