Acronis True Image 2021 - Backup and Anti-Malware

Backup expert Acronis is adding a full-fledged antivirus and anti-malware feature to its backup software this year (just like antivirus farmers have been adding backup features to their products for years). Data protection with Acronis takes on a new dimension, although there are still a few snags.

Acronis True Image 2021

Language Dutch

OS From Windows 7, Mac OS 10.11, iOS 10.3, Android 5.0 and above

Website www.acronis.com 8 Score 80

• Pros
• Cloud storage and antivirus (Advanced and Premium)
• User friendly
• Very complete backup function
• System restore and backup

• Negatives
• Advanced and Premium only as a subscription
• Cloud storage limited to Acronis Cloud
• No cloud storage and antivirus for Standard and Essential

While many backup programs focus on just one or a few system or data recovery scenarios, True Image really covers them all. The user-friendly English interface offers backup and recovery of files, folders, disks, mobile devices and even the entire system. Backing up can be done on a hard drive and NAS, and in the cloud. There are also utilities such as disk cloning, system cleaning, folder syncing and software testing in a sandbox.

Prevention is better

Prevention is better than cure (recovery in this case), which is why Acronis already protects specific folders and files against ransomware in several versions. This functionality is now extended to a full anti-malware feature. Your existing antivirus package can therefore be removed. In fact, it has to be removed, because if Acronis finds another security package, it disables its own security. It lacks its own firewall and anti-spam feature, as well as options for scanning a single file or folder – now it's always either a quick or a full system scan. Acronis uses its own artificial intelligence engine for behavioral analysis as well as a traditional virus signature scanning engine. The latter has licensed it from 'one of the top antivirus vendors', but Acronis won't say which one. Technology President Stanislav Protassov just wants to confirm that it is not a Kaspersky and not a Chinese engine; both are sensitive. However, if you search your PC, you will soon find references to Bitdefender (bdcore.dll).

If you don't need the Acronis anti-malware, the Standard and Essential versions are the best buy. These provide antivirus for three months, then it stops. The Advanced and Premium versions do offer one year of antivirus as part of the subscription, in addition to storage in the proprietary Acronis cloud and advanced cryptographic features. But for a family with several computers, the total price quickly increases, if you really want to be able to use all the possibilities.

For the Standard and Essential versions, after stopping the antivirus, there isn't much that justifies an upgrade to the new 2021 version. The important desire to be able to make backups to cloud services other than those of Acronis itself is still missing.

Conclusion

Acronis True Image offers very good backup features. With the addition of anti-malware, it extends the protection further, and the first results of AV-Test are very good. though it's hard to rate it properly if Acronis doesn't say which engine it uses. Too bad are the limitations on cloud storage and the loss of functionality if you prefer not to take out a subscription.