Windows Defender – Keep or Replace?

Windows Defender - Keep or Replace

How we'll compare free and paid

Today we’re going to be having a look at the Windows Defender system that comes free with all your Windows installations. We’re going to have a look at to see whether it’s something you should keep or should you replace it with one of the paid antivirus systems?

We’ll have a look at what the Windows Defender security system is like in a standard Windows 10 implementation. This will give us a comparison with the features of other security software.

Windows Defender Security Centre

Look at Windows Defender by opening the Windows Defender Security Center. It has a number of areas you can look at:

Virus threat protection
How your device is performing
How the firewalls operating
How it particularly deals with apps and browsers
Also some family parental controls

Let’s go and look at the details of these.

If we look at the virus threat protection it provides, you have:

A scan history with any threats found
Options for a quick or advanced scan
Settings – you can go and have a look at virus and threat protection settings and see when the last update was.

Device performance and health is covered in the other section. In particular, it looks at what windows update issues you may have had how your storage capacity is going along with any device driver issues.

Firewall and network protection is next. For example, check if your connection is set as a public network.

Also there’s what is called app and browser control. If we go into this you can see we are warned depending on whether it has recognized the apps and files.

There is the family option area where are their parental controls. These aren’t activated by default.

That’s an overview of the Windows Defender security center so we can compare these options with what we find in other systems.

Extras paid systems offer

Now that seems okay so why wouldn’t I recommend Windows Defender? Well, looking more closely people have found that although it has a reasonable single line of defense it doesn’t really provide backup testing for other ways of picking up viruses. This means if something slipped through its first line of defense, which it may do if it’s a Zero Day Threat, which means it’s a very early release of a particular virus, then it’s not as good as other systems in picking this up with extra lines of defense.

Other antivirus systems will look at the behavior of the particular files and so even if it doesn’t recognize the signature of the file it may be able to pick it up with the behavior of the file. So for this reason, I recommend you go with the paid antivirus options. If you have a look at the other reviews and here you’ll see what the options are.

Personally I recommend McAfee Internet Security for Windows systems particularly because I’ve found that in my Windows system it seems to be the one that keeps the system running most smoothly while it’s doing its stuff in the background. Maybe it’s just my graphic drivers or something else about my system, but I have found that some of the other types of antivirus do introduce some instabilities to my Windows system so for that reason over the years I’ve settled on McAfee is my recommended system

My recommendation for Windows

McAfee vs Norton Pricing

Compare Pricing for McAfee Total Protection antivirus vs Norton Security Premium antivirus

McAfee Total Protection vs Norton Prices

McAfee costs less than Norton looking at April 2018 pricing. For similar McAfee and Norton suites here in Australia currently for a 5 device annual license, McAfee is A$119.95 discounted to A$45.95 and Norton is $164.99 discounted to A$94.99. You can see this in the side by side of snaps of the company websites today 5th April 2018. Norton does offer Tune-up and Backup functions included that McAfee doesn’t but that is going beyond comparing antivirus functions. At the end of the day, McAfee costs less.

I use McAfee products on my personal home systems. McAfee has a long history of being at the forefront of internet security. They have shown they can develop their defenses to meet the new threats to our security that appear every year. I’ve found my Windows systems are more stable using McAfee products compared to Norton’s but this may reflect my particular preferences in graphics cards and motherboards.

Protection against ransomware, which is an increasing security threat, comes with their malware and antivirus protection. McAfee has now left the Intel fold but carried with them a commitment to product enhancement. They’ve flagged deeper real-time activity monitoring as a focus.

Recommendation

McAfee Internet Security is great for home use to protect multiple devices. Use quick scanning most of the time.

Five tips to protect yourself from the dangerous virus zero-day attacks

Firstly, what are the zero-day attacks?

The idea of a day zero threat, also known as a zero-day threat, is that the good guys have had no time, literally zero days, to respond to a newly identified security weakness. If a new security weakness is found in an operating system like Windows or somewhere in the computer, either in software or hardware, and it is just announced to the public without special handling beforehand, within a few minutes of the announcement cybercriminals can attack people on the basis of that new weakness. This means the attack comes before any patches or security improvements can be distributed widely. This gives the cybercriminals a window during which they can more easily attack.

Cybercriminals also rely on the fact that a lot of that of patching or updating of software, even when a fix is available, is very variable. Updating may be done only on a semi-regular basis or not at all. A legacy piece of software may not be fixed at all is the original distributors are no longer maintaining it.

