Comodo Antivirus Review (2025): Is it the right choice?

Full Review

Comodo offers a strong firewall and virtual desktop but falls short in malware detection compared to leading antivirus options like Norton. Its anti-phishing, secure browser, and ad blocker are outdated, with no significant updates since 2021. Features like VPN and cloud storage have been discontinued from paid plans, leaving only 24/7 tech support and a virus guarantee, making it a poor value for paid users.

While Comodo’s core security tools are free, better free options exist, such as Avira. For more comprehensive protection, Norton remains our top choice for paid antivirus.

Anti-malware

Comodo’s malware scanner is average compared to top competitors like Norton and Bitdefender. It offers four scan types—Quick, Full, Rating, and Custom. In testing, the Quick Scan was fast but missed malware samples that other programs, like Norton, consistently detected. The Full Scan performed better, catching 95% of threats, but still fell short of a perfect detection rate.

The Rating Scan, which checks files against Comodo’s cloud database, was unreliable, often mislabeling trusted files. The Custom Scan was user-friendly and offered good flexibility, allowing specific files or folders to be scanned on a schedule.

Comodo’s real-time scanner blocked over 94% of malware during testing, but this still lags behind top-tier antivirus software. Additionally, its Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) is turned off by default, though advanced users may find it useful for creating custom security rules.

Overall, Comodo’s malware scanner is functional but not as effective or customizable as those offered by leading antivirus programs. For better free protection, Bitdefender is a stronger option.

Anti-phishing

Comodo’s anti-phishing protection is underwhelming. In our tests, it failed to block as many phishing sites as Google Chrome’s built-in protection, while top competitors like Norton and McAfee performed better.

Additionally, Comodo’s website filtering feature is outdated, only supporting Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, unlike most leading antiviruses, which offer protection across all major browsers.

Overall, Comodo’s anti-phishing capabilities fall short. For stronger protection against phishing, Norton, McAfee, or even Chrome’s default features are better choices.

Firewall

Comodo’s Secure Firewall is its standout feature, offering robust security and extensive customization. In our tests, it effectively blocked network intrusions, spoofing attacks, and malware that Windows’ firewall missed. The firewall has four modes:

• Block All: Completely shuts off internet access, ideal for isolating a compromised system.
• Custom Ruleset: Lets advanced users define specific rules for different applications.
• Safe Mode: Automatically approves recognized traffic and prompts for unknown traffic.
• Training Mode: Learns from user activity to create custom rules, though this can be risky if malware is present during training.

Safe Mode is suitable for most users, while Custom Ruleset and Training Mode offer more flexibility for advanced users. The firewall includes features like IPv6 filtering, anti-ARP spoofing, and easy unblocking of false positives. It also lets you monitor and manage active network connections, providing excellent visibility and control.

Overall, Comodo’s firewall rivals those from top-tier antivirus providers like Norton and Bitdefender, making it one of the best available.

Other security features

Comodo offers a range of additional security features, but most fall short in performance or usability.

Virtual Desktop

Comodo’s Virtual Desktop is a secure sandbox environment, ideal for advanced users testing suspicious files. It effectively isolates potential malware without risk to the host system. While well-designed and fully secure in our tests, it’s not necessary for most users, who would benefit more from a robust antivirus solution like Norton or Bitdefender that blocks threats automatically.

Secure Shopping

Secure Shopping aims to protect online transactions with features like keylogger blocking and remote connection alerts. However, it was buggy in testing, failing to prevent screen captures—a core feature for safeguarding sensitive data. Competitors like Bitdefender offer superior secure browsing tools that perform more reliably.

Ad Blocker

Comodo’s Ad Blocker was ineffective, failing to block ads in our tests. Better alternatives include ad blockers from Avira, TotalAV, or ProtonVPN, all of which offer reliable ad-blocking features.

Other Features

Comodo includes additional tools like KillSwitch, an enhanced task manager, which worked well for terminating processes and network activity. However, Task Manager failed to function during testing. Gaming Mode mutes notifications but lacks automatic activation and system optimization seen in Norton’s gaming mode.

Comodo’s Cloud Backup and VPN (TrustConnect) are no longer functional, despite still being advertised. Customer support indicated they are “under maintenance,” but both services appear discontinued.

Conclusion

Comodo’s extra features largely disappoint, with many being outdated or dysfunctional. For users seeking additional security tools, Norton and Bitdefender offer far more reliable and effective options.

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: December 2024).

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: December 2024.