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.

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.

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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.

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.

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 – 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.

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.

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.

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Norton Review – Full Report

I don’t use Norton products on my personal home systems. Although Norton has a long history in internet security I have had poor user experiences with their installation and uninstall user interfaces. They have shown they can develop their defenses to meet the new threats but their user experience has been slow to improve in my personal view.

Protection against ransomware, which is an increasing security threat, comes with their malware and antivirus protection. They have moved their offering in 2017 to a security suite approach that adds extra complementary features to their previous antivirus focus.

Norton Features

Multi-Device options and User Support

Norton Security has three levels of subscription for non-business use, a single device subscription, a three device subscription and a five device subscription. Although not reviewed here, there are small business license packs for up to 20 devices with a pro rata charge beyond this.

Operating system Support is for the Windows operating system from XP onwards. However, on Windows 10 The Edge browser is not supported

For Mac OSX the current and two previous versions are supported. However, password management features and family and family Premier features are not supported on Macs.
On smartphones, the Android operating system 4.0.3 or later is supported but a Google play app must be installed.

iOS 8 or later are supported but note that Norton Family and Family Premier features are not supported on iOS systems.

Norton comes with 100% virus removal guarantee. Full support live 24/7 and help online or by telephone is included for all subscriptions.

Security Features

Norton antivirus has been replaced by Norton Security, an all-in-one security solution. This is a single solution that covers your computers, smart phones, and tablets with Norton’s comprehensive patented technology.

As well as the expected antivirus functions the Suite also

• recognizes risks such as such as phishing sites and unsafe social media content.
• has a password storage function
• features to keep personal information private.
• Online storage is included, with the amount of storage depending on the number of devices covered. This can be useful for online storage and backup of photos, music, and documents.
• checking to ensure applications are up to date with the latest version which is important for making sure you have security patches that protect against the most recently recognized threats.
• Performance evaluation and speed up is also offered.
• Assistance with recovery of stolen devices is also a included.

Trying Norton again

Some years ago I had some issues which led me to replace Norton with McAfee, which at that time had a more generous installation policy and more robust user interface.

I decided to try Norton again with their free trial. Trying to install on a standard Windows 10 PC got me stuck waiting on downloading to complete. There was a warning that did slide onto the screen that Norton had expired so Windows Defender was being activated. However, the Norton Downloader continued running without an explanation and required me to manually cancel it.

Norton installed on my Macbook but on uninstall put my Macbook into a black screen status. This required a restart to correct but a newbie user may have had difficulty sorting the problem, especially if they were under time pressure. On Googling, I could find no Norton or other sites addressing this issue.

Recommendation

Norton Security can be used to protect multiple devices but you need to consider the limitations of the implementations on the various systems.

Although technically very competent, in my view, more user-friendly solutions are available.

McAfee Review – Full Report

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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.

Protection against ransomware, which is an increasing security threat, comes with their malware and antivirus protection. As they are are a large company and part of the Intel family of computer companies they can give plenty of support, including real-time chat.

McAfee Features

Multi-Device options and User Support

McAfee Total Protection comes in three levels of multi-device protection, a subscription protecting up to 10 devices, the second level of subscription for five and also a single device subscription option.

As well as protecting Windows devices, Mac computer systems are covered for anti-malware functions firewall Network Manager and a web safety tool.

All come with 100% virus removal guaranteed or your money back. All of these subscriptions include 24/7 support.

Security Features

McAfee has, of course, antivirus scanning but also protects you from risky websites and dangerous downloads.

Extra features are

• Apple device protection providing antitheft and fire protection for iOS tablets and smartphones.
• Android tablets and smartphones have data backup antitheft functions at privacy and Wi-Fi protection.
• Easy Password Management. To allow people to use stronger passwords McAfee includes a True Key account which allows the central storage of passwords that can be used across your devices. Also, an anti-spam function is provided.
• Keep your kids safe with parental controls.
• Protect your privacy with encryption software. Encryption scrambles your files with a password so that you can control who can unscramble and read your files or communications.
• The ability to permanently delete sensitive digital files.

Recommendation

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

Why you need virus and adware protection

Computer viruses and adware are a common part of life on the Internet. A computer virus is a program that spreads by placing itself in files or other areas of the computer and then making copies of itself. Some viruses don’t cause much of a problem, while others may damage files and some may even destroy files. In the past computer viruses were spread by sharing discs and other sorts of portable media. Today the most common way for viruses to spread is through email messages. However, in some cases plugging a USB storage stick into a computer and using it can transfer viruses.

Viruses are dangerous because they can basically do anything that a program can do on your computer. Some viruses set out to damage files while some viruses may be aimed at spreading to other computers rather than damaging the computer they are on.

Risky Emails

Email messages mostly spread viruses by having an attachment, such as a text document or an image, or by including a clickable link in the email message. Depending on how your email client operates, even opening a message may be enough to load a virus onto your computer. Often viruses are spread by email messages made to look interesting and inviting but coming from an unknown source. You shouldn’t open anything in such an email message unless you trust the sender of the message. Sometimes an email message can be made to look like it comes from someone you know but is actually from another source. For this reason, even if you know the sender you should be wary about opening an unexpected attachment.

Removing Problems with Antivirus Software

Adware removal and virus removal with antivirus software goes in two steps. Firstly, the malware is identified by known signatures or by incorrect behaviours found by monitoring. Secondly, this malware is either quarantined or automatically removed. Quarantining allows restoring the files in cases where the identification is either in error due to similarities in program signatures or where a low risk of problems is acceptable. Automatic removal is often the step used for dangerous malware.

Antivirus software not only has the ability to remove adware and viruses but also has a process for updating its information so that it becomes aware of newly released viruses and malware. This update function is very important because the criminals producing viruses work to bypass antivirus software by changing the virus code. Updating antivirus software means that new or changed virus code can be detected and stopped.