Unfortunately, the product offered outdated advice for getting into Safe Mode, not correct for Windows 8 or Windows 10.
One especially virulent sample got stuck at the "removing" phase for 15 minutes, after which the antivirus requested a reboot in Safe Mode. The test process was extremely slow, because after each detection, the antivirus spent anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes removing the malware, and then, in most cases, requested a reboot. That makes sense behavior-based detection can't function without some behaviors to analyze. Reason Core Security's detection kicked in only after I launched the samples.
I wasn't at all surprised to find that the real-time protection didn't trigger when I opened my folder full of samples, or when I copied those samples to a new folder. Reason Core Security achieved new lows in all three metrics.Īccording to my contact, this product relies mostly on heuristics, behavioral analysis, and machine learning, though it does use some local fuzzy signatures to "detect 20 percent of known malware families." If the automated analysis systems can't quite pin down a suspicious file, they send it to the cloud for intensive investigation. In the absence of test results from the labs, all I can go on are the scores in my own hands-on malware protection tests. At present, Bitdefender's aggregate score is 9.7, and Kaspersky's is 9.8. All five labs include Bitdefender and Kaspersky Anti-Virus (29.99 3 Devices / 1 Year at Kaspersky Lab North America), and both consistently earn the best scores. I aggregate results from five major labs to yield an overall score, on a scale from 0 to 10. That conversation was off the record, but I can say that I didn't entirely agree. My contact at Reason Security explained that they stay away from the big labs, and detailed his reasoning. Although the labs state clearly that results apply strictly and only to the product under test, Avira's good grades do at waft a suggestion of success in TotalAV's direction. TotalAV ($19.00 at Total AV) likewise didn't appear in any of the test results, but I know that it uses technology licensed from Avira. I'm always interested to see the lab results for the product I'm reviewing.Īlas, there isn't a trace of independent testing for Reason Core Security.
They can spend a lot more time on testing than I can-it's their business, after all. Independent antivirus testing labs around the world dedicate serious resources to evaluating the protective abilities of antivirus programs. The mostly-white main window with its dark blue menu has a pleasing appearance. Panels at the left offer security statistics, and a menu across the top gives you access to all features. A panel below this button nags you to run that scan, if you didn't let it run automatically after install. The program's main window focuses on a big round button that launches a quick scan. Reason Core Security reserves scanning for paid customers, but lets anyone use the real-time protection without charge. Malwarebytes and many others offer malware scanning and cleanup for free, but require payment for real-time protection.
After that, if you don't pay up, it switches to a free edition that flips the usual model on its head. You can use all premium features for 14 days at no charge. That's roughly eight times the single-license discounted price of Reason Core Security.
More than half of my current products ask just under $40 per year for a single license-these include Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, and Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus (18.99 More than 50% Off Exclusive for PCMag at Webroot).
Your subscription lets you install Reason Core Security on five PCs, and the list price of $44.95 per year seems to be perpetually discounted to $24.95.