Trend Micro Review: Is It a Reliable Antivirus Solution in 2024?

#1 Trend Micro Review in 2024

Trend Micro has been a big name in the cybersecurity world since 1988. But with so many antivirus options out there, you might be wondering if it's still worth your time and money. That's why I decided to put Trend Micro to the test and see how it holds up in 2024.

In this Trend Micro review, I'll share my hands-on experience with Trend Micro Premium Security Suite. I've tested everything from its malware protection to its VPN service, and I'm ready to give you the full rundown.

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

• How well Trend Micro protects against malware and online threats
• The performance impact on your device
• The usefulness of extra features like VPN and password manager
• How user-friendly the interface is
• If Trend Micro is worth the price

So, let's examine and see what Trend Micro 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 Trend Micro review:

What You'll Like:

• Strong malware and ransomware protection
• Easy-to-use interface
• Good selection of extra features
• Effective parental controls
• Secure browser for online banking

What You May Not Like:

• VPN performance could be better
• System impact during full scans
• Limited customization options for advanced users

What Makes This Trend Micro Review Different?

I've noticed that many Trend Micro reviews out there seem to just reproduce information from the company's website. That's not very helpful if you're trying to make a real decision about your cybersecurity.

For this review, I wanted to give you a genuine, hands-on look at Trend Micro. I spent two weeks testing Trend Micro Premium Security Suite on my own devices - a Windows 11 laptop, to be exact. I ran it through various real-world scenarios, tested all its features, and even tried to trip it up with some simulated threats.

Throughout this Trend Micro review, you'll find over 20 screenshots I took during my testing. These aren't just stock images - they're real examples of what you'll see when using Trend Micro. I believe this approach gives you a much better idea of what to expect if you decide to purchase this antivirus.

Buying Trend Micro

When I decided to test Trend Micro, I went for their top-tier option: Premium Security Suite. It includes all the bells and whistles, like VPN and identity protection, which I wanted to try out.

The buying process was uncomplicated. I headed to their website and found the Home versions section. There were four options to choose from: Antivirus+Security, Internet Security, Maximum Security, and Premium Security Suite. I chose the Premium Security Suite because it offered the most thorough protection.

One thing that caught my eye was the substantial discount - 60% off for the first year of subscription. That's a pretty good deal if you ask me. After clicking the "Buy now" button, I was taken to their store page.

The checkout process was divided into three simple steps: Cart, Review, and Finish. In the Cart section, I entered my payment details. They accept credit cards, PayPal, and Google Pay, which gives you some nice options. The Review step let me double-check my order before confirming.

Finally, in the Finish stage, I got my installation instructions and product serial number. Trend Micro also sent me an email with this information, which is handy if you need to install on multiple devices later.

Overall, buying Trend Micro was a simple experience. The process was clear, and I appreciated the various payment options and the immediate access to my product information.

Installation

Installing Trend Micro was a breeze. I downloaded the Windows 11 installer from their help center - it was a 443 MB file, which is pretty standard for antivirus software these days.

Trend Micro installation wizard

The installation process itself took just two minutes, which is impressively quick. During the installation, I was prompted to enter my serial number, which I had received after purchase.

One thing to note is that at the end of the installation, Trend Micro asked me to activate my protection by providing my email address and creating an account directly from the user interface. This is a common practice for antivirus software, as it helps with things like remote management and updates.

After creating my account, a new window popped up suggesting I install the Trend Micro toolbar extension. This is optional, but it can provide additional protection while browsing.

It's worth mentioning that while the main antivirus was now installed, I still needed to separately install the VPN and password manager. These were additional downloads from the installation instructions page. This isn't uncommon for extensive security suites, but it's something to be aware of if you're expecting everything to be installed at once.

Interface

When you first open Trend Micro, you're greeted with a clean, uncomplicated interface. The main window is a fixed size that you can't resize, which might be a bit limiting for some users.

Trend Micro's main user interface

The centerpiece of the interface is a big "Scan" button, which I found very natural to use. Right below it, you'll see your protection status - it should say "Protected" when all security modules are enabled. To the right of the Scan button, there are two more buttons: one for main settings and another for security reports.

At the top of the window, you'll find four tabs: Device, Privacy, Data, and Family. These categories make it easy to navigate to different features and settings.

One thing I particularly liked during my Trend Micro review was the option to customize the background and animations. Trend Micro offers 10 different backgrounds to choose from, all in light colors. Unfortunately, there's no dark mode available, which might be a downside for some users who prefer darker interfaces.

You can manage your Trend Micro account from an online dashboard. Here, you'll find installers for each program included in your license: Maximum Security (the main antivirus application), VPN Proxy One Pro, Password Manager, and ID Security (for Android and iOS). The dashboard also lets you manage your license, change profile information, and access various resources like security reports and free tools.

