Antivirus software typically battles threats they’ve never seen before, although recent changes in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud protection have helped to mitigate this. As antivirus suites improve, so do the threats we face.
Luckily, you can give your antivirus a backup with VoodooShield. This lets you check new software against over 70 cloud-based antivirus engines or lock down your PC to trust any new program that tries to run. So how does VoodooShield work? Does it replace ordinary antivirus software?
What is VoodooShield?
VoodooShield describes itself as a computer lock and the antivirus as a filter. By default, VoodooShield enables or disables the lock depending on whether you are at risk.
The risk is determined by the applications you run, with browsers and email clients being the main cause of risk.
When your computer is not at risk and the lock is disabled, VoodooShield learns what software you are using and its normal behavior to know what to whitelist when the lock is enabled.
When your computer is locked, any software that attempts to run that is not whitelisted will be blocked and a prompt will appear with detailed information, giving you the option to continue blocking or allowing the program.
Alternatively, you can enable AutoPilot mode. Instead of enabling or disabling the lock, it always checks for new programs and notifies you when they are deemed suspicious. This will offer a little less protection than the catch-all lock approach, but it’s a great option for those who install a lot of software and don’t want as many prompts. AutoPilot also checks new software regardless of risk, so it could be considered more comprehensive protection.
VoodooShield uses one of the best ways to check if a suspicious file contains malware: a service called VirusTotal, a collection of over 70 cloud-based antivirus engines. You can upload files and receive detection information such as the number of engines that detect the file and what exactly it is detected in.
If a number of these engines detect a program trying to run, then it will be blocked. You will see the number of detections as a prompt to make an informed decision on whether to continue blocking or allowing the program.
With VirusTotal, VoodooShield uses its own machine learning to detect malware based on indicators and behaviors. To help prevent false positives, it has its own cloud whitelist of known safe files to limit the amount of common systems and software recovered. It also helps improve security, as VoodooShield quickly knows if the software trying to run is actually safe.
VoodooShield Pro is available with one-year ($30), two-year ($48), and three-year ($63) options. Lifetime licenses cost $90. These prices are reasonable, but most people won’t need to change the settings the pro unlocks.
How does VoodooShield protect you?
VirusTotal, machine learning, and the whitelist cloud are used to determine if the software is safe. By default, the lock is turned on and off based on open risky apps.
If you don’t have any suspicious apps open, there aren’t many infection vectors other than removable drives like USB drives that contain malware. If you have a browser or email client open, you’ll know if you’re trying to install software. If a prompt appears that software is trying to install that you didn’t run, you can assume it’s malicious and stop installing it.
Lockdown being on will provide the most protection when you are at risk. AutoPilot will provide less protection, but is still active and requires less user interaction.
Although malicious files that evade your antivirus will not be deleted by VoodooShield, they will not be able to run on your computer. Files that are not running and not active cannot harm your system.
Does VoodooShield replace antivirus?
VoodooShield will not protect you or remove existing malware as it is designed to prevent your computer from being infected in the first place. Already installed software is whitelisted, so your computer must be clean before installing.
The best time to install VoodooShield is on a new computer or Windows installation. If this is not possible, you should check your computer for malware and run scans with existing anti-virus software.
VoodooShield does not provide protection against phishing websites, malicious emails, or unintentionally sending infected files to others. It only prevents malware from running.
Most premium antivirus software includes website scanning to fill this gap. Browsers also include their own website filtering, such as Google Chrome Safe Browsing and Microsoft Edge SmartScreen. The effectiveness of browser filtering is debated but improving and is a good additional layer of defense.
VoodooShield is designed to work with your existing antivirus and should not be used as your only line of defense. For the best protection, use it with one of the best antivirus apps for Windows 11 and learn the main signs of a phishing scam to protect yourself.
Security issues such as exploits mean that even the most cautious user can become infected without clicking anything. This is why antivirus software is so important. Being better informed and being able to spot scams is absolutely essential to staying safe online, no matter what security software you use.
Who should use VoodooShield?
VoodooShield is not for the faint-hearted. This default blocking approach is ideal on computers used for basic tasks such as web browsing, shopping, and banking; or by those who don’t know much about computers because they won’t install software often. However, the prompts can be confusing for these groups of people.
They could allow malware when the prompt appears, or unintentionally block a false positive detection and cause a system crash.
VoodooShield is therefore best used by those who are comfortable setting up their computer and normal antivirus software, as well as more advanced users. Those without good computer knowledge should look elsewhere and use a combination of other solutions, like security browser extensions and premium antivirus software.
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