HitmanPro Antivirus Review 2024: Your Second Line of Defense?

This comprehensive HitmanPro antivirus review dives deep into this unique security solution that’s been gaining attention in 2024. Unlike other traditional antivirus software, it takes a distinctive approach by working as a complementary defense system.

Let’s examine how this cloud-powered scanner delivers malware protection, what are its standout features, pricing, and more.

Ready?

What Is HitmanPro?

HitmanPro is a specialized security tool that harnesses cloud-based scanning technology to detect and eliminate malware, spyware, and rootkits. During my testing, I found it works seamlessly alongside existing antivirus software, offering an additional layer of protection without causing conflicts.

The software’s approach focuses primarily on post-infection cleanup and secondary scanning capabilities. Through cloud-based analysis, HitmanPro identifies and removes threats that might slip past primary antivirus defenses.

This complementary approach allows users to maintain their existing antivirus while adding specialized protection against sophisticated threats.

Features

Now, let’s look at its capabilities:

Cloud-Based Technology

The core scanning engine uses cloud technology to take the blunt force of the analysis to remote servers, reducing the impact on the local system. During my HitmanPro review testing, I noticed the scans were quick and efficient.

The cloud-based infrastructure updates its threat database in real-time. It ensures protection against the latest malware variants without requiring manual updates or system restarts.

As you can see from the image above, the software analyzes your PC and then makes sure no remnants are left behind with a double scan.

Multi-Layered Malware Protection

The software employs multiple detection mechanisms, including:

• Signature-based scanning to ensure every file is original.
• Heuristic analysis of the system and all its constituents.
• Behavioral detection to help prevent infections.

These methods collectively improve its ability to detect and eliminate both known and unknown threats.

Behavioral and Heuristic Analysis

HitmanPro identifies threats based on their behaviors and characteristics instead of relying only on existing malware signatures. This approach proves especially effective for detecting zero-day attacks and emerging malware.

The behavioral analysis engine monitors program activities in real-time using sophisticated pattern recognition algorithms. This system tracks over 100 different behavioral indicators to identify potentially malicious activities. You can even check the I am an expert box if you want to apply it to any circumstances.

Beyond simple signature matching, it analyzes some more program behaviors like:

• File system access patterns
• Registry modifications
• Network communication attempts
• Process injection techniques.

Fast and Lightweight Scanning

My HitmanPro review confirms the software performs quick scans without significantly impacting system performance. It’s ideal for users seeking an additional layer of protection without the burden of heavy software.

Users benefit from reduced CPU usage during scans, with typical system resource consumption sitting somewhere between 10 & 15% during an active scanning process. The software uses only 2-3% of the CPU’s power when not scanning, making it suitable for almost any PC.

Real-Time Threat Removal

The active threat removal system combines immediate response capabilities with detailed forensic reporting in a user-friendly interface.

As soon as threats are detected, the software creates a comprehensive activity log, including initial infection vectors, system modifications, and network communication attempts. Each removal action is documented with specific details about affected system components and restoration steps.

The system also tracks related files and registry changes to ensure complete threat elimination.

Moreover, you can modify how the Safety Notifications show up, and you can choose between At application start or Once per login session. The first option gives a more comprehensive understanding of your system’s state, so I recommend going with that option. Of course, you can also entirely disable this feature.

Security

During my HitmanPro antivirus review, I examined its security capabilities extensively. Unfortunately, the tool isn’t traditionally evaluated by major testing labs like AV-Test and SE Labs. This is most likely due to the nature of the software itself.

During my extensive testing, the software proved effective as a secondary scanner working alongside my primary antivirus solution, as you can see above.

The app has identified some more malware and PUP files on my device, even after scanning it with BitDefender.

After that, it successfully removed the threats that my primary antivirus had missed.

HitmanPro’s behavioral detection engine showed effectiveness against emerging threats by identifying suspicious behavior patterns rather than relying solely on traditional signature-based detection. The HitmanPro.Alert version adds an extra layer of dedicated ransomware protection, actively monitoring and blocking unauthorized file encryption attempts.

Interface/Ease of Use

Throughout my HitmanPro review, I found the interface follows a minimalist design that prioritizes the software’s usability. Unfortunately, this can make the software seem confusing to new users. It has two versions: the normal HitmanPro interface and another app called HitmanPro.Alert that acts as a task manager for the main hub.

I prefer the HitmanPro.Alert UI, as it’s more slick, even though it lacks complexity. The default one reminds me of an old Windows 10 installer, which doesn’t bring back nice memories.

The main dashboard shows scanning options, a quick access to settings button, and a curious button with a drop-down list that says Next. This confused me, as I wasn’t sure what the result of clicking it would be.

After reluctantly clicking it, I was presented with a drop-down list with different types of scans. Even though it’s great to have access to this option, the format and menus aren’t very intuitive.

The way it presents scan results is straightforward enough, but the interface still needs work.

Customer Support

The software offers basic support through its online help platform. However, activating a new product key while having an active license won’t add the remaining days to the new license.

Additional support is available through the company’s official help center.

HitmanPro Pricing

Each version offers different levels of protection:

HitmanPro – €19.95/year (One PC)

• Advanced Malware Removal: Detects and eliminates both known and emerging malware
• PUA (Potentially Unwanted Application) Removal: Identifies and removes hidden spyware, adware, and similar threats
• Scan and Clean capabilities

HitmanPro.Alert – €29.95/year (One PC)

Includes all HitmanPro features plus some other useful elements like:

• Advanced Real-Time Protection against new and evolving threats
• Advanced Ransomware Protection to prevent file encryption
• Advanced Web Protection against phishing and compromised websites
• Online Banking Protection for secure financial transactions
• Advanced Exploit Prevention to protect vulnerable programs
• Privacy Protection, including webcam security and anti-keylogging.

Both versions protect a single PC with a one-year license term.

HitmanPro Antivirus Review – Verdict

Overall, I found the software effective as a supplementary security solution. It excelled in post-infection cleanup and providing additional protection layers.

Here are some of its pros:

• Lightweight with a small system footprint
• Fast and efficient scanning
• Works alongside existing antivirus software
• Cloud-based technology reduces local resource usage
• Strong rootkit detection capabilities
• Comprehensive threat reporting
• Quick installation process Free trial available.

And some cons:

• Limited real-time protection in the base version
• Higher pricing compared to some alternatives
• Requires primary antivirus for complete protection
• Confusing menus
• Interfaces don’t offer enough details about the options
• Outdated UI design (Windows-10-like).

After my in-depth HitmanPro antivirus review, I find this software particularly effective only as a supplementary security tool. The confusing interface can offer a bit of a challenge. Still, the other features, like fast cloud-based scanning and minimal system impact, make it a valuable addition to your security setup. While it shouldn’t be your only protection, HitmanPro excels in its intended role as a secondary defense layer.