Review: Bullguard Gamer's Edition security suite

An expanded version of the company’s Internet Security 8.0, Bullguard’s Gamer’s Edition includes the same core modules: Anti-virus, Anti-spyware, Firewall, Spam filter, Backup and Support. They’re a competent, well-integrated set of programs on a par with anything else on the market.

The Backup module, while being fairly simple, is a welcome inclusion. The Support module is a neat trick, too, integrating email assistance into the package. Bullguard also claims to respond to queries within an hour, every day; our query was answered in 41 minutes.

The gaming features are grouped in a new, separate Gaming module. Here, you can specify how the suite behaves whenever you’re busy blasting away baddies or levelling up your troll. Crucially, you can suppress all messages - firewall warnings, update pop-ups, and so on. You can also turn off email monitoring, restrict virus scanning and open or block certain network ports. In fact, there’s a whole list of special tweaks you can implement, all geared towards giving you fast, uninterrupted gameplay.

Every game can have its own settings. These are held in a profile, which springs into action whenever the game runs. You get profiles for several dozen current games straight out of the box, and Bullguard promises to provide new ones via updates. You can add your own, too - it’s just a matter of linking to a game’s .exe file.

Gamer’s Edition is £5 cheaper than Internet Security 8.0. However, you only get 1GB of online backup storage (instead of 5GB) and a licence for just one PC (instead of three). That’s going to be a turn-off for many users, which is a shame. Even so, it’s still competitively priced, and the Gaming module is such a smart idea we fully expect it to be copied in rival suites.

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