Emsisoft Anti-Malware 8.1.0.4

Overview

As its name indicates, the Emsisoft Anti-Malware is an application designed to protect your machine from malicious spyware or malware. Recently updated, the software utility incorporates two powerful scan engines in order to find and take care of key loggers, trojans, worms, bots, spyware, rootkits, backdoor applications, adware and worms.

On the other hand, the two scan engines perform their tasks silently and, rest assured, they do not take longer than usual to scan your machine. In fact, as some of the users claim, the Emsisoft Anti-Malware will not cause any latency or performance dropping whilst it is put to good use. In addition, you will be happy to learn that the developers take their protection software seriously and hence, update the signature virus database at least five times per day.

Installation

In case you want to install the Emsisoft Anti-Malware application onto your computer, then you need to make sure that you meet the system requirements. In short, the minimum specifications suggest you have 2 GHz processor, at least 1 GB of RAM and 200 MB on your hard drive. The installation process does take longer compared with other similar software. However, this is only due to the fact that Emsisoft continues to be an adept of the traditional installation pattern.

In other words, it presents you with a configuration wizard at the end of the installation that you need to set accordingly before the Emsisoft Anti-Malware becomes active and fully functional. You will undergo seven different steps in which you will customize your updater, run a full computer scan and mark your preferences regarding the various real-time protection options. As a side note, you can test out the product free of charge for three days. However, if you need longer than that, then you will need to register on the Emsisoft website.

Interface

When you first open the Emsisoft Anti-Malware you may not be very visually impressed by the interface. On the other hand, the plain looking display and features should not be confused with a hard to use or unintelligible interface. The main menus of the application can be located on the left side of the screen and accessing them will display a few extra submenus. Just under the Security Screen Status you can find the three layers of protection provided by the software. At the same time, you will notice information about the last time you performed a scan of your machine and the date when you made your last update.

Overall, the scanning options are designed for both thorough searches for viruses and malicious software on your computer as well as quick scans on specific hard drives or folders. In addition, you can also set up the Emsisoft Anti-Malware to start scanning directly from the Windows Explorer menu.  

Pros

The benchmark tests performed on the Emsisoft Anti-Malware showed quite impressive results for an antivirus software utility developed by a little known developer. Over ninety percent efficiency was obtained using several tests on various sites and this makes the application one of the most powerful anti-malware utilities at the moment. The highly positive results could be the result of the two scan engines included in the software, one developed in-house and the other one being Ikarus.

The protective layers, which include both behavioral and heuristic engines, allow you to specify the type of activity you want to perform as well as the location. In addition, the Emsisoft Anti-Malware allows you to detail the exact tag or extension of the files that you want to monitor. The good news is that this application uses the same principles for online protection as well.

Cons

As with many other antivirus and anti-malware programs, the Emsisoft Anti-Malware presents a few false positives from time to time. 

Alternatives

Among the top rated alternatives to the Emsisoft Anti-Malware, there are AVG Anti-Virus, avast! Free Antivirus, Avira Antivirus, Kaspersky Antivirus and Norton Antivirus, all 2011 and 2012 editions.

Conclusion

So far, the Emsisoft Anti-Malware is one of the most reliable anti-malware programs that exist on the market. Incorporating two scan engines to check both heuristic aspects and the behavior of certain files and applications, it is one of the excellent protection tools to keep your machine safe from online and local threats.