All About Cookies is an independent, advertising-supported website. Some of the offers that appear on this site are from third-party advertisers from which All About Cookies receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).
All About Cookies does not include all financial or credit offers that might be available to consumers nor do we include all companies or all available products. Information is accurate as of the publishing date and has not been provided or endorsed by the advertiser.
The All About Cookies editorial team strives to provide accurate, in-depth information and reviews to help you, our reader, make online privacy decisions with confidence. Here's what you can expect from us:
/images/2025/05/14/ultraav_logo_3.png){kind=logo}
User-friendly software and interface
All About Cookies is an independent, advertising-supported website. Some of the offers that appear on this site are from third-party advertisers from which All About Cookies receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).
All About Cookies does not include all financial or credit offers that might be available to consumers nor do we include all companies or all available products. Information is accurate as of the publishing date and has not been provided or endorsed by the advertiser.
The All About Cookies editorial team strives to provide accurate, in-depth information and reviews to help you, our reader, make online privacy decisions with confidence. Here's what you can expect from us:
UltraAV is Kaspersky's recommended alternative for users who no longer have access to software updates after the U.S. ban; however, we found it lacking.
UltraAV was easy to install and presented no issues while we were using it. But there were no advanced antivirus features, like performance optimization tools or a firewall, and we were disappointed when we had to enable real-time protection manually.
We didn’t find UltraAV to rank among the best antivirus software, especially not at that price point. We have all the information you need regarding UltraAV, from the surprising pricing and refund policies to the actual test results, in our full review below.
| Price | $99.00/first yr |
| Free plan | No |
| # of devices protected | 20 |
| Malware scans | Manual and scheduled |
| Real-time protection | Yes |
| EICAR test results | 2/3 |
| Firewall | No |
| Phishing protection | No |
| Compatibility | Windows, macOS |
| Extras | Password manager, VPN, dark web scanner |
| 24/7 customer support | Yes |
| Learn more | Get UltraAV |
Our team has conducted hands-on testing on 30+ antivirus programs. Each product is tested by a dedicated reviewer on a rotating basis across Windows, macOS, and Android using a subscription purchased with our own money.
We evaluate each product across seven areas:
We retest all antivirus products at least once a year and update our reviews to reflect any changes. To learn more about how we test, read our full antivirus testing methodology here.
We last tested UltraAV in Q2 2026.
Backed by a 100% Virus Protection Promise
Tested protection against hackers, viruses, malware, and ransomware
Includes VPN, parental controls, and more
Overall, testing UltraAV was easy since it's a no-frills antivirus product. Downloading the antivirus software was quick and straightforward.
The main dashboard allows you to access the antivirus, VPN, password manager, and dark web scanner. When we launched the antivirus product, it displayed a simple screen displaying a few options.
/images/2025/05/14/ultraav_dashboard.png)
Our first Quick Scan took about 20 minutes, but every subsequent Quick Scan took less than 10 seconds to scan about 4,000 files. The scan results screen wasn't totally clear at first, because UltraAV returned us to the Scan Options tab with a box at the bottom indicating that the scan finished.
/images/2026/04/23/ultraav_review_0426_refresh_scan_finished.png)
Also, we had some malware test files on our device, so we were surprised that UltraAV didn’t find them with this scan.
Next, we tested the full scan. The full scan took a long time, about 30 minutes, but this time it detected the malware.
/images/2025/10/16/ultraav_review_1025_refresh_old_eicar_file_detected.png)
Overall, UltraAV is a basic product that passed some of our tests. We do appreciate that it's included with Zander Identity Theft Protection. It detected old malicious files on our device and new ones with its real-time protection.
If you get UltraAV as an add-on with something else, you could enable it as backup protection. Due to poor test scores and a lack of overall features, we don’t suggest it as your primary antivirus or the best alternative to Kaspersky Antivirus. Still, if it’s the only option you have on your computer, then you should enable it.
UltraAV starts at $99.00/first yr, and then doubles in price upon renewal. There’s no monthly payment option, free trial, or less expensive option. The annual price isn’t outrageous by antivirus standards, but the renewal price is high, especially considering what you get.
