Comodo Antivirus Review: Is It a Safe Bet in 2024?

#1 Comodo Antivirus Review in 2024

Comodo Antivirus, a well-known name in the cybersecurity world, has been protecting users' devices for many years. As someone who's always on the lookout for the best security solutions, I decided to put Comodo Antivirus to the test and see how it performs in 2024.

In this thorough Comodo Antivirus review, I'll take you through my experience with the software, examining its features, performance, and overall effectiveness. Whether you're considering Comodo for your personal use or just curious about what it offers, this review will give you an in-depth look at this antivirus solution.

Here's what you'll learn in this article:

• How well Comodo Antivirus protects against various threats
• The key features that set Comodo apart from other antivirus solutions
• How user-friendly the interface is
• The impact Comodo has on system performance
• Whether Comodo Antivirus is worth your investment

So, let's examine what Comodo Antivirus has to offer!

In a Hurry? Here's a Quick Summary

If you’re in a rush, here’s a quick summary of my findings for this Comodo Antivirus review.

What You'll Like:

• Strong real-time protection against threats
• Variety of scan options including quick, full, and custom scans
• Secure shopping environment for safe online transactions
• Sandbox feature for running untrusted applications safely
• Low system impact during scans

What You May Not Like:

• Confusing user interface and account management
• Some features require separate application installations
• Weak web threat protection
• Limited PC cleanup tools
• Confusing product naming and website navigation

What Makes This Comodo Antivirus Review Different?

Many Comodo antivirus reviews out there seem to just repeat information from the product's website, without actually testing the software. That's not how I do things. For this review, I purchased Comodo Antivirus myself, installed it on my personal devices, and spent considerable time testing every feature.

I used a Dell XPS laptop as my primary testing device, running various scans and simulations to see how Comodo performs in real-world scenarios. Over the course of two weeks, I thoroughly explored the software, capturing over 50 screenshots to document my experience.

Throughout this review, you'll find detailed insights based on my hands-on testing, not just marketing claims. I've included numerous screenshots to give you a clear picture of what to expect when using Comodo Antivirus.

My goal is to provide you with an honest, impartial review that goes beyond surface-level information. Whether Comodo turns out to be great or not-so-great, you'll get my genuine opinion based on extensive testing and real usage.

Buying Comodo Antivirus

When I decided to purchase Comodo Antivirus, I headed to their website to check out the available options. I quickly noticed that they offer two paid versions - one for a single device and another for three devices. Interestingly, the product name wasn't clearly displayed on their product page, which I found a bit confusing. It was only during the checkout process that I saw the actual product name: Comodo Internet Security Pro.

The purchasing process itself was simple. I entered my customer details, including name, email, and credit card information, and clicked the Subscribe button. After completing the purchase, I received three emails containing my purchase details, installation instructions, and license key.

Later, I discovered that there's another, more comprehensive version of the subscription called Comodo Internet Security Complete. This version includes the same antivirus software but comes with additional features like cloud storage. However, for this review, I stuck with testing the Comodo Internet Security Pro version that I initially purchased.

I have to say, the lack of clear product naming on their website could be improved. It would be helpful for potential customers to have a clearer understanding of the different versions available before making a purchase.

Installation

After receiving my purchase confirmation email, I downloaded the installer and began the installation process. Before the actual installation started, I was presented with several options:

• Change language
• Show widget on Desktop at startup
• Change installation directory
• Choose components to install: the antivirus program (Comodo Internet Security), the Dragon web browser, the Secure Shopping virtual desktop, and the Security essentials (prevents man-in-the-middle attacks)

The Comodo Antivirus installation progress.

The installation process was surprisingly quick, taking less than a minute to complete. At the end of the installation, a window popped up asking if I wanted to change my DNS provider to Comodo Secure DNS, enable Cloud Based Behavior Analysis of untrusted files, send anonymous program usage statistics to Comodo, or set Comodo Dragon as the default browser. I decided to uncheck the last option.

Overall, the installation process was efficient and offered a good level of customization. However, some features, like Secure Shopping, required separate installations, which might be a bit troublesome for some users.

Interface

Upon launching Comodo Antivirus, I was greeted with a sleek-looking interface. The software offers four themes and supports 27 languages, which is quite impressive. However, I noticed that the window is not resizable, which might be inconvenient for some users.

The Comodo antivirus main interface includes a protection status and buttons for scanning, updating the software, and more.

The main UI is divided into several parts:

1. Top bar: This contains the Tasks/Home button, settings, and logs buttons. You can also switch between 'Advanced View' and 'Basic View' here.
2. Middle section: This displays your security status and provides quick access to frequently used tasks like antivirus scanning, updates, and Secure Shopping.
3. Bottom bar: Here you can enable 'Silent Mode', access mobile links, share with friends, check your subscription status, and upgrade the app if needed.

