They also vary considerably in terms of accuracy, customization, and added features. However, not all virus scanners are the same, and very few are actually free, web-based services.
If you suspect that your device is infected with a virus and you haven’t yet installed a paid antivirus, then a free online virus scanner can provide a quick and easy solution without having to download and install any software. As it’s not as powerful as a full-scale antivirus - and some of them work from the cloud - there is little to no system lag. What is a Virus Scanner?Ī virus scanner is a web service that scans your device from a remote server. While an online virus scanner can not replace your antivirus which runs offline continually in the background, it can be helpful for quickly identifying infections.
Most require you to download software in order to work. Many antivirus services claim to offer free online scanning tools, but very few are actually cloud-based services. Bitdefender Home Scanner (Download Required) BullGuard Online Virus Scan (Download Required) F-Secure Online Scanner (Download Required) SafetyDetectives Vulnerabilities Scanner (No-Download Required) You probably wouldn’t notice a performance drop under regular circumstances except maybe under heavy workloads on a mid-level machine.
Our test PC scored 2,440 without any antivirus installed, and with F-Secure running after a full disk scan that number dropped to 2,385. IDGĪs for our in-house performance tests, F-Secure Safe saw a small but noticeable drop in the PCMark 8 work convetional test. F-Secure Safe also got 22 false alarms in this test, which is quite high. In the malware-protection test F-Secure Safe rated a 99.93 percent online protection rate, a 98.9 percent online detection rate, and a small dip to 98.6 percent for its offline detection rate. Over at AV-Comparatives, F-Secure Safe scored 99.9 percent detection in the organization’s real-world protection test against 1,780 samples during tests carried out between July and November 2017. It also got 100 percent in the regular old malware detection test against 10,684 samples. F-Secure Safe scored 100 percent detection in zero-day, web, and email threats against 185 samples. Performanceį-Secure performed very highly in terms of threat detection when tested by A-V Test in late 2017. That’s quite pricey considering that the $100 range commonly gives you the ability to cover 10 devices. If you have a family of four, each with their own PC and smartphone (eight devices), you’d have to pay well over $100 for coverage.
Those device numbers include PCs and mobile devices. For three devices it’ll cost you $70 per year, for five it’s $90, and to cover seven you need to fork over $110.
The next section is Tools, which is where you’ll find options to run more detailed or specific scans, view quarantined files, specify files (such as sensitive docs) that should never be scanned, a history log, and the ability to submit potential samples of malware directly to F-Secure.į-Secure has a range of pricing for Safe depending on how many devices you want to cover. Still, it would be easier for users if this feature was on the desktop program itself and then synced to the cloud behind the scenes.
All of these features are set up via F-Secure’s web interface instead of inside the app itself.į-Secure does this since Family Rules apply to not only the current PC, but also any Android and iOS devices where F-Secure is installed.
There’s a Family Rules section where you can see any time limits, bedtimes, or content filtering you’ve set up. IDGį-Secure uses a left rail to navigate the rest of the application. This view also has a button to initiate a virus scan and the Settings option. It also has a quick at-a-glance status for each of F-Secure’s main components: virus protection, browsing protection, and up-to-date security features. The primary dashboard window gets a little cutesy by borrowing your PC wallpaper to show a little icon of a PC with a green check mark on it.