We didn’t find UltraAV to be the most effective antivirus, and it lacked a lot of features you’ll find with other products. UltraAV is a basic service, and there are others we’ve found that perform better while costing the same or less.
| Annual plan | |
| Price for first year | $99.00/first yr |
| # devices supported | 20 |
| Compatible with | Windows, macOS |
| Manual and auto scan | |
| Phishing protection | |
| Firewall | |
| Real-time protection | |
| Ransomware protection | |
| Parental controls | |
| Performance optimization tools | |
| VPN | |
| Learn more | View plan |
Despite its name, UltraAV is pretty basic. There aren’t a lot of features aside from the VPN, the password manager, and the dark web scanner. Those are all located in the dashboard, leaving the actual antivirus menu sparse.
UltraAV has two scan options: Quick Scan and Full Scan. The Quick Scan reviews your system files, while the Full Scan reviews everything in your hard drive.
There's also the option to select the deep scan on the Full Scan tab, but the difference is unclear.
/images/2025/10/16/ultraav_review_1025_refresh_full_scan_complete.png)
UltraAV doesn’t have phishing protection and failed our in-house phishing tests.
Intuitive antivirus products can help you recognize phishing emails and websites when the protection is active. It’s a useful tool, especially considering phishing emails are getting more convincing.
There's no firewall option with UltraAV.
You can use the included VPN, but it’s not the same. Mac users will find that the internal firewall built into their machines will provide that protection, since you won’t see it from UltraAV.
There’s no network protection included with UltraAV.
If it were available, this feature would scan your network to see whether there are any additional threats beyond those found on your machine. It’s important to help stop network attacks before they can take over.
We were surprised that the real-time protection feature was disabled when we installed UltraAV on our MacBook. Had we not gone into the settings and clicked around, we wouldn’t have known to turn it on.
Once we turned it on, we noticed that UltraAV actually stopped the test virus files we downloaded.
Since UltraAV is so sparse, there’s no additional information regarding ransomware protection. The site mentions that this feature is built in, but we didn’t find any specific features in the program.
UltraAV doesn’t offer any specific anti-fraud protection. There is a dark web scanner available, but it contains alerts rather than actionable steps.
You have the option to use the password manager and VPN that are attached to UltraAV. When we tried loading both, we received error messages.
If you’re looking for dark web scanning, identity protection, a quality VPN, antivirus, and a password manager, we suggest a product like Surfshark One+ instead of UltraAV.
/images/2024/03/06/surfshark_one.png)
Blocks ads and pop-ups, including cookie consent requests, while browsing
Can also browse ad-free without a digital footprint with the Surfshark Search engine
All-in-one app includes VPN, antivirus scans, alternative ID creation, malware protection, and more on unlimited devices
We evaluate antivirus software based on a combination of third-party testing sites like AV-TEST, AV-Comparatives, and SE Labs, in addition to EICAR virus test files we administer ourselves. The three third-party sites have long histories of effective testing and evaluating antivirus software.
It’s worth noting that software companies have to pay to have these third parties test their products and do not get a say in the results in any way.
Before we installed UltraAV, we planted malware test files in several common spots on our device, like our downloads folder. Then, we began to run UltraAV scans to determine if it could find these files.
Although the Quick Scan didn't find any threats, the Full Scan found malware in our download folder. It's best to run a Full Scan for the most thorough experience.
| Quick scan | Full scan | |
| Time spent | 10 seconds | 30 minutes |
| # of files scanned | 4,111 files | 14,198 files |
| Did it find preexisting malware files? |
We also test the antivirus programs we review against files from the European Institute of Computer Anti-Virus Research, also known as EICAR. These are test files and pages you can access without actually harming your device.
UltraAV stopped us from downloading the malware test from EICAR but didn’t do anything against the phishing test.
/images/2025/10/16/ultraav_review_1025_refresh_eicar_malware_test.png)
| Test | UltraAV score |
| Malware detection | Pass |
| Drive-by malware downloads | Pass |
| Phishing pages detection | Fail |
UltraAV only had results from AV-TEST for Windows, likely due to wanting to pay for only one test, and AV-TEST being the most widely accepted of the three. While most quality products score either 17 or a perfect 18 for protection, performance, and usability, UltraAV scored 16.5/18.
A test result difference of a point or two may not seem like a huge difference, but it matters. We found the lower score to be consistent with our own test results, where UltraAV missed previously installed viruses.
| Test type | Windows score | macOS score | Android score |
| Protection | 4.5/6 | N/A | N/A |
| Performance | 6/6 | N/A | N/A |
| Usability | 6/6 | N/A | N/A |
| Total | 16.5/18 | N/A | N/A |
| Date | October 2025 | N/A | N/A |
| Link to test | Link | N/A | N/A |
UltraAV lost one and a half points in the protection category. The industry average for protection against zero-day malware attacks was 99.3%. UltraAV had a 97.1% protection rate in September and dropped to a 95.1% rate in October.