One feature I particularly liked during my Comodo Antivirus review was the ability to customize the quick access tiles in the middle section. This allows you to have your most-used features readily available.

Comodo also provides a desktop widget that you can enable through the settings. This widget displays useful information like inbound and outbound traffic, running applications and tasks in the container, and quick access to scans and updates.

While the interface is packed with features, I found it a bit overwhelming at first. It took me some time to navigate through all the options and understand where everything was located. This might be challenging for less tech-savvy users.

Major Features

Next, we’ll take a detailed look at the core offerings of Comodo Antivirus. We’ll assess why it stands out and how it could fulfill your security expectations.

Real Time Protection

Comodo Antivirus boasts real-time protection against various threats, including malware (mainly spyware, trojans, keyloggers, and adware) and web-based attacks. This feature aims to catch threats as they're being downloaded to your computer.

The real time scanning options include configuring the detection settings. 

You can configure the real-time scan settings under Settings > Antivirus > Realtime Scan. Here, you can enable scanning optimizations, choose whether to show scan alerts, and toggle various detection options like scanning computer memory at PC startup and decompressing and scanning archive files.

In my tests, the real-time protection performed impressively, catching 99% of the threats I attempted to open. This gave me confidence in Comodo's ability to protect against immediate threats.

For web protection, Comodo offers browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer, but all of them are outdated. They haven't been updated in several years. I tested the Chrome extension, and it caught only about 50% of the threats I tried to open on amtso.org, which isn't great. I hope that Comodo will update their extensions soon, as web security is crucial in today’s digital landscape. Antivirus solutions like McAfee and TotalAV provided better web protection results.

Scan

Comodo Antivirus offers both Real-time Scanning and On-Demand Scanning options. These scans can immediately start cleaning or quarantining suspicious files from your hard drives, shared disks, emails, downloads, and system memory.

Comodo Antivirus scan options include quick scan, full scan, rating scan, and custom scan.

Let's take a closer look at the different types of scans available:

Quick Scan

The Quick Scan is designed to rapidly check critical areas of your computer that are highly prone to infection. This includes system memory, auto-run entries, hidden services, boot sectors, and important registry keys and system files.

The Quick Scan finished in 3 minutes and 37 seconds.

In my test, the quick scan took 3 minutes and 37 seconds and detected no threats. This is a reasonable time for a quick scan, allowing you to perform regular checks without significant interruption to your work.

Full Scan

The Full System Scan is more comprehensive, examining every local drive, folder, and file on your system. It also includes external devices like USB drives and digital cameras.

Full Scan results: two threats were detected and cleaned.

My full scan took 34 minutes and 54 seconds, detecting 2 threats. I chose to clean these threats, which the program did in just one second. While the scan time is longer than the quick scan, it's still reasonably fast for a thorough system check.

Rating Scan

The Rating Scan is an interesting feature that runs a cloud-based evaluation of files on your computer to determine their trustworthiness. Files are rated as Trusted, Unknown, or Malicious.

Rating Scan results: Comodo detected 37000 trusted files.

This scan took a few minutes and examined over 7000 files on my system, detecting no malicious files. I found this feature particularly useful for identifying potentially suspicious files that might not be caught by traditional scans.

Custom Scan

Comodo allows you to create custom scan profiles to target specific areas, drives, folders, or files on your computer. This is great for users who want more control over what gets scanned and when.

The Custom Scan options allow you to select the folders or files to scan.

When creating a custom scan profile for this Comodo Antivirus review, I also scheduled my scans. I choose the scan frequency, start time, days of week and additional options like running only when computer is plugged, turning off the computer at the end of the scan, and more.

Scheduling scans involve choosing the frequency, start time, and days of week. 

I appreciated the flexibility this feature offers, allowing me to set up scans tailored to my specific needs and concerns.

Firewall

Comodo's Firewall is a robust feature that protects against both inbound and outbound threats. It conceals your computer's ports against hackers and blocks malicious software from transmitting your confidential data over the Internet.

Firewall Tasks interface - you can allow/block applications, manage networks, and perform other actions.

The Firewall Tasks interface provides easy access to all major features and settings. You can allow or block specific applications, manage network connections, stop all network activity, conceal ports, and view active connections.

Managing the network connections in Firewall 

I found the Firewall to be more advanced than Windows' built-in firewall, offering greater control and customization options. However, this complexity might be overwhelming for less experienced users. 

Containment/Sandbox Tasks

The containment feature, also known as sandbox, is a secure, virtual environment where you can run unknown, untrusted, and suspicious applications safely. This isolation prevents potential threats from accessing your personal data or spreading to your host system.