The value of advance warning

As soon as the weaknesses found cybercriminals do as much as possible to exploit that weakness to their own advantage. However, in the recent times that’s become less of a threat because there’s been a general consensus between the antivirus or virus researchers, cybersecurity researchers and the actual software or hardware vendors, such as Microsoft or Intel, such that if someone discovers a vulnerability then they will give a heads up to the people responsible for providing a security patch ahead of the actual public announcement information on the weakness. So, hopefully, these days there will have been a chance for the vendors to actually have either pre-emptively included a patch or fix, or be very close to distributing it, when the announcement is made. Occasionally, discoverers want announcements to line up with particular security conferences which may mean there is less slack in terms of when the announcement will be made. However, more commonly, people have withheld announcements for a significant period of time pending the vendor’s resolving the exploit.

When you look at these zero-day exploits an extra advantage is the exploit can be attacked by new software that’s not actually been used before so the signatures of this type of software won’t be in the antivirus databases. This helps it slip through undetected and have easy access to a widely available our security hole.

Two things are working against this risk, even if it uses a zero-day exploit:

Firstly, if you try to update a previously released virus to attack this new weakness then peoples’ antivirus databases may actually have that virus signature, or one close enough, in their system. That is, if you do have antivirus then it can defeat such a zero-day attack. However, they are hoping that there are enough people without antivirus or up-to-date antivirus, that a modification of a previous virus will slip through.

The second thing working against zero-day attacks is having real-time monitoring by the antivirus software or dedicated real-time monitoring software, such as Heimdal, that can pick up a day zero attempted exploit before it actually achieves anything just by noting that software behaving unusually. This is because when the virus is trying to use the exploit it is most likely going to be behaving a bit differently than a completely normal program. This will flag it to the real-time monitor or the antivirus software that there is some issue with that piece of software. It will be blocked, or at least it will ask you whether you trust the flagged software or whether you want to be blocked.

Once real-time monitoring is detected the new virus, along with the signatures marking that virus’s presence, can be sent back to the antivirus companies website so they can implement a detection for this exploit. This blocking due to signature detection or due to a real-time monitoring flag is an interim measure until the exploit is fully closed by patching of the underlying problem software.

Here are the 5 tips to protect yourself from day zero attacks:

Tip 1: Use antivirus software on your systems. We’ve seen that antivirus software can be active against them.

Tip 2: The other great defense is to patch your software in a timely fashion so that any newly discovered exploits are closed as soon as possible. Antivirus software often has an option that will automatically check major software on your system is patched up to date.

Tip 3: Real-time checking by antivirus software or dedicated monitoring software is really important for blocking zero-day attacks, so keep that option turned on.

Tip 4: It’s also important to listen for zero-day warnings in the news so you know if you have to take special precautions. Be particularly careful online if there is a zero-day attack around!

Tip 5: You may even consider going off-line for a few days, or until fixes are available if there is a particularly hard to deal with attack underway.

I hope you found this information and video helpful. Neil Brown reviews.com has many written and video reviews to help you find the antivirus software that’s best for you and also has great deals on security and Internet software. We keep up to date with what discounts and special deals are available.

Cheers for now, from Neil

Avast Free Antivirus Review and Test

Free Antivirus Software for 2017

Avast Free Antivirus Review – Full Report

Install and Test

Let’s have a look at the Avast free version of the antivirus system for Windows and walk through some of its features. First, we go to the Avast website and download the free antivirus system.

Avast Free webpage — Avast Free antivirus webpage

When you click on download, the browser starts the download of the installer. When we start up the install process, Windows asks for the OK to go ahead go ahead and when ok’ed the install process throws up a little splash screen showing that the antivirus is installing. After about three minutes it’s installed.

Initial Scan

First, it notifies us we’re protected and when we click continue it goes to a screen about privacy. Next screen gives the option of installing to other devices such as our smartphones. When it shows up its opening screen, it’s still installing but does provide the opportunity to run a Smart Scan. However, we find that if we try and run a Smart Scan, we’re just put on hold for 30 seconds without any progress indication. Presumably, it was finishing off the installation. Once it starts the scan, it takes about five minutes. On my system, it showed one issue detected which was weak passwords. When we click on resolve, it says that the passwords saved in our browser are potentially unsafe. I will skip the step at the moment as I use the Last Pass password manager.

