GFI Software today unveiled the latest editions of the company’s security products, VIPRE Antivirus 2012 and VIPRE Internet Security 2012.

And while much of the competition are trying to win you over by adding ever more malware-hunting features, GFI are taking a different tack, concentrating just on the basics, but making them as simple to use as possible.

This starts with a more streamlined installation process. Everything’s up and running in a click or two, no need to reboot, with sensible default settings ensuring you’re protected right away.

The user interface has also been simplified. Everything you need to know – protection status, last and next scan times, subscription expiration date and more – is displayed on the opening screen, where you can also initiate a new scan or download definition updates at a click.

VIPRE Internet Security 2012 includes the core features you’d expect in any security suite, many of which have been enhanced this time around. So the firewall is now more intelligent, for example, using whitelisting of known safe applications to reduce the number of alerts. The spam filter is able to work at the protocol level, enabling it to protect any POP3 client. While browsing protection blocks dangerous downloads and keeps you away from malicious websites.

This is still primarily an essentials-only suite, so there’s no online backup, no parental controls, no sandboxing. But there are a few bonus extra features in both Antivirus and Internet Security 2012. So the Secure File Eraser securely deletes confidential files so they can’t be recovered, while the History Cleaner can clear your tracks in Windows and a few browsers and applications. And the PC Explorer displays low-level system details which may help you diagnose an infection: downloaded ActiveX controls, startup programs, Internet Explorer BHOs, HOST file changes, LSPs, Shell Execute hooks, and more.

The key advantage of the new products, though, is that they’re so lightweight. Even when scanning your system and displaying the program’s interface, we saw no more than three running processes, which rarely reached 10% CPU utilisation and consumed under 50MB of RAM (dropping to 5-6MB when idle).

The new VIPRE 2012 range really should be able to protect your system without noticeably slowing it down, then. And if that sounds appealing, then try it for yourself: trial versions of VIPRE Antivirus 2012 ($39.95) and VIPRE Internet Security 2012 ($49.95) are available now.