GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review: How Effective Is It in 2024?

#1 GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review in 2024

GridinSoft Anti-Malware has been around for quite some time, but I wanted to see how it stacks up against the competition in 2024. As a cybersecurity enthusiast, I'm always curious about the latest antivirus solutions and their effectiveness in protecting our digital lives.

In this thorough GridinSoft Anti-Malware review, I'll take you through my hands-on experience with GridinSoft Anti-Malware. I've spent considerable time testing its features, performance, and overall user experience to give you an honest evaluation.

Here's what you can expect to learn from this review:

• How effective GridinSoft Anti-Malware is at detecting and removing threats
• The ease of use and interface design
• Key features and their performance
• Impact on system resources
• Value for money and pricing options

Let's examine and see what GridinSoft Anti-Malware has to offer!

In a Hurry? Here's a Quick Summary

If you're short on time, here's a quick overview of my findings for this GridinSoft Anti-Malware review:

What You'll Like:

• Multiple scan types for thorough system checks
• Ransomware protection feature
• USB device protection
• Regular database updates

What You May Not Like:

• Outdated user interface
• Below-average web protection performance
• Higher system resource usage during scans
• Limited additional features compared to some competitors

What Makes This GridinSoft Anti-Malware Review Different?

You might have come across other GridinSoft Anti-Malware reviews, but I promise you this one is different. I'm not here to simply repeat information from the company's website or give you a surface-level overview. Instead, I've spent considerable time using the software on my own devices, testing its features, and pushing it to its limits.

For this review, I used GridinSoft Anti-Malware on my Dell XPS laptop running Windows 10. I've run multiple scans, tested its web protection capabilities, and even simulated various malware scenarios to see how it performs under pressure. I've captured numerous screenshots throughout my testing process to give you a visual representation of my experience.

My goal is to provide you with an honest, unbiased review based on real-world usage. I'm not afraid to point out both the strengths and weaknesses of the software, so you can make an informed decision about whether GridinSoft Anti-Malware is right for you.

Buying GridinSoft Anti-Malware

Before we examine the details of the software, let's talk about the buying process. I always find it helpful to know what to expect when purchasing a new product, so I'll walk you through my experience.

GridinSoft offers several different plans for their Anti-Malware software. You can choose from a 6-day free trial version, Standard, Family, and Extended Family plans. The main difference between these plans is the number of devices you can install the software on.

For my review, I decided to go with the Standard version, which allows installation on one corporate computer or two home devices. I also opted for the 6-month subscription instead of the 1-year option, as I wanted to test it out for a shorter period first.

The purchasing process was uncomplicated. After clicking the "Subscribe" button on their website, I was taken to a secure payment page. Here, I entered my billing information - I chose to pay via debit card, but PayPal was also an option. One thing to note is that they did offer an additional sale for a trojan killer program, which I decided to skip.

After completing the purchase, I received an email containing my invoice, license key, and credentials for the customer control panel. This email arrived promptly, which I appreciated.

Overall, the buying process was effortless and trouble-free. Now, let's move on to the installation and see how GridinSoft Anti-Malware performs!

Installation

Installing GridinSoft Anti-Malware was a breeze. I downloaded the installer from their website to get the free trial version, planning to upgrade it later using the license key I received in my order confirmation email.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware installation progress.

The installation process was quick, taking only 1 minute and 20 seconds on my Dell XPS laptop. What surprised me was that there were no options to select during the installation wizard - it was a one-click process, which some users might appreciate for its simplicity.

To activate the full version of the product, I simply copied my license key from the email they sent me and pasted it into the Info tab of the user interface. This tab also contains information about the user and has convenient links to email support, visit their forum, access online help, and open the online dashboard.

Interface

Now, let's talk about the user interface of GridinSoft Anti-Malware. I have to be honest - this is an area where the software could use some improvement.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware main user interface looks a bit outdated and it's a bit hard to use at first.

The user interface consists of a square window that includes a group of tabs at the top for accessing the main features. The main options for the selected tab are displayed in the middle, and at the bottom, there's a bar with a shortcut to customer support.

While the layout is functional, I found it a bit outdated and hard to follow. There are many elements that may confuse users, especially those who are not tech-savvy. It's not very user-friendly overall, which is a shame because the software itself has some good features.

On the positive side, you can resize the window as you wish, which is handy if you want to see more information at once. Another plus is the language support - you can choose from 37 different languages in the Settings, which is great for international users.

Unfortunately, there's no option to change the theme or color scheme of the interface. A dark mode option would have been a nice addition, especially for those of us who like to work late into the night.