Protection Menu

Now have a look at the system starting with the Protection menu side tab. See all the options in this screenshot:

Wi-Fi Inspector. We’ll look at the Wi-Fi inspector first. What it does is a network scan. This scan was quite a bit slower than my iPhone scanning App for the same network but, presumably, is doing some more port checking and other checks. It gives my network a clean bill of health. However, my PS4 gets a somewhat cryptic ID relating to its interface hardware whereas other scanners ID it as a PS4. When you look at other options, you see quite a few of these are locked. On some of the icons, it shows “new” but turns to locked once you’ve gone into it. This inclusion of locked features promotes upgrading to the paid version but is distracting and not helpful to the user interface experience.
Application Update checking. Next, we checked for application software updates It reports some as up-to-date, but it is not clear which applications are out of scope for this check.
Firewall is next on our tour but having a firewall service an upgrade option.
Sandbox is similarly a paid upgrade option.
Virus Chest, which is where quarantined files go is empty in this case because the initial post-install scan found nothing.
Ransomware Shield says ‘new’ on the icon, but we find it locked without a paid upgrade.
Rescue disk instructions say you should use this option to protect against future problems. You create a CD or USB, depending on what your system boot allows, to clean your system without actually having to go back into the system’s operating system.

Privacy Menu

Avast SecureLine VPN. Privacy side tab has the option to use an Avast SecureLine VPN (Virtual Private Network)
WebCam Shield requires upgrade option.
Sensitive Data Shield is also unavailable in the free version as is Data Shredder.
Password Manager Available as an option for saving passwords and sharing them across your systems.

Performance Menu

Cleanup Premium Fail

Cleanup Premium runs, but I must admit I gave up on trying to get this function to clean up my reasonably clean Windows 10 system. It just kept scanning and scanning and never reported anything. I note the full Cleanup option is an extra payment but the console should report that is the issue if that’s the case rather than leave me hanging.

Repeating the scan

In the Protection side tab Scanning option, you can have a look at a scan history showed the scans we’ve done. We’ll do another Smart Scan to see how it differs from our start-up scan which, as you’ll remember, ran for about five minutes. I found this scan took considerably longer (8 minutes), maybe because it was checking more stuff. We see it reports the weak password protection in the browser noted before plus it found unprotected sensitive documents. When we click on the ‘resolve’ button, it finds what it considers employment documents and other sensitive documents which are some PDFs on the system. If we say yes to the offer to protect them all, we find out another upgrade option appears, so it’s not very helpful to have all these options to keep pushing you towards upgrading. After leaving that menu, it now gives another push for a starter free trial option as an encouragement to get a free trial to lead to the paid version.

I trust you found this walkthrough useful. I’d love you to enter your name and email in the form on this page to subscribe to our weekly computer security news and review updates.

PROS ++

Good virus pickup in independent tests
Great pricing – free

CONS – – – –

Cleanup had problem
Paid Upgrade options clutter interface
Not clear what Application update check covers
Doesn’t check insecure documents on first scan

Recommendation

The problem with the Cleanup function puts Avast down a rung compared to free versions that can reliably complete cleanup in a reasonable time. Consider other vendors, such as Bitdefender, if free pricing is essential.

I personally use paid McAfee security and recommend that if a paid option is considered.

Adware : Spyware Overview

Spyware Overview

Spyware Defined

Spyware is computer code that tries to collect information about a person or company without them knowing. It may send this secretly to someone else, or take over a device without the owner knowing.

Types of Spyware

“Spyware” is mostly classified into four sorts: adware, method observes, tracking cookies, and trojans. Less common types include ones that “call home”, keyloggers, rootkits, and web beacons.
Spyware is mainly used for tracking and storing Internet customers’ motions on the Web and providing up pop-up ads to Internet users. Whenever spyware acts for malicious purposes, its presence is hidden from the user and is hard to find. Some spyware, such as keyloggers, may be legitimately installed by the owner of a shared, corporate, or public computer intentionally to observe users.
While the word spyware suggests software that monitors a user’s computing, the actions of spyware can extend beyond simple-minded monitoring. Spyware can compile almost any type of data, including personal information like internet channel-surf habits, user logins, and bank or credit account info. Spyware can also interrupt a user’s control of personal computers by installing additional software or redirecting web browsers. Some spyware can change computer actions, which can result in slow Internet connection velocities, unauthorized changes to browser settings or a modification to application settings.
Sometimes, spyware is included together with regular software or may come from a malicious website. It sometimes is added to expand the intended functionality of genuine software( determine the relevant paragraphs about Facebook, below ). In response to the arrival of spyware, a small industry has ricochetted up dealing in anti-spyware software. Extending anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized factor of computer protection patterns, especially for computers running Microsoft Windows. Some jurisdictions have extended anti-spyware constitutions, which target any software that is secretly installed to control a user’s computer.