Overall, I found the interface to be user-friendly and well-organized. While it might lack some advanced customization options, it should be easy for most users to navigate and use effectively.

Major Features

Now, let's examine the major features of Trend Micro Premium Security Suite. I'll share my experience with each feature and how well they performed in my tests.

Web Protection

Web protection is crucial in today's online world, and Trend Micro offers this through a browser extension. This extension not only provides web protection but also email protection for Gmail, Outlook.com, and Yahoo Mail when you're signed in. It also includes ad blocking and privacy scanning for your social media accounts and browsers.

The web protection settings include email security, privacy scanner, and more.

One interesting feature was the link highlighting. The extension marks links on web pages as green if they're safe and red if they're unsafe. This visual cue can be really helpful when browsing potentially risky websites.

To test the web protection for this Trend Micro review, I visited several known malicious websites:

• Maliciouswebsitetest.com wasn't blocked, which was a bit surprising.
• WICAR test page was successfully blocked by Trend Micro.
• All threats on the AMTSO (Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization) page were blocked.
• The EICAR test file download was also blocked.

Here's how blocks a malicious website.

The ad blocker worked well in my tests, blocking ads on various websites. However, it left white rectangles where the ads used to be, rather than making them disappear completely. This might not be ideal for everyone, but it does effectively remove the ad content.

Overall, Trend Micro's web protection performed well, although the miss on maliciouswebsitetest.com was a bit concerning. The additional features like email protection and link highlighting add extra layers of security to your browsing experience.

Scan

Trend Micro offers several scanning options to keep your device protected. Let's look at each of them:

Quick Scan

The Quick Scan is designed to check the most common places where malware such as spyware, trojans, and adware hide. You can start it by clicking the big "SCAN" button in the center of the main window.

In my Trend Micro review tests, the quick scan finished in about 2 minutes and scanned 4511 files. It didn't find any threats on my system, which was expected as I keep my test machine pretty clean.

One interesting feature is that the Quick Scan also analyzes your optimization level, which I'll discuss more in the PC Health Checkup section.

Full Scan

For a more thorough check, you can run a Full Scan. This scans your entire computer, including any external drives (except network drives).

Trend Micro's scan results show total files scanned and optimization level.

My full scan took about 25 minutes and scanned over 351,000 files. It found two potential threats and resolved them automatically. This scan time is pretty average compared to other antivirus solutions I've tested.

Custom Scan

If you want more control over what gets scanned, the Custom Scan option lets you choose specific drives or folders. To start a custom scan, you click on the menu icon next to the SCAN button and select the areas you want to scan. It's straightforward to use, although I found the options a bit limited compared to some other antivirus software.

Scan Preferences

Trend Micro offers several scan settings that you can configure to your liking. These include options like scanning for threats when downloading files, enabling machine learning to protect from new threats, and closing programs that have been exploited by hackers.

The scan settings let you choose protection level, deletion settings, and more.

You can also adjust the protection level between normal, sensitive, and automatic. This flexibility is nice, although some more advanced users might wish for even more detailed control.

Folder Shield (Ransomware Protection)

Ransomware is a significant threat these days, so I was particularly interested in testing Trend Micro's ransomware protection feature, called Folder Shield.

Trend Micro's Folder Shield keeps your most sensitive folders safe.

Folder Shield works by adding extra security to selected folders, preventing ransomware from encrypting your files. By default, it protects your Documents, Pictures, and OneDrive folders, but you can add more folders easily.

I liked that you can enable protection for all connected USB drives, which is great if you frequently use external storage. There's also a Trusted Program List where you can add programs that should be allowed to access protected folders.

In my testing, Folder Shield seemed to work well, although without actually unleashing ransomware on my system (which would be too risky), it's hard to say with 100% certainty how effective it is. However, the concept is solid and it should provide good protection against ransomware attacks.

VPN

Trend Micro's VPN service, called VPN Proxy One Pro, is a separate program that you need to install alongside the main antivirus. The interface is simple and user-friendly, with a big connect button in the center and a list of server locations to choose from.

Trend Micro's VPN interface displays a world map and highlights the country you're connected to.

The VPN offers 19 server locations, which is fewer than some dedicated VPN services but should be enough for most users. I appreciated the world map in the background that highlights the country you've connected to.

In terms of features, the VPN includes a kill switch, split tunneling, and the option to automatically connect on unsecured Wi-Fi networks or when using specific apps. These are nice additions that you don't always see in antivirus-bundled VPNs.