Containment Tasks include Run virtual applications, Reset the contianer, Open Shared Space, and more.

You can run applications in the container on an as-needed basis or create desktop shortcuts to always launch specific programs in the container. During this Comodo Antivirus review, I found this feature particularly useful for testing new software or visiting potentially risky websites.

Viewing the active processes in containment 

The containment feature also includes options to reset the container, clearing all data written by programs inside it, and to watch activity using Comodo Killswitch, an advanced system monitor.

Secure Shopping

Comodo Secure Shopping provides a protected environment for online banking and shopping sessions. It ensures that you connect to these websites from within a dedicated, security-hardened browsing environment.

Secure Shopping interface enables you to add websites to secure when shopping on them.

You can create alerts for specific sites, prompting you to open them in the secure environment. This feature supports not just websites and browsers, but also other applications that process sensitive data, such as email clients, accounting software, and password managers.

I found this feature to be great, offering peace of mind when conducting online transactions. However, it's worth noting that it requires a separate installation, which might be an extra step some users find inconvenient.

Safe Browser / Comodo Dragon

Comodo Dragon is a fast and secure Internet Browser based on Chromium. It offers additional security and privacy features beyond those found in standard Chromium-based browsers.

Some key features of Dragon include:

• Enhanced privacy protections
• Domain Validation technology
• Cookie and web spy blocking
• Prevention of browser download tracking

In my usage, Dragon was as fast as Google Chrome, with the added benefit of improved security features. However, as with any new browser, there's a learning curve in getting used to its specific features and settings.

Advanced Tasks

Comodo Antivirus offers several advanced tasks for users who need more comprehensive security tools:

The advanced tasks include creating rescue disk, cleaning persistent infections, opening the task manager, and more.

Create Rescue Disk

This feature creates a bootable disk image that lets you run virus scans in a pre-boot environment. It's particularly useful for eliminating infections that are preventing Windows from booting.

When creating a rescue disk, you can select ISO file, select target drive and click Start.

Clean Endpoint

This option runs Comodo Cleaning Essentials (CCE) to help identify and remove malware and unsafe processes from infected computers. It includes tools like KillSwitch, a malware scanner, and an Autorun Analyzer.

During the cleaning process, you will see objects scanned, threats found, duration, and more.

View Logs

Comodo logs all events generated by its various modules. You can view specific types of logs, such as antivirus, firewall, and HIPS logs.

The logs display the security events, scan history, and updates, among others.

Warranty

One unique feature of Comodo Antivirus is the warranty that comes with the subscription. This warranty guarantees monetary payment if your computer breaks down due to a virus infection . To activate this warranty, I had to run a PC scan for threats immediately after installation. Once the scan was complete, the warranty became active. You can check the warranty status in the bottom bar of the UI.

System Performance Impact

During my Comodo Antivrus review tests, I paid close attention to how Comodo Antivirus affected my system's performance. While running a full scan, Comodo consumed about 5% CPU power and 100 MB of RAM. This is considerably lower than the industry average of 25% CPU usage and 300 MB RAM consumption.

This low system impact is a significant advantage, as it allows you to run scans without perceptibly slowing down your computer. I was able to continue working on other tasks while Comodo was scanning my system, which is a big plus for productivity.

Comodo Antivirus Review: Conclusion

After extensively testing Comodo Antivirus, I've come away with mixed feelings. Here are my main insights:

1. Confusing User Experience: Comodo is quite challenging to use, especially for beginners. I often found myself unsure about what features my account had and how to use them all. Creating a new account was particularly confusing, requiring me to enter my credit card information again.
2. Feature-Rich but Complex: While Comodo offers a wide range of features, including sandboxing, secure shopping, and cleaning tools, many of these require separate application installations. This separation can make the overall experience feel disconnected.
3. Effective Threat Protection: Despite its usability issues, Comodo does a good job at stopping threats. In my tests, it caught 99% of the malware I threw at it.
4. Weak Web Protection: One area where Comodo falls short is in its web security. It has out-of-date browser extensions for web protection.
5. Advanced Features for Experienced Users: The advanced tasks may be useful for users who are knowledgeable about network security and application security. However, these features might be daunting for average users.

All in all, if you're an experienced user who values customization and doesn't mind a difficult learning curve, Comodo might be worth considering. However, for most users looking for a simple, user-friendly antivirus solution, there might be better options available, such as Norton and Bitdefender. Also don’t miss our guide to the best antivirus software for 2024.

Octav Fedor (Cybersecurity Editor)

Octav is a cybersecurity researcher and writer at AntivirusGuide. When he’s not publishing his honest opinions about security software online, he likes to learn about programming, watch astronomy documentaries, and participate in general knowledge competitions.