Comodo Antivirus 7 user review

[tonibalas]

Hello MT members,
i decided to write a review about Comodo antivirus version 7 which i have been using for about a month.
Comodo was among few programs that i have never used so when my Eset license expired i decided to give it a try.
Please consider that i am not an expert and my observations are based on my experience using Comodo.

I will begin with good things about Comodo.

Installation was pretty smooth and very easy. But i did a custom install because i didn't want to install Comodo Firewall and some other components.

User interface is nice and for me is easy to find the settings i need.

One thing that really impressed me is the low RAM usage which about 10-15 MB and it gets 20-30 MB while scanning. That is really good and this is why Comodo is very light on system,boot time is good (on my system is about 40-45 sec almost the same as Eset and shutting down is about 10 sec again the same as Eset).

Updates of Comodo are small and it just takes a few seconds to install.

Now about protection, this the strong point of Comodo.It's behavior blocker can catch almost everything.Any file that is unknown immediately is going to the sandbox and this the way Comodo is protecting the system.
Let me tell you an example.I was testing the detection of Comodo with some packs that are posted on this forum and by accident i clicked on some samples.Then Comodo kicked in and it sent them to sandbox right away so fortunately for me i was not infected and after resetting the sandbox there was no malware on my system.As you understand this a very good line of defense especially for beginners who are clicking whatever they see on their screen.

Now lets continue with the things that i want to see improvement from Comodo side.

First of all detection. Signatures must be improved so they can stop malware before reaching the system. The good thing that if you go to advance settings->scan you can enable << cloud while scanning>> and then detection is improving a little but it needs to be even better.

HIPS.Just a few words, only for experts because they know what are the files that HIPS are flagging and they know what to do with them. I enabled after some days the HIPS component and set it to Clean Pc mode.It was flagging some Windows files as unrecognized and i didn't know what to do, so i had to disable it and have some on my mind.

The thing that troubled me the most is the Web Filter component and i will explain you why.I wouldn't have a problem if Comodo didn't have a Web filter but i am really disappointed because this feature exists in Comodo Firewall but not in Comodo Antivirus. I believe this is wrong, the antivirus should and must have a web filter.If Comodo had a web filter only in paid versions or it didn't have at all a web filter then i would be ok with that but since you have it on your firewall you should have it on your antivirus.If you don't have it on the antivirus i think you are sabotaging your own software but that is just my opinion.

Bottom line of Comodo Antivirus.

It is a very good product,it is very stable (i know this is a sock to some of you but it's true,at least on my system),very light on system resources and even on default settings it can protect you really good.
My suggestions to Comodo to improve is to add a web filter, improve signatures(using cloud services) and improve their behavior blocker to eliminate false positives.
If they improve these things i believe it will be a very good software.

P.S.1:I am using Comodo on my real machine not a virtual one.
P.S.2Please remember that i am just a user of this product not a tester.

Thank you for reading this review and for your understanding .

 

[NSG001]

It was flagging some Windows files as unrecognized and i didn't know what to do

Sorry to say but this issue never seems to go away with Comodo.
Thanks for your summation

 

[tonibalas]

NSG001 i know this problem from previous reviews,i just hope they can fix it so we can enable HIPS again and use this extra layer of protection

 

[MalwareT]

200 MB update isn't small update as it seems

 

[thepierrezou]

I think he is talking about daily update not the first.
Comodo has a web filter but it's a little joke.
And a HIPS can't be for novice user

 

[viktik]

LOL no web filter.
Weak web filter with some false positive

 

[tonibalas]

200 MB update isn't small update as it seems

Malware Test this happens when you first install Comodo the daily updates are small.

Comodo has a web filter but it's a little joke.

As i said only the firewall has web filter not the antivirus that's why i am disappointed and i hope they will add it in the new version.

