Trend Micro is a well-known multi-national cybersecurity company founded in 1988. Since that time, the company’s products rate among the top choices in the community. They offer a large variety of solutions to help keep you safe. If you need a business or enterprise option, they have solutions to help you as well. However, we’ll cover personal products in this review. Their personal solutions include Trend Micro Maximum Security, Internet Security, Antivirus+ Security, and if you have a Macintosh, they offer Antivirus for Mac. Additional tools include mobile security and anti-ransomware options. Now, we will get into the specifics of Trend Micro’s Maximum Security. That way, you can see if one of the Trend Micro solutions meets your needs.
Pricing and Plan Offerings
As we mentioned, Trend Micro has several products. The ones we will focus on for pricing are the Premium Security Suite, Maximum Security, and the Internet Security version. The Premium Security Suite allows you ten licenses for $69.95 a year. The Maximum Security version allows five licenses for $49.95 for a year. The Internet Security allows you three licenses for $39.95. You will want to choose based on your needs and protection level.
Offerings
The three plans all share the same basic protections. Here are the features for the Internet Security version:
- Protection against ransomware – This option will help keep you safe from extortion scams.
- Advanced AI learning – If you have a virus that is stubborn, AI learning will help you defeat it more quickly.
- Safeguards against email scams – Also known as phishing scams, email scams make it easy for hackers to steal.
- Trend Micro Pay Guard – If you buy things online, the pay guard will help to make sure you are not vulnerable.
- Keeping kids safe online – Through the use of parental controls, you would use this feature to help protect your children.
- Ensures privacy on social media – The social media companies know enough about you as it is. This will help stop them from gaining as much information.
- Repair and optimize systems – By using this feature, you can make sure your PC is performing well.
Maximum Security vs Internet Security
There are differences between the Maximum Security and Internet Security products. With Maximum Security, you also get Mobile Security for free and the Trend Micro Password Manager. Keep in mind that the password manager is pretty straight forward and works like others. As you can see, there is not much of a difference between the two programs. However, you get two extra licenses.
Maximum Security vs Premium Security Suite
If you choose the Premium Security Suite, you additionally get Dark Web monitoring, the Trend Micro VPN (Virtual Private Network), 24×7 support and emergency assistance, and fast remote diagnosis and repair. No matter which one you choose, all plans will protect you. A VPN will help you add a layer of encryption to your web browsing. It will also protect you during other activities online. That is a great feature that we wish competitors would include.
Antivirus Protection
No matter which antivirus software you choose, most work the same way. Once you install the software, it does a scan to ensure everything is right on your system. Of course, that means that it automatically checks for new definitions. Unfortunately, they do not offer you a way to change how often it does that. As far as scanning goes, you can select a smart scan or scheduled scan. Within those two options, you have a quick scan or a full scan. Of course, you can temporarily delay any scans, so they do not interrupt whatever you are doing.
One of the best things about Trend Micro Maximum Security is the ability to customize your settings. Some of the settings include the password manager, health checkup, changing the protection level, scanning a USB drive when you insert it, and even checking for security vulnerabilities. You can change all of those settings inside the program. Trend Micro also includes network protection, scanning of emails, and evaluating web threats.
Trend does not have a gaming mode or at least they do not call it that. However, it gives you the ability to change and tweak the settings. If you are a gamer, you do not have to worry about playing your favorite games. Instead of having to choose between gaming and protection, Trend makes sure that you do not have to sacrifice one for the other. Their “Mute Mode” will help you with that.
Security and Privacy Features
Let’s take a look at the parts of the console. Trend Micro’s Maximum Security has 4 sections. Those are Device, Privacy, Data, and Family.
- Device – This one has 4 sections. Security Settings (configurable), PC Health Checkup, Mute Mode, and Protect Another Device.
- Privacy – All of these options are configurable. The sections are Privacy Scanner, Social Networking Protection, and Data Theft Protection.
- Data – All are interactive or configurable. Folder Shield, Secure Erase, Password Manager, and Vault (where all the passwords are stored.)
- Family – This one has only one category. It is where you find Parental Controls.
Installation and Support
We found all of the Trend Micro products for Windows are easy and quick to use. After downloading the version you want to use, install it. When finished, you will see the company logo on your desktop. Opening it will bring up the console you see above. While it will immediately tell you that you are protected, you can click the scan button. You can do your scan there or click the button to the right that looks like a gear. By doing so, you will find the security and tuneup controls including scan preferences, scheduled scans, internet and email controls, and exception lists. All products have a 30-day free trial, so you can try before you buy. If you get the Premium Security Suite, you get 24/7 support.
Antivirus Performance and System Impact
With so much similarity in the antivirus field, there are some factors to examine further. The biggest ones are the system impact and Antivirus protection. System impact measures the strain on your device while doing normal tasks. When it comes to testing, independent labs often will split their tests into three categories. Those are Performance, Protection, and Usability. In two of those areas, Trend Micro scored perfectly. However, the performance was an issue. If you are running a standard computer, there was a 19% slow-down when launching popular sites. That is 6% more than the industry average. There was also almost a doubling of numbers when looking at the slower launch of standard software applications. Whereas the industry average is 9% and 8%, depending on your computer, it was 17% and 14% for the Trend Micro antivirus.
Our Tests
Of course, we like to test the AV products we write about. One way to do that is to use a testing file from a website like Eicar.org. They have several ways to test your antivirus software. In this case, we downloaded a file from the website. As soon as we did, we got the following pop-up message.
We also performed another test by creating a fake virus string and saving it. When trying, it automatically removed the file for us.
Maximum Security for Android
If you selected the Maximum Security version, you get coverage for your mobile devices, too. In the image below, we show the mobile security version. To get it, you need to search for Trend Micro in the Google Play Store. As soon as you install it, the program starts scanning. When done, it suggests security concerns that you need to take a look at or fix.
Of course, once you address the concerns, you are set. The goal is to make sure your mobile device is not compromised. You simply take the suggestions to secure your device, and you can protect your iOS or Android device.
Final Thoughts
Not surprisingly, Trend Micro’s Maximum Security is a light and agile antivirus program. We liked that it performed well on our tests as well as the ones from the independent labs. You can delay scans if you are busy doing important things, but it offers solid protection across the board. Everything is streamlined and easy to find. The bottom line is, everything performed at a high level. Every company has room for improvement, but Trend Micro does not give us much to dislike. If you are looking for a specific feature, please feel free to refer back to our review. We tested the Maximum Security edition, but you can always get the Premium Security Suite to help protect your entire family. Otherwise, we think you will be happy with their products. You can also make use of their 30-day free trial to test the software.