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Dr Web Antivirus Review (2025): Is it the right choice?
By Tibor Moes / Updated: January 2025
Dr Web Antivirus Review 2025
Dr Web is ranked #27 of the 28 best antivirus of 2025.
Dr.Web offers solid protection with its scanner, real-time protection, and other security features such as a firewall, ransomware protection, and parental controls.
While it stands out in some areas, like parental controls and Android anti-theft features, it falls short in interface intuitiveness, delivers persistent firewall pop-ups, and system slowdown during full scans.
On top of that, Dr.Web does not participate in the independent tests by AV-Test, which is not a good sign. Without these tests, we have no verifiable benchmark to compare it against. We would stick to one of the proven winners, like Norton 360 Deluxe.
In short, Dr Web is not the best choice for your security.
Norton is the best choice in 2025.
Norton has the best malware protection, excellent features and a fair price. It is the winner in our antivirus test.
- Protection: 100%. Norton stopped all 1,200 malware in our test.
- Features: 100%. Anti-phishing, firewall, VPN, and more.
- Speed: 100%. Norton did not slow down our test PC.
Try it risk-free, thanks to its 60-day return policy.
Full Review
Dr.Web offers an affordable antivirus solution with solid malware protection, combining signature-based detection and heuristic analysis to handle zero-day threats. However, its intrusive firewall, limited advanced features, and outdated interface are drawbacks. Despite these issues, Dr.Web stands out for its low-cost plans, starting at €12.93 per year. While it lacks a money-back guarantee, the Security Space package includes a 3-month free trial, making it a budget-friendly option.
Anti-malware
Dr.Web’s malware scanner is highly effective, combining signature-based detection with heuristic analysis to catch threats, including zero-day malware, ransomware, trojans, worms, and viruses. In tests, it blocked nearly all malware samples. It offers three scan types: full, quick, and custom. While the full scan takes about an hour, it is more resource-intensive compared to cloud-based options like Bitdefender.
The real-time protection, SpIDer Guard, is robust and customizable, allowing users to manage threat types and fine-tune features like behavioral analysis and ransomware protection. However, technical expertise is useful for adjusting advanced settings, as in-app explanations are limited. The Statistics page provides detailed reports of blocked threats, adding transparency to the antivirus’s performance. Overall, Dr.Web excels in malware protection with good customization for advanced users.
Anti-phishing
Dr.Web’s web protection includes real-time web security via the SpIDer Gate app and manual link-checking tools, such as a browser extension and a Telegram bot. While the manual tools are free, they underperformed in tests, detecting fewer phishing sites than expected. The Telegram bot, in particular, was disappointing and requires a phone-number-verified Telegram account.
However, Dr.Web’s real-time web protection is much more effective. It blocked significantly more phishing sites than Chrome’s built-in security and offers easy customization for blocking different types of malicious sites. The email scanner efficiently flags and moves malicious emails to the spam folder, though it lacks customization options.
In summary, Dr.Web’s real-time web protection is strong and user-friendly, but the manual link-checking tools are less reliable. Norton Safe Web is a better alternative for manual phishing protection.
Firewall
Dr.Web’s firewall provides solid security, effectively blocking network threats such as exploits. However, it suffers from being overly intrusive, frequently flagging safe and commonly used apps. Each new program requires manual rule creation, leading to multiple pop-ups per app. While you can adjust the settings to allow unknown connections, this compromises security by exposing your system to potential threats.
Compared to smarter, less intrusive firewalls like Norton’s, Dr.Web’s solution feels cumbersome. While secure, it would benefit from an expanded database of trusted applications to reduce unnecessary interruptions.
Other security features
Parental controls
Dr.Web’s parental controls offer solid protection with customizable web filters, app restrictions, and time limits. You can set different rules for each user profile on a PC, tailoring internet access and site restrictions based on age. The controls also generate activity reports detailing online behavior and alert you if your child has the privileges to disable the app. However, it lacks advanced features like location tracking, YouTube monitoring, and a panic button, which are available in more robust parental control apps like Qustodio.
Dr.Web also includes several additional security features:
- Microphone and webcam protection prevents unauthorized access, alerting you when apps attempt to control these devices.
- USB access control blocks unauthorized access to your USB drives and removable media, protecting against file theft.
- Backup options allow you to restore important files after an infection, though this feature is basic compared to Norton’s.
While Dr.Web’s parental controls and extra features are decent, they lack some advanced tools found in specialized software.
Click the links to read the reviews of the best antivirus of 2025:
🥇 Norton 360 Deluxe – The #1 in 2025
🥈 Avast Antivirus One
🥉 TotalAV Antivirus
Or read our complete comparison of the best antivirus for Windows 11.
