Comodo Antivirus Review 2024: Security You Didn’t Know You Needed

Comodo antivirus software was founded in 1998, which means it’s grown up with the internet. Because of its history and expertise, Comodo knows what customers are looking for in online protection. Features like a firewall, Secure Shopping, and web filtering create a security stack that helps guarantee your device is protected.

Comodo keeps its price competitive by limiting its devices (no more than three) but trades off with strong tools. Depending on your needs and preferences, Comodo may or may not be the choice for you. In this Comodo antivirus review, we’ve laid out pros, cons, pricing, and a breakdown of the advanced features so you can make an informed decision.

Comodo antivirus overview

Who is Comodo best for?

• Recommended for PC users who want security features with lots of options.

Comodo is a strong antivirus solution that offers many features like anti-malware protection, full scans, quick scans, a firewall, gaming mode, and more. Since it’s been around for 25 years, you can expect Comodo to be sophisticated enough to have seen changing cybersecurity needs. It has great protection scores from third-party testers and a host of features offered on its plans, which cover one to three devices.

This number of devices supported isn’t the highest we’ve seen — Norton and Bitdefender cover up to 10 devices each. But that may work for you, especially if you don’t have or want too many internet-connected devices.

Additionally, Linux, iOS, and Mac users won’t be able to use Comodo at all. If you use those devices, you may need to look at a product like McAfee, Avast, or Avira. But if you’re a Windows user looking for a solid, trustworthy antivirus at a reasonable price for up to three devices, Comodo could be the solution for you.

Comodo antivirus pros and cons

Comodo antivirus features

Comodo has an impressive list of features making it one of the best antivirus products out there.

In addition to the cybersecurity features that all modern antivirus programs should have like malware and antivirus scans as well as real-time protection, Comodo throws in a few extras. 

Its firewall allows for allowlisting (also known as application whitelisting) as well as port visibility. Remote desktop protocol (RDP) ports are one of the easiest ways a hacker can access a system, and Comodo provides you with a trouble-free fix for securing them.

RDP ports are like access doors into a computer or server that allow other computers and servers to access that particular machine. They’re often used by companies that have remote workers logging into a particular system.

The biggest complaint we had was the dashboard. First, parental controls are scattered and not labeled. While website filtering and device and app blocking are all there, they’re not in a tidy tab on the dashboard like the firewall or containment features.

Also, the dashboard is a little dated. It wouldn’t hurt to give it a fresh remodel and add extra tabs for more organization. Essentially, the main features are all readily available, but you’ll need to hunt for other features and piecemeal together parental controls.

Malware and antivirus scan

The scan feature is exactly how antivirus software is supposed to work. There are manual and automatic scan options as well as quick, full, and focused scans. When testing, all of the scans ran quickly and without issue. We didn’t have an issue scheduling or running manual scans.

Comodo tagged some of its own files as unknown, so we were able to send those off to their developers for inspection through an easy command in the dashboard. This is a great example of a false positive — a file or script flagged by an antivirus even though it’s not harmful.

Spyware protection

Malware — malicious software — is any software trying to run on your machine with the goal of doing harm to your system. Spyware is a form of malware that looks at data on your computer or mobile device and provides that data to a potential attacker. Protection against spyware is the same as other malware and virus protection.

Comodo has several features to combat spyware. While the scans and preventative protection do a lot to avoid infections, the real stars are the Watch Activity and Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) features present in Containment Tasks.

Watch Activity is a kill switch that monitors the system activity and processes running. HIPS watches the activity on any programs running and analyzes their behavior to see if something looks suspicious.

Both of these preventative measures are watching for odd patterns to help protect you from spyware that may be spoofing legitimate processes. If something out of the ordinary does happen, Comodo isolates the program and alerts you.

Firewall

A good firewall can make all the difference. Comodo’s firewall includes options to allow or block applications, manage your network visibility via the stealth ports, view your connections, and manage or stop network activity.

This means Comodo’s firewall options allow you to customize who and what has access to your computer. If there’s an unrecognized connection, you have the ability to stop the activity, delete the connection, and block it so it can’t reconnect.

