The web is full of mostly NEGATIVE reviews and analysis confirming that Comodo = Garbage. Only blind fanatics don't see the reality... a mix of mental pathology with ignorance, irresponsibility and immorality:
"For many years, Comodo made regular appearances in test reports from AV-Test Institute. The best possible score from this lab is 18 points, six apiece for protection, performance, and usability. Comodo generally scored on the low side, coming in as low as 12.5 and averaging about 15 points. The best products routinely hit 18 points, or at least 17.5. In any case, Comodo hasn't chosen to participate with this lab's testing since 2019.
One lab that has reported on Comodo recently is London-based SE Labs, whose researchers use a capture-and-replay technique to hit a collection of antivirus utilities with precisely the same real-world malware attacks. Each antivirus can earn certification at five levels: AAA, AA, A, B, and C. For the last couple of years, Comodo has regularly attained AA certification (Decopi' comment: AA is incredible mediocre!... because AAA certification made up 84% of the ratings, therefore Comodo performance is below 84% of all security software market tests. It's also important to mention that there is no meaningful lab test result if it doesn't include 12 months in a row.)"
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Katarina Glamoslija (Lead Cybersecurity Editor), May 30, 2024:
Honestly, I struggle to recommend Comodo right now — there are just too many things wrong with it. There are much better free options out there.
Comodo doesn’t detect malware as effectively as top antivirus competitors.
Comodo’s other features aren’t any good, though. Since Comodo hasn’t had a decent update since 2021, the anti-phishing, secure browser, and ad blocker all underperform.
Also, Comodo used to offer a VPN and cloud storage on its paid plan, but these have been discontinued, leaving only 24/7 tech support and a virus-guarantee as its paid-for features — making Comodo’s paid plans one of the worst-value offers on the market.
Although all of Comodo’s core security features are free, you’re better off looking at other options if you want decent protection. Avira is our top free antivirus in 2024, and Norton is our top pick for a full-featured paid internet security suite.
Comodo’s scanner isn’t the best on the market, by a long shot. You can’t fully rely on the Quick Scan, and the Full Scan’s detection rates aren’t as good as other competitors. If you want a free antivirus with a reliable scanner, you’re better off getting Bitdefender’s free package instead, which has one of the best malware scanners around.
Comodo’s real-time scanner is okay, but it’s not nearly as good as the best antivirus programs in 2024.
Comodo’s anti-phishing feature is disappointing. It doesn’t work as well as Chrome’s default protections and lacks compatibility with most web browsers. If you’re worried about phishing attacks, you’re better off using Norton or McAfee (or even just sticking with Chrome’s default protections).
Comodo’s Virtual Desktop is definitely aimed at more advanced users. Your average everyday user only really needs a secure antivirus program, which will automatically detect and block all malware files on their system without requiring an additional testing step.
Can Comodo Protect All of Your Devices in 2024? In a word — no. Comodo is not a good antivirus in 2024, especially when compared to top competitors.
Firstly, Comodo no longer supports macOS or Linux, and its iOS app is extremely limited, so Comodo is only really worth considering for Windows and Android users — despite Comodo’s own website suggesting otherwise.
Comodo’s antivirus scanner isn’t as good as any of those on our top 10 antiviruses in 2024 list, its anti-phishing feature is poor, and most of its additional features are also not very good.
Comodo’s developers have also abandoned many of its other features — namely the cloud storage and VPN. None of these features work in 2024, yet are still mentioned all over its website. The ones that haven’t been outright left behind haven’t seen a significant upgrade in several years, making them fall behind modern standards.
Overall, I really wouldn’t recommend Comodo. Its free plan is simply not as good as others available, and its paid plan is definitely not worth the money.
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Tibor Moes, Founder & Chief Editor at SoftwareLab, January 2024
Tibor Moes studied Cybersecurity at Stanford.
We Tested 28 Brands, Comodo is ranked #28 of the 28 (last place).
Comodo offers a broad range of features, but disappointingly, many underperform. Its virus scanner only found 93% of the malware samples, which is below average.
Comodo’s additional features like phishing protection, secure browser, and ad blocker fail to meet expectations. Plus, it still promotes the non-existent cloud backup and VPN features.
On top of that, Comodo does not participate in the independent tests by AV-Test, which is not a good sign.
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Published by Neil J. Rubenking, Lead Analyst for Security, July 17, 2024:
Cons (results Comodo's tests):
- Failed against several ransomware samples
- Poor to dismal scores in our hands-on tests
- Advanced features too technical for many users
- Independent lab test results sparse
"For many years, Comodo made regular appearances in test reports from AV-Test Institute. The best possible score from this lab is 18 points, six apiece for protection, performance, and usability. Comodo generally scored on the low side, coming in as low as 12.5 and averaging about 15 points. The best products routinely hit 18 points, or at least 17.5. In any case, Comodo hasn't chosen to participate with this lab's testing since 2019.
One lab that has reported on Comodo recently is London-based SE Labs, whose researchers use a capture-and-replay technique to hit a collection of antivirus utilities with precisely the same real-world malware attacks. Each antivirus can earn certification at five levels: AAA, AA, A, B, and C. For the last couple of years, Comodo has regularly attained AA certification (Decopi' comment: AA is incredible mediocre!... because AAA certification made up 84% of the ratings, therefore Comodo performance is below 84% of all security software market tests. It's also important to mention that there is no meaningful lab test result if it doesn't include 12 months in a row.)"
