PC Protect Review [Updated 2022]

Bert Wellman

February 9, 2022

Reading time: 14 minutes

Is PC Protect Good? Our Short Overview

PC Protect antivirus is developed by quite a new security company SS Protect Limited, which was founded in early 2016. With the original English headquarters in Hampshire, the company develops security software for various platforms. PC Protect works on different devices, protecting them, among others, from viruses, malware, and spyware, in addition to having advanced security features.

In terms of reliability, PC Protect antivirus is a decent solution for corporate and home use. In addition to antivirus protection, PC Protect has a set of tools that increase PC performance. This antivirus has almost the ultimate package of functions and features that can protect both a personal computer for a regular user and a network of devices as it supports different platforms. The features of any PC Protect plan have advanced VPN protection and the algorithms that ensure the safety of your online activity, such as emails, wireless hotspots, and personal data availability. As the license purchase is required for the complete functionality of the antivirus software, we can say that it is worth the money.

PC Protect finds and removes viruses, Trojans, and malware as well as it protects users’ data and privacy. The program automatically checks all downloads and immediately removes detected threats. PC Protect checks and blocks malicious internet addresses and signs and increases security during browsing.

The support is also on a decent level in this antivirus. In case you have any questions or problems, you can contact support via email or chat. If you decide to purchase a license, you will not run any economic risk, as you can try the software for 30 days and, if you wish not to have this antivirus, you can receive a refund.

PC Protect Antivirus Prices and Plans

There are three plans you can choose from when buying the PC Protect package. Each of them has diverse characteristics and supports different devices, which is why you can choose the optimal for yourself. As the basic package is sufficient for a regular single-device user, we will draw on the features all the plans have and move to the peculiarities of the more expensive ones. The plans are Essential Antivirus, Pro Antivirus, and Ultimate antivirus, respectively. The package of the Essential antivirus provides the features from complete ransomware protection to web and storage cleaning managers. The remarkable thing is the focus on ransomware combined with decent for this level of storage use. So, every plan has the following ransomware safety for your computer, performing the following operations:

• opening files;
• reading data from the files opened;
• unpacking archives;
• file scanning to detect malware;
• assessment of website security if the antivirus solution includes Internet protection features;
• managing antivirus database updates, as well as launching many other antivirus functions in real-time.

More thoroughly the antivirus works, the more the computing power is used. However, if the choice of antivirus is based only on how much it affects the performance, and the level of protection that the product can provide is not taken into account, the computer can be extremely vulnerable to malware. Besides, this level of storage necessary for running the safety software is sufficient for a single device plan.

As testing shows, the fastest antivirus programs often provide the weakest protection. So, even the Essential antivirus PC Protect plan manages to hold the balance between the storage occupied and the protection provided. Many such programs with the same storage space taken are usually not able to detect and prevent malicious infections, which can easily detect and eliminate other antivirus solutions in case of Essential Antivirus PC Protect.

Apart from the reliable ransomware protection, the other PC Protect features that go in every plan allow you to get updated real-time antivirus protection continuously. The algorithms are continually working on virus, trojans, adware, spyware and malware protection, and protection against phishing scams. Also, you can free up system space with the disk cleaner feature, use PC performance and optimization tools to set the storage use. The antivirus has advanced remote firewall protection, which ensures the safety from any suspicious files and software. Finally, stay safe online with web shield extension and web browser cleaner and manager, which manages both your hard disk and browser data. However, all these features of the Essential antivirus plan are available for a single device.

Pro Antivirus has more features that are not available in Essential antivirus. These are performance and optimization tools and safe password vault. Although the basic plan provides private security for your online operations, the Pro Antivirus plan suggests storing all your login information in a single place, which makes it more convenient.

Finally, the most advanced, the Ultimate Antivirus plan stands out for supporting 5 devices and offering the additional features of 24/7 fast priority support and smartphone optimizer. Nonetheless, along with the complete protection for your computer possible, you can enjoy all the functions of the antivirus on your phone as well as the priority support will firmly serve a certain emotional validation for choosing this plan.

