Scope of Protection:  

While doing Vipre antivirus review we interestingly found what Vipre stands for which is Virus Intrusion Prevention Remediation Engine. It is a relatively new brand in the antivirus software market. However, these products have already received some important certifications by independent testing labs across the globe, and this says much about its credibility.

It protects your computer from a variety of hostile and unwanted programs, including viruses, spyware, adware, scareware, rootkits and keyloggers. This is made possible by the use of highly developed heuristics technologies like Genscan and Cobra, which go a long way in providing real-time protection for your PC. VIPRE always has the latest definitions updated before the scan and hence generates a list of threats after the completion of the scan; it generally recommends the quarantine option, but it can be customized too. The best feature in the effective cleanup is that, the VIPRE doesn’t delete executable files.

The low side in the antivirus is devoid of a rootkit sample and deactivates it while carrying out detection process. However it beats most of its counterparts in the scareware sector proving it to be a reliable product. The antivirus is incorporated with multiple layers of protection and scans every outgoing and incoming e-mail stripping out malware and blocking the URLs of fraudulent sites.

It does not block malware hosting websites, but runs a check through files you download from the site. If you open a folder which contains pre downloaded malware files, VIPRE immediately quarantines them before you select any option. Custom scans have been made possible, where the user can set exact specifications and timings for a scan which the computer would carry out per se. There have also been improvements in terms of the antivirus engine, zero-day threat detection and real-time protection.

Feature Set

• Behavior Detection - It analyzes the behavior of programs on your computer after running them in a sterile Windows-like emulator. By doing so, they can alert you on unknown programs that are running on your computer or attempting to change things around on your computer. However, there is a possibility here that certain valid programs also get slotted in the list of unknowns. Unlike some other antivirus products, Vipre has no way of further classifying unknown programs into those that are suspicious/harmful and those that are not, which is a glitch. On the flip side, you do get a warning while configuring the Vipre advanced detection tools – that there is a risk of blocking valid programs as well.
• Secure File Eraser - It overwrites and completely deletes files and folders, making it impossible to retrieve them. You can enable this feature through the ‘Tools’ section of the software. All you need to do for complete deletion of a file or folder is right click on it using the secure file eraser. This product also has a history cleaner that helps erase your browsing history and details of recently accessed files. However, the history cleaner does not work for Google Chrome.
• PC Explorer Module - It identifies and lists the various locations in your PC that are often visited by malware. It also identifies these locations as safe, unknown, suspicious or hazardous. With Vipre’s unlimited home site license its antivirus software can be run on multiple computers within your home. These could include laptops and notebook computers as well. However, unlike some of the other antivirus products, Vipre does not have a built-in silent gamer mode. It does not come with password protected settings either.

Effectiveness:  

We gauged it in terms of its ability to block malware and it is no doubt pretty efficient, although it scores slightly less than certain other well-known anti-virus products. Moreover, it is said to be better at dealing with known malware than with new types of malware.

The really good part is that this antivirus software does not cause your PC to slowdown since it works on a high quality scanning mechanism. It has one of the fastest scan speeds. It has a very low resource usage, even during a full-system manual scan. Moreover, there is no system drag while browsing the web or using PC applications like MS Outlook. Vipre possesses a West Coast labs certification. A winner of the VB 100 award, it is also certified by ICSA Labs. Other independent testing labs such as Malware Research Group and AV-Test have also acknowledged that this product has scored well in virus protection tests conducted by them.

It detects most, if not all, of known malware. The score is high on this kind of detection, and it detected 98.4% of threats when tested. But Vipre, as a policy, chooses to remain ‘in the now’ That is, it is more intent on detecting new threats that keep appearing every minute. It uses a combination of fuzzy logic, heuristic pattern recognition techniques and behavior analysis to detect these threats. It works, but, it does compromise a little on detecting old and known security threats. It is not just good at detecting threats but also extremely effective at removing them too. Its false positive rate is also very low.

Ease of Installation:  

The software is quite easy. It is not as quick as some of the other antivirus products, but it comes with a pre-installation scan. The Free Vipre Rescue Tool effectively tackles all the usual installation issues. The only possible downside is the fact that you will need to restart the computer as a part of the installation process. The installation takes some time, though it doesn’t include malware definitions. The VIPRE then performs a reboot. It might so happen that the malware on some system might interfere with the installation. You might need to download and install the Sunbelt VIPRE rescue which cleans up the system and helps a hassle free installation.

Current updates get downloaded automatically even as you install the software. Automatic updates are run once every few hours by default, but you can also choose to do this manually. You can also choose to have hourly updates, or you can even choose to update less frequently; the custom scan feature allows you to specify things as per your needs.

Ease of Use:  

It has an easy-to-use, uncluttered interface, so you can navigate and set scans quite effortlessly. Improvements to the product are largely in terms of the user interface, which has been given a new look and feel. However, some reports suggest that it is still not as sleek-looking as the interfaces of its competitors. The overview pane gives you all the information regarding the computer’s protection status at a glance. A descriptive text provided with each tab makes it easier for you to operate the settings. Moreover, if a number of pop-up notifications have piled up, you can get rid of all of them with just one click.

Help & Support:  

For any queries regarding the product, you can contact the company through the toll free US based phone number or via email or chat. Other support systems include a Knowledgebase and a user guide. The quality of customer support provided by the makers of Vipre Antivirus is supposed to be very impressive and is one of the best among the companies operating in this domain. It is completely free of charge too. Overall, it is a great combination of in-program help files and online assistance. The company even conducts a free virus removal in case your machine gets infected even while using Vipre.

Review Summary  

• Pros - Effective in blocking and removing known malware. Highly resource efficient & comes in reasonable pricing.
• Cons - Poor detection rate for new malware. Behavior-based advanced detection tools categorize valid programs as unknown programs.

Bottomline -Overall, its evolving into a good software. Well worth a try with cheap pricing & unlimited home license.