Developments

. In the US, the word “policeware” can describe government trojan horse software used to intercept communications.
Use of the word “spyware” has lessened as these practices of tracking users has become mainstream with significant websites and data mining companies doing this. These follow regulations that allow monitoring consumers by the default settings of users and the language of terms-of-service agreements. In one documented case, on CBS/ CNet News reported, on March 7, 2011, in a journal an analysis divulging the practice of Facebook and other websites of tracking consumers’ browsing practices.

Pandra Review – Antivirus Adware Removal Tool Review

Panda Review for Windows 10

Panda Antivirus Software for 2017

Panda Review – Full Report

Panda Windows 10 Install

Let’s have a look at what Panda Internet Security installs on our system. We go down to the system tray area to see what options we have when we right click.

There is a general GUI, a virtual keyboard, a gaming and multimedia mode, the option to share some product suggestions online, support help and the ability to turn off the system. So let’s go to the global protection GUI and do a scan.

Critical Area Scan

We’ll choose the critical area scan to see how long that takes. Once started, as usual showing the current items as scanned and a running total of the number of items scanned. A scan on my standard Windows 10 system took under four minutes. We have the option to shut down the computer when we complete by checking a box, but I usually let it complete the scan and immediately review the outcome. As I’m using a clean system, I’m not expecting any detections.

Panda Feature Set

Let’s look at the other options.
The other options include:
Protecting more devices so we can protect Android, Mac, and iOS devices. Details of what products we have can be entered into my account online, and then we can enter an activation code into the device.
A PC tuneup option can clean up free space. We will see how it goes with looking at the system, Internet Explorer, MS Edge, and Google Chrome. After looking mainly at the recycle bins, temporary files and registry files in the system, and temporary Internet files for the other systems the Panda PC Clean-up function says there 40 gigs of temporary files we can provide for removal. However, when the Clean-up completed, I see it’s freed up 4 gigs of space not the 40 gig promised us. Since it reports we have 37 gigs of recoverable space, I’ll let it try again although I expect to recover nothing. After running, it did indeed not free up any space, so I see this misreporting as a negative for Panda.

There are many options it gives us when we look over the drop-down menu on the front console. You see items for antivirus, firewall, process monitor, USB protection, Wi-Fi protection, a rescue feature, parental controls, data shield, application controls, PC tuneup, online backup, ana antitheft.

Personal Information Security

There are tools available which are a virtual keyboard, a file shredder, a file encryptor, password management, and purchasing more protection from their store.

Additional Purchase Options

Regarding the option to buy more protection for more devices, the costs for this seem high compared to competitors’ offerings such as the almost unlimited protection in McAfee’s offerings.
Parental control gives the menu options of turning parental controls on, denying websites, and viewing a list of sites visited. You can set up multiple users for fine-tuning control.
Now see what they’re offering for online backup. The offering has a free option at mozy.com of 2 gig so it’s a working with a third-party provider rather than doing it in-house. You can purchase more backup as needed.

PROS ++

Scores well in real-world detection tests
Easy to install

CONS – –

Incorrectly reported ability to recover free space in PC Tune-up option
Less generous multi-device coverage than some competitors

Recommendation

Panda scores well in real-world protection tests. Use quick scanning most of the time. The pricing options for extra devices seems more expensive than for some competitors.

McAfee Internet Security is great for home use to protect multiple devices as it has a generous multi-device protection.

Trend Micro Review – Antivirus Review

Trend Micro Antivirus Review - Neil Brown Reviews Channel

Trend Micro Antivirus Software for 2017

Trend Micro Review – Full Report

Let’s have a look at the Trend Micro Internet Security system to see what features it has. We’ll step through them one by one, so you can think of whether it’s what you want out of an Internet security suite.