All the plans, naturally, vary in their price. If you need the antivirus for personal use, but you have several devices you want to protect, the optimal plan for you is Pro Antivirus. However, if you run a business that requires full protection from all the facets, and you have more than three devices to protect, consider going for the Ultimate antivirus plan.

PC Protect Free Version

PC Protect antivirus is positioned as a professional software that is supported and updated in real lime. There are no PC Protect free option even for a limited period. However, it allows the developers to provide the maximum protection within the plan you choose as a signed member. Thus, there will be no complications or emergencies you will have to solve on your own even without PC Protect free antivirus package.

Nonetheless, to enjoy the functionality package of the plan you want, you will need to purchase it and share your billing data with the company. Even if the full version does not meet your expectations, you can call it off and get a refund within 30 days from the purchase.

PC Protect Antivirus Trial Version and Money-Back Guarantee

Although this antivirus program does not provide a free version for your PC Protect for you to be able to check all the features that are included in every plan. Although you need to pay in advance before starting using the program, any plan you buy goes as a trial version for the first 30 days since the purchase regardless of which one you picked.

If you realize that is it not the best antivirus for you, you can claim your money back via the official website of the antivirus, using 30-day money-back guarantee. To do that, you need to visit the official site of the company and find the Refund section. The section will provide you with the options of emailing the billing department or chatting with the support online.

If you terminate the subscription on any day within the period the refund policy is effective, the software will stop functioning at that day, and not be effective until the end of the paid trial period.

PC Protect Coupons and Discounts

Although all the functions of the PC Protect antivirus package are paid, the company suggests discounts for new customers. The different plans with the described functionality have their prices and discounts, as well as the percentage from the price. So, now the antivirus offers the following discounts:

• PC Protect Essential Antivirus $24.95 instead of $99.95
• PC Protect Pro Antivirus $39.95 instead of $119.95
• PC Protect Ultimate Antivirus $59.95 instead of $149.95

The antivirus offers quite a significant discount compared to the initial price of the software. However, you should remember that these discounts are effective only for a year of membership. So, after a year of using any PC Protect plan, you will need to pay the full price further on.

PC Protect Antivirus Pros

Easy installation and settings

PC Protect is easy to install. It can also be installed on up to three computers or other devices. To install the program, you need to download it, run the installation file and follow the instructions. The installation program will do everything by itself, reboot your system, and then start the antivirus. After installation, you will be asked to perform a full system scan for viruses and update the virus database to the latest. Depending on the level of performance of your computer and the number of files, the scan process can take from several minutes to several hours.

PC Protect antivirus supports many versions of Windows OS. Due to its system requirements, PC Protect is perfect for both desktop and laptop computers. These requirements are:

• RAM: 512 MB
• Processor: 1.6 GHz
• Free disk space: 600 MB

Besides, it is compatible with mobile devices, on which the process of the installation is carried out nearly automatically. The default settings are universal for most of the devices there are understandable to adjust for your particular needs and the device itself.

Elaborate VPN service

A VPN client is installed on your computer along with the antivirus, which establishes a connection with a secure gateway (the VPN server). Communication is established via an encrypted channel, which protects you from leakage of personal data when using insecure hotspots (for example, when working with public Wi-Fi) and attacks such as Man in the Middle.

The antivirus uses the SSL cryptographic protocol to control data transfer and the ADS algorithm with a 256-bit key for encryption. On the VPN server, you receive a new IP address, which will be processed by websites you visit while connected to a VPN. As a result, the real IP address and the actual location of the user will be hidden. PC Protect VPN uses a predefined set of PC Protect servers in different countries that “give out” IP addresses to users from the address pool at their disposal.

Connection encryption ensures the security of your personal data when visiting websites, making calls via the internet (for example, when using Skype, Viber, and similar programs). This encryption is performed in any networks, including public Wi-Fi wireless networks.

Confidentiality of network activity the PC Protect VPN ensures the anonymity of all online user activity – browsing websites, downloading and downloading files, communicating via voice (for example, VoIP calls), etc. When using search engines such as Yahoo! or Google, the activity history is not saved and, as a result, personalized advertising is not displayed. Accessing Websites with Geographic Restrictions Changing the IP address allows you to visit websites that are blocked for the user or sites that have geographic restrictions. You can change your location by connecting to VPN servers located in different countries.

