Security Center. Hackers, identity thieves, snooping relatives, the NSA, data breaches. 6 essential types of security software you must have.

• Pros Perfect score in our hands-on malware blocking test. Automatic sandboxing of suspect programs.

Behavior-based malware detection. Virtual desktop and secure browser. Attractive new user interface. Need For Speed Most Wanted Pc Mods. • Cons Failed to detect hand-modified malware samples. Dismal score in malware-download test.

Independent lab test results sparse and poor. No Web-based protection against malicious and fraudulent URLs. • Bottom Line The free Comodo Antivirus 10 has a new look, and it aced our hands-on malware blocking test.

However, it didn't do as well on other tests by PCMag or the few independent labs that have evaluated it. Some vendors release a new version every year, with or without the coming year as part of the product name. Others, like Comodo, follow a simple version-number scheme, releasing a new version when it's ready. With Comodo Antivirus 10 the company took a page from Microsoft's book, skipping version 9 and going directly from 8 to 10. The current version scored at the top in one of our tests and at the bottom in another. A Pretty Face The appearance of Comodo Antivirus has changed over the years, but you don't have to accept that change. Want it to look like the previous edition?

Go into settings and choose the Modern theme. If you've been a Comodo fan for a long time, the Classic theme harks back even further. I like the light, airy feel of the default Lycia theme. A big panel at left displays in serene green when all is well, but changes to red if security components are disabled. You can roll up the panel to reveal simple on/off switches for four important components. A two-by-two grid of rectangular panels occupies the rest of the window, letting you quickly launch a scan, check for updates, run a program in the sandbox, or unblock an application blocked by any of Comodo's components.

You may also like the Arcadia theme, which is similar in layout to Lycia's. Convert Map File To Fblax more. Shortly after installation, a popup from the GeekBuddy service appears, offering to scan your PC, check memory, look for junk files, and so on. You'll find, though, that clicking for a fix starts a trial mode GeekBuddy session. The GeekBuddy expert will happily chat with you, but won't perform any remote fixes unless you pay.

Likewise, if you respond to the GeekBuddy prompt that shows up on malware detection, you'll have to pay if you want remote remediation. I don't begrudge any vendor the option to encourage upgrading from free to paid protection. However, the upsell activity from Comodo may annoy some users.

Lab Results Sparse I love it when I find plenty of lab results for the product I'm reviewing. The independent labs have the resources to really delve into which products are best. I track five such labs, as well as two that specialize in certification rather than reporting test results.

What's the difference? If a product fails in a certification test, those labs keep working with the vendor until it passes. Comodo has received certification from ICSA Labs for malware detection. However, the product tested for certification was the full Comodo suite, which has features that the plain antivirus lacks. Only one of the testing labs that I follow includes Comodo in its product roundup, but it's a good one. Evaluates antivirus products on three criteria: protection against malware, low impact on performance, and minimal false positives.

A product can receive six points in each category, for a total of 18 possible points. This test also used the Comodo suite rather than the standalone antivirus, and the results weren't very good. In the all-important protection category, Comodo earned just three points. A fair number of false positives meant it got 4.5 points in that category.

Five points for performance is good, but Comodo's total score of 12.5 points is the lowest from the most recent test. Even took 13 points. Other free products do much better in this test. And Check Point ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus+ 2017 scored a total of 17 points, and Avira managed a perfect 18, sharing that top score with Kaspersky. AV-Test named those two Top Products, along with Bitdefender, Quick Heal, and Trend Micro, all three of which managed 17.5 points.