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

Full Review

PC Protect offers a reliable antivirus with a strong malware detection rate of 98%. It includes useful extras like web protection and a VPN, though these features aren’t as robust as those offered by its parent brand, TotalAV. While customer support also falls short compared to TotalAV, PC Protect remains a solid budget option at €19.00 per year, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Anti-Malware

PCProtect delivers top-tier malware protection through Avira’s award-winning antivirus engine, renowned for its real-time threat detection and heuristic analysis. The platform offers four scan options: System, Quick, Custom, and Smart scans. Each scan caters to different user needs, from deep disk inspections to fast checks of active processes and system health. During testing, PCProtect successfully identified and removed every malware sample, including viruses, trojans, spyware, and ransomware, maintaining near-perfect detection accuracy.

The Smart Scan function proved particularly efficient, finishing in under 10 minutes while detecting hidden threats and redundant files that impacted system performance. A full system scan took approximately an hour, aligning with the speed of top competitors such as Bitdefender.

In real-time detection, PCProtect blocked all attempted downloads of malicious files, including compressed archives that many antiviruses fail to intercept. Its proactive defense against live threats ensures continuous system protection, making it a strong performer for comprehensive malware defense.

Overall, PCProtect’s anti-malware capabilities are excellent, combining speed, accuracy, and versatility. Its Avira-based engine delivers consistent, reliable protection suitable for both casual and advanced users.

Anti-Phishing

PCProtect’s WebShield is designed to safeguard users from phishing attacks, exploit sites, and other malicious web domains. It operates seamlessly on Windows without requiring a browser extension, while Mac users must install a browser plug-in due to system restrictions. This structure provides convenient coverage but reveals platform inconsistencies that limit usability for some users.

However, the WebShield’s performance falls short of expectations. Testing revealed that PCProtect failed to block numerous known phishing and malware-hosting websites that competitors like TotalAV and even Google Chrome successfully blocked. Despite leveraging the same detection technology as TotalAV, PCProtect’s WebShield has not received major updates since 2019.

Attempts to report undetected phishing sites were met with unproductive responses—PCProtect’s support team claimed the sites were blocked even though they remained accessible. Such outdated response mechanisms pose significant risks for users relying on real-time protection against online threats.

Ultimately, PCProtect’s WebShield needs substantial improvement. It lags in update frequency, accuracy, and responsiveness, leaving users better protected by competitors offering regularly maintained web protection systems.

Password Manager

PCProtect’s Password Vault functions as a straightforward password management solution providing secure storage for credentials in an encrypted database. Its interface mirrors TotalAV’s equivalent feature and includes tools such as a password generator and browser extensions for automatic login filling.

During evaluation, importing saved credentials via CSV and auto-filling login fields worked smoothly. The vault’s simplicity makes it approachable for beginners while maintaining adequate encryption for password protection. This ensures a solid baseline for users seeking a fundamental security utility.

However, the Password Vault lacks advanced tools like password audits, two-factor authentication, password sharing, and dark web monitoring—all of which are standard among premium password managers such as 1Password or Dashlane.

While it requires a separate purchase, the Password Vault provides essential functionality but minimal extras. For users needing a lightweight password solution, it performs reliably, though power users may find it insufficient.

VPN

PCProtect’s VPN service provides robust encryption and dependable performance suitable for secure browsing and torrenting. It employs AES 256-bit encryption to protect data and includes a kill switch to prevent accidental data exposure during connection drops. Users can connect to nearly 40 countries, covering the US, Europe, and Israel.

While connection speeds were slightly reduced, performance remained satisfactory for bandwidth-heavy tasks such as 4K streaming and large file downloads. The VPN’s efficiency is comparable to TotalAV’s service, though slower than top standalone providers like ExpressVPN or Private Internet Access.

One key limitation is streaming compatibility. The VPN fails to bypass geographic restrictions on popular platforms such as Netflix and Disney+, which many standalone VPNs successfully handle. This restricts its usefulness for users seeking comprehensive streaming support.

Overall, PCProtect’s VPN excels in privacy and stability but lacks streaming flexibility. It remains a reliable choice for everyday security-conscious users prioritizing encrypted connectivity and global reach.

Other Security Features

PCProtect offers a collection of additional utilities aimed at system optimization and user convenience. Its tune-up suite includes a junk cleaner, duplicate finder, startup optimizer, application uninstaller, and browser cleaner. These tools effectively remove redundant files and enhance performance, comparable to TotalAV’s offerings.

In testing, PCProtect cleared over 2 GB of unnecessary files, significantly improving system responsiveness. However, it lacks advanced optimization tools seen in premium suites like Norton’s Game Booster or system analytics dashboard, which provide deeper performance insights.

Additional tools include an ad blocker, data breach checker, and even a cybersecurity eBook. The ad blocker performs well but is redundant given free alternatives such as uBlock Origin. The data breach checker mirrors the functionality of free online services like Have I Been Pwned, offering limited added value.

Despite these limitations, PCProtect’s optimization utilities stand out as practical and effective. They enhance user experience by cleaning clutter, improving startup times, and providing a user-friendly interface that supports overall system health.

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.