If you have a Windows-computer, go to Control Panel, Programs and Features to see if there should be any other antivirus program installed. Uninstall it, and remember to restart the computer - even though it may not require a restart - just restart after uninstalling an eventually other antivirus program.
F-Secure develops and sells antivirus, VPN, password management, and other consumer cyber security products and services for computers, mobile devices, smart TVs and internet of things devices. The company also offers several free-to-use tools on its website.
F-Secure is a minimal antivirus program that uses an advanced, cloud-based anti-malware engine. The antivirus scanner scored really well in my malware and ransomware tests, identifying nearly all of my test files without slowing down my system. F-Secure also provides excellent web protections and a handful of pretty good additional features, such as:
In terms of pricing, there are 2 bundles on offer: F-Secure Internet Security and F-Secure Total. The Internet Security plan includes antivirus and malware protection, as well as parental controls and web protections, for a low price, while the Total plan includes all the features of the Internet Security plan plus a decent VPN, public Wi-Fi protection, online identity and tracking protection, and a password manager.
However, no email support is available. This is a bit annoying, as email is the preferred method of communication for many users, and many other antivirus companies, such as Norton and Bitdefender, do offer this channel of communication. Still, the Community Forum is a decent substitute.
F-Secure is a simple antivirus program with many useful extras. It has excellent virus detection and web protection, and its parental controls are good, although there is room for improvement. F-Secure is slightly less expensive than other antivirus programs on the market, but it offers fewer features. You can try it out risk-free as it offers a 30-day free trial and/or money-back guarantee.
If I t*rrent stuff with qBitT*rrent with this antivirus active, can it rat out my t*rrenting activity to Spectrum and get me an angry letter? I uninstalled qBit prior to claiming my free license of the paid version and I am wondering if it's safe to reinstall qBit with Spectrum's antivirus active. Thank you.
In 2001, WithSecure released the first pocket PC encryption solution for stored emails, contacts, and calendars. The following year, WithSecure launched, together with the Nokia Communicator product family, the first antivirus product for mobile phones.
F-Secure has dropped its Anti-Virus program and no longer supports or upgrades its Internet Security software if it was purchased before Feb 14, 2023. You can re-purchase F-Secure Internet Security and take advantage of its new antivirus engine, app layout, and advanced tools. You can also choose F-Secure Total Security, the all-in-one security suite that F-Secure is trying to slowly direct all its users to purchase.
These changes have created some confusion, especially among F-Secure users that have enjoyed the protection and benefits of F-Secure Anti-Virus for so long. Lucky for you we've continued our testing and evaluation of all F-Secure products and can help you learn about the tools included in each, how well it protects, and any issues we've found that you should consider before buying an F-Secure antivirus solution.
F-Secure Internet Security comes with several advanced protection tools that we feel are important to have in antivirus solutions. These include a firewall, banking tools, and even parental controls. You can choose to protect a single device with Internet Security, but F-Secure also has options all the way to 25 protected devices. F-Secure Internet Security starts at $49.99 for one device for one year, though its renewal is only $10 more making this antivirus solution one of the better overall values when it comes to computer protection
In the past, F-Secure has offered its advanced antivirus solutions in multiple downloads. This means you would have to install some tools separately, like parental controls. F-Secure now truly bundles all these features together into one program making it much easier for users to get started and use from a single dashboard.
The F-Secure app has a lot of white space, so it doesn't feel overwhelming, and just enough color to make you feel comfortable while also taking F-Secure seriously. There are sections of text, including some text links, scattered around the dashboard which doesn't help with overall navigation. This can get frustrating for a new user that isn't familiar with how antivirus programs work.
We tested the overall security of F-Secure using our own test files. Some of these contained known malware while others, like our ransomware file, only simulated true threats without being a true threat. This is important because antivirus companies routinely create test files of their own that their antivirus software easily blocks. Using files that antivirus software has never seen before gives us a better look at its true ability to stop malware.
Still, while we can't be sure what happened or why, these results make us a little nervous. When an antivirus is faced with an executable file it's never seen before, engaging in very ransomware-like behavior, and encrypting files within a protected folder, we would expect it to at least raise an alert, asking the user if this was okay. The fact that didn't happen has to be a concern.
Independent test labs, like AV-Comparatives and AV-Test, had more success than we did with F-Secure in their evaluations. Both gave perfect, or near-perfect overall scores. Neither showed that F-Secure struggled to identify or block existing, new, or unknown threats. Combining all these findings together, we feel F-Secure overall is a very, solidly secure antivirus program.
The jump between Internet Security and Total Security is impressive. Where other antivirus solutions tend to only add a few extra tools, or increase the number of devices you can protect, F-Secure hands you two important feature packages, Privacy and Identity Protection.
The ID protections of F-Secure include dark web monitoring. This looks for any personal information that may have been swiped due to a data breach and alert you when it is found. We didn't test F-Secure's dark web monitoring, but it is limited and basic compared to other antivirus programs that offer ID protections.
Buying F-Secure Total makes a lot of sense for F-Secure fans. Freedome isn't the best VPN, but it covers the basics, and the ID protections are handy to further protect your overall identity. The best part is for new users you get a steal of a deal at $49.99 for the first year. While the price does bump up quite a bit when you renew, it's still an overall great value for the VPN, ID protections, and antivirus tools to get with the program.
Mike is a lead security reviewer at Future, where he stress-tests VPNs, antivirus and more to find out which services are sure to keep you safe, and which are best avoided. Mike began his career as a lead software developer in the engineering world, where his creations were used by big-name companies from Rolls Royce to British Nuclear Fuels and British Aerospace. The early PC viruses caught Mike's attention, and he developed an interest in analyzing malware, and learning the low-level technical details of how Windows and network security work under the hood.
The most difficult decision for you as a Mac user is deciding which of the multiple Mac antivirus programs on the market is going to do the best job of keeping you and your data safe, and which ultimately offers the best value.
Our Macworld experts are here to help, and no-one is better placed to guide you on which antivirus to choose for your Mac than the leading authority on Mac products and products built for Mac (the clue is in our name). We thoroughly test all Mac antivirus products from a usability and functionality perspective, and use a combination of our own testing data and AV Comparatives/AV-Test lab data to ascertain which is the most reliable and trustworthy security product for your Mac. These are the security products our own editors would (and do) choose for their own machines, so you can place your full trust in our Mac antivirus recommendations.
Though it lacks the advanced features of paid antivirus products, it handles the core tasks cleanly and seamlessly. However, if you need to resolve any advanced issues you will need to pay to upgrade to the full version of the software, which is about $2/2 per month for a one-year subscription. There is a 60-day free trial though, which could be enough for your purposes.
Beware that the first year is discounted, so you will be charged more in subsequent years. The price currently varies between $19.99/19.99 and $29.99/29.99 for the first year (renewing at a higher price, as is so often the case with antivirus suites).
Like Avast, Avira makes a paid-for and a free version of its antivirus solution. Avira Prime is a security utility designed to keep your Mac safe from potentially unwanted programs; which covers everything from simple scripts designed to compromise and redirect your browser searches through to actual malware. While Avira Free Security for Mac lets you run a quick scan to check out system files and other vulnerable areas, or a full scan to analyze your entire Mac for malware, but not much else.
Sophos used to offer a free version of its Home product with antivirus protection and website protection, but in 2021 that version was discontinued, leaving Sophos Home Premium as the only option for personal use.
Value is perceived differently by all users: for some the best value Mac antivirus is the free one, and for others it is the one that is affordable but includes the most useful add-ons. We prefer to consider value in terms of which is the best all-round offering, rather than the budget deal.
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