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:
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).
Click the links to read the reviews of the best antivirus of 2025:
🥇 Norton 360 Standard – The #1 in 2025
🥈 Avast Antivirus One
🥉 TotalAV Antivirus
Or read our complete comparison of the best antivirus for Mac.
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.
Click the links to read the reviews of the best antivirus of 2025:
🥇 Norton Antivirus Plus – The #1 in 2025
🥈 Avast Antivirus One
🥉 TotalAV Antivirus
Or read our complete comparison of the best antivirus for Android.
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.
Click the links to read the reviews of the best antivirus of 2025:
🥇 Norton 360 Advanced – The #1 in 2025
🥈 Avast Antivirus One
🥉 TotalAV Antivirus
Or read our complete comparison of the best antivirus for iOS.
How we test antivirus software
At SoftwareLab, we provide thorough and unbiased antivirus reviews to help you make informed cybersecurity decisions. Our comprehensive testing covers all critical aspects of antivirus performance. We assess each product in six key categories, weighted by importance:
For even more details, visit our blog posts on how we test antivirus software.
Anti-Malware Protection (30%)
We evaluate how well the antivirus detects and removes various malware types like viruses, trojans, ransomware, and spyware.
In-House Testing: Using 1,200 diverse malware samples, we conduct real-time attack simulations to assess detection and neutralization of known and emerging threats through signature-based and heuristic analysis.
Independent Lab Results: We incorporate findings from respected institutes like AV-Test, SE Labs, and AV-Comparatives to validate our results.
Security and Privacy Features (30%)
We assess additional tools that enhance cybersecurity:
Web Protection: Testing the software’s ability to block phishing sites and web-based threats by accessing known malicious websites.
Firewall: Evaluating effectiveness using intrusion simulations and the ShieldsUP! test to secure network ports and monitor traffic.
Password Manager: Assessing capabilities to generate, store, and auto-fill complex passwords, plus features like two-factor authentication and biometric login.
VPN: Evaluating security protocols, encryption, speed, server locations, data limits, and support for streaming and peer-to-peer sharing while hiding IP addresses.
Parental Controls: Testing screen time management, content filtering, location tracking, and resistance to bypass attempts to protect children.
Identity Theft Protection: Assessing monitoring of personal info and responsiveness to potential identity theft alerts.
Secure Cloud Storage: Evaluating capacity, security, usability, and features like file encryption and secure sharing.
Anti-Ransomware: Simulating attacks to test detection and blocking of unauthorized encryption via behavioral detection and exploit prevention.
Dark Web Monitoring: Checking effectiveness in scanning the dark web for personal info and providing timely alerts.
System Performance Impact (10%)
We measure how the antivirus affects device performance during everyday tasks:
Resource Usage: Monitoring CPU and memory during scans and real-time protection.
Performance Tests: Evaluating impact on launching apps, downloading files, browsing websites, and copying data, aligned with AV-Test criteria.
False Positives (10%)
Accuracy is crucial to avoid interruptions:
False Positive Detection: Assessing how often legitimate applications or files are incorrectly flagged.
Usability Tests: Referencing AV-Test evaluations to gauge false positive frequency for effectiveness and user-friendliness.
Price and Value (10%)
We analyze overall value by comparing features to cost:
Cost Analysis: Considering subscription prices, device coverage, and multi-year plans.
Feature Evaluation: Assessing if included features justify the price compared to competitors.
Ownership and Reputation (10%)
Trust is essential in cybersecurity providers:
Company Background: Researching history, industry track record, mergers, or acquisitions.
Privacy Policies: Examining data handling, privacy commitment, and compliance with regulations.
Ethical Conduct: Investigating past unethical behavior, data breaches, or controversies.
Sources and tools
- Apple Platform Security
- AV-Comparatives Consumer
- AV-Test Android
- AV-Test macOS
- AV-Test Windows
- GRC Firewall Test
- Microsoft Defender
- SpeedTest VPN
- Trustpilot Security Software
Click the links to read the reviews of the best VPN of 2025:
🥇 NordVPN – The #1 in 2025
🥈 Surfshark
🥉 Norton VPN
Or read our complete comparison of the best VPN of 2025.

Author: Tibor Moes
Founder & Chief Editor at SoftwareLab
Tibor has tested 28 antivirus programs and 25 VPN services, and holds a Cybersecurity Graduate Certificate from Stanford University.
He uses Norton to protect his devices, NordVPN for his privacy, and Proton for his passwords and email.

Dr Web Antivirus
Rating: 3 of 5
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