Antivirus software comparison pcmag

This tool's ransomware protection focuses on the widespread problem of file-encrypting ransomware. After cutting off my test virtual machine from the network, I launched almost a dozen real-world encrypting ransomware samples. Emsisoft detected and blocked all of them, identifying them as suspicious or dangerous based on behavior. The ransomware style that encrypts your whole disk is much less common.

Indeed, Emsisoft didn't stop my one disk-encrypting ransomware sample from bricking the test system. Fortunately, it was a virtual machine; reverting to an earlier snapshot restored it to full functionality. As a further test, I configured a couple of the encrypting ransomware samples to launch at startup and rebooted the test system.

Not Emsisoft. It visibly got ahead of the threats, wiping them out just as it did when I launched them directly. Emsisoft also detected and blocked my very simple hand-coded ransomware simulator. For another view of ransomware protection, I use KnowBe4's RanSim ransomware simulator , which simulates 10 common ransomware behaviors along with two harmless encryption behaviors.

I don't zing products that fail the test, since its simulations are not truly ransomware, but passing is a good thing. Emsisoft wanted to quarantine the installer and the simulation launcher module; I had to rescue those two programs. After that, the simulator worked fine. Emsisoft blocked all 10 of the simulated ransomware attacks. It also blocked one of two innocuous encryption-related scenarios, but that's not so bad.

If it blocked your encryption program in the real world, you could just release the file from quarantine. Overall, Emsisoft behavioral detection proved very effective against file-encrypting ransomware. It didn't stop a disk-encrypting sample, but remember, this sample along with all the others was quarantined by the real-time File Guard component.

I had to turn off File Guard before I could even run this test. Emsisoft's Management Console offers very though remote management. This feature is especially useful for those installing Emsisoft protection across a business, but it's completely available to home users.

Remember that workspace you created back at install time? To start, you log into the My Emsisoft online portal, the same place you registered your license. Note that each login requires entry of a security code sent to the email address associated with your account.

Many antivirus products offer some degree of remote access. Webroot lets you view and control quite a bit, as does Sophos Home Premium. If you can do it locally, you can do it remotely. You can even access the local user interface remotely, so everything you learned about that interface carries over.

Launch a scan? View files in quarantine? Change settings? No problem! For a home user, this complete remote management can be a big selling point. Now you can install antivirus for your aging relatives and take care of their security problems without driving across town.

You can even lock local access to settings, disable confusing notifications, or hide such things as the purchase and renewal buttons. For the right user, this is fantastic. It earned a very good score in our hands-on malware protection test, and its behavior-based protection fended off all our encrypting ransomware samples. But in terms of basic antivirus protection there are better choices.

In the crowded field of antivirus protection, some products do stand out. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and Kaspersky Anti-Virus lead the field in test results from independent labs. McAfee AntiVirus Plus protects every device in your household. With its journal-and-rollback handling of unknown files Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus can even roll back ransomware activity.

These four have all earned Editors' Choice recognitions as top commercial antivirus products. They all cost more than Emsisoft, but they're worth the the extra money. Good 3. Bottom Line Emsisoft Anti-Malware effectively handles the basic tasks of malware protection, including ransomware, though it doesn't score at the top in testing. Its new Cloud Console offers comprehensive remote management to tech-savvy users.

Pros Good score in our malware protection test. Behavioral detection successfully blocked ransomware. Cloud Console allows full remote management. Surfing protection is browser independent. Want to know more? You can dig in for a detailed description of how we test security software.

Antivirus products distinguish themselves by going beyond the basics of on-demand scanning and real-time malware protection. Some rate URLs that you visit or that show up in search results, using a red-yellow-green color-coding system. Some actively block processes on your system from connecting with known malware-hosting URLs or with fraudulent phishing pages.

Software has flaws, and sometimes those flaws affect your security. Prudent users keep Windows and all programs patched, fixing those flaws as soon as possible. The vulnerability scan offered by some antivirus products can verify that all necessary patches are present, and even apply any that are missing.

Spyware comes in many forms, from hidden programs that log your every keystroke to Trojans that masquerade as valid programs while mining your personal data. Any antivirus should handle spyware, along with all other types of malware, but some include specialized components devoted to spyware protection. You expect an antivirus to identify and eliminate bad programs, and to leave good programs alone. What about unknowns, programs it can't identify as good or bad? Behavior-based detection can, in theory, protect you against malware that's so new researchers have never encountered it.

However, this isn't always an unmixed blessing. It's not uncommon for behavioral detection systems to flag many innocuous behaviors performed by legitimate programs. Whitelisting is another approach to the problem of unknown programs. A whitelist-based security system only allows known good programs to run. Unknowns are banned.

This mode doesn't suit all situations, but it can be useful. Sandboxing lets unknown programs run, but it isolates them from full access to your system, so they can't do permanent harm. These various added layers serve to enhance your protection against malware. Firewalls and spam filtering aren't common antivirus features, but some of our top products include them as bonuses.

In fact, some of these antivirus products are more feature-packed than certain products sold as security suites. Among the other bonus features you'll find are secure browsers for financial transactions, secure deletion of sensitive files, wiping traces of computer and browsing history, credit monitoring, virtual keyboard to foil keyloggers, cross-platform protection, and more. And of course, we've already mentioned sandboxing, vulnerability scanning, and application whitelisting.

We're seeing more and more antivirus products adding modules specifically designed for ransomware protection. Some work by preventing unauthorized changes to protected files. Others keep watch for suspicious behaviors that suggest malware.

Some even aim to reverse the damage. Given the growth of this scourge, any added protection is beneficial. Your antivirus utility works in the background to keep out any faint possibility of infestation by malware, but its abilities don't extend beyond the bounds of your computer. When you connect to the wild and wooly internet, you risk the possibility that your data could be compromised in transit.

This component is important enough that we're starting to see it as a bonus feature in some antivirus tools. Which antivirus should you choose? You have a wealth of options. Kaspersky Anti-Virus and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus routinely take perfect or near-perfect scores from the independent antivirus testing labs.

Its unusual behavior-based detection technology means Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus is the tiniest antivirus around. We've named these four Editors' Choice for commercial antivirus, but they're not the only products worth consideration.

Read the reviews of our top-rated products, and then make your own decision. By Neil J. Rubenking Dec. Top Picks. Best For Multi-Device Households. Other products may score better in testing, but none of them offer a deal like this. Best For Single Desktop Protection. AxCrypt Premium. Bitdefender Home Scanner. Antivirus vs. Rubenking, Ben Moore. The Best Authenticator Apps for Authenticator apps offer a more secure way to log into your sites and web services with two-factor authentication 2FA.

The Best Encryption Software for Just because you have antivirus software installed on your PC doesn't mean a zero-day Trojan can't steal your personal data. The Best Malware Removal and Protection Software for We've tested over anti-malware apps to help you find the the best malware protection and removal software for all your devices. The Best Spyware Protection Software for Antivirus and security suites should protect you against all types of malware, including spyware.

The Best Mac Antivirus Protection for Despite what you may have heard, your Apple computer is not immune to malware. The Best Free Antivirus Protection for Microsoft Defender is improving, but you still shouldn't rely on it by itself. The Best Free Password Managers for A password like '' may be easy to remember, but it's also equally easy to guess or hack. Abine DeleteMe.

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