The two leading purveyors of anti-virus software - Symantec (Norton) and McAfee - have for several years been adding value to their basic product by bundling it in suites with related security software. McAfee's latest offering in this field is Internet Security Suite 2005, which works in four specific areas: anti-virus, firewall, privacy and anti-spam. There's one notable exception from this list, which we'll come to in a moment.

Anti-virus software is still the main thrust and McAfee's anti-virus labs are as good as anyone's. The company supplies regular updates and is notably quick off the mark with protection against new threats. You can set up the software to scan all incoming e-mail or, by default, incoming and outgoing. If your outgoing mail includes substantial attachments, these checks can take a while and the program pops up a window to tell you what it's doing, rather than sticking a more discreet reminder in the utility tray.

You can schedule a full scan of your system to take place automatically at a frequency you set, and you should do this at least once a week to catch any viruses that have slipped through the net.

McAfee's Personal Firewall+ is not quite so vital if you're running Windows XP SP2 or sitting behind a router on a broadband connection, but it's more effective than relying on the Windows software alone and includes a good status display of recent attacks and the ability to trace them to their source (though what you're going to do then is debatable).

The Privacy Service included in Internet Security Suite 2005 is the least obvious form of protection, but in fact it blocks Web bugs you might inadvertently pick up from sites you visit, blocks pop-up ads - though current versions of Windows do this too - and provides a secure Shredder application to thoroughly delete unwanted files from your hard drive.

The most annoying part of Privacy Service is that you have to log onto it each time you start up your PC, which is just another delay at the start of your working day, particularly if you don't immediately want to use the Internet. It's a shame the logon procedure can't be combined with Windows XP's logon.

SpamKiller is McAfee's anti-Spam defence and it enables sophisticated filtering to remove Spam messages from your in-box. Many ISPs now offer automatic Spam filtering, but McAfee's is a multi-layered program, so you can develop different strategies for different kinds of junk e-mail. The program can show you a breakdown of blocked Spam, so you can tell which type you're getting most of... we bet it's pharmaceuticals.

The missing element of security in Internet Security Suite 2005 is Adware and Spyware removal. These two forms of illicit intervention on your computer are becoming increasingly annoying, and software companies offering products like Ad-Aware, SpySweeper and XoftSpy make their livings removing them. McAfee has also recently introduced McAfee AntiSpyware, but hasn't incorporated it in the Internet Security Suite 2005 product. A discounted upgrade would be a generous gesture.

The four parts of McAfee's Internet Security Suite 2005 work well together to provide a much increased level of Internet security. AntiSpyware needs to be incorporated into the suite, as this is an increasing threat, but other than this, the £50 package (£85 for a three-user licence) is a sound investment.