They also suggest a package that has been built by assembling other components, as opposed to designing in security from the beginning, and that can introduce vulnerabilities. To test our concerns, we tried running simple attacks against PC Protect, the kind of tricks malware might use to disable your antivirus before it started any real work.
Most antivirus engines have some form of self-defence capability to protect against this, but PC Protect isn't as smart. If malware did the same it could install whatever it likes, restart the service automatically and you might never realise anything had happened. We tried an even simpler trick: a two-line batch file which tried to delete key PC Protect components, then forcibly rebooted the system.
Running similar tests on the big-name tools has no effect at all. But in this case, our simple hack disabled PC Protect entirely, and its interface and service didn't start when our system rebooted. This kind of attack isn't easy to carry out. But it's still a significant vulnerability, and left us wondering what other issues might be lurking elsewhere. The PC Protect interface looks great, at least initially.
It has a restrained dark background, some touches of bright colour to bring it to life, and the key program areas are accessible via large, clearly identified buttons. Clicking Antivirus gives options to run a Quick or Full System scan.
You only want to scan those last few downloads? Tough luck. It takes an annoying three clicks to launch a Quick Scan, and we were surprised to see there was no pause or indeed cancel button on offer when it was running.
Once the scan was finished another window opened to tell us the results, which meant another click to get rid of it. There's nothing wrong with the malware detection, fortunately. The system found our test samples without difficulty, and with Avira inside we've no doubt it will do the same with most threats. It's just a dialog with a few buttons to control the Windows firewall, with no sign of any abilities of its own.
The ad blocking module is strange. The interface suggests it's going to install Ad Block Pro for you, but if you accept this, it also replaces your Chrome new tab page with buttons to clear cookies, wipe your browser history, turn Ad Block on and off, and a few other bits.
You also get a Web Shield to highlight dangerous links in search results, which bizarrely can't be installed in any other way. This isn't useless, but you'll get better results for free by downloading an ad blocker and cookie manager yourself. It's a similar story with the remaining tools. The Disk Cleaner doesn't get close to CCleaner. System Boost gives you less ability to view installed apps and startup programs than you get with the regular Windows tools.
Password Vault is a long, long, long way behind the best free password managers. If this was a freeware suite, we might not mind. Assessing PC Protect's malware detection abilities is difficult, as the package isn't checked by any of the big independent testing labs. While we run some tests ourselves, they're much smaller, with a fraction of the malware samples, and that limits the conclusions we can draw. What we do know is that PC Protect uses the Avira engine , one of the best around.
We're unsure how much of Avira's underlying technology is included in PC Protect, but there were no obvious holes. Use a pop-up blocker with your internet browser - Pop-up windows are small browser windows that appear on top of the website you're viewing. Although most are created by advertisers, they can also contain malicious or unsafe code. A pop-up blocker can prevent some or all of these windows from appearing.
The pop-up blocker in Microsoft Edge is turned on by default. If you're using Microsoft Edge, make sure SmartScreen is turned on - SmartScreen in Microsoft Edge helps protect you from phishing and malware attacks by warning you if a website or download location has been reported as unsafe. For more info, see What is SmartScreen and how can it help protect me? Pay attention to Windows SmartScreen notifications - Be cautious about running unrecognized apps downloaded from the Internet.
Unrecognized apps are more likely to be unsafe. When you download and run an app from the internet, SmartScreen uses info about the app's reputation to warn you if the app isn't well-known and might be malicious.
Keep Windows updated - Periodically, Microsoft releases special security updates that can help protect your PC. These updates can help prevent viruses and other malware attacks by closing possible security holes. Windows Update helps to make sure that your PC receives these updates automatically, but you may still have to restart your machine occasionally for the updates to install completely. Use your internet browser's privacy settings - Some websites might try to use your personal info for targeted advertising, fraud, and identity theft.
All modern browsers have privacy settings that you can enable to control what sites can see or do. For more information about configuring the privacy settings in Microsoft Edge see Configure your privacy settings so they're right for you. UAC can help keep viruses from making unwanted changes.
To open UAC, swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.
Enter uac in the search box, and then tap or click Change User Account Control settings. Make sure that Tamper Protection is turned on - In Windows 10 and 11 we have a feature called Tamper Protection that prevents unauthorized apps from changing your security settings. Many viruses and malware try to disable anti-malware software or other security settings when they're installed in order to evade detection.
See Prevent changes to security settings with Tamper Protection for information on how to confirm that it's turned on. If you use more than one antivirus or antispyware program at the same time, your PC may experience decreased performance, become unstable, or restart unexpectedly.
Caution: When you remove your currently installed Internet security programs, your PC is in an unprotected state. If you haven't installed another antimalware program make sure that Microsoft Defender Antivirus is enabled, and that Windows Firewall is turned on.
Note: Some security software may not uninstall completely. If you're unable to fully uninstall an app, go to the publisher's website or contact their technical support line for help. Windows 10 Windows 8. More isn't always better Running multiple anti-malware apps at the same time can cause your system to be slow or unstable. Need more help?
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