Surfshark Antivirus

Surfshark Antivirus is a malware scanner from Surfshark, the Amsterdam-based company best known for its VPN. It runs on Windows, macOS and Android and comes only as part of the Surfshark One subscription.

On Windows it has an independent lab result: AV-TEST gave it a full protection score in mid-2026. The macOS and Android versions have no published lab results, and they lack several of the Windows features.

It is sold inside a bundle, so the question of whether you need an antivirus at all, given the protection built into each system, is covered in Do You Need an Antivirus?

Independent Lab Results

AV-TEST, a German testing lab, tested Surfshark Antivirus versions 6.9 and 6.11 on Windows 11 in May and June 2026. It stopped 100% of new threats from the web and email in May and 99.8% in June, against an industry average of 99.9%, and detected all of the widespread malware from the previous four weeks. That earned the full 6 out of 6 points for protection. In the same test it did not flag any legitimate software as malware, a perfect result for false positives, and scored 6 out of 6 for usability.

The system load score was 4.5 out of 6, lower than the 5.5 it received in the May–June 2025 round on Windows 10. In that earlier round protection was also 6 out of 6, with 100% of new threats stopped in both months.

AV-TEST runs its Windows test every two months, but Surfshark Antivirus appears in only four rounds: December 2022, June 2024, June 2025 and June 2026. Its first result, in December 2022, was 4.5 out of 6 for protection. AV-Comparatives has published no test of the product, and AV-TEST’s latest macOS and Android rounds do not include it, so there are no independent results for the Mac and Android versions.

What It Does on Each System

The app checks files as they are downloaded, installed and opened, runs full, quick, scheduled and custom scans, scans USB drives, and keeps flagged files in quarantine. Webcam protection warns you when an app tries to use the camera. Surfshark says its virus database updates every three hours.

Several features are Windows only: blocking of malicious and phishing websites, heuristic scans of program code, behaviour-based scans and boot sector scans. The Mac and Android versions lack the web protection and the heuristic and behaviour-based scans. There is no iPhone version. On Windows the antivirus installs from inside the Surfshark app, so you need that app on the computer.

What Leaves Your Device

A feature called Cloud Protect checks suspicious files against Surfshark’s cloud database. Surfshark says it does this without seeing your personal data, but neither its product pages nor its privacy policy say what is sent: a file’s fingerprint, its address or the file itself. That is the main question about cloud scanning, and Surfshark leaves it unanswered.

The privacy policy is more specific about the antivirus’s own reports. For every threat it detects, the app sends Surfshark the malware’s name and type, your country, your operating system and your user ID. Surfshark keeps this for a year and then anonymizes it. It also collects statistics on how you use webcam protection, and information about your devices to enforce the five-device limit. The policy names no setting to turn this off, so this telemetry is part of using the product.

Crash reports and diagnostics need your consent. Also with your consent, the Surfshark apps send device details, language and advertising identifiers to analytics and attribution companies that the policy names, and the policy says Surfshark’s advertising partners help it attribute sales and show more relevant, interest-based ads. The policy says Surfshark does not sell, rent or trade personal data. It also shares data with its group companies in the EEA, the United States and the United Kingdom without naming them.

Security Incident in September 2026

On 9 September 2026 Surfshark published a report on a breach of one of its internal test servers. A human error had left the server reachable from the internet, and an outside party got in; Surfshark noticed unusual activity on 31 August, confirmed the access and shut it off on 2 September, and began further hardening on 5 September, work it describes as ongoing. The server held parts of system binaries, internal configurations for some services and build-related credentials that had been committed to code history. Surfshark says it rotated or retired those credentials, that no user data and no VPN services were affected, and that the apps on users’ devices were not altered. An isolated server used for content optimisation was also accessed. The report does not mention the antivirus. Surfshark said it would bring its test environments up to production security standards and commission another independent security audit.

Audits and Bug Bounty

No outside firm has published an audit of Surfshark Antivirus. In 2025 a Polish security firm ran a penetration test of Surfshark’s desktop and mobile apps, browser extensions and websites at Surfshark’s request and found no critical vulnerabilities, but its summary letter does not list the antivirus among the areas tested. Surfshark does not say which detection engine the antivirus uses.

