Aura Antivirus review

Aura antivirus is a fairly new participant on the market but is already popular thanks to its identity theft guard for US users. This antivirus also provides you with malware protection, credit monitoring, a secure network, and password management tools. It basically seems to be an all-around cybersecurity service.

Yet, first impressions aren’t everything you can base on. That said, none of its apps include all the features in one place. Let’s say you’re using an iOS, then the antivirus protection is unavailable. But is it a key point not to choose Aura?

To find that out, we have thoroughly tested Aura antivirus software and reviewed its security, performance, features, price, and other critical aspects. Read on and learn if Aura is a worthy opponent to other market-leading antivirus programs.

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Aura antivirus pros & cons

Is Aura antivirus safe?

Yes, Aura is a safe antivirus software that provides you with all the most crucial online security tools within a single subscription. While its main focus is identity theft protection, the antivirus software is growing strong too, including real-time protection as well as Full, Quick, and Custom system scan options.

Stay malware-free with Aura antivirus

Protect your digital world with Aura antivirus. Shield your devices from malware, viruses, and online threats. Enjoy robust real-time protection, secure browsing, automatic updates, and a 14-day money-back guarantee.

cybernews® score

4.2 /5

• Great malware scan results
• Comprehensive credit monitoring
• Built-in VPN

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During our tests, we downloaded and extracted on the local system 10 malware samples, such as ransomware, adware, keyloggers, and more. The first try was done with a Quick malware scan, which took only 26 seconds and scanned 131 files. This time, Aura was able to detect 80% of threats, and all the malicious files were instantly quarantined.

Even though the CPU reached 100% throughout this Quick scan, the whole process was short, so no damage to device performance was felt.

However, the real-time protection scan results weren’t that impressive. We gave Aura 10 malware samples from malicious URLs, and only 5 of them were detected and stopped from getting into the system. Moreover, the CPU reached 100% again, but you can stop the process immediately if you need full power from your computer.

Putting it all together, Aura is still mediocre at protecting you from viruses. Concluding our in-house tests, the Quick scan is currently more reliable than real-time protection, which can only catch up to 50% of threats. While it’s better than nothing, having a 50/50 chance in terms of catching malware is not what we trust at Cybernews. For now, Aura has to work more toward being one of the most reliable tools for malware removal. One of the first steps suggested to do is to go through testing done by an independent, like AV-Comparatives.

Aura security features

It’s becoming a standard for a cybersecurity provider to offer multipurpose protection, and Aura already does correspond to this trend. Not only does it cover the antivirus market but also financial, network, and personal data security spheres. However, the features you get depend on what subscription plan you choose and the devices you’re using.

Here are some of the main features Aura antivirus can offer you:

• Malware scanner – choose Quick, Full, or Custom scans to detect and remove malware from your computer.
• Real-time protection – stay protected at all times without having to worry about sneaky threats while browsing.
• Identity theft protection (for US residents only) – avoid being among the other 15 million Americans that fallen to be identity theft victims.
• Financial fraud protection – stay updated with any changes in your banking accounts.
• Parental controls – ensure a secure online experience for your children.
• VPN – stay anonymous online and bypass geo-blocks on content.
• Password manager – keep your logins encrypted in one place.

But now let’s dig deeper into each security feature that comes with Aura.

Malware scanner

Aura allows you to choose 3 types of scans when looking for malware on your device. It can either be Quick, Full, or Custom scans.

• Quick scan – it’s a short-term solution for scanning folders where malware is the most commonly found. It can be system files or other most vulnerable areas of your gadgets. Even though it’s not the most effective way to fight infections, Aura has impressed us with finding up to 80% of threats within less than a minute.
• Full scan – whether you want to do a preventative overview on your device or have suspicions about being infected, completing a full malware scan is the way to go. Although the scan can take longer, it thoroughly reviews your entire device. When testing, Aura took 17 minutes to detect 80% of our given malware samples.
• Custom scan – this is the solution when you need to scan a specific folder or even an external storage device like USB.

Real-time protection

Aura’s real-time malware protection, also known as Auto-scan, can be enabled to work in the background whenever you’re on your Windows PC, Mac, or Android devices.

Just like in the song by The Police, “Every Breath You Take”, Aura’s real-time protection looks out for every file you download or open and ensures no infected attachment settles on your gadgets. Or at least it should do that. That said, during our in-house tests, the real-time protection tool was able to spot only half of the threats we attacked it with.

