We've tested all of the biggest names in internet security, we've found that the very best antivirus software in is Bitdefender. It's a superb bit of software - from its entry-level Bitdefender Total Protection and its cast-iron malware defences, excellent threat detection and genuinely value-adding extra features, right up to its all-singing, all-dancing Total Security that adds an array of maintenance tools and can be used to protect your family's computers, tablets and phones. The obvious answer is staring you in the face Consult our rankings in this article, which is based on our expert knowledge and thorough, continually updated reviews of the top antivirus players.
That said, obviously you also have to bear in mind your own particular needs. Or at the other end of the scale, maybe you have a large family with a ton of devices to protect, and you need a package to cater for that.
Or maybe you want a VPN service as well as antivirus, so a bundled package will save you a lot of money on subscription fees. In short, our recommendations are here as firm guidance, but modify these appropriately based on your individual requirements.
For more thoughts on this, check out our article exploring how to choose the best antivirus. An antivirus app sits on your device like a guard dog, watching over the entire system and sniffing out any intruders malware , or indeed anything suspicious.
In short, it offers real-time defenses against viruses or other threats, which if detected are immediately dealt with, preventing them from carrying out their destructive payload. As well as this automated protection, you can run manual virus scans whenever you wish.
Think of these as the fingerprints of malware, and if something is spotted coming onto your system that has a matching fingerprint, the antivirus leaps into action, quarantining the offender. For more details on this topic, see our full breakdown of exactly how antivirus software works.
A good free antivirus — like the ones we recommend on this page below — is a perfectly reasonable option for protecting your PC. That said, premium antivirus programs offer extra features above and beyond the fundamentals. A robust system of parental controls could be a huge win for those with kids, for example. Or a dedicated anti-ransomware layer of protection that only comes with the paid-for product could help catch one of the most dreaded infections and halt it in its tracks.
For more on this, read our full piece on whether free antivirus is enough to protect you. Or just keep scrolling as we reveal today's best free antivirus software providers Paying for a premium service means you get more features like spam filters, parental controls, system scans and advanced firewalls. This makes them more suitable for power users, those who want a bit of extra security and anyone who needs their system to run as smoothly as possible.
It also means you avoid annoying pop-ups that try and tempt you to upgrade to the full version. In fact, these days you can get top quality protection absolutely free, with just about every single major vendor out there offering a free antivirus.
Windows has come a long way in terms of security, but it's still fair to say that Windows 10's built-in solution, Windows Defender, is the last free AV app you should trust to keep your system clean. Avira Free Antivirus is today's best free security download If you're determined to get free antivirus, we strongly suggest that you go for our pick of best security downloads - Avira Free Antivirus.
We've highlighted its long list of features below, together with information on how well it performs at independent testing labs. A very impressive freebie. That's pretty good for a freebie, and why we have no qualms at all in naming it as our 1 best free antivirus download.
As well as the essential security smarts, we also love the clean, friendly interface and the fact it has a track record of throwing up minimal false positives. In fact, the list of features reads more like a fully paid premium package. It throws in identity protection, a password manager, anti-scam protection to prevent phishing attempts, and even a PC cleaner to keep your system spick and span. If there's one thing we'd change then it's the tad overeager badgering - although popups and advertisements are very common to free products, and that doesn;t prevent us from wholeheartedly recommending Avira Free Antivirus.
Review and where to download: Avira Free Antivirus. Essentially consisting of the AV section of the full product, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition's clean, light, well constructed scanning mechanisms — which are almost universally faster than the industry average — and unrivalled virus definitions mean Bitdefender is a free antivirus force to be reckoned with. The free version's insistence on running in autopilot mode is a double-edged sword, making the process of virus management easy but taking it out of the user's hands; while we're inclined to trust it, there have been cases in the past of automatic systems going slightly rogue, such as the incident a few years back when Panda Antivirus identified itself as a virus and locked up a large number of Windows systems.
Review and where to download: Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition. The paid-for version of Kaspersky's Windows security software frequently tops charts of best virus prevention solutions and AV-TEST once again gave it full marks across the board in its latest round of testing. As you would expect, Kaspersky Free is a scaled down version of the full program - a tool that we really like more on which below. The free version ditches additional features such as privacy protection and safe payment sandboxes to concentrate on powerful, no-frills and - most importantly - free protection for your PC.
The result is a tremendously easy to use and navigate bit of software that does an effective job of keeping you protected from viruses. Using the nuts and bolts real-world scanning engine of the paid-for suite, Kaspersky Free is fiendishly hard for viruses and trojan horses to break down.
And we love that it doesn't constantly pester you with nudges to upgrade to the full version. But, ironically, we will just for a moment, because Kasperksy Anti-Virus isn't expensive to buy and yet affords much better protection to your PC or PCs. Review and where to download: Kaspersky Free. Avast and AVG haven't yet fully merged, despite the former formally acquiring the latter in mid The newly combined company says the two free antivirus products will remain separate, although there's apparently a joint AV package on the way soon.