Surfshark runs a bug bounty that covers its apps on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. Reports go by email, and rewards are at Surfshark’s discretion, with no amounts published.

Ownership and Jurisdiction

You buy the antivirus from Surfshark B.V., registered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, so the company is subject to Dutch law and the EU’s GDPR. Its terms of service are governed by the law of the British Virgin Islands. Surfshark launched its VPN in 2018 and added the antivirus in 2021.

Price and Plans

Surfshark Antivirus is not sold on its own. It comes with Surfshark One, which also includes a VPN, data breach alerts, a private search tool and an alternative identity tool; this review covers only the antivirus. The antivirus works on up to five devices at a time.

Surfshark One renews at $99 a year, about $8.25 a month, whether your first term was one or two years. The first term costs much less: $67.23 for 27 months, or $44.85 for 15 months, at the time of writing. Paying month to month costs $19.95. The higher Surfshark One+ plan adds a data-removal service and identity theft coverage and renews at $119 a year. There is no free version, and refunds are available within 30 days of the first purchase.

The renewal price is on a separate billing page, not on the main pricing page. That billing page also lists a yearly renewal price for the antivirus as a standalone product, while the antivirus FAQ says it cannot be bought on its own.

Pros and Cons

• Full 6 out of 6 for protection in AV-TEST's May–June 2026 Windows test, with no false alarms
• Company registered in the Netherlands, with a privacy policy that rules out selling personal data
• Five antivirus devices plus a VPN and breach alerts in one subscription
• Published a dated incident report after the September 2026 server breach

• No independent lab results for the macOS and Android versions, and Windows results in only four rounds since 2022
• Every detected threat is reported to Surfshark with your user ID, with no setting to stop it
• Surfshark does not say what Cloud Protect sends when it checks a file
• Web protection and heuristic and behaviour-based scans work only on Windows
• No published audit of the antivirus, and the detection engine is not disclosed
• Not sold on its own: you pay for the whole Surfshark One bundle, which renews at $99 a year

Our Rating

Surfshark Antivirus suits Windows users who already want a VPN and are willing to pay for Surfshark One, and who are satisfied with one lab’s results on one system. It does not suit Mac or Android users looking for tested protection, or anyone who wants a standalone antivirus or full documentation of what the app sends to its maker.

• Protection Quality7.0/10

  AV-TEST gave it the full 6 points for protection on Windows 11 in May–June 2026, stopping 100% and 99.8% of new threats in the two months and all of the recent widespread malware. These are the only independent results: AV-TEST has published four Windows rounds since December 2022 (June in 2024, 2025 and 2026), and no lab has published results for the macOS or Android versions.

• Privacy & Data Practices5.5/10

  The company is registered in the Netherlands and says it does not sell personal data. The antivirus reports each detected threat to Surfshark together with your user ID, kept for a year before it is anonymized, and the policy offers no switch for this. Surfshark does not say what Cloud Protect sends when it checks a file, and with your consent the apps share device data with analytics and advertising partners.

• Usability & System Impact6.5/10

  AV-TEST found no false alarms in 2026 and scored the system load 4.5 out of 6, a point lower than in 2025. Web and phishing protection and the heuristic and behaviour-based scans work only on Windows, so the macOS and Android versions do less.

• Transparency & Verifiability4.5/10

  No outside firm has published an audit of the antivirus; the 2025 penetration test of Surfshark's apps, ordered by Surfshark, does not name it. Surfshark does not document what Cloud Protect sends or which detection engine the app uses. It runs a bug bounty for its apps with discretionary rewards and published a dated report on its September 2026 incident.

• Price & Value6.0/10

  The antivirus comes only with Surfshark One, which renews at $99 a year and also includes a VPN, breach alerts and a private search tool. The antivirus covers five devices, there is no free version, and paying month to month costs $19.95.

Overall6.1/10

Protection Quality 30% · Privacy & Data Practices 25% · Usability & System Impact 20% · Transparency & Verifiability 15% · Price & Value 10%

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