You’ll also be able to change your visibility if you know you’ll be browsing in a place known for unscrupulous connections. The options are easy to use right from the dashboard.

It’s worth noting that you should always know what the processes or connections are before disabling them so you can avoid disabling something you may need.

Real-time protection

There are several real-time protection options available through Comodo. While the Secure Shopping and website filtering are accessed through the main dashboard, you also have access to Comodo’s Dragon Browser as an additional app.

Dragon scans webpages for malware as well as allowing you a true incognito mode for blocking cookies (unlike Chrome’s incognito mode). It even stops browser tracking to keep sites from building an online data profile of you.

Additional real-time protection features include Internet Security Essentials and TrustConnect. Both of these features are for web browsing, especially on public Wi-Fi, and have many similarities to a virtual private network (VPN). They check website certificates and block possible hacks like man-in-the-middle attacks.

Ransomware protection

Ransomware is the buzzword of the past few years for a very good reason. Ransomware costs have risen significantly since 2019 with the payouts totaling around $457 million in 2022.[1] While corporations, schools, and even medical facilities tend to be the biggest targets, you could still be in danger if you access a targeted site. Comodo wants to stop that.

With the same technology that protects you from spyware, Comodo keeps you protected from its twisted sister, ransomware.

One of the best forms of protection offered by Comodo is the ability to run applications in a container. That’s not something we’ve seen in a lot of antivirus tools. The container option allows you to open something to see if it’s authentic without risking your device. It’s also a handy tool if you want to try opening an attachment or program to verify if it’s malicious or not.

Bonus features

Comodo has bonus features that can make your experience easy and much safer. While these features aren’t available on Windows 7 or XP, they are available for all newer operating systems.

• Auto-sandboxing: Lets you choose whether to run a program at full capacity, partial, or not at all. Your need for what type of sandboxing will depend on time allotted and how much space you have for data. This is useful when you want to open an attachment you aren’t sure of or download a file that might be infected without risking your device.
• Game mode: Stops notifications and pop-ups on your device while gaming.
• Application control: Allows admins to control what applications are allowed to download on a device.
• GeekBuddy: 24/7 support for Comodo and other devices (like your printer that just won’t print) via email, chat, or remote options. We received this feature as an add-on with our purchase of Comodo.
• Rescue disk: Creates a backup of your hard drive on a bootable CD or USB flash drive in case your computer becomes heavily infected.
• Virtual desktop: Like having a second computer running independently on your computer. It allows you to open files, attachments, and other suspicious files without infecting your actual machine.

Comodo test results

Comodo’s last tests performed by the independent research institute AV-TEST were in 2019 for Windows, 2017 for macOS, and 2015 for Android products. [2, 3, 4] While these results may seem outdated, that doesn’t necessarily mean the product itself is outdated. AV-TEST does require a fee to test individual products for each operating system, which can deter companies from submitting their products for review.

While Comodo performed pretty well on Windows, it did not detect enough infections on macOS to be given a score at all.

When testing for protection, AV-TEST throws real viruses a person may encounter in the wild at the security product. This means Comodo was not able to detect, respond, and delete viruses at an acceptable rate on macOS. In every other area, however, Comodo did well.

Comodo AV-TEST results

AV-TEST is an independent testing agency with credibility you can trust. It tests products for protection, performance, and usability. When looking at an AV-TEST result, you will see what the industry standard is and how the product you’re analyzing performed compared to the rest of the industry.

Our Comodo Internet Security Pro experience

Overall, we had a very positive experience with Comodo. We tested on a circa 2017 Acer laptop with a solid-state drive (SSD) and running Windows 10. The machine was restored to factory settings previous to testing and accessed our local network.

The email detailing how to download and install Comodo was well organized and provided our license key which we had to input after downloading. It also provided access to GeekBuddy. All of this was easy to install although we did have to find where the product key went on the portal rather than being prompted during installation.

Running the initial scan was easy, with just the press of a button. When we decided to schedule a weekly scan, the process took just a little extra reading to make sure everything was set correctly.

It was with this same ease that we were able to configure and test the other features on the dashboard like HIPS and the firewall. Most of the features are active on download, but the quick toggle buttons on the dashboard make it easy to turn them off or on.

