Reason CyberSecurity Review: Antivirus Specializing in Privacy Protection

Just by being online, chances are someone is already trying to hack your computer.

A study by the Clark School of the University of Maryland found that hackers attack computers connected to the internet every 39 seconds on the average. Cybercriminals now mostly use scripts and bots to automate their attacks. You don’t even have to be a special target or person of interest for hacking attempts to be made on your computer.

What’s typically stopping these attempts are security software like antiviruses and firewalls. If you’re running on a Windows machine, it’s likely that you have Windows Defender protecting your system by default.

The problem is, it only protects against basic threats. For example, did you know hackers can get control over your camera and microphone?

Hackers have become quite interested in pilfering private and personal information which puts everyone’s privacy at risk. Identity and financial data can be sold for profit on the dark web. Hackers are also now into hijacking web cameras and microphones so that they can record victims in compromising situations for extortion or profit.

Because of these risks, it’s important to look into security solutions that provide more than what a standard antivirus does. We took a close look at Reason CyberSecurity, a privacy-oriented antivirus that offers protection from these modern threats.

Reason may be among the newer solutions in the market having been founded in 2012 but the team behind it has decades-worth of experience in cybersecurity. Its founder and CEO, Andrew Newman previously worked on projects that were essentially precursors to Windows Defender.
Let’s take a look at what Reason has to offer:

Malware Protection

Like most antiviruses, Reason provides the essential scanning and removal of viruses and other malware. Reason provides three scanning options to look for malicious files – 1) quick scan which checks the memory and key system and application files and locations, 2) full scan which scans the entire computer, and 3) custom scans which allows you to select specifically which locations will be scanned.

If threats are found, Reason can quarantine the suspicious files for later action or remove the threat outright. Reason also provides real-time protection which can prompt you when a malicious file or application gets downloaded or run on your computer. Reason’s detection engine is designed to be accurate and is backed up by a library containing millions of malicious files.

Webcam and Microphone Protection

Reason can monitor your video and audio feeds. The settings can be configured to allow trusted applications (like Skype) to be the only ones that can access your communication devices, ask your permission every time your devices are accessed, or fully block all access to your camera and microphone. Alternatively, you can also set Reason to allow all access but you will still be informed each time the device is used by an application.

Ransomware Protection

Ransomware has become one of the top threats today. For individual users, ransomware can cause more than an inconvenience. Imagine being locked out of all your personal and work files. To prevent this from happening, Reason monitors for ransomware activity on your computer. It automatically stops rogue processes that attempt to encrypt your files. Reason can also distinguish between malware and legitimate encryption processes allowing these valid programs to work as they should.

Browsing Security

To further protect your privacy, Reason can crack down on cookies and scripts that are used to track your online activities. Reason also offers web and browsing security through its complementary Chrome browser extension. It prevents you from visiting malicious webpages and links by flagging the pages you browse as either “safe” or “suspicious.” A shield icon is appended next to your search results to warn you before you even click a link.

Price

Reason offers a free “Essential” version and a paid “Premium” version. The Essential version includes malware scanning and removal and real-time protection. Reason comes with a 14-day trial period for camera security. The Premium version includes all the other features including webcam and microphone protection, ransomware protection, tracking protection and secure browsing. It is available for $29.99 a year.

Conclusion

If you’re a privacy-conscious user, then Reason is an important to consider as your new security solution. It is easy to use, scans malware accurately and provides timely notification should threats be detected. It’s also one of the rare solutions that offer web camera and microphone protection.

Reason also has new features in its development pipeline including an Internet-of-Things (IoT) scanner that detects vulnerable devices on your network, protection from unwanted programs, and PC performance tuner. Once these are available, these features would even make the Premium version even more value for money.