PC Matic

PC Matic Frequently Asked Questions

We combined the most frequently asked questions about PC Matic, as well as individual links to more in-depth blogs about each below.  We understand you all had questions, and we have answers!  We hope this list helps with any inquiries you may have.  If you have additional questions, do not hesitate to ask.  You may do so either in the comments section below, or going to www.pcmatic.com/help.

What does PC Matic do?

PC Matic is an Endpoint Security program that uses a global automated whitelist to proactively stop malware. Because our whitelist is globally automated, that means you don’t need to whitelist all of the programs you use yourself.  

PC Matic can be your go to program for antivirus protection, it does not need to be paired with any other applications. In addition to our incredible whitelist protection from malware, PC Matic also updates vulnerable apps, defragments your hard drives and performs other system optimizations.

You can read more about what PC Matic does in detail here.


Does it clean the registry

PC Matic does clean your computer’s registry by removing old or outdated registry keys that have been left behind after uninstalling a program. We work very carefully to only clean old registry keys and leave all necessary and system keys in tact. Registry cleaning is on by default but can be turned off in the scan settings.

You can read more about the registry cleaning PC Matic does here.


Can PC Matic be automated?

Yes! PC Matic includes a scheduler that allows you to set up a scan and clean for any time period you would like! Pairing this with SuperShield means you can sit back and not worry about your computer’s protection. We even include email reports so you can get a summary from your computer after it has been scanned.

You can read more about setting up PC Matic to be automated here.


Is it Malwarebytes?

No. Malwarebytes is made by another software company and is in no way affiliated with PC Matic or our company PC Pitstop.


Can PC Matic harm my PC?

Absolutely not! PC Matic never performs any malicious actions to your computer. We’re here to protect you from malicious software. You can also easily see a summary of changes made by PC Matic in the scan summary, and easily undo any changes made by our program from the settings menu.


What is PC Pitstop?

PC Pitstop is our company name, we are the makers of PC Matic. PC Pitstop was founded in November 1999 by Rob Cheng and Dave Methvin with the sole purpose of creating a better way to diagnose common computer problems. We’ve released several products since then including Optimize, Disk MD, PC Magnum, Erase, Exterminate and most recently, PC Matic! PC Matic was released in 2009 with our whitelist protection SuperShield in 2011.

You can read more about PC Pitstop here.


How can I tell that PC Matic is working?

Real Time Protection: If you’re unsure that PC Matic is currently protecting you, just look for the green SuperShield icon in your task-bar. SuperShield is our real-time protection component and with it running your computer will be protected from malware. If you see a yellow or red SuperShield icon hover over it to see why it has changed, it may turn yellow while updating. You can also right click the icon and hover over “Protection Level”, make sure to click SuperShield Protection. If you still do not have a green icon please contact our support team at pcmatic.com/help.

PC Matic Scans: You can see if PC Matic has been scanning and cleaning your computer by opening the program and looking for the specific computer in the list. Next to each computer will show the report from the last scan as well as the date for the next scheduled scan.

You can read more on how to verify that PC Matic is working here.


Has PC Matic ever advertised under a different name?

No, PC Matic has always been PC Matic, however there are a few different versions of PC Matic.

  • PC Matic – Includes all abilities @ $50 per year for 5 computers
  • PC Matic Evergreen – Our lifetime license
  • PC Matic MSP – For Managed Service Providers
  • PC Matic Pro – For Business and Government Agencies
  • PC Matic Home Security – Our free security only product

Your TV ads mention a RAP test score..what is that?

The RAP score is a test performed by Virus Bulletin. They are a testing house that performs several tests a year to determine the protection rates of antivirus products. RAP stands for Reactive And Proactive and is a combination of two test scores, the Reactive protection test and the Proactive protection test.

According to Virus Bulletin the RAP testing is described as: “The unique RAP (Reactive and Proactive) tests measure simple static detection rates using the freshest samples available at the time products are submitted to the test, as well as samples not seen until after product databases are frozen. This provides a measure of both the vendors’ ability to handle newly emerging malware and their accuracy in detecting previously unknown malware.” (Link)

You can read more about what a RAP score is here.


What is your phone number?

Unfortunately we do not provide phone support. We do however have our amazing customer support team that is available 24/7 through our helpdesk. You can submit a support ticket to our team here and they will be happy to assist you!


Can PC Matic be run side by side with other antivirus products?

PC Matic can run alongside other antivirus programs if you choose to do so, however two real-time protection components will not run peacefully together. If you choose to run PC Matic with another antivirus product and want to use our real-time protection Super Shield, you will need to disable any other real-time protection that is running on your machine. If you don’t disable the other real-time protection Super Shield may not function as expected. 

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