#1 Systweak Antivirus Review in 2024
Systweak Antivirus, a lesser-known player in the antivirus market, has been gaining attention lately. As a cybersecurity enthusiast, I decided to test this software and see how it stacks up against the big names in the industry.
In this Systweak Antivirus review, I'll share my hands-on experience with the Indian brand, examining its features, performance, and overall value. Whether you're considering a switch from your current antivirus or looking for your first line of defense, this review will help you make an informed decision.
Here's what you'll learn:
- How effective Systweak Antivirus is at stopping malware and ransomware
- The impact it has on your system's performance
- The additional features it offers, like parental controls and ad blocking
- How user-friendly the interface is for both beginners and advanced users
- Whether Systweak Antivirus is worth your money
Let's examine and see what Systweak Antivirus 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 Systweak Antivirus review:
What You'll Like:
- Easy-to-use interface with logical layout
- Quick scan completes in under a minute
- Effective parental control web filtering
- Low system resource usage during scans
- Includes a useful ad blocker extension
What You May Not Like:
- Limited customization options in settings
- Basic firewall and parental control features
- No data backup or encryption tools
- Lack of advanced features for power users
What Makes This Systweak Antivirus Review Different?
Many antivirus reviews you'll find online are just repeating information from the product's website. They don't give you the real picture of how the software performs in day-to-day use. That's not my style.
For this Systweak Antivirus review, I bought and installed Systweak Antivirus on my personal Dell XPS laptop running Windows 11. I spent over a week testing every feature, running scans, and simulating real-world scenarios to see how it performs.
I've captured over 10 screenshots to show you exactly what to expect from the user interface and various features. My goal is to give you an honest, first-hand account of what it's like to use Systweak Antivirus, flaws and all.
So, whether you're tech-savvy or just looking for basic protection, you'll find the information you need to decide if Systweak Antivirus is right for you.
Buying Systweak Antivirus
When it comes to purchasing Systweak Antivirus, you have three options to choose from: Individual (1 Device/ 1-Year Subscription), Multi-Device (5 Device/ 1-Year), and Family (10 Device/ 1-Year). For this Systweak antivirus review, I went with the Family version to test all the features, including parental controls.
The buying process was uncomplicated. I was pleasantly surprised to see a 75% discount for the first year, which made the price quite attractive. As a bonus, they threw in a free lifetime license for Systweak PhotoStudio, normally priced at $50. That's a nice touch if you're into photo editing.
One thing that gave me confidence was the 60-day money-back guarantee. It's always good to have that safety net when trying out new software. The payment was handled by PayPro Global, a reputable e-commerce platform, which added an extra layer of security to the transaction.
After entering my details and payment information (they accept both credit cards and PayPal), I received two emails from PayPro. These contained my invoice, license key, and download links. The whole process was effortless and took just a few minutes.
Installation
Installing Systweak Antivirus was simple. I clicked on the download link from the confirmation email, and the installer started right away. It did need to download an additional 200 MB of files, which took a little extra time but wasn't a big deal.
The installation process is straightforward and user-friendly During the final stage, I was asked if I wanted to install web protection components. I agreed, as this is an important feature for any antivirus software. Once the program opened, I easily entered my license key by clicking the "Subscribe Now" button, and the activation was instant.
Interface
Systweak Antivirus sports a clean, modern interface that's easy on the eyes. The dark theme with green accents gives it a professional look. The layout is logical, with a left sidebar containing tabs for Protection Status, Scan, Ad Blocker, and Settings.
The user interface is clean and easy to navigate I found navigating through the different features to be uncomplicated. Many options have tooltips that provide additional information, which is helpful for users who aren't tech experts.
One thing to note is that you can't resize the window, and there are no themes or language options other than English. This might be a drawback for some users, but it didn't bother me much during my testing for this Systweak antivirus review.
The general settings are pretty basic. You can configure the program to scan your computer at startup, check for updates periodically, and load at Windows startup. There's also a "Recommended" button that applies what the developers consider the best configuration.
Major Features
Let’s take a closer look at Systweak Antivirus. We’ll explore its key features and evaluate why it could be an excellent choice for safeguarding your device.
Scan
Systweak Antivirus offers three main types of scans: quick, deep, and custom. You can access these from the Scan tab in the main interface. Let's break down each type:
Quick Scan
The quick scan is designed to check critical areas of your system for immediate threats. In my Systweak antivirus review tests, it took just 48 seconds to scan 7,828 files. That's impressively fast! I discovered similar results in antivirus solutions like Bitdefender and McAfee.
The quick scan completed in less than a minute, which is quite fast The scan process is divided into four stages: checking for antivirus updates, scanning memory threats, scanning for startup threats, and scanning files and folder threats (trojans, spyware, adware). I appreciate that it shows you the elapsed time and details about any detected threats.
