Surfshark One: Specs
Malware safety: Superb
System impression, background: Low
System impression, scans: Excessive
Home windows compatibility: 7 by way of 11
Anti-theft: No
Backup software program: No
File encryption: No
File shredder: No
Firewall: No
Recreation mode: No
Hardened/safe browser: No
Parental controls: No
Password supervisor: No
Efficiency scanner: No
Ransomware rollback: No
System optimizer: No
Webcam safety: No
Digital keyboard: No
VPN: Sure
Wi-Fi scanner: No
Assist choices: 24/7 electronic mail, chat
A newcomer to the world of safety software program, Surfshark makes an attempt to defend methods with a easy, no-nonsense suite that sticks to the fundamentals. As others pile on the options, Surfshark One (opens in new tab) is unassuming in its method with an emphasis on offering easy-to-use important safety. Positive, it lacks most of the issues we anticipate – like webcam safety and file shredding and encryption – nevertheless it’s greater than compensated for by Surfshark’s targeted method, easy interface and quick scanning. Its scanning is correct however this system tends to place a big burden on the system.
If that had been all that Surfshark did, it will be deal at $48 a yr. Relatively than an costly add-on, Surfshark One contains limitless entry to its VPN, a no-tracking search window and identification breach alerts. Surfshark One could also be cheap however it is just accessible in five-packs. Nonetheless, with a price ticket consistent with competitor’s primary plans, Surfshark One delivers much more. Our Surfshark One assessment will make it easier to resolve if that is the finest antivirus software program for you and whether or not or not it delivers the precise safety in your methods.
Surfshark One assessment: Prices and what’s coated
Whereas opponents have upwards of 5 plans, the appropriately named Surfshark One solely has a single providing. The bundle combines malware safety for 5 with a limiteless VPN for $12.95 a month with no long-term commitments. This drops to $48 a yr for one yr or $60 a yr for 2 years. This makes Surfshark a discount.
There’s no free or trial model to check out however the firm does have a 30-day money-back assure.
Whereas the Surfshark antivirus program works with Home windows 10 and 11, the VPN and different parts of Surfshark One work with Home windows 7-11. Along with MacOS 10.15 or newer software program and Ubuntu and Debian Linux methods, Surfshark One is appropriate with tablets and telephones utilizing Android model 5 or iOS 10.3.3 or newer. It covers Chrome, FireFox or Edge and good TVs that use Fireplace TV or Android TV software program.
Surfshark One assessment: Antivirus safety
Surfshark One protects with three overlapping ranges of malware protection. It begins with conventional scanning with an environment friendly engine and a deep database of threats supplied by Avira. That is augmented with behavioral monitoring for early indicators of an an infection or recordsdata which might be being renamed, moved or encrypted.
Lastly, the software program sends any doubtlessly harmful code to a web-based lab for evaluation. On the draw back, there’s no solution to decide out of getting the corporate copy objects out of your system that is perhaps harmful. For some this will probably be a non-starter. The corporate sends out risk updates a number of instances a day, generally as typically as each 15 or 20 minutes.
Along with stopping Doubtlessly Undesirable Apps (PUAs) from being put in, Surfshark One can defend in opposition to botnets and fileless malware. Then again, it treats ransomware like different threats with no solution to rollback modifications, though that is included with the Mac product and is being prolonged to the Home windows program.
Aside from turning real-time safety on or off, there are few areas for personalisation. Surfshark lacks a slider to extend or lower the extent of safety or an computerized technique of altering this system’s safety stance. Plus, this system doesn’t have a gaming or film mode to scale back intrusions.
Proper now, Surfshark lacks the power so as to add a line to Home windows Explorer to shortly scan a single file or folder for malicious code. I used to be in a position to drag a folder or file to a scanning rectangle in Surfshark’s antivirus interface for evaluation although.
You’re out of luck when you’ve got a system slowed down with malware as Surfshark lacks restoration media for beginning and cleansing a system.
Surfshark One assessment: Antivirus efficiency
At Tom’s Information, we report on the outcomes from three unbiased malware testing organizations: AV-Check, AV Comparatives and SE Labs. As Surfshark makes use of Avira’s antivirus expertise, we are going to use these take a look at outcomes together with the latest Virus Bulletin survey, the one direct testing for this product.
