F-Secure full review: an affordable antivirus that lets you build your plan

With fixed and rising cyber safety threats, you want a very good antivirus answer that does not break the financial institution. I reviewed F-Safe Complete, an reasonably priced antivirus answer that permits me to construct a plan that covers all my units with solely the options I would like.

Whereas all of us wish to regulate the funds, pc safety shouldn’t be the place to chop corners. The most effective antivirus software program supplies wonderful on-line and offline malware safety at an reasonably priced value.

F-Safe has versatile pricing which you could customise to suit your precise wants. Essentially the most reasonably priced plan begins at $50 per 12 months, overlaying one system with real-time antivirus, phishing and ransomware safety within the browser and offline.

You most likely use a pc, telephone and perhaps another units. If one is hacked, all your social and monetary accounts are in danger, as is private knowledge saved on that system.

It is smart to guard all of them, and F-Safe plans can cowl 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 or extra units. A 3-device plan begins at $65, 5 units value $70, and 10 computer systems, telephones, and tablets value $85.

The choices do not cease there. You’ll be able to add a VPN with limitless knowledge for $10 extra per 12 months. A password supervisor and id monitor additionally provides $10 per 12 months. With F-Safe, you solely pay for what you want.

Nevertheless, yow will discover higher offers on antivirus software program, not less than for the primary 12 months of service. I like that F-Safe does not have stunning value will increase when it is time to renew.

When you’re on the lookout for a free answer, F-Safe has a free malware scanning and removing software. The web site describes it as an internet scanner, but it surely’s really a Home windows utility that installs in your pc earlier than working.

The free scanner detects and cleans malicious functions which are already energetic in your pc, however doesn’t defend you from future threats. The most effective free antivirus software program presents good browser safety with out requiring a subscription.

Ranges and costs

design

I examined F-Safe Complete, the model that features antivirus, a VPN, id monitoring and extra. After putting in the app, the dashboard confirmed that real-time safety was energetic, however there have been a couple of different options to configure to maximise my cyber safety.

I put in a browser extension for on-line safety, a password supervisor extension to assist safe account logins, and a VPN to forestall exercise from being tracked, then added my electronic mail handle for monitoring.

With the setup full, I explored the consumer interface. The dashboard reveals all energetic options at a look and lets me choose one to make changes. A button on the highest left opens a menu with extra choices, together with account particulars, settings, help and fast entry to all options.

I opened the settings and located that there are lots of choices to regulate every safety characteristic, reminiscent of selecting locked folders to guard towards ransomware.

Total, F-Safe Complete was straightforward to get began and the design is obvious and easy, with superior options accessible by means of settings.

Options

The primary job of an antivirus is to guard my pc from malware. It ought to present real-time detection and blocking to forestall an infection. As a second line of protection, it ought to commonly scan for malicious apps and quarantine them so no hurt could be accomplished.

To check how properly F-Safe Complete carried out, I checked its rating towards full-time cybersecurity labs that consistently monitor the risk panorama and consider the effectiveness of main antivirus software program. F-Safe reveals wonderful AV-Check scores, falling beneath good solely as soon as with a small loss in June 2023.

F-Safe did not do properly within the AV-Comparatives scoring system, however a deeper dive into the real-time report reveals that it blocked as many threats as antivirus leaders Norton, Avira and McAfee, which have good information within the tracks of safety.

F-Safe’s rating dropped as a result of it had a excessive false-positive price, which incorporates inaccurate app and web site blocking. An overprotective antivirus could be annoying, but it surely’s not harmful. In my exams, I did not get any false alarms.

I at all times do spot checks by visiting Wicar’s malware testing web site. F-Safe Complete’s browser extension efficiently recognized and blocked all 13 malware downloads and browser exploits.

I examined the password supervisor and it auto-filled the entries as anticipated. It is not as subtle as the most effective password managers that enable group and password separation, but it surely handles the fundamentals properly and syncs throughout units.

F-Safe Complete’s VPN defaults to the OpenVPN protocol, which isn’t the quickest. I attempted the one different choice, IKEv2, which helped. Nevertheless, the most effective velocity I measured was 20% as quick as my standard 900Mbps. With the most effective devoted VPN providers, I get pleasure from over 700Mbps downloads.

SUPPORTING

F-Safe claims to supply 24/7 help by way of reside chat, so I examined it by asking about login sharing. A reside agent responded instantly and continued to reply shortly as I clarified my query.

I’ve reviewed a number of antivirus providers and located that reside chat help varies. Options like ESET have good help, however throughout restricted hours. Others use chat providers that begin shortly, then decelerate dramatically after the primary response. I’ve additionally verified that reside chat with a human is accessible to F-Safe prospects all day, each day.

As I discussed above, there is no such thing as a password sharing choice in F-Safe, however the agent urged that I can copy and ship the password by way of a message, electronic mail or written on paper. I preferred the inclusion of an offline answer from tech help.

Privateness and safety

F-Safe’s privateness coverage could be very clear and states that it’ll not promote or share your private knowledge with third-party advertisers. It is going to adjust to authorized necessities, however doesn’t enable backdoors in its software program. The corporate is predicated in Finland, which isn’t a part of any intelligence-sharing alliance.

I could not discover any information of buyer knowledge breaches or cyber safety incidents, so your private and monetary info must be secure whenever you use F-Safe Complete antivirus safety.

Is F-Safe best for you?

The least costly choice, F-Safe Web Safety, presents good safety, however it could possibly’t beat the most effective antivirus software program. Whereas the VPN and password supervisor are good additions to F-Safe Complete, devoted providers supply extra superior options.

The most effective password managers aren’t that costly, and you’ll even discover nice free password managers. The identical goes for VPNs. Proton presents an incredible free VPN), and you’ll typically discover VPN offers that reduce your value with out sacrificing velocity.

Whereas F-Safe Complete’s excessive false-positive rating is a disadvantage, I had no issues blocking apps or web sites. Additionally, a false optimistic is best than letting malware run in your pc.

That mentioned, antivirus packages like Bitdefender and Norton supply strong safety with out the annoyance of extreme blocking. Nevertheless, I preferred F-Safe Complete’s customizable subscription plans and constant pricing when renewing, and I nonetheless advocate it as a very good answer if you wish to tailor your subscription to precisely what you want.