VIPRE Antivirus Review (2026): Is it the right choice?

Full Review

VIPRE offers solid antivirus protection with some unique privacy tools, such as personal profile protection and a local document scanner to find unsecured sensitive information. However, its structure across three separate applications—Advanced Security, Privacy Shield, and Internet Shield VPN—makes it less user-friendly compared to competitors like Norton 360, which offer all features within a single app.

Key features include real-time malware detection, ransomware protection, a firewall, and a VPN with unlimited data. VIPRE also has privacy features like login credential removal, dark web scanning, and webcam/microphone blocking, though it lacks performance optimization tools and parental controls.

Despite its higher renewal pricing and fragmented interface, VIPRE provides a strong level of security and privacy, with a 30-day free trial and money-back guarantee offering a risk-free trial period.

Anti-Malware

VIPRE’s anti-malware protection provides a diverse range of scanning options, including full, quick, registry, and rootkit scans. In testing, its Quick Scan effectively removed malware samples from critical system areas and recommended a Full Scan for deeper protection. The Full Scan proved comprehensive, detecting 93% of over a hundred malware samples, including hidden infections that other tools might miss.

The Full Scan required about 3.5 hours to complete, slower than competitors such as Norton, but its performance impact was minimal—only around 20% CPU usage. This balance of efficiency and thoroughness is commendable for routine protection. VIPRE’s anti-malware engine excels in identifying viruses, trojans, and rootkits but falls short in ransomware defense.

When tested against simulated ransomware and cryptojacking attacks, VIPRE blocked 75% of cases. Although these results are decent, leading competitors achieve nearly perfect detection rates. Users seeking strong ransomware protection may prefer alternatives, but VIPRE’s core malware detection capabilities are solid and reliable for everyday threats.

Anti-Phishing

VIPRE’s web protection system performs exceptionally well, offering complete protection against phishing and malicious websites. It maintains a real-time database of blacklisted URLs and instantly blocks access to any known unsafe site. In independent tests across major browsers—Edge, Firefox, and Chrome—it successfully blocked 100% of malicious pages.

The software provides clear user prompts when a site is blocked, offering options to whitelist trusted domains and share security alerts publicly to help others avoid threats. This adds an extra layer of community-driven safety. The filtering system functions independently of browser protections, ensuring consistent performance across platforms.

Overall, VIPRE’s anti-phishing tools stand out for their precision and user-friendliness. Compared to competitors such as Malwarebytes, VIPRE provides superior defense against online scams, fraudulent pages, and malicious downloads. Its proactive web protection and intelligent URL monitoring make it one of the strongest phishing defenses among antivirus suites.

Firewall

VIPRE’s firewall offers extensive customization and a significant upgrade over the default Windows and macOS firewalls. It allows users to control inbound and outbound network traffic with detailed rule management for applications, ports, and services. The firewall includes several advanced options like event logging, stealth mode to block unsolicited requests, and boot-time protection to secure startup sequences.

An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) and Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) add extra security layers by monitoring suspicious activity and blocking unauthorized system changes. Users can configure intrusion response levels and log port scans to track potential threats. Network management settings further allow users to classify networks as trusted or public and review connection histories.

Despite being feature-rich, the firewall is disabled by default—a potential risk for less experienced users. However, once activated, it runs smoothly and effectively without extensive configuration. Overall, VIPRE’s firewall provides robust protection, fine-grained control, and clear documentation, making it ideal for both novice and expert users seeking advanced network security.

VPN

VIPRE’s Internet Shield VPN is a standout feature, delivering fast, secure, and anonymous browsing. It enforces a strict zero-logging policy, ensuring that no browsing data or user activity is stored. The VPN supports unlimited data usage and allows up to ten devices under one subscription, with compatibility across Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

Performance is impressive, with minimal speed reduction during use. In testing, download speeds remained nearly identical with the VPN active, enabling smooth streaming and browsing experiences. The service includes over 80 server locations across 50+ countries, offering broad geographic coverage and flexibility.

The VPN also works with major streaming services like Netflix and automatically connects to the fastest server via its “Best Available” feature. Although it lacks some advanced features of standalone VPNs, VIPRE’s integration provides reliable encryption, anonymity, and access to geo-restricted content without sacrificing speed.

Other Security Features

Beyond its primary protections, VIPRE includes several distinctive security and privacy tools that enhance overall user safety. Its local document scanner identifies unsecured files containing sensitive information—such as personal data or financial records—and offers options to encrypt or securely relocate them into a protected vault. This ensures that confidential documents remain inaccessible to unauthorized users.

The anti-tracking browser extension blocks tracking cookies and targeted ads, effectively preventing data harvesting. However, it is currently available only for Microsoft Edge, limiting cross-browser coverage. Despite this, it performs exceptionally well at preventing online tracking and maintaining user anonymity during browsing.

VIPRE’s dark web monitoring scans databases for leaked email addresses and passwords, identifying potential breaches. It provides detailed breach reports, including dates and affected services, along with guidance on changing compromised passwords. Although not as comprehensive as Norton’s live-agent system, VIPRE’s scanner offers valuable global coverage.

Together, these auxiliary features create a versatile security package that goes beyond standard antivirus protection, helping users safeguard both local data and digital identity across multiple channels.

Test score comparison

We conduct in-house anti-malware tests and review the results from AV-Test, a German lab renowned for its objective evaluations. Below is the average of the last 10 AV-Test results for Windows. Their scoring criteria are:

• Protection (1-6): Effectiveness in blocking malware.
• Performance (1-6): Impact on system speed.
• Usability (1-6): Frequency of errors like false alarms.

We calculate a final score using this formula:

Final Score = 60% Protection + 20% Performance + 20% Usability.

While these results influence our choice of the best antivirus for Windows 11, other factors like privacy and identity protection also play a key role. For a similar analysis for Android or macOS, visit our other comparisons:

• The best antivirus for Android.
• The best antivirus for Mac.

Note: Brands not listed in the table either do not participate in AV-Test trials or are tested too infrequently, such as Surfshark Antivirus.

Source: AV-Test (Last updated: November 2025).

Price comparison

We’ve compared the prices of the top antivirus products for Windows. To make it a fair comparison, we looked at what it would cost us, to protect a  single Windows PC with the most essential features:

• Anti-malware
• Anti-phishing (web protection)
• Firewall
• Password manager
• Unlimited VPN (no data limit)

A few notes:

• Some brands are missing features, lowering their value for money.
• Prices are second-year prices in the USA, without first-year discounts.
• Prices are rounded up for readability (e.g., $99.99 becomes $100).

Brands have different prices outside the USA. See those on their website.

User reviews

We’ve compared the user reviews of all antivirus brands. We’ve used the scores and review count of TrustPilot, a leading user review platform. 

We consider scores above 4.0 very good. Lower scores indicate that the brand might have a poor product or customer service. McAfee’s scores, for instance, are worrying.

Source: TrustPilot. Last Update: November 2025.