Main Console

With Trend Micro installed we right-click its icon in the system tray area (bottom right on the bar) to open the main console and see what options we have.

After closing any splash screen, you find options relating to devices, options for the security settings for real-time scanning and web filtering, an option for a PC health checkup to optimise the performance of the computer and, finally, an option with guidance regarding how you can protect your other devices.
A big, central button is the control for the scanning function of this antivirus.

PC Health Check-up

Let’s look at the health checkup. When we run the optimization, we note the optimization score is a composite measurement indicating a faster computer start, how much disk space is available, if it needs any significant updates and whether you might have any privacy concerns when using the computer as configured. Opening the details panel in my PC shows we can reduce computer start-up time by cutting out the Teamviewer app running at start-up. However, as we are currently using Teamviewer, I will leave that in the start-up run list. The program’s checking shows we can regain some disk space by emptying the recycle bin. It also checks if any private information is at risk and flags when the browser is protecting passwords. The Internet security suite has another system for password management that Trend Micro feels is superior to the browser-based systems.

Privacy Protection

Returning to the top level options, we next look at their privacy features. There is a privacy scanner that avoids providing too much personal information and social networking protection which shows which links in the social network are risky. There is data theft protection which stops hackers and spyware is from stealing sensitive data or sending out too much information from your computer. They provide a data area where we can set up a Folder Shield which will protect from ransomware. Ransomware is a malicious program that locks your files to prevent your access. This Trend Micro option doesn’t protect the whole computer but protects a designated folder, such as the main document folder. In this test, we configured it to protect our documents folder. There is an option for secure erase to enable us to remove files so no one can ever recover them. Password management lets you replace what your browser is doing regarding passwords. This feature also shares your password across multiple devices as a convenience.

Cloud Storage Scanning

You can scan your cloud storage to make sure there are no viruses that you place there previously. If you were to move files back onto your system, you could introduce viruses from the cloud back to your PC. There is also a Vault that has a password protected folder to prevent others from seeing your sensitive files.

Parental Controls

Finally, there is a family option where you can introduce parental controls that limit which software and websites your kids may use. It monitors their online activity and blocks inappropriate images in web searches.

Summary and Recommendation

The above are the different options that appear on the top level menu of the trend Micro control console. This range of features is on par with standard security suite offerings from other vendors. However, some of the support found as standard from other vendors is wrapped into a premium, more expensive purchase option. For this reason, I don’t recommend Trend Micro. Personally, I use and recommend McAfee security software for reasons reviewed elsewhere on this site. I trust you found this useful.

Not Recommended

PROS ++

Provides extra protection against ransomware for a designated file area.
Covers a range of device types.

CONS – –

Support offered as standard by others requires purchase of the premium package
Covers lower number of devices at its standard price point.

Recommendation

I don’t recommend Trend Micro Internet Security for the reasons above. Personally, I use and recommend McAfee security software for reasons reviewed elsewhere on this site.

Kaspersky Review: the Russian option

Kaspersky Antivirus Software for 2017

Kaspersky Review video

Kaspersky Review – Full Report

In this Kaspersky review, we look at Kaspersky Internet Security suite. What features it has, what downside and pluses, and where you can get it if you go ahead with buying it. Join me, as we step through it.

Kaspersky Review Overview

I found one of the downsides of the Kaspersky system is complexity. Although it offers many features, this could be overwhelming for some people. Your family members may find the functionality is a little bit complicated for them. So I suggest you consider going with one the other available antivirus systems. I recommend McAfee Internet Security. It keeps out of the way while doing a great job.

Why my Kaspersky Review?

I am from Australia down here in Brisbane. Yet, we get the same viruses as anywhere else in the world. The Internet is just one big soup that you are swimming in with much the same happening everywhere. We need adware removal tools, antivirus and ransomware detection like anywhere else. So we do not expect any difference between different parts of the world. This is the case unless there has been a particular spyware or malware that is targeting a specific area. This targeting can happen sometimes. People may have a financial or political reason to attack a particular geographic area.

Let’s install the Kaspersky system. First, we click OK to allow the installer to change our computer. Download of the application begins with checking for software compatibility. It then does any updating required and starts downloading the main application itself. During installation, Kaspersky makes some recommendations. It recommends to turn on the protection agent. Also recommended is that you take a tour through the system when we have finished the install.

Once the Kaspersky application has installed, we can do a quick tour of the features.

