Simple Machine Protect 1.9.4

Overview

Simple Machine Protect has been developed as part of the portable generation of antivirus and anti-malware utilities and it is part of a free open-source project. As such, you can expect that the protection is directed specifically to certain types of malicious software and the database is of medium size at best. Moreover, Simple Machine Protect has not received a great deal of attention due to the fact that the nature of its coding will most likely trigger false positives from existing antivirus software. However, it has been deemed completely safe to use and does not pose any threat to your system.

Installation

The portability of the Simple Machine Protect comes from its lightweight size of around 1.27 MB. Therefore, you can store and use it with even the smallest flash drives and even from floppy disks. However, the antivirus does require that the computer has Visual Basic Runtime in order to run. In addition, it is important to note that the application has only been created in compatibility with x64 Windows operating systems such as 98, 2000, NT and XP. Simple Machine Protect generally comes as ZIP archive, and there is no need to install any component. However, it is advisable to extract it rather than run it directly from the archive, in order to avoid inconveniences and speed up the scanning process.

Interface

The interface of the Simple Machine Protect tool, although rather basic, is pretty organized. In addition to the malware scanner, the latest version includes a system optimizer, process manager and registry repair tool. In fact, this anti-virus software utility is quite user-friendly and the interface is intuitive, even for beginners. The left section of the window provides access to the features in the toolkit and gives control over the application. The upper right section enables users to scan specific locations, whilst the middle portion displays a list of the malicious software found. The progress and estimated time remaining can be monitored in the lower right section of the Simple Machine Protect window. Overall, it does not get any easier than this.

Pros

In essence, the Simple Machine Protect is a free antivirus protection utility that can provide a decent level of protection against malicious software related threats. The low size and the fact that it does not require any installation process in order to be fully functional gives it a great advantage over more advanced software. In fact, it is the very nature of the Simple Machine Protect that makes it effective in cleaning a computer on which the antivirus system has been infected. More often than not, this kind of situation is difficult to resolve without a portable antivirus or without scanning the computer with anti-malware tools from a network. Consequentially, with Simple Machine Protect you are always one step ahead of viruses, trojans, worms or any other kind of malware designed specifically for targeting the computer’s protection system. The program employs memory scans and process tracking, in addition to measurements on CPU and memory usage in order to weed out viruses, based on their signature. Moreover, the logs for each scan are stored and you can always access the info regarding it. Lastly, it is rather efficient in locating very well hidden files.  

Cons

As mentioned, the database of the Simple Machine Protect software utility is quite limited. Although the last versions have added approximately 800 new virus definitions, the protection cannot compare with paid antivirus versions. In addition, its scanning feature array is pretty low.

Alternatives

The biggest competitors to Simple Machine Protect at the moment are ClamAV and ClamWin. Alternatively, you can also test out the free Portable Antivirus.

Conclusion

Overall, Simple Machine Protect is exactly what it is advertised to be: a free portable solution for low to medium malware infections. Consequentially, you cannot expect it to compete against heavyweight solutions that employ advanced coding algorithms and triple-shield protection features in order to ensure the safety of your system. Furthermore, although some antivirus software will detect false positives in this utility, it is important to remember that testing has shown absolutely no infection results and it all resides in the nature of its coding. In conclusion, if you are looking for a portable antivirus, why not try out Simple Machine Protect?