Is your PC infected with malware? Roland Waddilove recommends getting a second opinion
Acommon complaint from people that have had their computers infected with malware is that they had security software, but the system was infected anyway. It seems that some malware can bypass some antivirus software. What is the answer, two antivirus programs? Well, this is where HitmanPro 3 comes in.
HitmanPro describes itself a ‘second opinion malware scanner’. It is not intended to be the only or primary security software on a computer and instead it adds another layer of protection to whatever is installed. Normally it is not a good idea to install two antivirus programs, but HitmanPro is an on-demand scanner that runs when you want it to rather than all the time. It does not have any realtime detection capabilities and you just click it when you want to check for malware.
The first time HitmanPro is run, there is an option to run it once only or to install it and add a desktop shortcut. This means you can carry it on a USB flash drive to check other computers you use without installing it. If you do choose to install it, there is also an option to configure it to run on startup to scan the system for malware. If nothing is found, it quits afterwards and does not run all the time, so it doesn’t interfere with your primary security software. Scheduled scans can also be configured and these can be daily or only on a specific day of the week. A scan can be standard or quick and there are option to put them off if a full screen application, such as a game, is running, or to wait until the computer is idle.
The main window has no menus and just a couple of buttons. This is a malware scanner and so the only options are to scan or to configure the scan. There quite a few configuration settings and there is an option to upload unknown suspicious files to the cloud where they can be scanned by security software from five different vendors to get not only a second opinion, but third, fourth and so on. This reduces the likelihood of false positives where a genuine program is mistaken for malware, and it increases the chances of detecting real malware. Many security programs upload suspicious files these days, but they probably don’t use other vendors’ software like HitmanPro does.
In addition to scanning for live malware, HitmanPro can also scan for malware remnants or leftovers from previous infections. It can scan for PUPs (potentially unwanted programs), and tracking cookies that advertisers and other internet companies use in web browsers. There is an option to show what it calls early warning scores. This seems to make it more sensitive to potential malware, but the downside is that false positives may be shown and you need to be an expert to tell what is okay and what is not.
HitmanPro 3 costs £17 for one PC, but only £26 for three. You can actually install it and use it for free and in free mode it scans, detects and lists the malware on the computer. Paying users also have the option to remove the infections too. I found it to be a useful tool and it is recommended. Roland Waddilove
A good way to get a second opinion.