But if you’re lucky, Aura will catch all the infections coming to your devices and quarantine them right away. Yet, keep in mind that this process can take quite a lot of your device’s resources too.

Identity theft protection

Aura’s ID theft protection is probably the reason you’ve heard of the provider in the first place. While this feature is available for US residents only, it already noticeably helps to slow down an increasing number of ID thefts.

And it’s no surprise, as Aura is one of the market-leading ID theft guard tools. It comprehensively tracks all the activities related to your SSN, monitors criminal and court records, and protects your online accounts that are connected to your provided email.

If any suspicious changes related to your personal information happen, Aura instantly informs you about them. In case you become a victim, there’s also a $1,000,000 insurance policy.

Financial fraud protection

Credit monitoring is inseparable from a secure online identity. Therefore, Aura includes robust financial fraud protection in the app as well.

First things first – it monitors all 3 main credit bureaus, including Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Thanks to this, you can rest assured that you’ll be informed about new loans and every added credit card using your or even your child’s name.

In the worst-case scenario, Aura allows you to lock your bank accounts to secure them from any criminal threats.

Lastly, this feature also helps you stay up to date with your financial habits, as you can review your monthly credit scores as well as annual credit reports.

However, keep in mind that credit monitoring is also available for Americans only.

Parental controls

While youngsters are getting better and better with technology these days, online security is what they rarely think about. Luckily, we can help them stay secure using the parental controls that Aura has in its Family plan.

First of all, this feature allows parents to limit the time their children spend online. While time limits are already good protection, during the rest of the time, they can still visit harmful websites.

Fortunately, you can also make a blacklist of dangerous web pages, apps, or video games and restrict your kid from visiting them.

And speaking of video games, Aura’s Windows app even has the Safe Gaming feature. With it, you can stay on track with who is bullying your kid online and ensure that no scammer or other predator attacks them. The monitoring list consists of over 200 video games, so there’s a small chance you will miss out on a threat.

Aura VPN

A VPN, also known as a Virtual Private Network, is somewhat the core of secure and private online life. As one of the most rapidly growing cybersecurity services, Aura has made a partnership with one of the most popular VPNs on the market – Hotspot Shield. Hence, it’s now available for all Aura’s users.

Even though our IP and DNS leak tests have shown no vulnerabilities, the overall performance of this integrated VPN is quite far from what a reputable VPN provider can offer.

That being said, you get no server list, and the servers that are automatically picked are only located in the US. Consequently, this VPN is more suitable for regions that are closer to the States. Moreso, during our tests, the download speed decreased by 90% from the initial speed.

Finally, there are no additional security features that make a VPN a more beneficial tool apart from simply being a traffic encryption service. For instance, the kill switch feature would protect your IP when a VPN connection drops.

Password manager

Next to securing your online accounts with the identity theft protection tool, Aura also enhances your security by implementing a password manager.

During our tests, we found that it allows you to autosave your logins from various websites, smoothly autofill the credentials, and indicate your passwords that are unsafe to use.

This feature can be used on mobile devices as well as on Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browsers. Moreover, the vault encrypted with AES-256 cipher is synchronized across all your connected devices.

On the downside, Aura’s password generator lacks customization options, so you only get to use its suggested passwords without being able to make them more or less complex. On the contrary, market-leading password managers allow you to customize the length of a password and what symbols it should include.

Plans and pricing

Aura has a simple subscription strategy. You can either choose a plan for Individuals, Couples, or Families. And the starting price, which is $35.99/month, could be fairly good considering the set of tools you get. However, with other reputable antivirus software, like TotalAV, you can have more advanced security for only $19.00/year.

Nevertheless, let’s take a better look at how each Aura’s plan differs:

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It doesn’t take long to see that each Aura’s subscription plan includes nearly all premium features, which makes it an excellent price-to-quality option.

So what does actually differ in those plans? Well, the first thing we notice is the price. While the individual plan $35.99/month, the Family plan is nearly 3 times more expensive, which is almost 6 bucks for each Family plan member. Except for kids, as they are added for free.

Moving further, every account user can connect up to 10 devices simultaneously, whether it’s for a VPN, antivirus, or password manager. Summing all up, the Couple plan can secure up to 20 gadgets, and the Family has up to 50 protected devices.