Its features are quite buggy, its design is a bit outdated, and it spots lots of false positives, which makes me question its level of security.
Many features don’t work well.
Gets incomplete third-party test scores
Signs of potentially shoddy coding.
Apps looks and feel outdated.
Incorrectly marks legitimate files as malware.
Independent antivirus test labs frequently compare antivirus programs. Comodo is not one of the most popular antivirus suites, so test results for it are few and far between. PC Magazine found that Comodo handled hand-modified ransomware samples poorly. This tells you that its heuristics engine isn’t quite up to snuff. Advanced or customized threats might slip through the cracks.
In my testing, I found that it incorrectly identified Lavasoft Web Companion as malware. Additionally, it appeared to terminate its own components as if they were malware, casting doubt on its effectiveness.
While Comodo Antivirus is available for the low price of free, it does not compete very well with other options, especially the ones mentioned on our best antivirus list.
Throughout my testing of Comodo Internet Security, I found lots of red flags. Components didn’t install correctly. Features like the task manager don’t work. The Linux version may not have been updated since 2013. Scanning occurred even when the software was disabled, locking up my computer.
Most importantly, few independent security labs have evaluated its performance. This means that your device’s security might not be up to date while the program functions as your main antivirus and antimalware solution.
If you’re looking to protect your computer from a wide range of real-world threats, other options may be a better choice.
With just one lab test score available, my hands-on testing results become especially important. To start my malware protection testing, I open a folder containing malware samples that I've collected and analyzed myself. Comodo immediately started wiping out the samples it recognized, quickly eliminating 44% of them. That’s low for on-sight detection. Tested with this same set of samples, Norton AntiVirus Plus eliminated 73% on sight and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus nabbed 72%. When Comodo recognized and deleted a sample, it reported “Malware Stopped” even though the malware never started.
Continuing the test, I launched each sample that wasn't wiped out in the initial culling. For unrecognized programs it offered a choice: run the program in the sandbox container system (more about that system below); run the program with no limitations; or block all execution. Since it did not identify those programs as malicious, just unrecognized, I chose the container option. Other reactions included: running in the container without asking; blocking programs from launching; catching malware activities after the initial launch; and totally whiffing on malware detection.
My analysis tools revealed installation of anywhere from two to 50 malware-related executable files by those samples. In each case, I dug into advanced settings and reset the container, discarding its contents. And in each case doing so made no difference—the executable files remained.
One way or another, Comodo detected 78% of the samples, the lowest detection rate among recent programs. If it had perfectly blocked installation of all detected threats, it could have parlayed that into 7.8 of 10 possible points. As noted, I found that some detected malware still planted some executable files on the system, and some of those were even running. Those slip-ups dragged its score down to a dismal 7.0 points.
Tested with the same set of samples, Aura, Avast, AVG AntiVirus Free, Malwarebytes Premium Security, and Norton reached 99% detection. Avast and AVG managed 9.9 of 10 possible points. Looking at antivirus apps tested with earlier malware collections, only a handful have scored lower than Comodo.
Out of 100 verified malware-hosting URLs, Comodo Online Security blocked exactly two, despite the promise that it “instantly blocks dangerous and fraudulent websites”. Comodo did eliminate some malware immediately after download, but still missed quite a few. In all, Comodo protected against 63% of the malware downloads, only two recent antivirus programs have scored lower in this test. At the other end of the spectrum, Bitdefender, Guardio, Sophos Home, Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security, and ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus all scored a perfect 100%.
Subpar Ransomware Protection: Comodo doesn’t include a layer of protection specific to ransomware. My collection includes a dozen ransomware samples and a couple that are ransomware-adjacent. All the other antivirus tools I’ve tested recently either wiped these out on sight or eliminated them before they could launch. I was surprised to discover that Comodo only wiped out five of those on sight. On the plus side, that left me with nine ransomware samples for testing. I launched each surviving sample and noted just what happened. Comodo caught five more samples at this stage. Two of the remaining four completely eluded Comodo’s detection. One wiped the (virtual) hard drive of the test system. The other encrypted about 3,500 files, including everything in the Documents folder, and displayed its ransom note. Again, Comodo doesn’t build in protection specific to ransomware. With two samples totally missed and one caught but not completely, it exhibited partial protection in my test. The containment system did its job, to a point, but failed to contain all the ransomware activity. For comparison, competitors including Bitdefender and Norton managed to foil all or most of the same samples with regular real-time antivirus components turned off, relying strictly on their respective ransomware-fighting components.
Features like KillSwitch, HIPS, and the sandbox containment system might make Comodo Free Antivirus attractive to techies, but those same techies will be put off by its poor showing in tests and its continued lack of progress over time. One independent lab gives it a decent rating, but its scores in our hands-on testing range from poor to dismal.
The Bottom Line: Comodo Free Antivirus includes many high-end bonus features, but independent antivirus testing labs have little to say about it, and it fares poorly in our own hands-on tests.
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malwaretips.com
4 Fingers back!!