3 Devices in Pro plan

One of the main benefits that PC Protect antivirus has is the design of the plans it suggests. The most convenient one is Pro Antivirus, which allows you to manage three of your devices with one program that will allow you to focus on work instead of scanning your computer an extra time and to store all your valuable data at the same place.

The system of the antivirus allows you to protect the chosen devices even if they run on different operating systems. In any case, if you have difficulties synchronizing your computer with a mobile phone or tablet, you can get help from the support in several minutes. Nonetheless, it is adjustable for different platforms and holds your data organized and safe.

Advanced Antivirus

Real-time scanning, or continuous scanning of PC Protect, ensures the continuous operation of antivirus protection. This is done by mandatory checking all the actions performed by other programs and the user for malware, regardless of their initial location, be it your hard drive, external storage media, other network resources or your own random access memory. All indirect actions through third programs are also verified.

PC Protect on demand scanning demonstrates a high level of analysis as well. In some particular cases, having a constantly running real-time check may not be enough. It is possible that an infected file was copied to the computer, excluded from the constant scan due to its large size, and therefore the virus was not detected in it. If this file does not start on the computer in question, then the virus can go unnoticed and manifest itself only after sending it to another computer. For this mode, it is usually assumed that the user personally indicates which files, directories or areas of the disk you want to check and the time when you need to perform such a check scheduled or a one-time start manually.

The workflow of data analyzers is almost identical for two modes to compare data (with one or more reference samples. It compares data due to the time added and the possible malicious threats there can be. Thus, in order to find a virus in your computer, it works before the consequences of any suspicious activity appear. In this way, you can find only known viruses for which code fragments or signatures are described in advance. PC Protect antivirus has advanced data analyzers that prevent any problems before they occur.

PC Protect Antivirus Cons

Can make your device slower

Some software can weigh heavily on the system and PC Protect can be classified as one of them, as it showed signs of reducing the performance and speed of the computer. It happens due to the fact that the program requires large system resources to fully protect your data and control all the protection processes.

Functions such as continuous monitoring of the internet, monitoring system processes and many others make the processor and RAM process information very quickly. It can be avoided by optimizing the system, but with the antivirus in the background your computer may still show slowness compared to the system without it.

It is a misconception to assume that programs that are less demanding on system resources have security flaws, that they are less effective and, in general, are not suitable even for home use. In part, this is a true judgment, since many free little-known programs are simply poorly adapted to the system, and their processes are not optimized. Nonetheless, PC Protect does a good job of protecting your computer even though it takes some RAM for it. However, if the fast performance of your computer is a priority for you, it can become a significant drawback.

It collects user data

In almost every investigated privacy policy, the manufacturer implies a large number of access rights, which should not be mandatory when using an antivirus product. On the other hand, according to the vendors, this information is used to optimize the product, as well as to correct the marketing campaign of the developer and partner companies. In each of the documents analyzed, the manufacturer reserves the right to transfer the collected data to third parties.

In the case with the antivirus, your data collected includes the username, email address, and billing information. Vendors are also interested in additional contact details, including phone numbers. This information is probably used to impose additional products and services to the user, but they are not used when the antivirus is running. Among other things, the fact that absolutely all development companies collect this data can serve as evidence of this.

The simplest explanation for such an extensive data collection from the device can be the protection of information on the device and applications installed on it. After all, it is the competence of the antivirus to block malicious programs that disguise as legitimate applications and try to access data. And that is why you need to provide your basic information: IP address, device identifier, operating system, installed applications. However, this can also be explained by the operation of the anti-theft function. However, you should keep in mind that you pay for the additional protection of the device by tracking your own activities.

PC Protect Extra Features

File Manager

Since user sites are already connected to the service, we can get the files and directories, and edit them remotely. As well as other tools, the antivirus places the file manager on a separate layer. When choosing a site from the general list, the manager is turned on specifically for this site.

