Antivirus compares

For starters. Even if you opt for the entry-level Bitdefender Antivirus Plus product, you get Safepay online banking protection, which is essentially a secure browser and one which covers you from all kinds of angles. The company offers more extensive suites, too, with Bitdefender Internet Security providing all the above plus a tools to help speed up your computer and to help you find your mobile devices if they're lost or stolen.

As the flagship offering, Bitdefender Total Security comes complete with an array of PC maintenance tools, plus it supports Android and iOS devices as well as covering Windows and Mac machines - basically, it's a single solution to your entire family's online security needs. At this point of previous years' reviews, we'd be talking about how Bitdefender beats the rest when it comes to pure virus protection, too. That's not quite the case this year, with the report from AV-Comparatives showing less accurate results than usual.

Considering Bitdefender's strength in previous years, we're happy to give it the benefit of the doubt for now, but we'll have a keen eye on the independent lab results this year to see whether that picture changes. Plus that secure feeling of knowing you're being kept safe by 's overall best antivirus software.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus comes with the added bonus of a VPN and Safepay as well as boasting multi-layer ransomware protection. A fantastic price, for a fully-featured antivirus. The main attraction here is the absolute stack of features you get - even with the entry-level Antivirus Plus product — not to mention the quality of those features.

They include a really useful intelligent firewall, which is a genuinely big help in terms of policing your system, along with some very thorough browser protection measures to keep you safe on the web. And in our very own ransomware testing, we Norton came up a little bit short compared to the more effective protection offered by Bitdefender.

If you want more then NortonLifeLock offers a range of higher-level suites. Norton Standard adds some nifty extra bits of functionality, including an integrated full VPN service, more backup storage 10GB and dark web monitoring for some countries, including the US and UK. There are also strong mobile apps for Android and iOS.

While Premium ramps that up again to 75GB backup and 10 devices. Editor's note: Unlike the other providers in this list, Kaspersky is yet to release the version of its antivirus. What follows is the description of its plan, and will be updated once we have tested the updates. Its core antivirus capabilities are very strong, with Kaspersky ranking at or near the top in all the most recent reports from the big independent test labs.

Kaspersky also benefits from some nifty self-protection routines. The good news is that when it comes to extras, the bigger suites bundle more interesting functionality.

Kaspersky Internet Security introduces an intelligent firewall which hardly ever bothers you with any queries , plus a secure browser, and it offers coverage for Macs, along with Android and iOS mobile devices. Kaspersky Total Security brings in more on top of all that, including smart parental controls, a fully-fledged password manager, and automated local or Dropbox backups. Another strong suit is the fact that this antivirus is currently top dog when it comes to blocking phishing sites according to AV-Comparatives , and it provides great web browsing protection including Pay Guard as a secure environment for the likes of online banking.

Weak points? However, you do of course get more functionality with the higher-level security suites from Trend Micro. The next tier product, Trend Micro Internet Security, throws in some interesting extras including parental controls and social media protection tools.

Whereas most updates on this list are fairly superficial, Avast ripped everything up and started again for its latest release - introducing Avast One. Avast One takes the firm's trusted free antivirus now known as Avast One Essential and builds on it with extra features. Whether you choose to go free or upgrade, the software is really in favor with the independent testing labs at the moment, ranking towards the top of the pile in real-world malware tests and anti-phishing tasks.

You also benefit from a simple firewall, data breach scanning to warn you if your online accounts are breached, and apps for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

So why bother paying for Avast One? You'd have to really want one of those specific add-ons to want to part with your cash, otherwise we'd suggest going for a more fully featured internet security suite or just sticking with the free Essential download. We saw a lot more thought pieces coming out in suggesting that the time was at an end to pay for your antivirus software.

And while we generally disagree with that notion, Microsoft Defender is probably the best argument in its favor. That's because if you're a Windows user, there's a perfectly capable virus protection already sitting within your operating system.

Microsoft Defender is a solid product that gives capable mid-range protection - mostly without users ever even knowing it's there. Defender has a dashboard, its own scan options and so on, but you'll never even see them unless you go looking.