LOL no web filter.

viktik you are absolotelly right,any good antivirus these days should have a web filter.

p.s.: i really enjoy watching from all of you your antivirus reviews, please keep up the great work you are doing and thank you for taking time to answer to my review.Hope you liked it

 

[MalwareT]

Malware Test this happens when you first install Comodo the daily updates are small.

Ok, thanks Never used Comodo before xD

 

[Behold Eck]

Good review highlighting all the main points and features.

Dont give up on the HIPS as theres usually info on the alert that you can dig into to find where it originates or simply google the file name to check it`s status.Sounds all a bit of a pain but after a while the alerts will pan out to where on the rare occasion you get one you can pay it more serious attention.

If run your web browser sandboxed you wont really need a web filter maybe this is Comodo`s thinking in not providing one ?

It`s kind of crazy that you get this level of protection combined with the lightness for free.

I dont use it at the moment as I prefer Sandboxies ease of file recovery and auto deletion, but I put it on friends/family pc`s and no problems at all.

I`ve never found it buggy either.

Regards Eck

 

[tonibalas]

Behold Eck you are right about the HIPS i just to need to find some time to dig a little deeper and find out how to configure it right.

You are absolutely correct Comodo does provide high level of protection for free.

I am using for the first time(it's one of a few programs that haven't tried until now) and i am very satisfied . My opinion is that Comodo Antivirus needs to polish it's components and then it will be a really good product even for beginners .

Thanks for your answer

Kind regards Tony

 

[yigido]

Waiting for v8 to clean up all and install CIS 8

 

[tonibalas]

Waiting for v8 to clean up all and install CIS 8

Really nice to hear that yigido.But i just want the antivirus not the firewall( for now) so i am also expecting v8 to see how good it is and how it performs

 

[yigido]

Really nice to hear that yigido.But i just want the antivirus not the firewall( for now) so i am also expecting v8 to see how good it is and how it performs

I do not like their AV, I like Firewall with a free AV solution.
On the other hand I want to use complete suite instead of two different softwares.

 

[tonibalas]

For me the AV works really well and planning to stick with it in v8.On the other hand their firewall is a bit of a hassle for me so at the moment i don't use it as i prefer Windows firewall with Comodo or with any other AV.The last two work really great together

 

[jamescv7]

If I will compare Comodo AV/FW to other security products, its too way complex even though it does have solid feature combination. It must be well adjust from time to time when they will release a version cause everything designed to be advance/experience users.

 

[yigido]

If I will compare Comodo AV/FW to other security products, its too way complex even though it does have solid feature combination. It must be well adjust from time to time when they will release a version cause everything designed to be advance/experience users.

I do not agree. I used Avast for a week. Its menu is similar to CIS. but people says Avast more user friendly, easy to use.
Comodo also easy to use, you should look into @cruelsister post "Regarding Comodo" powerfull and easy to use setup.

 

[rocky]

I agree with yigido, if you use the setup cruelsister recommended I don't think anyone is going to have problems. Also if you uncheck the option on elevated privileges it will tell you it sandboxed program a unknown and at that point you can tell it not to do it again. Then set firewall to to not show popups just block and it is dead quiet for us. Done like this only a rare unknown program ( I had one) or bad stuff is going to the sandbox and the firewall isn't letting it out without any user input. Now that is easy in my book.

 

[yigido]

I agree with yigido, if you use the setup cruelsister recommended I don't think anyone is going to have problems. Also if you uncheck the option on elevated privileges it will tell you it sandboxed program a unknown and at that point you can tell it not to do it again. Then set firewall to to not show popups just block and it is dead quiet for us. Done like this only a rare unknown program ( I had one) or bad stuff is going to the sandbox and the firewall isn't letting it out without any user input. Now that is easy in my book.

Exactly! Thanks for the post.

 

[Ink]

Waiting for v8 to clean up all and install CIS 8

Clean up what exactly? I do not understand.

 

[rocky]

I think he is waiting to install 8 until it comes out of beta and goes final.