All data from the user’s site is transmitted through a synchronization file posted on the site. The contents of the requested folder is transferred as an array each time the user opens the corresponding folder in the manager. This array contains all the necessary information about files and folders: name, size, date modified, owner, group and rights. Marks that the file is infected or the folder contains infected files are set based on the report on the last site scan, if any.

This report contains complete information about all infected files, about threats found in them, etc. Based on this information, it also highlights the infected section of code in the file editor. All scan reports are stored on the server, so you can always see the full picture of the infection of the site and display it in the file manager.

On the one hand, it shows a picture of infection more accurately than a scan or treatment report. On the other hand, it can be used outside the context of site treatment.

Real-Time Protection

The real-time file system protection function monitors all events in the system related to virus protection. When you open, create or run files, they are all scanned for malicious code. Real-time file system protection starts when the operating system boots.

By default, the real-time file system protection function launches when the system boots and provides continuous scanning. In special cases (for example, in the event of a conflict with another real-time scanning module), real-time file system protection can be turned off.

Media scanning:

• By default, it scans all types of media for possible threats.
• Local drives: monitors all hard drives existing in the system.
• Removable media: initially checks all the connected controlled CDs, DVDs, USB storage devices, Bluetooth devices, etc.
• Network drives: scans all mapped network drives.

It is best to leave the default settings, and change them only in special cases (for example, if scanning certain media leads to a significant slowdown in data exchange).
By default, it scans all files when opened, created or launched. For the sake of safety, it is best not to change the default settings, as they provide maximum protection for your computer in real time. The options in PC Protect real-time protection:

• File opening, creation and launch: enable or disable scanning when opening files.
• Access to removable media: enable or disable scanning when accessing a specific removable media on which data can be stored.
• Computer shutdown: turn the scan on or off when you turn off the computer.

Firewall

Along with protection against malicious files, PC Protect firewall also prevents malware from being sent to other computers or the internet. Firewall is a program built into the antivirus operating system, the purpose of which is to prevent the penetration of malicious files, viruses, trojans, and worms that enter it via the internet. The firewall was designed and adapted for other operating systems, including the mobile ones.

When installing the program, the firewall will be enabled by default. However, it can also be disabled if it prevents the program from working correctly or downloading files from the internet. The firewall can block your connection to programs that are not in the list of allowed. Thus, each unidentified program will be blocked automatically by the firewall. It is possible to configure the firewall in accordance with your personal preferences, for example, so that when a program blocks it with a firewall, a corresponding notification pops up.

Of course, a firewall is a necessary and useful program for any computer, and no antivirus can function fully without it. It helps prevent illegal intrusions into the system and keeps it safe by preventing malicious files from being sent to other devices. Also, in addition to the firewall built into the system, experts recommend installing other antivirus programs, since the firewall does not always cope with the pressure of viruses. The firewall designed for PC Protect does everything to make your experience safe and settings effortless. Besides, it is not distracting, so it will need your attention only in the case of emergency.

How to install and setup PC Protect

The installation process of PC Protect is fast, easy, and intuitive. To install it on your computer, you need to download the installation file PCProtect.exe from the official website of the antivirus and follow the instructions after launching the file.

It will open the installation wizard who will guide you through all the processes and then will ask you about the antivirus plan you decide to choose.

When installing the antivirus, it will suggest you installing the V9 Network adapters. This adapter will allow you to use the new and timely updated VPN add-on when you purchase your plan.

When the installation is complete, you will need to your personal account in PC Protect. For the maximum protection and instant virus definition update in the program, you need to make sure you are connected to the internet.

After the default installation, PC Protect will run automatically on your computer, but you can also find it in the program files folders.

Our verdict

PC Protect suggests its customers discount and refund options without compromising the quality of service by introducing a free version of the antivirus. Because of that, it provides you with up-to-date algorithms of protecting your device or devices on the highest level and keeps it peaceful while running in the background. The main advantage of PC Protect is its multi-platform adjustability, so it is mainly targeted on users who have more than one device to keep safe and synchronized.

PC Protect Antivirus Prices and Features Table