However, I did encounter some issues during my tests. Some servers, like United States - West, Netherlands, and Germany, didn't allow me to visit any websites besides Google.com. Other servers, like United States - Central, worked fine.

When testing speeds, I found:

• No VPN: 540 Mbps download, 360 Mbps upload, 4 ms latency
• United States - Central: 250 Mbps download, 56 Mbps upload, 159 ms latency

This represents a significant speed drop, especially in upload speeds. It's not terrible, but it's not great either.

For privacy testing, I used ipleak.net and perfect-privacy.com. The VPN passed the perfect-privacy.com test, hiding my IP and DNS. However, it failed the ipleak.net test, revealing my real DNS addresses.

Overall, while the VPN is a nice inclusion in the package, it has some limitations in terms of speed and server reliability. It's fine for basic use, but heavy VPN users might want to consider a dedicated VPN service.

PC Health Checkup

The PC Health Checkup is a useful tool for optimizing your computer's performance. You can access it from the Device > PC Health Checkup menu.

PC Health Checkup results include security vulnerability fixes, regaining disk space, cleaning privacy data, and more.

When you run it, the software analyzes your PC and shows you its optimization level. In my case, it initially showed "Good". The tool then offers to make improvements in areas like updating your OS, reducing computer startup time, deleting junk files, and cleaning privacy data.

I found this feature quite helpful, especially for users who might not regularly maintain their PC. However, it's worth noting that for some issues, like "Protect Browser Passwords", you need to take action yourself rather than the software doing it automatically.

Mute Mode

Mute Mode is a handy feature for gamers or anyone who needs to focus without interruptions. You can find it under Device > Mute Mode.

Mute Mode configuration options are quite limited.

This feature temporarily stops non-critical notifications while you're doing important tasks. You can set it to activate automatically when you're in full-screen mode, or manually for a set amount of time.

I particularly liked that you can choose to disable Windows Updates during Mute Mode and even terminate specific programs automatically when Mute Mode is enabled. This level of customization is great for tailoring the feature to your needs.

Email Protection

Trend Micro offers two types of email protection. The first is Outlook protection for the desktop application, which filters out spam and checks attachments for threats. You can configure this in Settings > Internet & Email Controls > Spam & Emailed Files.

The second is the Email Defender feature in the Trend Micro Toolbar extension. This works with Gmail, Outlook.com, and Yahoo Mail when you're signed in, stopping threats in email attachments.

These features worked well in my Trend Micro review tests, providing an extra layer of security for email communications. However, I recommend Norton's email protection feature as a better alternative, which shields up to five email accounts from phishing scams and malicious file attachments.

Network Protection

Trend Micro's network protection enhances your Windows Firewall and detects botnet programs that could potentially take over your computer. It also warns you when you're connected to potentially unsafe wireless networks or hotspots.

You can manage these features from Settings > Internet & Email Controls > Network. While I didn't encounter any unsafe networks during my testing period, it's comforting to know this protection is in place.

Exceptions List

The Exceptions List is a useful feature that allows you to exclude certain items from Trend Micro's scans and monitoring. There are three types of exceptions you can set:

Trend Micro's Exceptions List settings - you can add or remove trusted websites.

1. Programs/folders: You can select specific programs or folders to be ignored during scans.
2. Websites: You can add trusted websites that you don't want Trend Micro to block.
3. Wireless Connection: You can add trusted access points to avoid notifications when connecting to them.

This feature provides good adaptability, especially if you have programs or websites that you know are safe but might be marked by the antivirus.

Privacy Scanner

The Privacy Scanner helps you manage your privacy settings on social networking sites and adjust your web browser settings for better privacy.

Privacy Scanner checks your pviacy on social media networks with one click.

You can access this feature via Privacy > Privacy Scanner. It offers two main functions:

1. Social Network Privacy: This checks your privacy settings on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. In my test, it found 4 privacy concerns on my Facebook account, mostly related to who can see my personal info.
2. Web Browser Privacy: This checks for privacy concerns in your browsers. Unfortunately, in my test, the scanner ran into trouble with Google Chrome and displayed an error.

While the concept is good, the execution seems a bit buggy, especially with the browser privacy check.

Social Networking Protection

This feature shows you which links shared on social networking sites are safe or risky. You can access it via Privacy > Social Networking Protection.

Social Networking Protection displays which browser it protected.

In my tests, the Trend Micro web browser extension displayed a green checkmark next to links it considered safe, and a question mark next to unverified links. This visual cue is helpful when browsing social media sites.

Pay Guard

Pay Guard is Trend Micro's secure browser for online banking and shopping. It's essentially a fortified version of your regular browser, designed to protect your financial transactions.

The Pay Guard browser is minimalistic to enhance transaction security.