Within the Virus Bulletin’s Could 2022 report, Surfshark achieved a one hundred pc success price for widespread and prevalent malware. This dropped to 99.85 % for the extra obscure threats class. To its credit score, Surfshark had zero false positives. Avast matched that accuracy stage however was barely off with a rating of 99.8 % on the extra obscure assaults.
Based mostly on the outcomes for Avira’s scanning engine, AV-Check’s March-April 2022 survey reveals a one hundred pc success price in zero-day malware and widespread malware. Others, like Kaspersky and Development Micro, matched this thoroughness and all three had zero false positives. In contrast, Bitdefender missed a number of new threats in March with a 98.6 % rating and had three false positives.
The outcomes of the Avira expertise utilized by Surfshark on the AV Comparatives’ evaluation for February by way of Could had been simply as spectacular with a one hundred pc success price. That matches the safety supplied by Norton LifeLock and Development Micro. Whereas the Avira-Surfshark mixture had seven false positives, it’s not so unhealthy in comparison with 50 and 42 misidentifications of protected code by Norton and Development Micro. Solely ESET had no false positives however at the price of a 99 % efficacy.
Within the fourth quarter of 2021, SE Labs testing confirmed that Avira-Surfshark combo had an total rating of 97 % for stopping severe assaults. The software program additionally had no false positives through the checks. That mentioned, Norton LifeLock and Kaspersky outshined it with a one hundred pc effectiveness rating and no false positives.
Surfshark One assessment: Safety and privateness options
Whereas Surfshark offers excellent safety, it will probably’t match the array of options the finest web safety suites present. That is by design with the corporate looking for a easy and highly effective protection in opposition to malware. Nonetheless, this system does and not using a password supervisor, parental controls, a firewall, file encryption and shredding. Surfshark is engaged on including webcam safety although.
Along with its platform-based malware safety, Surfshark can defend on the browser stage with extensions for Chrome, FireFox and Edge that may filter out malware and block advertisements.
Along with its platform-based malware safety, Surfshark can defend on the browser stage with extensions for Chrome, FireFox and Edge that may filter out malware and block advertisements.
Surfshark’s Search is a safer solution to surf the online with out being tracked or leaving cookies behind. The corporate guarantees to not promote your searching information or use it for advertising functions.
The Alert app scans the web and darkish net for cases of your electronic mail deal with, bank card info and social safety quantity, doubtlessly offering an early warning of identification theft. After a fast scan, this system discovered seven potential issues for my identification.
There’s no hardened browser for banking and on-line procuring however Surfshark One contains a limiteless VPN. Surfshark’s VPN is equally good for securing communications as it’s for streaming geo-blocked content material with connection factors in 100 international locations.
Along with international locations starting from Azerbaijan to Vietnam, there are 25 U.S. places. The Surfshark VPN took simply 3.9 seconds to connect with a New York Metropolis server.
Surfshark One assessment: Efficiency and system impression
To measure the impression Surfshark had on a pc’s efficiency, we used our customized benchmark take a look at, which clocks how lengthy a PC takes to match 20,000 names and addresses on an Excel spreadsheet. We used a Lenovo ThinkPad T470 testbed with the most recent Home windows 10 updates, a 2.5GHz Core i5-7200U processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage with 61.2GB of recordsdata.
Previous to putting in Surfshark, the ThinkPad T470 recorded a benchmark rating of 10.2 seconds. This baseline studying rose to 11.0 seconds after Surfshark was put in, exhibiting a 7.8 % decline in efficiency potential. This matches that of ESET however was between Bitdefender’s no impression and McAfee’s 28 % efficiency drop.
Whereas working a Full Scan, the benchmark rating rose to 16.8 seconds, a possible efficiency decline of 52 %. This was the most important drop and doesn’t evaluate nicely to ESET’s 11 % drop. A Fast Scan lowered the system’s efficiency potential by 3.6 % to a benchmark rating of 11.4 seconds.
This system took 10:47 to run by way of a full scan of 557,302 recordsdata. Others like Bitdefender Complete Safety examined practically 1.5 million objects in a full scan however took longer. Whereas beneath 11 minutes is quick in comparison with McAfee’s practically three-hour first scan, others scanned sooner on subsequent runs as they acknowledged what to look at and what to disregard. In contrast, Surfshark appeared on the similar recordsdata for roughly the identical period of time.
