Installation & First Steps
Welcome to PC Armour! Getting started is simple. If you are installing to multiple computers, only one registration is required.
- Register: Create your free online account by registering on the website link above.
- Download the Installer: After registering, download the PC Armour installer from your dashboard homepage after login.
- Run the Application: Run the downloaded
PCArmoursetup file. The installation will only take a moment to complete. The application will start automatically and show in your system tray. - Find Your Unique ID: Right-click the PC Armour icon (wait 30 seconds after initial launch) in your system tray (near the clock) and select "Settings." A window will appear showing your Unique ID.
- Link Your Device: In your web dashboard, click "Add New Device" and enter the Unique ID from the previous step. Your PC is now connected!
- Settings: In the settings menu on the tray app, adjust preferences and optionally disable right click to stop anyone accidently exiting the app.
Understanding the Dashboard
Your web dashboard is the central command center for monitoring your PC. It uses a combination of at-a-glance summaries, real-time gauges, and historical trend graphs to give you a complete picture of your system's health and performance.
At-a-Glance Information
The top of the dashboard provides immediate access to core system information, asset details, and key health check results so you can quickly assess the current status.
Visual Gauges and Trends
We use gauges for a live snapshot of important metrics like disk space and security. For everything else, historical trend graphs allow you to see how your PC is performing over time, which is essential for diagnosing recurring or slow-forming issues.
Dashboard Example
Below is a full-page example of the detailed device dashboard. You can scroll within the image to see all the available metrics.
The Health Scan
The Health Scan is the core monitoring feature of PC Armour. It runs automatically in the background every 15 minutes, gathering vital statistics about your system which are then displayed on your web dashboard. This allows you to proactively identify potential issues before they become critical problems.
The scan is a fast lightweight low priority task and designed to have a negligible impact on your computer's performance even for during DTP or gaming.
The Security Scan
The Pro version of PC Armour includes an optional, powerful security scan designed to test the effectiveness of your existing antivirus, DNS and firewall protection.
During the scan, the software will probe the latest hot list of malware, phishing and other security parameters to confirm the effectiveness of your existing antivirus, DNS and firewall protection as a whole.
Important: At no time are any actual malware files downloaded in any way. This is a soft probe that is completely safe but should trigger a blocking event. Note the test is not performed in your browser but inside the safety of the code designed for this test and specifically simulating what would happen if you did have a rouge application installed.
Why it might trigger an alert
The security scan intentionally simulates the behaviour of safe, known malware and phishing to verify that your antivirus software is actively monitoring and protecting your system.
This is Expected Behaviour!
If your antivirus displays a notification that it blocked a threat during the scan, that is a good sign. It means your protection is working correctly but some security software will block without displaying any pop-ups. PC Armour does not install any actual malware or phishing on your system but does simulate a connection which should be blocked. There is zero risk to the computer during this process at all. If your anti-virus has excessive pop-ups, please check the instructions to minimise these.
Enabling and Scheduling
You can enable and schedule the security scan from the Windows Application Settings window.
Why is my protection score so low?
The software ranks protection based on the very latest malware and phishing site data. Many anti-virus solutions say they protect you 100% but this isn't always the case and there are websites that claim to rank/test anti-virus software but the majority are essentially designed to trick you into purchasing a particular solution based on commission.
However no anti-virus is going to be perfect by itself which is why its best to combine a range of solutions. A good anti-virus like ThreatDown, a well configured DNS protection like NextDNS and maybe even a hardware IPS/IDS firewall like Ubiquiti Unifi. With all 3 solutions we score 99%+ every time. If you require details please contact itproexpert.com
Comprehensive Feature List
PC Armour is available in two tiers. See the table below for a detailed comparison of the features included in our Free and Pro plans.
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Website Dashboard | ||
| Windows Agent Software | ||
| Basic Health Monitoring | ||
| Extensive Health Monitoring | ||
| System Warnings Alerts | ||
| Response Time Monitoring | ||
| AntiVirus Status Monitoring | ||
| Security Protection Testing | ||
| 24 Hour / 30 Day Graphing | ||
| MSP/IT Provider Admin Option |
Windows Application
Right Click Options: in your system tray (usually at the bottom-right of your screen near the clock) you will see a 'Green' shield icon which has additional options when hovering the mouse over and right clicking.
