SecureAPlus Premium Review - 12-in-1 AV Solution with Application Control

very good
key review info
application features
  • Uses 12 av engines to scan for malware
  • (7 more, see all...)

When it comes to anti-malware package solutions, users who are interested in maximizing their computer's security are likely to study several products before deciding which is the right one, depending on their priorities: real-time protection, detection ratio, firewall, anti-phishing, scan speed, resources consumption, and so on.

SecureAPlus simplifies this decision for those who prefer a responsive real-time guard, good malware detection ratio, manageable application rules, and minimal resources usage above all else. It's cloud-based and combines twelve popular av engines into one: AVG, Avira, BitDefender, ClamWin, ESET, Emsisoft, McAfee, Microsoft Security Essentials, Norman, Quick Heal, Sophos, and Total Defense. Moreover, it features a customizable list for trusted programs.

The universal AV is available through the SecureAPlus online installer, and requires an active Internet connection to ensure PC protection from the latest threats. The offline installer has the ClamAV engine, which keeps the machine safe when offline. Alongside the 12 independent av engines, SecureAPlus scans the suspicious files with the help of VirusTotal's online database of 50+ av engines.

Installation and initial scan

After setup, the application gets integrated into the Windows autostart sequence and adds new entries to the right-click menu for scanning custom files and folders, setting the trust level for a file, folder or program (trusted application, trusted installer, not trusted), as well as for showing the whitelist. It also creates a new icon in the systray that enables you to quickly call the main app window, modify the application whitelisting mode, or configure settings.

The main panel in SecureAPlus
The main panel in SecureAPlus

A full system scan is automatically initialized at SecureAPlus's launch and it's possible to change the speed level. This window can be either minimized to continue with your normal PC activity, or the virus scan can be stopped by exiting it.

Allow or block programs through the whitelist

From this point on, the applications attempting to run on your computer (whether they were launched by you or automatically) are monitored by SecureAPlus. By default, it uses its predefined list with trusted programs and pops up a message from the systray whenever an unrecognized process tries to run.

This process is automatically scanned via VirusTotal. You can find out the detection ratio and the process which attempted to launch the blocked file, unblock the file or keep it blocked, as well as ask the tool to remember your answer for all future events triggered by the same process.

Manage standard and advanced whitelisting settings

Interactive mode is turned on by default after installing SecureAPlus. This means that, whenever a program that doesn't exist on the trusted list tries to launch, you will be prompted for action. However, you can skip these prompts by switching to lockdown mode to automatically block all untrusted apps, or by marking all unknown programs as trusted for 5 minutes, 10 minutes or until the next system restart.

Disable av engines in SecureAPlus
Disable av engines in SecureAPlus

As far as advanced options are concerned, SecureAPlus is set to trust programs based on their digital signature, but it can switch to learning mode to record all blocked applications in the whitelist log. You can view lists with default trusted applications, certificates, script interpreters and the file extensions assigned to the script, as well as remove any entry or add new ones. Furthermore, you can export the whitelist to file, optimize the whitelist database, and view log details.

Cloud-based malware protection and settings

On malware detection, a notification appears from the systray. You can find out the full file path, threat type and name of antivirus applications which detected each threat. You should keep in mind that each av engine has its own set of virus signatures and false positives in its database, so you'll probably encounter a lot of false positives with SecureAPlus.

However, if a file is considered suspicious by multiple av engines, then it's most likely malware. It's possible to delete the file, ignore it from the current scan or all future scans, or send it to the quarantine for isolation and examination. Plus, you can view history with all detections, manage the quarantine, and remove items from scan exclusions.

Regarding antivirus settings, you can disable the offline antivirus, universal av and real-time scanning mode, exclude any files and folders from scans and specify the file extensions to take into account, deactivate any of the 12 av engines, as well as create a list of PC users with access to modifying the whitelist.


The Good

We put SecureAPlus to the test against 8,502 virus files in our evaluation. After we extracted them from the password-protected archive, the real-time guard immediately picked up on the threats and started removing them. Once the job was done, we ran the contextual scanner two times to make sure. In the end, out of 8,502 total files, SecureAPlus removed 8,168 items, leaving behind only 334 files. This means that it had a roughly 96% malware detection ratio. CPU and RAM usage was minimal.