In the testing from independent lab AV-Comparatives, Defender ranked pretty much slap bang in the middle of the 17 tested providers. That means it's better at protecting your PC than even some of paid-for software out there. Outside of pure virus protection, it features lots of bonus features such as multi-layered anti-ransomware, firewall, webcam and privacy protection, web filtering, parental controls and backup.

So what's stopping you from forgetting the rest and simply getting Defender up and running? Well, those features mentioned above are all pretty basic and aren't up the standard of those offered by most of the security suites above. And it probably goes without saying that Defender is only available on Windows PCs - forget protecting your Mac or smartphone - and some features only play nice if you use Edge as your browser.

In truth, Avira is probably best known for its Avira Free antivirus option which is among the best out there - see further down this page , but its premium packages should not be sniffed at — especially when you consider the incredible price you can now pay for its Antivirus Pro package.

The interface is smart and the various features — including the free but limited to 1GB monthly VPN — are now better integrated within the UI overall. The caveat here is that the ratings of the antivirus engine from independent test labs are only middling at best — but the app does provide a decent enough level of protection. Upgrading to the Internet Security or Prime plan adds further features like a full password manager, and the Pro version of Software Updater which provides automatic updates for your apps , plus Prime gives you the unlimited usage version of the VPN and mobile app support.

A real bargain. McAfee takes an interesting approach with its security range, as all the offerings are variants of its core Total Protection product, with the main difference being more devices are supported at higher tiers.

Then a low-priced basic program might be all you need. MORE: How to buy antivirus software. Once you've got your priorities figured out, then determine how many machines you'll need to protect.

Most vendors offer single-device licenses for Windows PCs. But multi-device, multi-platform licenses for five, 10 or more computers and mobile devices are available in midrange and premium antivirus packages, covering Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and sometimes even Linux.

Some vendors offer plans that cover an unlimited number of devices. Gone are the days when you could walk into a store and pay a one-time fee for an antivirus product that came in a box off a shelf. All the vendors now sell their software licenses as yearly or multiyear subscriptions. The upside is that you'll always get the latest software, which you can download and install straight from the internet.

Many antivirus products are sold online for much less than their list prices. But each brand offers basic, midrange and premium configurations of features and pricing, with every step up adding more features. Think of autos at a dealership. You can get a base-model car that will get you from place to place just fine.

For a few grand more, you can buy a car with satellite radio, but no heated side-view mirrors, alloy wheels or in-car Wi-Fi hotspot. Or you can spend a lot more to get a loaded car with all the fixin's. Antivirus makers also hope you'll spring for extra options, whether you need them or not. The one thing you can't trade up to is a bigger engine: All the Windows antivirus products in a given brand's lineup will use the same malware-detection engine and provide the same level of essential protection.

The software will have essential malware protection and maybe a password manager or a two-way firewall. They generally add parental controls, some of which are very good, plus a few other features such as webcam protection.

They often include multi-device licenses and antivirus software for Mac and Android devices. At the top are the premium "security suites," which toss in all the extra security tools an antivirus brand can offer, such as password managers, VPN client software, backup software, online storage and even identity-protection services.

The password managers are often quite good, but the online storage can be paltry and the VPN services often don't give you unlimited data. We've collected the best premium antivirus packages on this list of the best internet security suites.

Our evaluations are based on each antivirus program's interface, performance, protection and extra features. Was the interface intuitive and user-friendly? How badly did malware scans slow performance? How well did the program detect and remove malware? Does the program offer useful additional tools? Some of our newer performance tests were done on a Lenovo ThinkPad T with a 2.

To assess a program's impact on system speed on both Windows and macOS, we used our own custom tests, which measure how long a CPU takes to match 20, names and addresses on an OpenOffice or Excel spreadsheet. The longer it took the laptop to finish either test, the heavier the performance impact. Each lab subjects the major antivirus brands' products to stress tests involving thousands of pieces of malware, including hundreds of previously unseen samples.

Kaspersky antivirus products have been banned from U. Because the company is Russian and antivirus software can peer deep into a PC, using Kaspersky software would create an unacceptable risk for persons and organizations involved in national security and critical infrastructure. However, we still think Kaspersky software is perfectly safe for home users.

