Ad-Aware Pro Security 10.5

Different vendors include different components in their security suite products, but at PCMag we consider antivirus and firewall protection to be the essentials. Ad-Aware Pro Security 10.5 ($36 per year direct; $48 for three licenses) does include those essentials, and very little more. Its antivirus protection is quite good, but the firewall leaves something to be desired.

If you've used Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ 10.5, you'll find Ad-Aware Pro quite familiar. In fact, the main window is exactly the same, except that the five Pro-only components are now enabled. Note, though, that there's a certain redundancy in these components. The features called "Safe Browsng" and "Shop & Bank Safely Online" both work to keep you away from dangerous URLs. "E-mail Protection" and "External Storage Scan" just extend the existing real-time protection for earlier handling of threats arriving by email or via USB drive. And "Safe Networking" offers Host Intrusion Prevention, which might well be subsumed under the firewall component.

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Antivirus Protection

The core antivirus protection in this suite is the same as what you get with Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ 10.5. Do read that review for full details. I'll summarize the results here, and then report on the additional protection found in the suite.

Getting Ad-Aware installed on my twelve malware-infested virtual machines was a breeze. A couple of minor hiccups were easily solved with a little help from tech support. That's a big step up from Ad-Aware version 10, which rendered one test system completely unusable.

Ad-Aware detected 83 percent of the malware samples on those infested systems, more than any product tested using my current malware collection. Kaspersky PURE 3.0 Total Security didn't detect as many, just 78 percent, but better cleanup earned it 6.0 points, beating Ad-Aware's score of 5.8.

Tested with an earlier collection of malware samples, Comodo Internet Security Complete 2013 , Norton Internet Security (2013)See it at Amazon UK, and Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete 2013 £48.79 at Webroot UK all earned 6.6 points. Those three are PCMag's current Editors' Choice picks for security suite. To learn more about my malware removal test, please see How We Test Malware Removal.

Ad-Aware Pro Security 10.5 malware removal chart

Blocks Most Malware

The real-time protection component in most antivirus products checks files for malware any time they get accessed. The minimal access that occurs when Windows Explorer displays file details is enough to trigger most of them, and Ad-Aware is no exception. When I opened the folder containing my samples, Ad-Aware immediately leapt into action, quarantining every file that it recognized as malicious.

In an impressive display of shoot-on-sight protection, Ad-Aware wiped out 94 percent of the samples in just a few minutes. Most products are lucky to get to 80 percent. The two samples that survived the initial massacre sailed past all of Ad-Aware's other protective layers, so its final score was an impressive 9.4 points.

Tested with the same collection, Kaspersky PURE and avast! Premier 8 both detected 86 percent (but not the same 86 percent) and earned 8.5 points. Looking at products tested with my previous collection, Webroot still reigns, with a near-perfect 9.9 out of 10 points for malware blocking. To get the lowdown on how I run this test, see How We Test Malware Blocking.

Ad-Aware Pro Security 10.5 malware blocking chart

Web-based Antivirus Protection

The Safe Browsing component, present in both the Free and Pro editions, aims to block "known bad URLs and websites." However, when I went to re-download my malware collection the Free edition didn't block any URLs at all. It did manage to block 76 percent of the still-available samples during the download process.

The Pro edition demonstrated a much tougher ability to keep users from accidentally downloading malware. It blocked 64 percent of the downloads at the URL level, diverting the browser to a big warning page. The download protection component managed to block another 28 percent, for a total of 92 percent blocked. Kaspersky blocked 74 percent of these samples, and ZoneAlarm Internet Security 2013 only managed 57 percent.

About Our Expert

Neil J. Rubenking

Principal Writer, Security

My Experience

When the IBM PC was new, I served as the president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years. That’s how I met PCMag’s editorial team, who brought me on board in 1986. In the years since that fateful meeting, I’ve become PCMag’s expert on security, privacy, and identity protection, putting antivirus tools, security suites, and all kinds of security software through their paces.

Before my current security gig, I supplied PCMag readers with tips and solutions on using popular applications, operating systems, and programming languages in my "User to User" and "Ask Neil" columns, which began in 1990 and ran for almost 20 years. Along the way, I wrote more than 40 utility articles, as well as Delphi Programming for Dummies and six other books covering DOS, Windows, and programming. I also reviewed thousands of products of all kinds, ranging from early Sierra Online adventure games to AOL’s precursor Q-Link.

In the early 2000s, I turned my focus to security and the growing antivirus industry. After years of working with antivirus, I’m known throughout the security industry as an expert on evaluating antivirus tools. I serve as an advisory board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), an international nonprofit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.

The Technology I Use

Much of the testing I do, particularly testing with real-world ransomware, is just plain dangerous. To perform such tests safely, I sequester them inside virtual machines managed by VMWare Workstation. For cross-platform testing, I use a MacBook Air, a Google Pixel 4, and a 6th-generation iPad.

I rely on my Delphi coding skills to create and maintain small applications. These include programs to check whether an antivirus correctly handled the malware it detected, launch dangerous URLs and record the security program’s reaction, and analyze the malware that I collect for use in testing. I also wrote a tiny browser and text editor for use in testing security apps that have predefined reactions for known products.

I do my writing and research on a Dell OptiPlex desktop, relying on Microsoft Word (my fingers know all the shortcuts). Many of my articles include charts and analysis; Excel is my go-to for those. When work hours end, though, I escape the bounds of Microsoft and Windows. There’s an iPhone in my pocket, I relax with my oversized iPad, and my Kindle Oasis is always loaded with the best science fiction and fantasy.

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