Kaspersky review extra features

There is a feature called Safe Money. When you make purchases, it shows are you doing this from the right website and over a secure connection.

Next, it secures the WebCam, so others can not view you without you knowing.

You have the option for private browsing and also activating parental control features.

Tools to keep you safe

We can go and have a look at the tools on the menu.
A software update checker looks for things that need updating. This checking is a security feature because updates have all recent security patches included.

Next is a software cleaner that helps remove any software that is unlikely to be useful.

We have the option of setting beginner mode which only allows using trusted applications

There is a Virtual Prive Network (VPN) for a secure connection

Cloud protection is a feature keeping you up-to-date on viruses that system can detect.

You have the option of using the on-screen keyboard. This keyboard is in case you think someone is using a keyboard logger to track what you are typing

You can view the quarantine area to see what is in there for your protection.

They tell us to do a vulnerability scan. This scan is having a look for applications that aren’t patched with up to date fixes. They also tell us to configure safe browsing immediately.

You have a privacy cleaner that completely removes files. This secure removal is so others can not use an undelete function to read the file.

You have the option of creating a rescue disk. This disk can help if your system does get damaged by viruses. For example, a rescue disk and help restore a previous good state.

As well, there Windows troubleshooting available.

Kaspersky review of scans

Now, look at scanning that has options of a quick scan, full scan, or a custom scan. Note that Before scanning we first update the virus signature databases. This update is to make sure we are not missing any new viruses.

When we do a quick scan, we find the scan was pretty quick. The Quick Scan notifies us when done, and we can see a report on the scan’s findings.

How does Safe Money work? When online payments are secure and protected you see a green line around the browser.

Kaspersky review of the portal

Kaspersky has an online user portal. You can review your licensing, protection and recommendations. You can look at how to protect all our devices by adding extra devices to our list of protected devices. The portal also has a parental controls area. Here you create passwords and do set up of the parental control options.

What privacy protection covers are private browsing plus website checking plus WebCam access control.

Subscribe to keep up to date

So for updated information on computer security subscribe using the form on this page. You get notifications when new videos and articles appear.

We do uploads that cover Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone and other smart phone security. This will to keep you up with recent developments and the changing options in the marketplace. Thank you for reading this and remember to subscribe for our great emails. Bye for now.

Extra features in Kaspersky Review

Safe Money. When you make purchases, it shows are you doing this from the right website and over a secure connection.
There is a Virtual Prive Network (VPN) for a secure connection
Secures the WebCam, so others can not view you without you knowing.
Keep your kids safe and supervised with parental controls.
Protect your privacy with File Shredder function to completely delete sensitive files.

Kaspersky Lab

PROS +++

Strong antivirus by independent testing
Large number of feature options
Protect multiple types of devices with consolidated license

CONS – – –

Number of features can be confusing
Russian background of this company
Fewer devices protected than current base offerings of competitors

Recommendation

Kaspersky Total Security is a strong antivirus. Click below to buy

The number of features may confuse new users. Consider another antivirus suite if a simpler user experience is wanted.

Bitdefender Review: MacBook Pro Install Walkthrough & Features

Why a Bitdefender Review?

Here at Neil Brown Reviews, we are reviewing antivirus systems. Why? There are a lot out there making it confusing as to what you choose, so will go through the different steps of using the systems, looking at them, loading them, and running them. Most systems are more than just adware removal tools. After you read this Bitdefender review you can decide yourself which fits your approach and your family’s approach. Sometimes how you share these things with your family is just important as how you can use it yourself!

Bitdefender Review on the MacBook Pro

Bitdefender Review Stand-alone and Suite — Bitdefender Stand-alone and Suite

Bitdefender Total Security is the Bitdefender current, complete protection offer. Bitdefender is taking a suite of functions approach that is becoming more common in the computer security software arena. This suite approach is replacing the stand alone antivirus sitting alongside other separate packages doing other security tasks. However, single function antivirus is available.

Let’s see what it does on the Mac.

Ransomware Protection

Does it handle ransomware? Yes. They claim advanced ransomware protection. Ransomware is a category of software which blocks access to your computer files until you pay some money or Bitcoin with the hope of being given an access key. What Bitdefender does for that ransomware protection is presumably some activity and function analysis of the suspect file, but it doesn’t specify the approach used.