The utility worked smoothly on Windows 7 and Windows 10 in our tests, without hanging, crashing and prompting error messages. It automatically gets updated with the latest virus signatures.

You can easily allow or block applications by managing a trust list. There are standard and advanced whitelisting settings to please both types of users.

SecureAPlus uses 12 well-known av engines in the cloud as well as VirusTotal's database to find and remove malware.

The Bad

The initial full system scan was very slow and we haven't noticed any modifications when changing the speed, even when the computer was idle, not even to CPU and RAM usage (which was constantly low). The scanner was generally slow, in fact.

We had 4 processes constantly running in the background for SecureAPlus, its virus scanner service, universal av and whitelisting notifier, as well as a fifth process for the full system scan.

It doesn't contain additional options for those looking for an all-round Internet security suite, such as anti-phishing or a self-defense module against hijackers.

The Truth

To wrap it up, SecureAPlus may not have a rich set of features as other av solutions we've tested, and this may be an issue for some users. Plus, its scan time could be improved.

However, it set out to deliver good malware detection results and an easy way to manage trusted programs, and we think it gets the job done. You don't have to take our word for it, since you can download, install and test SecureAPlus for yourself.

According to the developer who has analyzed user feedback, SecureAPlus is getting a major UI update and feature improvements in early 2016.

NOTE: Softpedia, in association with SecureAge Technology, is giving away 100 FREE licenses for SecureAPlus Premium. Each key is available for 1 PC, must be activated before September 13, 2015, and has a 24-month availability (valued at $45 / € 39.96). All you have to do is leave us a comment in the section below until next Friday, August 28, and tell us what you like or don't like about SecureAPlus Premium, or what feature you would like to get implemented in future versions. 

We will pick the 100 best comments and send you an email. Make sure to enter your valid email address to be considered for the giveaway promo. Please note that only comments left on this page will be eligible for the giveaway promotion.

Thank you to all participants! And the winners are: (all emails have been sent)  

· mani · Rajaryaa · Zoran Dujmic · albert jennings
· Ruhim · Adrian · João Moleano · Christian Renan
· Liz · MYDIGIT · khajehpoor · Brian Lawrence
· ayyan · Jamin · M. Steiner · Anthony Gbetsah
· Jim · RAJEER · Dukesteelman · Łukasz Brześniowski
· epul · Joanna · Gopal Raha · Gustavo A. Darino
· halim · Gerhardt · Steve Hull · Mushtaq Moghal
· ha14 · mdz hbk · Arne XPer · tarek elagamy
· Serge · slawko28 · Les Heaps · Stephen Waters
· Dji · renen · Rex Doreen · Frank Olivieri
· Jose · faical · Marvin Davis · Harry Malhotra
· Lee · Aachen · George Jolly · nicola speranza
· flo · leofelix · Willie Botes · Frank Mohnhaupt
· Jogs · George · user7411048 · Daniel Platten
· aj · Appu DG · steve hay · sanjeev shuklla
· tompy · radek · Billie Gray · Kaushik Medhi
· MRF · anjan · Huhu Dz · Robert ("Following the..")
· Igor · Kallol · Mike Simms · Alexander S.
· hakah · Rolando · pol mildner · Alex ("SecureAPlus is..")
· TinM · Woomera · Nehat Sopa · Alex ("I have used..")
· Larry · arslan · Daniel J. · Sorin
· Julio · Aleksey · vlassisneo · sorin
· Yo · alain · Wayne Holly · John Legg
· Andy · Mr E · Andrew Adams · John
· wert33 · Subhro · Ingo Gehrke · john

user interface 4
features 4
ease of use 4
pricing / value 4


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
NEXT REVIEW: Lightshot

SecureAPlus Premium - Screenshots (16 Images)

The main panel in SecureAPlusSet the daily upload limit in SecureAPlusDisable message prompts in SecureAPlusDisable av engines in SecureAPlusChange the whitelisting mode in SecureAPlus
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