Review - Command Anti-Malware

The Facts are These…

What is it?

This is the fifth iteration of Authentium’s Command engine – the same one that was winning the VB100’s top honors for virus protection and malware detection. The fifth iteration brings about some new innovations to the heuristics engine.

An anti-malware in general is a special kind of scanning and disinfection engine that detects and removes a specific kind of problematic software that like a virus implants itself on your computer. Malware however, is less problematic than viruses. Malware files can sometimes be those that send back critical information to the servers that originally spawned them.

So, what does Command’s Anti-Malware do differently?

Features

Among the newer heuristics engine that the anti-malware boasts, here are some of its features (taken from the website):

Authentium’s Active Malware Protection technology is used by millions of users, and scans more than 4 billion emails per week.

Our innovative 4-phase detection system virtually eliminates false-positives, streamlining performance in critical, high-throughput environments.

Our advanced heuristics technology identifies threats based upon behavior, uncovering malicious agents often missed by other engines.

It also houses the most sophisticated antivirus and antimalware engine VB100’s ever seen, but then again, a real-world test would prove whether or not this is actually true. On testing this feature, we tested using known malware and viruses and the engine was indeed better than a freeware antivirus (AVG) and detected and disinfected more viruses and adware than the other antivirus and antispyware programs combined.

System Requirements

The system requirements are what you’d expect out of a modern anti-malware or anti-spyware engine, you’re looking at needing Vista or XP at the very least – the 2000 editions work well on the system also, although I only had time to test the engine on XP and Vista.

Setup and Management

Setup is as easy as you’d expect from a modern install engine. The installer takes care of everything for you, and the system is so incredibly easy to maintain. The menus are intuitive and the system runs in a secure mode to avoid malware hijacking. As a whole, the interface is sleek and works surprisingly well for an anti-malware engine, and so you’re getting a highly focus-tested product.

Help and Support

I didn’t really get to test out the help and support section of the website, but they have you covered in almost all angles – simply put, here is the list of ways you can get help with their products:

www.authentium.com – help and support page

By calling (800) 423 – 9147

By accessing the forums they have available through the website and outside ones as well

The virus definitions is updated daily and the help files and database entries are also updated frequently – making their help and support package one of the most complete ones I’ve ever seen.

Price to Value

We hit a tiny snag here, because for just an anti-malware engine, $40 is a bit pricey. However, if you’re confident in their ability to provide you anti-virus protection, then you can always use the same license to provide for your anti-virus protection. The antivirus and the anti-malware engine provide the best value – however, if you’re just using it for the anti-malware, I contend that there are better free options out there, but they aren’t nearly as secure.

Bottom Line

The price may be a little much, but the product ultimately speaks for itself. The Command Anti-Malware engine and interface are as good as any you’d expect to pay money for, and the price of admission is well worth it. You’re getting a world-renown product at a price that most antivirus programs would cost you, so if you have $40 to spare, I’d recommend you get Command to start protecting your computer.

More Reviews!

Be sure to check out our reviews of other leading anti-malware solutions including SUPERAntiSpyware , Comodo Internet Security , Webroot AntiVirus and AntiSpyware , a-squared and Ad-Aware .