The only frustrating feature we encountered was the self-help center. It’s difficult to search a feature for your given product in the self-help guides. Drop-down menus for product and version are at the top of the page, as is a search bar, but these don’t work together. This is pretty common with tech products, but it’s still annoying that these aren’t more organized and user-friendly.

This annoyance aside, we found the actual Comodo product to be useful and easy to use. All of the features are readily accessible and the scans are simple to use. There aren’t any glaring issues that will leave you feeling cheated.

Comodo antivirus compatibility

Comodo claims compatibility with Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android but has secretly discontinued its Linux and macOS products without updating its website to reflect this.

Also, the iOS product is limited with Safe Browsing and ID protection available on the free version and VPN and Vault available on the paid plan. Honestly, this isn’t surprising as most antivirus products tend to cater to Windows OS, which are more susceptible to malware than Linux or Apple.

Comodo customer support

Comodo customer support is abysmal. The product support hub is painfully outdated which makes searching for help items difficult.

The chatbox feature is built into the dashboard, but the person helping on the other side took more than five minutes to answer. Phone support is only available to paid plans. And email support will have you going back and forth with inane questions until they either figure out your issue or you give up. This is, by far, the worst part of the software.

Comodo Internet Security cost

Comodo has an up-front pricing structure that’s simple to understand. The free product contains all of the necessary protection software to keep you safe online.

If you decide to upgrade to the Pro plan for $29.99–$39.99/yr you’ll get the firewall as well as Secure Shopping, web filtering, and unlimited support. If you need to add up to three devices, Comodo charges an additional $10 per year.

As far as antivirus goes, this is an average price, with Bitdefender charging $49.99/first yr for 3 devices and Norton charging $39.99/first yr for 3 devices. Both Bitdefender and Norton do hike the price the second year, so Comodo is less expensive if you plan on keeping it.

There are a ton of useful tools that come standard with Comodo's paid product including a $500 virus-free guarantee that states if you get a virus and Comodo can’t repair it, it’ll give you up to $500 for a new computer. This includes a live technician remote accessing your computer to work on your machine.

The additional protection products like Secure Shopping and the Comodo firewall don’t come with the free product. While this is a bummer, it’s pretty much the norm. If you’re in a pinch and need a product to clean up your machine, Comodo has a cost-free option for you.

Comodo antivirus plans and prices

Comodo Dragon browser

Comodo has put a serious amount of thought into its Comodo Dragon browser and Ice Dragon browser options. The Dragon browser runs similarly to Google Chrome, but with cybersecurity built into the product. The Ice Dragon browser is for Firefox fans looking for an even more secure experience.

For Firefox fans, Ice Dragon works with all your current plugins. For Chrome buffs, Dragon fixes the problem of crashes or frozen windows, which happens when you have too many open tabs or if the browser is using too many resources for your machine to handle. Both have media download options that allow you to grab your favorite media from the web easily. They also both scan websites for malware, have a light footprint on your machine (which means they don’t slow down your device), and block cookies and trackers.

Comodo promises clean, private, easy browsing experiences with either of these options. The focus on security and speed is exactly what a browser should do. Considering the performance of the antivirus software, we don’t doubt these browsers’ capabilities. They’re both available with your paid Comodo subscription.

Comodo antivirus FAQs

Bottom line: Is Comodo antivirus good?

For the most part, Comodo is a solid choice for anyone with fewer than three Windows devices. If you’re looking for a seasoned Windows product with a lot of features, this may be the antivirus for you.

If you need to cover your entire family or have a lot of devices in need of protection, there are other products like Norton or Bitdefender, which cover up to 10 devices each. (Norton and Bitdefender both have high protection scores from third-party testers as well.)

3.9

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On Comodo Internet Security's website

Antivirus Software

Comodo Internet Security

• Security extras like auto-sandboxing and virtual desktop
• Infection protection guarantee
• Only covers up to 3 devices

Author Details

Mary James

About the Author

Mary is a seasoned cybersecurity writer with over seven years of experience. With a B.S. in Liberal Arts from Clarion University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Point Park University, she educates audiences on scams, antivirus software, and more. Her passion lies in educating audiences on helpful ways to protect their data.