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

By Tibor Moes / Updated: January 2025

PC Protect Antivirus Review 2025

PC Protect Antivirus Review 2025

PC Protect is ranked #25 of the 28 best antivirus of 2025.

PC Protect is a copy of TotalAV, one of our favorite antivirus software. Like TotalAV, PC Protect’s anti-malware capabilities are solid, and it includes anti-phishing, a password manager, and a VPN. But it lacks a firewall.

In short, PC Protect 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

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

PC Protect’s anti-malware protection uses Avira’s top-tier antivirus engine, known for its advanced heuristics and extensive malware database. It offers four scan types: system, quick, custom, and smart scans, the latter of which not only detects malware but also identifies system optimization issues.

In testing, PC Protect achieved a 98% malware detection rate, successfully identifying a wide range of threats, including viruses, ransomware, and spyware. The system scan took about 82 minutes—slower than some competitors—but the results were thorough. The smart scan, which took 35 minutes, not only detected hidden malware but also flagged over 875 duplicate files.

Real-time protection was strong, blocking all malware attempts, including zipped files that often slip through other antiviruses. Overall, PC Protect offers robust anti-malware performance with reliable real-time defense and comprehensive scanning options.

Anti-phishing

PC Protect’s WebShield aims to block phishing sites and other malicious websites without requiring a browser extension on Windows. However, for Mac users, it must be installed as a browser extension due to macOS restrictions.

In testing, PC Protect’s WebShield performed poorly, failing to block many unsafe sites that other services, including TotalAV and even Google Chrome, successfully identified. Despite using the same detection technology as TotalAV, PC Protect’s WebShield hasn’t been updated since 2019, which limits its effectiveness. Even after reporting known phishing sites, the protection remained unreliable, allowing access to dangerous websites.

Overall, PC Protect’s WebShield is outdated and ineffective, making it a weak choice for web protection compared to other antivirus solutions like TotalAV.

Password manager

PC Protect’s Password Vault is a straightforward password manager that securely stores passwords in an encrypted vault. It features a password generator and a browser extension for auto-filling logins, making it convenient for everyday use. Importing passwords via .csv was simple, and auto-filling saved credentials worked smoothly during testing.

However, it lacks advanced features found in competitors like 1Password, such as password auditing, two-factor authentication (2FA), password sharing, and dark web monitoring. Since Password Vault is an add-on purchase, its limited feature set may be disappointing for users seeking more robust security tools.

Overall, it’s a basic, user-friendly password manager, suitable for those with simpler needs.

VPN

PC Protect’s VPN offers strong security with 256-bit AES encryption and a kill switch, making it a solid option for secure browsing and torrenting. It provides access to servers in nearly 40 countries, though it lacks broader coverage in Asia, with Japan being the only available server in that region.

In speed tests, PC Protect’s VPN performed comparably to TotalAV’s but was slower than top standalone VPNs like ExpressVPN. Despite some slowdown, the VPN still allowed smooth 4K streaming and fast torrent downloads. However, it struggles with streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, which many competing VPNs can access.

Overall, PC Protect’s VPN is a secure and reliable choice for general browsing and torrenting, though it lacks the speed and streaming compatibility of premium VPNs.

Other security features

PC Protect offers a useful set of system tune-up tools designed to optimize performance. These include a junk cleaner, duplicate finder, application uninstaller, startup optimizer, and browser cleaner. In testing, the junk cleaner detected over 2 GB of unnecessary files, which outperformed some competitors like Trend Micro. The tools are easy to use and effectively improve system speed, though additional features like Norton’s Game Booster and performance tracking graphs would be welcome enhancements.

Beyond system tune-up, PC Protect includes a few extra features, though most require an additional cost. These include an ad blocker, data breach checker, and an antivirus eBook. The ad blocker works well but is easily replaced by free options like uBlock Origin. The data breach checker is helpful but mirrors the free service offered by haveibeenpwned.com. The eBook on cybersecurity seems unnecessary, given the abundance of free online resources.

In summary, while PC Protect’s system tune-up tools are effective and user-friendly, its other additional features fall short compared to free or more robust alternatives. Nonetheless, it remains a solid security solution for 2025 at a reasonable price.

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).

Final Score
Protection
Performance
Usability
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
5.9
6.0
6.0
6.0
5.9
6.0
6.0
6.0
5.9
6.0
6.0
6.0
5.9
6.0
5.9
6.0
5.9
5.9
5.9
6.0
5.9
5.9
5.9
6.0
5.8
6.0
5.9
6.0
5.5
6.0
5.9
5.8
5.8
6.0
5.8
5.8
5.7
6.0
5.8
5.7
6.0
5.8
5.6
6.0
6.0
4.0
5.6
5.4
5.8
6.0

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.

Total price
Missing features
$ 50
No firewall, password manager, and VPN
$ 76
No firewall and password manager
$ 80
No firewall and password manager
$ 90
No firewall
$ 130
No password manager
$ 180
No firewall

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.

Review score
Review count
4.8
8,400
4.6
116,500
4.4
33,000
4.3
1,600
4.3
21,000
4.2
21,800
4.1
8,600
4.1
29,000
3.9
13,300
3.8
4,100
3.8
9,000
3.6
8,800
1.2
2,600

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.

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

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.

You can find him on LinkedIn or contact him here.

PC Protect Antivirus Review 2025

PC Protect

Rating: 3 of 5

Save on the best antivirus of 2025:

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