Wi-Fi & Ransomeware Protection Screenshot — Wi-Fi & Ransomeware Protection

Wi-Fi Security Feature

Bitdefender also has a Wi-Fi security adviser; this means that you are aware of the safeness or the dodginess of any Wi-Fi connection you’re on. So particularly at cafes, hotels, and airports, it’s a boon.

Installing Bitdefender Walkthrough

Let’s have a look at the Bitdefender software doing an install. To begin, we will have to read and accept the license and then start the install. When the install starts, we have to put in our system password to show that we are happy for the installer to modify our system. Once started it writes files to disk and installs this first step pretty quickly. When that step of installation finishes, it takes you to the central dashboard where first thing it does is download other files for the install. We will let it keep downloading the extra files, probably virus signature files because these are frequently updated so that the system is aware of the most recent malware that is on the Internet. After a four and a half minute download, there is unpacking the downloaded data and adding to the system to finalize the installation.
Now that that’s complete we’ll have a look at what the other features are. There next pops up a dialogue for Time Machine protection. To turn this on we must enter our system password to allow Bitdefender to change our system. Time Machine is the Mac built-in backup system. Bitdefender keeps these backups protected. A dialogue confirms this is now active if we opt for this protection.

Bitdefender Time Machine protection screenshot — Bitdefender offers Time Machine security

Bitdefender Review Antivirus Scan

Following this, we can go to a scan. Bitdefender has a good reputation for the quality of the malware scan engine. This is the part of the software responsible for finding malware before it can run.

Bitdefender Mac scan optons screenshot — Bitdefender Mac scan options

Bitdefender shows options of full-scan, quick scan or a custom scan. To see how quickly a quick scan runs though we started and it shows which items are scanning along with a completion progress bar. After 14 minutes the MacBook Pro 250G Solid State Drive is finished scanning.

Bitdefender on Mac scan done report screenshot — Bitdefender on Mac scan report

I can now go on to use the machine with it fully protected by Bitdefender antivirus on the MacBook.

McAfee Review : iPhone review with feature walkthrough

Mcafee Review of iPhone Internet Security features

We’re going have a look at the McAfee Internet Security suite, in particular, what it offers for an iPhone. In the first photo we have an iPhone 7 Plus with the email from McAfee giving me a link to the Mobile Protection site and also if I wanted to download on Windows or OS X it has the link also.

They give us an activation code. There is also a link to True Key by Intel security, however, I already use the Last Past password system so I don’t use this.

Setting up Howto

Clicking on “download” takes you to McAfee Mobile Security in the iPhone App Store which uses screenshots to introduce the features: 1) a media vault 2) contacts backup 3) find device features. It shows an example of backing up photos with the McAfee vault and also shows that if someone tries to decode the vault password then they take a snapshot of the person.

Apple Watch App Option

In the App Store, there are no reviews currently. Note that the app install offers an Apple watch App as well.

Once installed when you open it you see a welcome screen and by clicking get started I accept the license agreement and privacy notice.

On the welcome screen, we click the “get started”.

We begin to set things up by confirming the username, which is an email address, then continue with allowing the app to send notifications because might be telling us something important about risks we’re facing.

Features: Find Device, Protect Contacts, Media Vaults

For the Find Devices option, we have location services turned on to locate us for this purpose. We opt to protect our contacts by backing them up but we should have other iPhone backups. But it’s best to back them up as well for maximum security. After a short pause, it’s fully backed up our contacts gives us a date of the backup. Another feature is SOS which is saving the device location if your battery is low so if you’ve lost your device and the batteries run down then it will have saved the last location of the device just before the battery runs down. Next, it offers to set up our Vault. Put in your password 6 digit key. When you have a look at the media vault by entering the pin it gives the option to add photos to our vault. We can directly use our camera, I’ve taken a shot of my MacBook pro.

Protect All Devices Option

There shows next the option to protect more devices. The app menu gives you the option to let someone else know about the app, give rating or feedback, and shows the version number. It also gives you access to the license agreement and privacy notice again.

In summary, that’s the McAfee Security for mobile devices with the media vault, contacts backup and Find Device option. So now you’ve seen what Mac offers on an iOS device you should take that into account when you’re considering what Internet security system you’ll get for your protection of all your devices.

Thanks for reading this and if you enjoyed this bookmark this site and also fill out your name and email on the right to make sure that you hear about all the new reviews, info article, and videos that we produce in the computer security area.