PC Magazine has reviewed eight of the leading security suites in a must read for anyone considering buying an all-in-one security solution. As a surprise to me, PC Mag rated Norton Internet Security 2007 ranked high on their list; I find that Norton accounts for many of my customers’ slow computers&mash;and misses many viruses that a light-weight anti-virus like AVG catches.

Not surprisingly, however, McAfee Total Protection ranked poorly. It’s all-but-the-kitchen-sink approach provides modules that, at best, are of dubious value and, at worst, don’t play well together or don’t work well at all.

The Editor’s Choice this time around is ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6.5, which seems to jibe with members’ reviews on PCMag.com. (Kaspersky Internet Security 6 was also a member favorite.)

My view? Security suites add complexity to your system and are the major cause of system slowdowns. As each vendor races to complete a checklist and add features to stay ahead of competitors, users are faced with buying new hardware to accommodate the software and spending more time configuring the suite. Users are often better off with light-weight (and free) alternatives that simply work.