If you really want to protect your important files from malicious users, you'll want to make sure to invest in one of our options to get the best paid anti-ransomware software by 2018.
You may already have an antivirus package installed on Your machine, and although many of them claim to include ransomware protection, that's not always the full story. Many will detect and block ransomware threats, which is a good start, but often do not have the tools to help if the ransomware has infected your machine.
If you are particularly concerned with the ransomware, changing antivirus might help. Some packages track changes to malicious files, allowing them to recover lost data. Others allow only trusted applications to access their files, an intelligent approach that should block both known and undiscovered threats.
The other option is to run a second malware detector along with your existing antivirus. This should improve the possibility of detecting an infection and can help you recover damaged data later.
There is a variety of free anti-ransomware tools that could help, but commercial products usually have more features and a better track record, and if you're working with irreplaceable data, then it's essential to invest in the highest-paid anti-ransomware software. Here are five great examples of paid products that could help you keep ransomware away.
1. AppCheck Pro
Specialized tool that can treat undiscovered threats
Detects known and undiscovered threats
Protects MBR and GPT
Recovers encrypted files
AppCheck Pro is a special anti-ransomware application that has as Objective detect and block even the latest undiscovered threats.
The program runs together with its antivirus, observing all running processes for behavior similar to that of ransomware. The sophisticated AppCheck engine monitors your MBR (Master Boot Record) and GPT (GUID Partition Table), as well as your files. Malware crashes as soon as it is detected and can be automatically deleted.
Many antivirus applications can do almost the same, but AppCheck goes further. It keeps track of changes made to key files, helping you restore files that were encrypted before the ransomware was stopped. And even if you can not block the threat, that does not have to be a problem: AppCheck can back up the files in real time as they are modified, an additional layer of protection that (almost) guarantees the security of your data.
Sounds great, but can the program keep its promises? To find out, we tested it with known ransomware and a new ransomware simulator that we wrote ourselves. AppCheck had a good performance, identifying and disabling both threats and recovering the small amount of files that our malware managed to encrypt. Both incidents were cleared in a matter of seconds without losing any data.
2. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus
Sterling protection from a respected AV mark
Best qualified detection engine
Stops untrusted applications that change files
May conflict with legitimate programs
One strategy Successful anti-ransomware needs an an antivirus engine capable of detecting sight threats, and Bitdefender is one of the best available packages. Regularly leads the rankings in independent testing labs, for example, blocks 100% of the threats in each of the last four AV-Comparatives Real-World comparative tests (July to October 2017).
Bitdefender offers a second layer of protection for its behavior control engine, which looks for actions similar to ransomware and tries to stop threats before they can cause harm. We're not sure if this is as powerful as some of the best specialized applications against ransomware, but it's still worth having.
The key selling point against Bitdefender ransomware is its Secure Files feature. This acts as a firewall for your file system, preventing unauthorized programs from changing any file in protected folders. By default, it protects your main user profile folders: documents, images, music, etc., and you can add others as needed.
Safe Files is a powerful tool that could really save your data in case of an attack, but sometimes it can cause problems with legitimate programs that need to write to protected folders. Run the trial version of Bitdefender Antivirus Plus before buying to see how the system works for you.
3. Panda Internet Security
Hide behind Panda's innovative Data Shield
Precise detection engine
Easy-to-use interface
May cause conflicts with legitimate applications
Panda Internet Security's antivirus engine provides a robust first line of protection, blocking most ransomware before it can do harm. It is not necessary that you take our word or the company's: AV Comparatives Real world protection tests show Panda blocking 100% of the threats in each of the last four tests (July to October 2017).
An additional Data Shield attempts to keep you safe even from new and undiscovered threats, allowing only trusted applications to access or change specific file types.
By default, Data Shield protects Office documents, images, audio, and video, and automatically allows access to some common applications (Office, Windows Media Player, Paint, Notepad, etc.). If that is not enough, you can customize the settings to add new file types or reliable programs.
This is a smart idea that should block most ransomware, both now and in the future, but it has its own problems. As with all similar technologies, it can cause conflicts with legitimate applications that need access to protected files. This could be a nuisance, especially for users who are always installing and testing new software.
4. Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus
It works happily as a second antivirus package on your machine
Adds a second antivirus to your PC
Fast and ultralight
Recovers encrypted files
Although they look very different, most of them The best anti-ransomware options work in the same way. The assumption is that you are running an antivirus as the first line of protection, while specializing in the detection of ransomware only. This may work very well, but it is not your only option.
As you can guess from its name, Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus not only protects it from ransomware: it is a complete antivirus tool. Install it together with your existing antivirus and if one of the packages does not detect any type of threat, there is a possibility that the other one will detect it.
Forget the rule about "do not install two antivirus packages"; that does not apply here. Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus is designed to work together with other security software without causing conflicts. And the application is so fast and small that it will not slow you down. He will barely know he is there.
Opting for a general antivirus tool does not mean that ransomware protection is being lost either. Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus has a very useful extra in its ability to track file changes made by malware. Even if you run into something nasty and encrypt some files before stopping it, Webroot will often be able to undo the changes and recover your original data.
5. ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware
An easy-to-use utility that does not need to download signatures
Detects known and undiscovered threats
Recovers encrypted files
Lost a simulated threat
ZoneAlarm Anti-Ransomware is an easy tool to use that can be run together with any antivirus to keep your system free from ransomware.
The program does not use signatures, so it will not lose its bandwidth by downloading periodic updates. Instead, ZoneAlarm monitors processes to detect suspicious actions, allowing it to detect even new unknown threats.
Our tests found that ZoneAlarm worked very well with known ransomware, observing its activities, coming into action when necessary and restoring any encrypted files to ensure no data was lost.
The program failed a second test when it allowed our own simulated ransomware to encrypt thousands of files. Although it is a concern, our test package was not real malware, so we can not penalize ZoneAlarm to
o much for ignoring it, especially when it killed the genuine ransomware so easily.