Now, the Family plan is the only one that can use Parental controls (with Secure Gaming feature included) and Child identity protection features. However, this doesn’t mean that a single person can’t get a Family plan for the sake of more simultaneous connections or this advanced gaming protection.

Lastly, every Aura subscription plan comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee, which you can use as a free trial to test the service before fully comitting to it. Unfortunately, there’s no forever free version to use.

Ease of use and setup

Aura security suite requires little to no effort to set it up. The toughest part of the process is to fill in your personal information, which is necessary to help the service to monitor your online identity. But it’s as tough as you need to put in quite an amount of data, including your account, identity verification, billing, and similar information.

Apart from providing personal information, the further process is smooth and understandable for beginner users. Both Windows and macOS apps have clear designs that don’t really differ except for the Secure Gaming feature availability.

You can enable a VPN straight from the home screen. The same applies to antivirus scans. Speaking of them, once you install the Aura app, it performs an automatic virus scan. The same happens each time you update the software.

Nevertheless, as easy as the desktop app is to use, the lack of functionality is noticeable. That said, you don’t get either a password manager or identity protection tools; for those, you must use the web or mobile versions.

Just like desktop apps, the browser extension is just as intuitive. You can add it on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge browsers. No extension for Safari or other browsers yet.

However, the browser add-on can be used for password management and ad blocking only. Luckily, both these features work well. The password manager suggests logins when needed, and the ad blocker successfully removes ads and even allows you to whitelist preferred websites.

If you prefer to have additional tools on your browser, you can use Aura’s web dashboard to add identity, transactions, passwords, and adware protection.

Overall, using Aura on your desktop is a flattering experience that doesn’t cost frustration. Except for the features’ distribution across several platforms. Is it like that on mobile devices too? Let’s find that out.

Aura antivirus mobile apps

Moving to Aura’s phone applications, the situation changes here quite drastically compared to what you’d get with the desktop app.

While both Android and iPhone apps are equally easy to set up (except for the part where you have to fill in your personal data, such as banking account details, SSN, etc.), what’s even better is that you get nearly all Aura’s tools in one place.

Whether you’re using iOS or Android phones, applications for these devices include ID protection, credit monitoring, a VPN, a password manager, and Parental controls (the latter comes with a Family plan).

However, at some point, we are used to seeing that the Android app versions outrival iOS clients. Here, it’s no different. If you are an Android user, you also get the antivirus suite along with other tools in a single platform.

Even though Apple users are forced to look for a robust iOS antivirus elsewhere, the overall outcome of our in-house Aura’s mobile app testing is gratifying. Both applications function smoothly without requiring the user to have any technical knowledge. And nearly all of Aura’s security features are found in a single app, which ensures better security, as you will not be avoiding the misery of jumping from one platform to another.

Customer support

Although we’ve talked about how intuitive and beginner-friendly Aura’s security suite is, technical issues occur even for the most advanced users. After all, not all of them happen due to the user.

Luckily, Aura has three ways how you can get help 24/7. The quickest way to reach out is via the phone line. Nevertheless, it might be difficult to explain your situation on a call, especially if you’re stressed about the threats to your online ID.

Meanwhile, writing an email allows you to put all the important information in a sequence. Hence the customer success agent can effectively help you within a short period of time.

Lastly, there’s a help center abundant with informative guides. They also include lots of visuals, so you can pick up the information as fast as possible. There, you can find articles explaining how to set up the program, how each feature functions, and more.

It’s undeniable that live chat support would be a cherry on top. It’s like a mix of a phone line and a ticketing system; you can quickly get help by explaining your issues in detail. However, for this type of support, Aura’s users will have to wait for some more time.

Is Aura Antivirus any good?

Yes, Aura is a good antivirus provider. It offers its customers (especially US residents) all the most crucial digital security features within a single subscription.

With it, you get identity protection tools, credit monitoring, a built-in VPN, a password manager, and the antivirus itself. But while its ID and financial fraud protections are worth applauses, the rest of the suite requires quite a lot of improvement. The real-time virus scanner detects only half of the threats, and a VPN has US-based servers only, not to mention huge connection speed decreases.

This security service is exceptionally easy to use and offers nice-looking designs on each platform. But to have all the benefits in a single place, the only option is to use the mobile application, as with other app versions, some features are excluded. Well, that’s all about what we think, but you can test Aura yourself too, using a 14-day money-back guarantee and let us know how it went in the comments section below!

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