We've seen no evidence to convince us otherwise. Kaspersky researchers are well respected throughout the antivirus industry, and the company has publicly exposed Russian cyberespionage campaigns as well as those from the United States and other countries around the world. Paul Wagenseil is a senior editor at Tom's Guide focused on security and privacy. He has also been a dishwasher, fry cook, long-haul driver, code monkey and video editor. He's been rooting around in the information-security space for more than 15 years at FoxNews.

If you use a Windows PC, you'll need to have one of the best antivirus programs installed, whether free or paid.

View Deal. Bitdefender offers the best value in antivirus software. Norton packs in everything but the kitchen sink. Kaspersky Total Security. Specifications Anti-theft: Yes. Backup software: Yes. Firewall: Yes. Game mode: Yes. Hardened browser: Yes. Parental controls: Yes. Password manager: Yes. Ransomware rollback: Yes. Webcam protection: Yes. Virtual keyboard: Yes.

VPN: Limited upsell. Wi-Fi scanner: Yes. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. Specifications Anti-theft: No. Backup software: No. Firewall: No. Parental controls: No. Webcam protection: No. Reasons to avoid - Heavy background system impact. Norton Deluxe. Hardened browser: No.

Ransomware rollback: No. VPN: Unlimited. What follows is the description of its plan, and will be updated once we have tested the updates. Its core antivirus capabilities are very strong, with Kaspersky ranking at or near the top in all the most recent reports from the big independent test labs.

Kaspersky also benefits from some nifty self-protection routines. The good news is that when it comes to extras, the bigger suites bundle more interesting functionality. Kaspersky Internet Security introduces an intelligent firewall which hardly ever bothers you with any queries , plus a secure browser, and it offers coverage for Macs, along with Android and iOS mobile devices.

Kaspersky Total Security brings in more on top of all that, including smart parental controls, a fully-fledged password manager, and automated local or Dropbox backups. Another strong suit is the fact that this antivirus is currently top dog when it comes to blocking phishing sites according to AV-Comparatives , and it provides great web browsing protection including Pay Guard as a secure environment for the likes of online banking. Weak points? However, you do of course get more functionality with the higher-level security suites from Trend Micro.

The next tier product, Trend Micro Internet Security, throws in some interesting extras including parental controls and social media protection tools. Whereas most updates on this list are fairly superficial, Avast ripped everything up and started again for its latest release - introducing Avast One. Avast One takes the firm's trusted free antivirus now known as Avast One Essential and builds on it with extra features.

Whether you choose to go free or upgrade, the software is really in favor with the independent testing labs at the moment, ranking towards the top of the pile in real-world malware tests and anti-phishing tasks. You also benefit from a simple firewall, data breach scanning to warn you if your online accounts are breached, and apps for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. So why bother paying for Avast One?

You'd have to really want one of those specific add-ons to want to part with your cash, otherwise we'd suggest going for a more fully featured internet security suite or just sticking with the free Essential download. We saw a lot more thought pieces coming out in suggesting that the time was at an end to pay for your antivirus software.

And while we generally disagree with that notion, Microsoft Defender is probably the best argument in its favor. That's because if you're a Windows user, there's a perfectly capable virus protection already sitting within your operating system.

Microsoft Defender is a solid product that gives capable mid-range protection - mostly without users ever even knowing it's there. Defender has a dashboard, its own scan options and so on, but you'll never even see them unless you go looking.

In the testing from independent lab AV-Comparatives, Defender ranked pretty much slap bang in the middle of the 17 tested providers. That means it's better at protecting your PC than even some of paid-for software out there. Outside of pure virus protection, it features lots of bonus features such as multi-layered anti-ransomware, firewall, webcam and privacy protection, web filtering, parental controls and backup. So what's stopping you from forgetting the rest and simply getting Defender up and running?

Well, those features mentioned above are all pretty basic and aren't up the standard of those offered by most of the security suites above. And it probably goes without saying that Defender is only available on Windows PCs - forget protecting your Mac or smartphone - and some features only play nice if you use Edge as your browser.

In truth, Avira is probably best known for its Avira Free antivirus option which is among the best out there - see further down this page , but its premium packages should not be sniffed at — especially when you consider the incredible price you can now pay for its Antivirus Pro package.