This system’s Fast Scan took two seconds to run nevertheless it solely appeared on the eight recordsdata almost definitely to be significantly contaminated. Others scanned as much as 12,000 potential targets however lowered efficiency by as a lot as 30 % in comparison with Surfshark’s 3.6 % decline.
Surfshark One assessment: Interface
Surfshark has one of many easiest and most straight-forward interfaces however lacks customization choices. A bonus is that Surfshark can run full display or as a smaller window so you’ll be able to think about its outcomes and remediation.
There’s no total dashboard with a color-coded icon to inform you all the things is OK. As an alternative, alongside the left facet are this system’s fundamental components, every with their very own display. The VPN is on the prime and I used to be in a position to choose the placement to attach, the quickest connection pace or the closest connection level. Within the decrease proper are just lately used VPN servers for fast entry.
Within the Alert part, I noticed the outcomes of SurfScan monitoring my electronic mail deal with, ID and bank cards. It reveals latest breaches on a separate web page whereas the Settings web page enables you to take away your private information from Surfshark’s web site.
Surfshark has one of many easiest and most straight-forward interfaces however lacks customization choices. A bonus is that Surfshark can run full display or as a smaller window so you’ll be able to think about its outcomes and remediation.
In the meantime, the Antivirus’ fundamental display has a small icon within the higher proper with a checkmark when issues are protected.
Apart from a spot to schedule scans or whitelist objects, the interface reveals when the risk database was final up to date and will be manually refreshed. There’s a button for turning real-time scanning on or off and a spot to tug recordsdata or folders for scanning.
Search is the only of Surfshark’s 5 elements with a spot to sort a search time period. The app guarantees to neither observe your system nor share your search phrases with others.
In the meantime, the Settings class affords just some customization choices. Along with VPN particulars just like the kill change and what protocol to make use of, there are settings for the app that embrace language and darkish mode.
On the backside of the Settings web page is Assist with numerous ideas and methods for getting probably the most out of Surfshark. Sadly, there’s no direct hyperlink to electronic mail the corporate’s help workers.
The Process Tray icon results in a Fast Join button for the VPN. Nonetheless, I used to be ready so as to add shortcuts for all the things from scanning the system to utilizing the VPN’s Kill Change.
Surfshark One’s on-line portal does greater than present software program downloads. I might see what methods had been protected and defend new ones.
There’s additionally a 20 % low cost accessible for Incogni to maintain your infromation out of the fingers of information brokers.
Surfshark One assessment: Set up and help
Getting Surfshark One loaded and working was simple however concerned a two-step course of. It began with downloading the 52.4MB setup file from the corporate’s web site and working it.
This was adopted by signing up for a web-based account and paying for the subscription. You may pay with a bank card, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay or with cryptocurrency.
Sadly, this solely covers the VPN set up. Subsequent step, obtain the 240MB antivirus program. When completed, the software program supplied a Fast Scan and a solution to schedule scans. All informed, it took 7 minutes and 45 seconds to guard my system.
Surfshark’s technical help desk is staffed 24/7 and affords on-line chat and electronic mail help however no telephone help.
There are self-serve objects to assist with set up in addition to ideas for utilizing the Alert and Search apps.
Surfshark One assessment: Verdict
Consider SurfShack One because the mouse that roared of the safety software program world. It could not have the customers that Bitdefender or Norton LifeLock do, nevertheless it affords a low value and a limiteless VPN. With only one product, Surfshark One is simple to buy. Quick to scan and simple to load, its interface is a fast examine, however with few issues to regulate, which some will love whereas others will hate.
This system itself has low overhead however Surfshark One cuts into efficiency potential whereas scanning for threats. Nonetheless, it has one of many quickest scanners however lacks the power to look at a file immediately from Home windows Explorer.
Utilizing malware detection and safety from Avira, Surfshark One offers excellent safety in opposition to the worst that the online can throw at you whereas including identification theft monitoring and a personal search engine. It lacks most of the options that others have however that is by design. All of it leads to a easy, straight-forward program that does the fundamentals — and extra.