Run Security Scan: will force an immediate security scan with results visible about 3 to 5 minutes later in the web control panel. The shield icon will turn 'Yellow' during the scan.
Run Health Scan: will force an immediate health update to the web control panel with results in about 2 minutes on the web control panel. The shield icon will turn 'Blue' during the scan.
Settings: option allows you to configure scan features and view your system's Unique ID.
If the tray icon does not allow you to 'right click', then an administrator has disabled this function which can be re-enabled using the website device control panel.
- Unique ID: This non-editable field displays the secret ID used to link this PC to your web dashboard for great privacy.
- Security Scan Schedule: Check this box to turn on the scheduled security scans. This feature is only available to Pro subscribers. Disabled by Default. Not that enabling this may trigger alerts with some antivirus software while it performs the test. See the section in the documents for more information.
- Security Scan DNS: Additional security and blocking can be enabled via DNS modifications. Here you can test alternative options to see how it improves your results.
- Security Scan Interval: Once the security scan is enabled, you can choose how often the automated scan should run. Choose every 1,2,3,5,7 days.
- Health Scan Interval: If you enable the 15-minute Health Monitor then your app will update vital metrics to the web interface for essential monitoring. Enabled by Default.
- Service Provider: If you have an IT MSP service provider, their contact details will appear here.
- Advanced: If you 'Disable Tray Right Click' then you protect anyone from viewing the Unique ID and from disabling any settings. Ideal for Administrators.
- Save Button: Click this to apply and save any changes you've made to the settings.
Dashboard Data In-Depth
Here is a comprehensive guide to all the information displayed on your device details page.
- Device Name / OS: The computer name and Windows version, for easy identification.
- User Name: Most recent logged in user name, especially useful for IT support to ID the current user.
- Last Seen: Shows the last check in time of your device with the most recent IP address.
- Install Date: See the Windows installation date and Win32 date. Help to identify systems that require reinstalls.
- Uptime: A critical indicator for IT support. Advise users to reboot weekly and track issues due to extended uptimes.
- CPU: The processor model and total/available system memory.
- RAM Overview: System memory showing total/available system memory with a list of RAM slot configuration.
- RAM Diagnostics: Memory issues, excessive swop file usage with Committed Memory, Page Input/Sec, Pages/Sec & Cache Faults/Secs.
- Motherboard: The manufacturer, model and serial number of the mainboard.
- BIOS: The manufacturer, serial number and model of the mainboard and its firmware version.
- Disk Storage: A list of all drives with model details, total size, free space & SMART diagnostics to detect failures early.
- Security Score: A calculated score from 0-100 based on the status of your antivirus, firewall, and other network security checks.
- Security Tracking: Shows the last 30 days of security scan data. Malware and Phishing protection.
- Network MAC Address: Internal hardware MAC address, useful for network diagnostics or ARP identification.
- Internal IP: Shows current LAN/Local/WiFi IP address. Internal network diagnostics.
- External IP: Shows current WAN/Internet IP address. External network diagnostics.
- Gateway: Network gateway IP. For network diagnostics.
- Response Time: The most recent measurement of your network performance on your internal network and internet connection.
- Trends: Shows the last 30 days of CPU, Memory and internal/external ping reponse times- perfect for tracking issues long term.
- DNS: See which DNS server is active on the system, helping to identify domain resolution issues or DNS leaks.
- Network Connections: Snapshot of all external connections (IP and Port) the system is actively communicating with. Quick IP lookup included.
- Last Wake: Identify the cause of systems that wake up from sleep without user intervention.
- Antivirus: Displays the name of all installed antivirus product and confirmation of operational status.
- System Errors: Lists any recent system reported errors that may need attention.
- Services: Comprehensive list of all system services installed and running on the computer.
- Browser Safety: View a list of installed browsers and which extensions are installed - a significant security risk.
- Warnings: AI detected system warnings to pay attention to.