HitmanPro 3 is what the authors call a "second opinion malware scanner", a security tool you can use alongside your existing antivirus package to improve security, without causing any conflicts.

The program scans your PC quickly, looking for suspicious files. Anything that appears dubious is referred to the HitmanPro "Scan Cloud", and if the file isn't recognised, then it's uploaded, and scanned using a number of antivirus programs from 5 separate vendors. As we write, these are Prevx, Dr.Web, G Data, IKARUS and Emsisoft.

The verdict is then passed back to you, and if it's bad news, the infection will be quarantined right away.

It's an interesting approach, which should help pick up even the very latest threats while also keeping false positives to a minimum. And that's not all.

A particular advantage of HitmanPro 3 is that it doesn't have to be installed, which immediately works to minimise conflicts. Just copy the program to a USB flash drive and use it whenever necessary.

And the program comes with an unrestricted free 30-day trial, so if you think your PC may have picked up something unpleasant then now is the perfect time to test it: just download HitmanPro 3, run it, and see what the program can do for you.