Despite these drawbacks, once you get used to the layout, you can navigate through the various features without too much trouble. It's just not as intuitive as some of the more modern antivirus interfaces I've used.

Major Features

Now, let’s focus on what GridinSoft Anti-Malware antivirus can do for you. We’ll walk through its critical features and evaluate its suitability for your protection needs. 

Internet Security

One of the key features of any antivirus software is its ability to protect you while browsing the internet. GridinSoft's web protection feature can be enabled from the Protect tab > Internet Security.

You can enable or disable the Internet Security module if you wish.

This feature is designed to stop malicious websites from opening and prevent downloads of harmful software. I was eager to put this to the test, so I enabled it and tried opening several known malicious links using multiple browsers on my laptop.

The results were a bit mixed during my tests for this GridinSoft Anti-Malware review:

• Malicious website test - Unfortunately, GridinSoft failed to block this one.
• WICAR - Better results here, as it blocked all the malicious links on this page.
• AMTSO - GridinSoft failed in 4 out of 6 tests, which was disappointing.
• EICAR - The software only managed to block 2 out of 4 test files.

These results suggest that while GridinSoft's web protection has some capability, it's not as robust as I'd like to see. It's definitely an area where there's room for improvement.

Scan

GridinSoft Anti-Malware offers several scanning options to help you keep your system clean and secure. Let's go through each of them:

Quick Scan

The Quick Scan is designed to quickly check the most critical parts of your system. In my test, it lasted for 1 minute and 7 seconds, scanned 2661 files, and found 1557 threats. This was actually a system startup scan that performed the quick scan.

Standard Scan

The Standard Scan is intended to check areas of your system where threats typically appear. When I ran this scan, it took 11 minutes and 56 seconds, scanned almost 75,300 files, and detected 4 threats.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware standard scan results

I allowed GridinSoft to remove the threats (such as spyware, trojans, and adware) it found, and it did so quickly and efficiently:

GridinSoft Anti-Malware removing detected threats

Full Scan

The Full Scan checks your entire computer and all hard disks for potential threats. In my test, it lasted for 13 minutes, scanned 122,300 files, and interestingly, detected no threats, even though I opened several malware testing links and downloaded a few test threats. The quick scan must have dealt with these test threats already.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware full scan results: 134,260 items scanned in 7 minutes.

Custom Scan

The Custom Scan allows you to select specific folders to scan, including plugged drives. It's easy to choose different options for scanning in this mode. In my brief test, it scanned the folders I selected quickly, though I didn't encounter any threats in my chosen locations.

Scheduled Scan

GridinSoft Anti-Malware also offers a Scheduled Scan feature, which I find particularly useful. You can set up regular scans or one-time scans at your convenience. To do this, go to Settings > Scheduled Scan and choose the type of scan (quick, standard, or full), day of the week, time, and several scan options such as sending threats to quarantine automatically.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware scheduled scan settings

After setting up a scheduled scan, it turns active in the right-hand area, and the time until the next scan is displayed. This feature ensures that your system is regularly checked for threats, even if you forget to run manual scans.

Scan Settings

GridinSoft Anti-Malware provides various options that directly affect the scanning and removal processes. You can find these settings in Settings > Scan & Clean. One setting I particularly appreciated was the 'Potential Unwanted Programs and Riskware detection' option. Potential Unwanted Programs (PUPs) are programs you can use at your own risk, but they may cause issues on your PC.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware scan and clean settings

Scan Results

Once a scan is finished, you have several options for dealing with detected items. The easiest way is to press the Clean Now button, which quarantines all detected items. This means they'll stay on your PC but will be neutralized.

If you switch to ADVANCED MODE, you get more options:

• 'Ignore Once' for items you want to ignore in current scan results.
• 'Ignore always' for items you think are clean and should not be detected.
• 'Move to quarantine' for items you want to remove but might need to restore later.
• 'Delete' for permanent removal of selected files.

Remember, all actions applied in ADVANCED MODE will be saved when switching back to the usual mode, so use this option carefully.

Ransomware Protection

Ransomware is a serious threat in today's digital world, so I was particularly interested in testing GridinSoft's ransomware protection feature. To do this, I used a ransomware simulator to see how effective the software is at stopping this type of attack.

The results were quite good - GridinSoft Anti-Malware successfully stopped 13 out of 22 ransomware simulation scenarios. This is actually on par with the average success rate of many antivirus programs, which is encouraging to see. Other top antivirus solutions, such as McAfee and TotalAV, scored a bit better in the ransomware test.

