By now if you watch any television at all you have seen ads for PC Matic. They especially run the ads on programs likely to be seen by seniors. The product is really based on a number of free tools used to protect your computer and remove malware. I have tried the product along with my group at the Microsoft experts exchange. First of all the product produces too many “False positive results.” I have used a scrubbed computer cleaned of all virus and malware. After using Pc Matic it reported that I had 43 malware infections. These infections were not really there but Pc Matic proceeded to remove them anyway.
As with most of these programs they say it is important to set a restore point in case something goes wrong. It will actually set the restore point for you. If you use the registry cleaner you will be really glad that you have a restore point. After Pc Matic was finished cleaning my registry I could no longer get online. For me as a computer tech I can use the product without causing much damage. The problem is this product is marketed to the average user.
To test the protection provided by Pc Matic I went to ten different websites that are known for including malware along with the program you would be trying to download. Pc Matic provided protection for seven of the malware infected sites. Seventy percent is not a satisfactory result from any anti-virus program. As an example Malwarebytes premium stopped all ten. Malwarebytes has been around for a long time offering both a free and a premium version. The free version can only be used to remove a virus and malware after virus has made it’s way into your computer. The premium version works in real time preventing the virus and malware from taking up residence inside your computer. Malwarebytes premium sells for $24.99 a year and is licensed for use on up to three devices.
There are several very good anti-virus programs out there and I am not trying to push Malwarebytes. You won’t see Malwarebytes or other programs bombarding the air waves with expensive commercials. As a professional computer technician when I read the fine print that comes with Pc Matic it reminds me why I dislike lawyers so much. I suggest that each person should do their own research before deciding to buy any anti-virus program. As a selling point the CEO of Pc matic promises to hire Americans. He also says the product is assembled in the USA. They do have a factory in China! I wonder what they make there?