ScanGuard is advertised online as an 'advanced protection' security tool, and we've heard from numerous members who've seen the adverts and are unsure whether to download ScanGuard. Our advice is to avoid it.
We have tried ScanGuard on a test computer and were discouraged by the results we saw when we performed a scan. The initially free software seemingly exaggerates supposed 'threats' on your computer in a bid to encourage you to pay up for a full licence.
Our advice is to head instead to our reviews of the best antivirus software. We test security suites from both paid-for and free brands.
How does ScanGuard work?
We installed a free trial of ScanGuard onto a test computer to see what it had to offer. The program performed a scan and identified 'threats', flagging them with an ominous red warning. However, we're not satisfied that there's anything dangerous about what it found.
ScanGuard found three cookies on the test computer - which are largely harmless web tracking items - and warned us our system was at risk. It also recommended a Disk Cleaner process and System Boost to free up memory and speed up performance - wrongly classifying these processes as 'threats' that had been located.
If you click to view more detail about the threats, you're taken to an upsell page pushing a priced package for the full version of ScanGuard - with a time limit to encourage you to spend quickly. Nothing we've seen of this software encourages us to recommend paying for this.
How is ScanGuard advertised?
ScanGuard is advertised online - the ads could appear on numerous websites. Clicking on one can lead to a site called 'Smart Web User', which purports to be an article written by a computer technician.
The article is in fact an 'Advertorial' - a piece of content created by ScanGuard to promote its product.
Clicking on any links in the advertorial article take you through to the ScanGuard site, where you're encouraged to pay for a licence for the software.
Instead, we recommend you check our reviews of the best antivirus software.