You can add protected websites to a list, so they automatically open in Pay Guard. Every time you open a financial-related website, Trend Micro will ask if you want to open it in a new Pay Guard window.

I found this feature to be very useful for secure online transactions. The extra layer of protection provides peace of mind when dealing with sensitive financial information. However, it's not at the level of Bitdefender's Safepay which adds built-in VPN, a virtual keyboard, and more. 

Data Theft Prevention

This feature aims to stop hackers and spyware from stealing sensitive data. It's particularly useful for protecting children from accidentally sharing personal information online.

Data Theft Prevention settings include adding sensitive data to protect.

You can access this via Privacy > Data Theft Prevention. The feature allows you to store part of your sensitive information (like a few digits of your credit card number) to protect the whole thing. For example, providing any seven sequential digits from your credit card can block spyware from getting the entire number.

In my tests, I added part of my SSN and credit card number - it required at least four characters. This feature worked well, although it might take some time to set up properly.

Secure Erase

Secure Erase is Trend Micro's file shredder feature. It permanently erases files so they can't be recovered, which is useful for sensitive documents.

Secure Erase options let you choose between quick and permanent erase.

You can access this feature by right-clicking any file and selecting "Delete with Secure Erase". There are two options:

1. Quick Erase: Overwrites a deleted file once.
2. Permanent Erase: Overwrites a deleted file seven times, meeting US Federal Government data security standards.

IOverall, this feature is simple and effective, providing an extra level of security for sensitive data deletion.

Password Manager

Trend Micro's Password Manager lets you securely store and manage your passwords across devices. It's a separate installation from the main antivirus program.

The Password Manager dashboard allow you to edit password entries as well as data forms.

To use the Password Manager, you need to install the browser extension and set up a master password. The manager can save your login details as you browse, or you can add them manually.

All in all, the password manager is user-friendly and functional. It includes a password generator, which is handy for creating strong, unique passwords for each account.

Vault

The Vault feature creates a password-protected folder on your Windows computer to keep sensitive files secure. An interesting aspect of this feature is that if your computer is lost or stolen, the Vault can automatically seal itself remotely.

Vault settings include reporting a loss and regaining access of lost data.

Trend Micro creates a new Vault folder on your desktop during setup. You can also report your computer as lost or regain access to the vault from the settings.

This feature provides an extra layer of security for your most sensitive files, which I found comforting.

Parental Control

Trend Micro's Parental Control feature is thorough, allowing you to manage what your children can access online and when they can use the computer.

The Parental Controls allow you to set website filder riles, time limits, and program controls.

The setup process involves five steps:

1. Get Started: An introduction to parental controls.
2. Website Filter Rules: Block access to certain website categories based on the child's age.
3. Time Limits: Schedule internet usage and set daily computer use limits.
4. Program Controls: Prevent access to specific programs at certain times.
5. Finish Up: Review your parental control settings.

My opinion is that the parental controls are well-designed and easy to use, offering a good range of controls for parents.

System Performance Impact

During my testing for this Trend Micro review, I monitored how Trend Micro affected my system's performance. While running a full scan, Trend Micro used about 30-50% CPU and 300-400 MB of RAM.

System resource usage during a full scan

This is about average compared to other top antivirus products. When idle, the impact was minimal.

Trend Micro does provide an "Extra Performance" option in the System Startup settings. This delays loading security software drivers until after the computer has started, helping the OS launch more quickly. Alternatively, you can choose "Extra Security", where drivers load immediately for instant protection.

Trend Micro Review: Conclusion

After thoroughly testing Trend Micro Premium Security Suite, here are my final thoughts:

1. Feature-rich package: Trend Micro offers a thorough set of security tools, including antivirus, VPN, PC optimization, email protection, and much more. Most features are well-designed and offer useful customization options.
2. User-friendly interface: The software is easy to navigate and use, making it suitable for both beginners and more experienced users.
3. Strong malware protection: In my tests, Trend Micro effectively blocked various types of threats, including ransomware.
4. Decent performance impact: While not the lightest on system resources, Trend Micro's impact is about average for a full-featured security suite.
5. Room for improvement: The VPN performance could be better, and some features like the Privacy Scanner had minor issues.

Overall, Trend Micro Premium Security Suite is a solid choice for users looking for comprehensive protection. Its mix of strong core antivirus capabilities and useful additional features make it a competitive option in the crowded antivirus market. If you're seeking alternatives for antivirus protection, Norton, Bitdefender, and McAfee are great options to consider. Also, be sure to check out our list of best antivirus software for 2024.

While it may not be perfect in every area, its strengths in malware protection, user-friendliness, and feature set make it worth considering for your digital security needs.

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.