In a Nutshell
pros
- No need for frequent software updates
- Lightweight program that won’t slow down your device
- High-level of malware detection and protection
cons
- No firewall, spam blocker, or popup blocker
- Pricing is fairly high
Cylance at a Glance
Ease of Use
Pricing & Plans
Routine Scans
Additional Features
Customer Service
Highlights
- Features: AI-powered malware protection
- Ease of Use: Extremely easy to use
- Reliability: Above average
- Value: Below average
- Money Back Guarantee: 30 days
Best For
- All those who want to be at the forefront of AI
- Individuals who want powerful malware protection
- People who want an easy to use antivirus tool
- Anyone who doesn’t want to slow down their device with heavy antivirus software
Why Choose Cylance?
The biggest attraction of the Cylance Smart Antivirus is that it recognizes and quarantines malware before it reaches your computer, unlike other antivirus tools which are reactive and focus on removing and cleaning up viruses that have already arrived. Cylance antivirus recognizes malware fast, no matter how much the virus changes each time, without needing frequent updates. You should choose Cylance if you want a lightweight, advanced antivirus tool that won’t slow down your device, and you aren’t concerned about extras like firewalls and fraudulent site detection.
What Cylance Offers
- Free online support
- 30-day free trial
- Lightweight, web-based protection
- Advanced malware detection and prevention powered by AI
- Transparent pricing
- No need for frequent updates
Cylance offers 4 antivirus programs, with 3 of them aimed at businesses and enterprises. Cylance Protect offers AI-driven endpoint security for companies. CylanceOptics is advanced, enterprise-level security protection. CylanceThreatZero offers an even more alert, wraparound protection for innovative IT.
Cylance Smart Antivirus is the only program intended for home users. It’s the first AI-powered antivirus tool. Thanks to its machine learning core, the Cylance Smart Antivirus is lightweight and easy to use. It doesn’t slow down your computer by running background scans since it only checks files that are active, open, or in use. Because Cylance is powered by Artificial Intelligence, it constantly adjusts its detection abilities, so there’s no need to carry out frequent updates.
Cylance users get free online support and a helpful online user community. It's very easy to use, and the simple single package means that there are no complicated or confusing pricing structures.
Features
Cylance offers just one package for non-business users—the Cylance Smart Antivirus. Cylance protects you from all types of malware, spyware, ransomware, Trojans, and any other type of malicious file. When you open, download, or try to run a suspicious file, Cylance will quarantine it
You won’t find an extensive package of protection, though. Because Cylance relies on its ability to recognize and quarantine malware, it doesn’t try to prevent you from visiting sites which could be the source of such viruses. This is part of its strength—Cylance doesn't identify viruses by the IP address or URL since those can change, but by the profile of the file itself. However, it's also a weakness. It means that Cylance won't help keep you away from fraudulent or phishing sites
Cylance doesn’t include the details that make products such as McAfee and Kaspersky so comprehensive. You won’t find features like a firewall, spam blocker, pop-up blocker, or parental controls here. Cylance is compatible with most tools, so you can run them both together. If these functions are important to you, you’ll have to pay extra to get them from another provider.
Ease of Use
Cylance scores highly when it comes to ease of use. To get started with Cylance, all you need to do is buy your subscription, register your details, and download the Cylance installation wizard on your device. You don't have to change any configurations or adjust any settings, because Cylance is lightweight and web-based
Once it’s installed, Cylance sits in the background and waits for a malware event. If you try to launch a file that Cylance considers to be suspicious, it will just quarantine the file so that it can’t run. You can check on threats and events by opening the web-based Cylance dashboard. If a file that you trust was blocked, you can use the Cylance Event List to permit it to run.
Detection Rates and Reliability
It's hard to compare Cylance with other antivirus programs because it works in a totally different way. Independent tests that challenged Cylance with the most difficult and pernicious malware threats found that Cylance was able to detect them successfully and protect your device and files. PCMag gave Cylance 89% for threat detection—a very high rating, but not quite as high as some market leaders. Cylance proved itself to be highly reliable for antivirus protection, but as the company itself points out, it doesn’t serve as a spam filter, firewall, or pop-up blocker.
Pricing
Cylance offers just one package—the Cylance Smart Antivirus. This makes pricing clear and transparent since you’ll just pay more according to the number of devices you want to protect. However, Cylance’s prices are a bit higher than other antivirus programs like McAfee and Kaspersky. When you consider that Cylance doesn’t give you extras like protection from fraudulent sites, parental controls, or spam blockers, it’s clear that you’re paying a little bit more for quite a bit less.
Help & Support
Cylance offers support for existing users through a variety of media—you can email, call, or hold a live chat with a representative. There are local call numbers available for customers in the US, the UK, Ireland, Japan, and Germany, as well as an international support number. If you’re looking for further information about Cylance, you can get in touch through email, or use the online webform. There’s no information about live support hours.
Cylance also has a large and searchable knowledge base, with an FAQ section and a Quick Start guide, but we couldn’t find any clear how-to videos on the Cylance site or on their YouTube channel, so if you’re a visual learner, you might be stuck.
Bottom Line
Cylance excels at malware protection, but it falls short in other areas. If you’re looking for comprehensive antivirus software that protects every aspect of your digital life, both online and offline, Cylance is not the best choice. You’ll end up having to pay twice—once for the Cylance Smart Antivirus, and then again for the firewalls and spam blockers that Cylance doesn’t offer.
However, if you already have computer protection software such as Windows Defender installed on your device, and you’re just looking for a lightweight, powerful antivirus to ensure that you don’t install any malicious files, Cylance could be exactly what you need.
About Cylance
Cylance began in 2012, offering endpoint protection for businesses and enterprises. Cylance focuses on creating products which proactively detect and prevent malware, instead of reactively removing and neutralizing it. It is based in Irvine, California.