Obviously, though, Avast now has a lot more data to work with, having expanded its effective userbase and, therefore, its threat detection network to a whopping million users. The latest edition of Avast Free Antivirus adds an automatic gaming mode to mute popups and reduce system load when you're firing up a processor-hungry game, which is very handy indeed, and the interface has been given a clean new overhaul. There's a password manager, too, which is an undeniably good addition to your security portfolio.
It scores well on AV-TEST's widespread malware benchmark and continues a clean sweep against 0-day attacks — presumably that expanded detection network is really helping. Less impressive is the slight negative effect Avast has on software launch times, and its slightly popup-heavy attitude. Review and where to download: Avast Free Antivirus.
Marketing itself as "business-grade security", Sophos Home does a little more than most free antivirus software, and actually seems better suited to families.
You get standard virus protection and anti-malware protection, along with browser tools like anti-phishing and, most importantly, content control. Combined with central management of up to 10 PCs, this means you can effectively lock down your kids' browsing options.
Although Sophos Home has always had desktop notifications, there was no premium version of the software for it to encourage an upgrade to. That changed in February with the launch of Sophos Home Premium. Review and where to download: Sophos Home. Each entry in this list has been carefully chosen for its business features, such as remote installation and central management. The best business antivirus software will have enterprise-level protection against threats, but that doesn't mean they have to cost a lot of money, either.
The price per installation can sometimes be cheaper than even our recommended best antivirus packages. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team. Jacob Roach, Rob Watts. Contributor, Editor. Editorial Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn't affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
Read more. Small Business Guides. The Best Antivirus Software of Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. Firewall included Yes. Email security Yes. Ransomware protection Yes. Why We Picked It. Options for small and large businesses Removable device protection Offers on-premise deployment. Each seat includes desktop and mobile protection Automatic software updater included Password manager included for every user.
Expensive Server protection limited to top two plans. Threat forecast and analysis tools Helpful insights into employee behavior Subscription includes server protection.
Centralized web dashboard Built-in behavior analysis Powered by machine learning. Who Should Use It: Businesses who need customizable security. Flexible plans that allow you to add features Patch management included. Lacking employee-focused features like a password manager. Email security No. Plans for businesses of any size Ransomware rollback on Windows Automated endpoint discovery. Norton Antivirus. Who Should Use It: Small teams looking for an easy-to-use antivirus solution.
Highly secure Tailored for small business use Cloud-based device management. Who Should Use It: Individual users looking for business-level protection.
Inexpensive Linkscanner protects you against malicious links Free email and phone support. NordVPN Vs. Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances.
We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. Jacob Roach. Rob Watts. Was this article helpful? Share your feedback. Send feedback to the editorial team. Rate this Article. Thank You for your feedback!
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Personal information—such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, bank account information, and credit card numbers—is at risk. That data is then available on the dark web and can be used to ruin your financial life. In fact, the personal information of people with a high credit score can sell for relatively little on the dark net.
Cyberattacks on companies are also costly. Installing the right antivirus software at home or your business is one step you can take to ensure you don't become a future statistic. Current antivirus software has moved beyond detecting viruses to providing malware and other attack protections. With hundreds of antivirus software solutions available, it can be hard to decide which is best for you. We also considered features such as multiple device protections and free version offerings.
Here are our top picks. Our choice for the best overall antivirus software because its paid version offers the most well-rounded protection. Bitdefender was founded in and is headquartered in Bucharest, in southern Romania. The company has over 1, employees with offices all over the world. The paid version includes Safepay for financial transactions, multi-layer ransomware protection, and vulnerability assessments. A virtual private network VPN is also offered with an additional subscription fee.
There is a day free trial. Norton with LifeLock keeps improving on its history as a top antivirus option with its PC maintenance features, making it the best for Windows computers. Norton introduced its first antivirus software in under the Symantec umbrella. Symantec purchased LifeLock in , and in , after the enterprise division of the company was sold, the name was changed to NortonLifeLock.
The company is based in Tempe, Arizona. Norton with LifeLock won best antivirus for Windows because of how it has continued to build on its history of protecting Windows machines. The identity theft protection capabilities of LifeLock alone give this product an edge. There are several versions of this product, so users can pick the features they need, but even the lowest level offers PC maintenance utilities including the ability to produce a faster bootup and 2GB of cloud backup. The amount of cloud storage increases based on the package level.
Webroot SecureAnywhere for Mac offers excellent phishing detection and fast scanning ability specifically designed for Macs. The company was founded in and introduced its first antivirus product in OpenText acquired the company in Webroot SecureAnywhere for Mac is our choice for antivirus protection that's best for Mac computers. There is still a belief that Mac computers are safe from cyberattacks, and while most viruses are targeted at Windows computers, Macs are vulnerable to other malware, ransomware, phishing attacks, and even Apple-targeted viruses.
Offering an email address when installing Webroot gives users alerts for new threats. This price covers one device. There is a day money-back guarantee. McAfee Antivirus Plus is our top choice as best for multiple devices because its subscriptions offer protection for every device in the home for a reasonable cost. McAfee Antivirus Plus is the one antivirus platform that recognizes the growing number of devices used in a single household, which could include four or more different operating systems.
The basic package supports up to 10 devices, support, secure web browsing, and antivirus.
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