Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security Review
The Antivirus+ Security has quality protection in it. The experienced users, however, would want to have more ways to fine-tune their security. The Antivirus is more than an average protected antivirus. It is capable of blocking the URL. The antivirus has multiple anti-ransomware layers. The application has a configurable spam filter. The limited configurability and use of only one PC for a single license are the limitations for the use of the Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security.
Setup:
The Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security web page does not provide an obvious interface for a trial build. However, a little struggle can lead you to a trial link yet the company seems a little reluctant to provide the free trial for the anti-virus. The trial version web page was full of “Why try when you can buy?”
The “Continue to free trial” link led us to the support page with information about the downloading and installation process of trial builds.
The downloading process of the application is easy and the setup is mainly on its own without any manual instructions and operations to be performed. A box appears and asks you for your email address at the termination of the process to keep you informed about the product news and updates, however, this option is not mandatory. Even if you leave the box blank, the process does not stop.
Once the setup is completed, the package adds its icon on the system tray otherwise stays in the background. This is not an annoying antivirus. It is an anti-virus that does not annoy you. Sometimes you don’t even remember that it’s there on your system.
The default setting of the antivirus might not be desirable by you. Therefore, these settings can be changed after a little exploring. For example, the spam filter by default is neither enabled nor highlighted in the interface. Its absence was only recognized when we browsed the Outlook interface, looking for a toolbar and then being not able to find it. The thirty-day trial of the anti-virus is a good time to assess the capabilities of the application for your use.
Features:
The interface of the antivirus is very friendly and attractive to look at. The large animated icons, big scan button and the clear description of security status in addition to the text captions and tooltips make the working of the antivirus very obvious. The customization options allow the console to be changed with new background images.
The settings dialog is also very clear. The options in the setting box are spelled out in plain English. Experts might want to have more low-level control. The option for the scan is very straight. The run quick, full or custom scans options are available.
The files can be scanned through a right-click explorer menu. The Trend Micro Anti-virus+ Security does not support simultaneous scans. The option to scan the files with Micro Antivirus becomes dull and inactive when a scan is already running. The anti-virus is a potential nuisance.
The time required to scan was a little more than the average time required. There was no option available to scan the only new and changed files. Repetitive run of the scan with 51MB took about 14 minutes every time. Browsing protection has many levels of browsing. The use of browser extension to show a risk rating of links on popular social networks. Before accessing the URLs, they are checked automatically. After a page is scanned, the contents of the page are scanned through the core Trend Micro engine.
The URL filtering of antivirus is very effective. The URL filtering blocks all the test malicious URLs. Some other tools like Trend Micro’s Folder Shield which is an antivirus ransomware module are also available. Documents, OneDrive, Pictures Folders, and USB drives are watched through the antivirus. The presence of Folder Shield is not a new idea. The feature is an extra layer of protection that is capable of brand-new undiscovered ransomware.
Protection:
The Antivirus typically raises many false alarms. The false alarms are more frequent than many other anti-viruses. In the performance test and Pass Mark’s 2020 Security Products Performance report, Trend Micro’s two tested products were placed as the sixth and seventh rank out of 10. It is not the best but quite satisfying. The software outperformed many significant names. It was expected that the Trend Micro will not be able to diagnose the threat from its file signature and its behavior monitoring will also not be reliable. The software, however, proved the concept wrong. It not only killed the process with plenty of encrypted files but also recovered the documents completely. The software ensured no loss of data.
Final verdict:
Trend Micro is a user-friendly antivirus with very exciting extras. The extra functionalities are anti-ransomware measures and spam filters. The deficiency of advanced features and configuration options frustrates the expert users and make them lose their confidence in the application in the trial mode also.