AV-TEST does offer some wiggle room in its scoring, so having a score below 17 means the product must’ve done poorly. The protection category is the most important in our opinion, so UltraAV's most recent result is concerning.
UltraAV offers coverage for up to 20 devices at a time, but mentions compatibility only for Windows and Mac. Most quality antivirus programs offer coverage for mobile devices, too.
While we found the Mac installation to be easy and seamless, we were disappointed by the lack of additional coverage for other operating systems outside of Windows.
We found the customer support options and experience to be surprisingly quick and effortless. If you need customer support outside of your UltraAV dashboard, there’s an email option via a form submission on the website.
There’s also an AI chatbot on the website. Customers can access 24/7 live support via a chat box when logged into their portal. We didn’t have to wait for a live agent, and they answered our question quickly.
/images/2025/05/14/ultraav_customer_support_live_chat.png)
We don’t feel that UltraAV is the best value for the money when it comes to features and performance. The other options we’ve listed below are some of our favorites and consistently have high performance scores. You’ll also find plenty of features and extras with each of these products.
| Antivirus |  TotalAV |
 McAfee |
 Norton 360 |
| Star rating | |||
| Price | $19.00–$49.00/first yr | $39.99–$199.99/yr | $29.99–$299.99/first yr |
| # of devices protected | 4 - 8 | Unlimited | 1 - 10 |
| Real-time protection | |||
| Malware scans | Manual and scheduled | Manual and scheduled | Manual and scheduled |
| Firewall | |||
| EICAR test results | 3/3 | 3/3 | 3/3 |
| Phishing protection | |||
| Compatibility | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chrome, Edge, Opera | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS |
| Extras | Password manager, ad blocker, VPN | Parental controls, performance optimization tools, VPN | Password manager, VPN, dark web monitoring, parental controls, privacy monitor, identity theft protection, cloud backup |
| Learn more | Get TotalAV | Get McAfee | Get Norton 360 |
If you had Kaspersky, you may have found it suddenly replaced with UltraAV without any warning. While this feels a little sketchy, the antivirus itself is not malware. While we don’t think UltraAV is as good as Kaspersky was, we also don’t think it’s dangerous. Since there are better antivirus programs out there, you can delete UltraAV without worrying about it being an infection.
No, UltraAV is not a Russian company. It is owned by Point Wild, a U.S. company formerly known as Pango Group. Pango merged with Total Security (the owner of award-winning antivirus software TotalAV) in December 2024.
No, we don’t think UltraAV is the best Kaspersky alternative. Kaspersky may have gotten a bad reputation due to its proximity to the Kremlin, but it is a high-performing and impressive antivirus solution. UltraAV doesn’t demonstrate the same power.
UltraAV is okay, but there are better antivirus programs we’d recommend. It’s fairly sparse and doesn’t offer the robust performance and protection we’ve come to expect from a quality antivirus.
The best antivirus software not only protects you from incoming threats, but it also cleans your device and rids it of any threats that may be there due to subpar protection. You should also be able to enjoy useful features, like network security, webcam protection, phishing alerts, and more from a quality antivirus.
UltraAV doesn’t offer any of this. There are better options out there that give you more value for your money.
User-friendly software and interface
/images/2023/08/30/norton-360-deluxe-vs-premium.png)
/images/2024/03/05/how_to_tell_if_someone_is_remotely_accessing_your_computer.jpg)
/images/2025/12/17/moonlock_review.jpg)
/images/2023/11/10/best_antivirus_black_friday_deals.png)
/images/2025/09/30/is_norton_360_antivirus_worth_it_.jpg)
/images/2025/08/16/guardio_price.jpg)
/images/2025/07/19/is_mcafee_worth_it_.jpg)
/images/2025/06/16/new_malware_alert_notification_on_the_smart_phone..jpg)
/authors/mary-james_allaboutcookies-author.jpg){kind=small}
/authors/kate-quinlan-new.jpg){kind=small}
/images/2023/03/03/logo-norton-large.png){kind=logo}
/authors/mary-james_allaboutcookies-author.jpg)