USB Protection

Another feature that caught my attention during this GridinSoft Anti-Malware review is the USB protection. This feature blocks access to any attached device before it's scanned for threats. For example, if you plug in an infected USB drive, files on that drive can't launch themselves automatically. GridinSoft Anti-Malware checks the drive before allowing access, adding an extra layer of protection against threats that might come from external devices.

Update

Regular updates are crucial for any antivirus software to provide maximum protection. GridinSoft Anti-Malware has an Update module that ensures the program is always up to date. This is done in two ways - by updating the virus signature database and by updating the application itself.

The exact update status is always available in the Update tab.

When you launch GridinSoft Anti-Malware, it automatically arranges its update if your PC is online. You can also manually update by clicking the Check Update button.

In the Settings, you have options to update the malware database before every scan, on startup, every hour, or every day. This flexibility is great for ensuring you're always protected against the latest threats.

Tools

GridinSoft Anti-Malware comes with a set of additional tools that can be found in the Tools tab of the user interface. These tools provide extra functionality to help maintain your system's health and security.

In the tools overview, you can access the quarantine list, collect system info, and more.

Reset Browser Settings

Some malware can change your browser settings, causing redirect problems and other issues. The Reset Browser Settings tool helps you revert these changes back to normal.

You can reset specific items to reset in your installed browsers.

You can select which browsers you want to reset and which items need to be restored to their default mode. In my tests, this tool worked effectively, restoring my browser settings after I deliberately changed them.

Quarantine List

The Quarantine List is a safe place where potentially harmful files are stored after the cleaning process. This gives you the ability to restore removed elements if needed.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware quarantine list

You can set how long files are kept in Quarantine (from 1 to 30 days) in the Scan & Clean settings. This feature provides a safety net in case you accidentally quarantine a file you later need.

Collect System Info

For troubleshooting purposes, GridinSoft offers a tool to collect detailed system information. This tool gathers data about your hardware, installed software, drivers, processes, and autorun items. It's important to note that it doesn't collect any secure information, passwords, or personal data.

The system information collection tool

This tool can be particularly useful if you need to contact GridinSoft's support team, as it provides them with thorough information about your system's state.

Log Files

GridinSoft Anti-Malware keeps three types of logs:

• Scan Logs: These contain information about each finished or unfinished scan.
• Protection Logs: These keep records for all three types of protection when at least one of them is switched on.
• Application Logs: These are used to investigate cases of incorrect application behavior.

The log files are listed in the Tools tab and display exact details about actions taken in the antivirus solution.

These logs can be helpful for diagnosing or understanding what the software has been doing on your system.

Ignore List

The Ignore List allows you to exclude certain programs or links from being detected in future scans. This can be useful if you have programs that you know are safe but are being flagged by the antivirus.

The ignore list included locations you don't want to scan.

System Performance Impact

One aspect that's crucial to consider when choosing an antivirus solution is its impact on system performance. During my tests, I found that GridinSoft Anti-Malware's system impact was a bit higher than average.

While running a full scan, GridinSoft Anti-Malware consumed about 50% CPU power and 400 MB of RAM. This is above the average CPU usage of 25% and RAM consumption of 300 MB that I've seen in other antivirus products.

If you're using an older or less powerful computer, you might notice some slowdown during scans. However, on my relatively modern Dell XPS laptop, the impact was evident but not severe enough to significantly impede my work.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware: Conclusion

After spending substantial time with GridinSoft Anti-Malware, I've formed a balanced view of its strengths and weaknesses. Here's my final take:

Pros:

• GridinSoft Anti-Malware offers a thorough set of scanning options, including quick, standard, full, and custom scans.
• The ransomware protection feature performed well in my tests, blocking a good number of simulated attacks.
• USB protection is a useful feature for preventing threats from external devices.
• The software provides regular updates to its virus definition database, which is crucial for protection against new threats.

Cons:

• The user interface is outdated and not very user-friendly, which could be an obstacle for less tech-savvy users.
• Web protection performance was below average in my tests, failing to block some known malicious websites.
• The system impact during scans is higher than average, which could be an issue for users with older or less powerful computers.
• Some additional features found in competitor products are missing here.

In conclusion, GridinSoft Anti-Malware is a solid antivirus solution with some room for improvement. Its core functionality - detecting and removing malware - is reliable, and features like ransomware protection and USB protection add value. However, the outdated interface and higher-than-average system impact during scans are areas that could use some work.

If you're looking for a simple antivirus solution and can overlook the interface issues, GridinSoft Anti-Malware could be a good choice. However, if you want a more refined user experience or need more advanced features, you might want to consider other options in the market, such as Norton and Bitdefender. For a top 10 list of the best antivirus software on the market today, visit our dedicated page.

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.