The interface is smart and the various features — including the free but limited to 1GB monthly VPN — are now better integrated within the UI overall. The caveat here is that the ratings of the antivirus engine from independent test labs are only middling at best — but the app does provide a decent enough level of protection. Upgrading to the Internet Security or Prime plan adds further features like a full password manager, and the Pro version of Software Updater which provides automatic updates for your apps , plus Prime gives you the unlimited usage version of the VPN and mobile app support.

A real bargain. McAfee takes an interesting approach with its security range, as all the offerings are variants of its core Total Protection product, with the main difference being more devices are supported at higher tiers.

McAfee Total Protection Single Device is the entry-level antivirus product, and as the name suggests, it covers one device. There are also a ton of features on offer, particularly for a baseline product, and even if not all of them are of the highest quality, you get a lot for your money. That includes an intelligent firewall, an integrated TunnelBear -powered VPN with unlimited data, a quality spam filter, secure file vault, and some PC speed-up options. The main stumbling block here is that the antivirus engine itself is not the best out there — although some results from independent test labs come out better than others — but this has to be something of a concern.

Further up the Webroot range, SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus expands coverage from Windows and Mac PCs to mobile devices, also providing a password manager courtesy of LastPass and covering up to five devices rather than three. And at the top of the tree is Internet Security Complete which introduces an automatic backup tool with 25GB of secure cloud storage and additional online privacy features. SecureAnywhere AntiVirus gives you everything you need, really, although Internet Security Plus is our top pick for the most rounded package.

Sophos Home Premium covers up to an impressive 10 devices Windows and Mac computers. Sophos provides capable virus protection, and worked well in passing our own anti-ransomware tests. For the antivirus software on offer — and given the 10 device ceiling — Sophos Home Premium could work out as a great value proposition for those who want to protect multiple computers.

Just note that Sophos no longer offers a long-term free version to new users. You'll see on the website you can download it for free, but that's just a trial version rather than an all-singing all-dancing free antivirus package. 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 Antivirus Plus and its cast-iron malware defenses, 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.

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. And if you are a US government employee or work with the federal government, you'll want to steer clear of Kaspersky internet security products -- and perhaps use one of the antivirus software products mentioned here instead.

Picking the best antivirus software for Windows means finding one that keeps your PC safe, doesn't take up a lot of system resources, is easy to use and stays out of the way till you need it. Here's what to look for. Antivirus software runs virus scans for known viruses and malware, of course, and can offer real-time protection. And it watches for shady websites and suspicious links to keep you out of trouble. It can also offer ransomware protection and monitor unexpected behavior that may be a sign of new and not-yet-identified viruses and malware.

You want antivirus software that can successfully identify these unknown online threats without flagging too many false positives. Light on system resources. You don't want antivirus software that taxes your PC's resources.

If after you install the program, websites open slowly, apps download or open sluggishly or file copies take longer than expected, you may want to try another service. The good news is, all our picks offer a free trial to let you try out the antivirus program, so if your system feels sluggish after installation, you may want to keep looking.

Cost and discounts. Don't just pay the sticker price for antivirus protection. Before you buy, check for discounts on a company's website. Another way to save: The prices we list above are for 10 devices -- if the company offered that package -- but you can trim your cost with antivirus packages if you need to cover three or five devices. You may also find discounts on an app's Amazon page. To be effective, antivirus software needs to monitor what's going on with your PC, check in with company servers about unusual behavior and should provide sound banking protection.

The companies say they anonymize this technical data as much as possible to protect your privacy. But if you want to know more, the security companies on our list post privacy policies on their websites, so read their privacy statements to learn what the companies do with the information you share. Protection for other platforms. Microsoft is by far the biggest target for viruses and malware. While the Mac does come under attack via side-loaded apps, it's rare, and if you download apps only from the Mac and iOS app stores and keep your guard up when clicking links and download files, you should be OK without an antivirus app on Apple devices.

CNET editors pick the products and services we write about. When you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Best free Windows antivirus Microsoft Defender. Jump to details. See at Microsoft. See at NortonLifeLock. See at Bitdefender. Best on-demand Windows malware removal Malwarebytes.

See at Malwarebytes. Solid subscription antivirus alternative McAfee Total Protection.