ThreatFire AntiVirus Free Edition 3.5

Publisher's description of ThreatFire AntiVirus Free Edition

ThreatFire is unlike traditional antivirus products that rely on old fashioned "signature" technology and require updating every time a new threat occurs. ThreatFire's patent-pending ActiveDefense technology provides powerful protection against zero-day and emerging threats. It constantly monitors for both known and unknown viruses, worms, trojans, rootkits, buffer overflows, spyware, adware and other malware. It uses behavioral analysis to hunt down and paralyze threats that are too new or too clever to be recognized by traditional "signature-based" antivirus software. ThreatFire is the perfect complement to traditional antivirus programs.

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Editor's review of ThreatFire AntiVirus Free Edition

Editors note: This review was modified from the original to reflect changes in the publishers description of the product as a complementary rather than standalone package.

Called CyberHawk under its previous owners, PC Tools' ThreatFire is a useful program but only in limited situations. It offers real-time prevention of virus and malware infections by identifying suspicious behaviors ("zero-day" events) as they happen, before malicious code installs itself on your PC. However, ThreatFire does not offer an on-demand scan for viruses already on your computer, though it will perform an on-demand scan for other malware. The name says "antivirus", but if you're looking for an all-in-one on-demand bug killer we recommend looking for a product that includes both on-demand virus scanning and real-time protection.

ThreatFire does do some things very well. The software real-time protection didn't noticeably slow down our Windows Vista computer, and the customizable advanced settings were excellent. Users can pick and choose their preferred trusted processes and create rules for detection, such as scanning for SCR files created by an email client. You can also avail yourself of the scheduler, and create a system restore point before moving threats into quarantine.

However, once installed, ThreatFire is difficult to remove from your startup routine without uninstalling it. The absence of on-demand virus scanning means that this app is best used in conjunction with a program that offers on-demand virus detection and removal. While ThreatFire offers some compelling features, competing freeware security programs provide a more comprehensive combination of real-time and on-demand virus scanning.

User reviews of ThreatFire AntiVirus Free Edition

• Average user rating: out of 145 votes
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  ThreatFire AntiVirus Free Edition

  Threat Fire a deceptive name.

  by: Zane77 on 06-Jan-2008 01:30:52 AM

  Pros: This program has a nice interface, it scans all hard drives and the registry for root kits only. And it does monitor your computer for suspicious changes.

  Cons: It doesn't scan for any threats.

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (42 of 46 users said yes)

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  ThreatFire AntiVirus Free Edition

  Great, But Slows Computer

  by: 1consultant1 on 02-Oct-2007 04:16:14 PM

  Cons: Would go from 4 stars to five stars if it slowed computer less.

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (38 of 42 users said yes)

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  ThreatFire AntiVirus Free Edition

  Untrusted.

  by: BrokenButterfly on 07-Jun-2008 08:09:49 PM

  Cons: Threat Fire doesn't seem to protect my PC. This software is untrusted.

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (18 of 20 users said yes)

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  ThreatFire AntiVirus Free Edition

  Weird

  by: micwiz on 18-Dec-2007 08:15:26 AM

  Pros: It didnt find anything okay thats good really fast scan not even 5 minutes on full scan

  Cons: right in the middel of installing snoop free tells me that a keyboard filter has been found and that it can see every little letter i press.

  Dont know if its from this program but seemed weird and i denied it.

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  ThreatFire AntiVirus Free Edition

  slow

  by: alice_b0wie on 03-Jan-2008 01:26:50 PM

  Cons: i'm not sure what it does other than slows your computer down

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (10 of 17 users said yes)

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