Deep Scan
The deep scan, as you'd expect, is more thorough. It took 10 minutes and 9 seconds to scan 305,500 files on my system. This scan detected 6 threats, which were files left over from my web protection test. Systweak was able to isolate them successfully.
The deep scan took about 10 minutes and found some leftover test files Custom Scan
For those who want more control, the custom scan option lets you choose specific files or folders to scan. This is useful if you've downloaded new files and want to check them quickly without scanning your entire system.
Scheduled Scan
Systweak also offers a scan scheduler, which I find very useful. You can set up automatic scans at your preferred frequency and time. To access this, go to Settings > Scan > Schedule.
The scan scheduler lets you set up automatic scans at your convenience Removable Drive Scan
Another handy feature is the automatic scan of removable drives. When you plug in a USB drive or external hard disk, Systweak can automatically scan it for threats. You can configure this to scan the entire drive or just the root folder.
Scan settings include selecting action to perform when virus is detected Parental Controls (Web Protection)
Systweak's parental control features, which they call Web Protection, are fairly basic but functional. You can find these settings under the Settings menu.
The parental controls let you block specific domains and categories The main features include:
- Domain exclusion list: Add domains you want to exclude from detection
- Blocked domain list: Add specific domains you want to block
- Blocked keyword list: Add keywords you want to block
- Web categories: Enable or disable access to predefined categories of websites
In my Systweak antivirus review tests, the category blocking worked well. When I tried to access an adult site, Systweak displayed a warning page, effectively blocking access.
Systweak successfully blocked access to an adult website in my test While these features are useful, they're not as comprehensive as some dedicated parental control software. However, for basic web filtering, they get the job done.
Ransomware Protection
Ransomware is a growing threat, so I was particularly interested in testing Systweak's ransomware protection. I used a ransomware simulator to see how well it performed.
The results were decent, with Systweak successfully stopping 11 out of 22 ransomware simulation scenarios. While this is good, it's worth noting that the average success rate for top antivirus programs is around 15 out of 22. So there's room for improvement here.
Firewall
Systweak Antivirus includes a basic firewall that you can configure in the Settings > Firewall Protection > Application Rules section. Here, you can monitor and block internet access for potentially harmful applications.
The firewall lets you control internet access for individual applications While it's not as advanced as some standalone firewall solutions, it provides an additional layer of protection beyond the Windows Firewall.
Ad Blocker
One feature I particularly liked was the StopAll Ads extension. It's a simple but effective ad blocker that integrates well with your browser.
The StopAll Ads extension is easy to use and effective You can configure your own filter lists, whitelist domains, and even block specific elements on a page. I found it particularly useful that the extension displays the number of blocked items on its icon, giving you a quick overview of its effectiveness.
The ad blocker shows you how many items it has blocked on each page Startup Manager
The Startup Manager is a handy tool for optimizing your system's boot time. It scans for startup threats during malware scans and can block unnecessary items that slow down your PC's startup.
The Startup Manager helps you control which programs run at startup To access it, click on the top left corner in the hamburger menu > Quick Access > Startup Manager. The main window shows every startup item, its location (like registry or task scheduler), the developer, and gives you the option to stop it from running at login.
For my performance tests, I used my Dell XPS laptop with an Intel i7-1065G7 CPU and 16 GB of RAM, running Windows 11.
During a full scan, Systweak Antivirus used about 25% of my CPU power and 200MB of RAM. This is actually better than average, with most antivirus programs using around 25% CPU and 300MB of RAM during scans.
This relatively low resource usage means you can run scans without significantly impacting your ability to use your computer for other tasks, which is a big plus in my book.
Systweak Antivirus Review: Conclusion
After spending a week with the software, here are my final thoughts for this Systweak Antivirus review:
- Solid Malware Protection: Systweak successfully detected and isolated threats in my tests, including those from malicious downloads.
- User-Friendly Interface: The dark-themed UI with green accents is easy to navigate, even for beginners.
- Decent Scan Options: Quick, deep, and custom scans are available, with the quick scan taking less than a minute.
- Extra Features: Includes parental controls, ad blocker, and startup manager, though some are basic compared to competitors.
- Ransomware Protection: Stopped 11 out of 22 ransomware simulation scenarios, which is good but not best-in-class.
- Low System Impact: Uses about 25% CPU and 200MB RAM during full scans, which is better than average.
- Affordable Pricing: Offers a 75% discount for the first year and includes a free lifetime license for Systweak PhotoStudio.
In conclusion, while it may not have all the bells and whistles of some top-tier antivirus suites, Systweak Antivirus provides solid protection at a reasonable price point. If you're looking for basic, reliable antivirus protection without breaking the bank, it's definitely worth considering.
For alternative antivirus security, Norton, Kaspersky, and TotalAV are top recommendations. Don’t miss our best antivirus software picks 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.