Heimdal Security Review

heimdal security review
This Heimdal Security review will show you everything you need to know to decide if it's the best antivirus for you.

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Heimdal Security is one of the upcoming antivirus providers and since its inception in 2011, it has grown a large customer base. It specialises in cyber security solutions and offers a range of antivirus protection for both home users and businesses.

In this Heimdal review, we take a look at the features of their home protection and see how it compares to other antivirus providers.

In this review…

Heimdal Security Overview

Heimdal Security for home users offers a series of differing packages that include either proactive, or reactive protection (more on this below). Their pricing is a little more expensive than some other competitors, but it is not the most expensive antivirus either. 

In terms of features, depending on the software you choose, you get comprehensive antivirus protection. There are also features like ransomware protection, phishing protection, a firewall, and real-time cloud storage scanning.

Their software also has minimal system impact and should not disrupt your device’s performance. We also like that their scans require minimal resources, and can run quickly in the background.

One of the main drawbacks is how their plans are listed. They split their antivirus packages between proactive and reactive protection – for novice users, this may be confusing, and it may seem like you are not getting full protection, when in reality, you are. We have listed the main pros and cons below:

Pros

  • Robust protection from external threats.
  • Relatively easy to use.
  • Minimal system impact and quick scans.
  • Can test the software in a 30-day free trial.
  • Decent customer support with a live chat and phone line.

Cons

What can you expect from Heimdal Security?

Heimdal Security is a relatively new antivirus provider compared to some of the bigger names like Norton, ESET and AVAST. Originally, it’s antivirus packages were named after the god of thunder – Thor.

However, recently they have shifted their branding somewhat and their packages now have more professional names. In the sections below, we look at different aspects of Heimdal Security including price, features, usability, and system impact. 

Pricing

Pricing is an important factor to consider when choosing antivirus software. Heimdal Security has three different tiers of protection for home users. It also has a range of software for businesses, but in this Heimdal Security review we are only looking at the home packages. The prices are listed below:

  • Heimdal Next-Gen Antivirus Home: £29.96 per year.
  • Heimdal Threat Prevention Home: £37.46 per year.
  • Heimdal Premium Security Home: £59.96 per year.

These three antivirus packages are quite different in terms of their functionality and this can be a little confusing. In terms of general pricing, Heimdal Security is one of the more expensive antivirus providers available.

There are certainly cheaper providers available that also offer more comprehensive protection. 

For free antivirus, check out Avast.

In most instances, you would want to purchase the premium security home package as this has both reactive and proactive protection. We feel the price of this particular package is more reasonable and it works out at just under £5.00 per month which is OK.

You can also try out any of the three Heimdal Security packages in a free 30-day trial. This is useful so you can test the usability of the control panel.

Features

The features for each package vary. It is important to understand the difference as you end up with two very different types of antivirus protection depending on which solution you choose.

Heimdal Next-Gen Antivirus Home is a reactive antivirus program. This means that it will only defend against threats that have already happened. Features include firewall integration, antivirus scanning, file scanning, and real-time cloud scanning.

In contrast, Heimdal Threat Prevention Home offers proactive security. This means that the software will actively search for potential threats before they even have the chance to become an issue. Generally, this is seen as a more robust type of protection.

In this package, you get features such as phishing protection, ransomware protection, data leak blocks, and secure web browsing.

Finally, Heimdal Premium Home Security essentially contains the features of both the Threat Prevention and Next-Gen packages. It utilizes both proactive and reactive security to give you the best protection.

If you do want to use this antivirus provider, the Premium Home Security package is the only choice. For an extra £22.50 per year or £1.87 per month, you effectively get dual protection.   

Basic Antivirus Protection

Within the different packages, Heimdal Security provides a complete set of protection. The only useful thing it does not provide is a VPN. You can see the different antivirus features below:

  • Secure web browsing.
  • Secure online banking and transactions.
  • Phishing protection.
  • Malware detection.
  • Ransomware protection.
  • Personal data protection.
  • Firewall integration.
  • Basic antivirus protection.
  • Real-time cloud scanning.
  • File and signature scanning.

It is important to note that only the Heimdal Premium Security Home package contains all of these features. In terms of their actual viability of their protection, we have no reservations about the quality of Heimdal Security.

They employ a range of advanced technologies including AI protection. For example, their DarkLayer Guard utilizes two-way traffic scanning for HTTP, HTTPS, and DNS data.

Their independent testing is on par with other providers, and if you use their software, you should not experience any issues or breaches.

Usability / Control Panel

Any of the Heimdal home packages are easy to install and have a simple install wizard that anyone can follow. If you have any issues, there is also a full installation guide for both Windows and Mac users on their website.

Once installed, the main control panel is called Heimdal Thor Agent. This control panel has a clean, modern interface that is relatively easy to understand. On the control panel homepage you are shown the current security and health status of your device. You can also see statistics such as how many attacks have been prevented.

We like this simple approach and it isn’t overwhelming.

It is also split into two categories – Thor Foresight, and Thor Vigilance. Both categories provide the option for a quick scan. You can also see the status of various protective measures such as the firewall and any files that have been quarantined.

To the left, there is also the main menu. Here you can delve into the antivirus and utilize advanced settings and features. The Foresight category is a little more confusing here as it simply has options for the different security features and their proprietary names like “Darklayer Guard”, and “X-Pilot Resilience”. If you don’t know what these are, it could be a little confusing.

System Impact

The impact an antivirus has on your system is also important. Ideally, you do not want an antivirus that slows the performance of your device.

We tested the performance of Heimdal Premium Security Home. The app runs happily in the background and when you do not have the control panel open, it is docked in the app box. You can also set tray notifications that will appear in the bottom-right corner of your screen – these do not appear to affect performance but can be irritating.

Whilst running in the background, Heimdal Premium had virtually no effect on available memory or processing power. We also tested the quick scan and full scan features. On average, both of the scanes used approximately 1.5-2% of the CPU processing power which is negligible.

Basically, if you have a semi-decent spec PC or Mac, you should not experience any performance issues when using Heimdal Security.

Customer Service

You also want peace of mind when using antivirus software if you should encounter any issues. This is why customer support is important. Heimdal Security has a variety of contact methods and overall, we were impressed with their customer support.

They have both an international phone line, and a live chat app. The live chat is the quickest method of contacting them. We tried using the live chat and found the response times to be OK. They were not immediate, but we got a reply within 5 minutes. The chat uses live human support reps, and as far as we could see, there were no AI bots.

If you are happy to find your own answers, there is also an extensive knowledge base. This is broken into clear categories so you can easily find what you want. There is also a search box where you can search for specific problems and solutions. 

Heimdal Security Conclusion

From this Heimdal Security review we can see that this antivirus provider has many positives for home users. It has an easy-to-use control panel, and doesn’t affect the performance of your device too much either. You can also easily perform system scans and monitor the active antivirus protection.

We also like the customer support if you experience any issues. However, some people may find their price plans confusing. If you understand the basic difference between proactive and reactive security, you should be able to choose a suitable plan.

Alternatively, in most instances we would advise purchasing the premium package anyway – this is only marginally more expensive and provides complete protection.

Visit Heimdal Security to see more.

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