Norton is a household antivirus name, and for good reason. The business service provides the same excellent protection. That said, it loses a few points due to a limited feature set and high prices. Norton provides the convenience of a personal antivirus with the reach of a business one.
As a cloud-based service, you can easily manage your devices and protection without dedicated hardware. AVG sets itself apart with features such as Linkscanner, which checks links before you open them, and CyberCapture, which sends unrecognized files to AVG for analysis.
Featured Partners 1. Holistic antivirus protection is important for business and personal use, but there are few areas that are more important for businesses.
Browser and email protection are two of the main precautions. According to the cybersecurity firm Proofpoint, phishing schemes are a rampant issue in the business community, and email is a top attack vector. An antivirus service can help identify malicious emails and links, which already deals with a significant issue businesses face.
Ransomware protection is very important for businesses, too. An attack can lock you out of your key business resources and cost you a significant amount of money. Personal threats are widespread—the goal of cyberwarfare is to infect as many people as possible.
Business threats are often targeted, using tactics like phishing to gain access to business networks and resources in a directed way. Forbes Advisor closely analyzed the top antivirus services to bring you this ranking. First, we gathered hundreds of data points on the top products from the top antivirus companies.
The dataset was divided into the key features for an antivirus service: price, customer support, user experience, app ratings, and core features. With the key features set apart, we weighted the results and assigned each of the features a score.
The combination of these scores is what you see in the five-star rating above. Although we looked at everything from support to ransomware protection, there were a few key areas that took precedence in our ranking. The first was the price. Outside of that, we paid attention to features and extra protection measures. Windows 10 comes with Windows Defender, which is a free antivirus service. If you have highly sensitive data, an antivirus program can serve as an insurance policy if nothing else.
Between browser security and Windows Defender a built-in antivirus in Windows 10 , you can keep yourself protected by following good security practices like avoiding suspicious links and using unique passwords across websites.
That said, a dedicated antivirus program has upsides. Antivirus providers have business plans that can help keep company resources protected from ransomware attacks and employees from phishing schemes. Jacob Roach is a writer and technology enthusiast. He specializes in computing and small business software, lending his experience to sites like Digital Trends, Business Insider, and Cloudwards. You can follow him on Twitter ManowarElves.
In that role, he was responsible for writing, editing, and strategizing content geared toward small business owners. Before that, he worked at PCMag as a business analyst. Select Region. United States. United Kingdom. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
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Small Business Guides. Featured Partners. Our ratings take into account a product's cost, features, ease of use, customer service and other category-specific attributes. Firewall included Yes. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is easy to set up and stays out of your way until you need it.
And the protection this antivirus product offers is solid. Bitdefender antivirus software consistently earns top marks for its antivirus protection and usability from the respected AV-Test independent testing lab.
The free antivirus version covers one Windows PC. Malwarebytes does protect your PC from a virus or malware attack, scoring reasonably well in recent independent testing for guarding against malware threats.
But that's not really what Malwarebytes is known for. If you find yourself in trouble, the go-to disinfectant for many is Malwarebytes. To get the antivirus company's free antivirus version, download this trial version , which "downgrades" to a no-fee on-demand cleaner with fewer features that detects and removes viruses and malware when you run an on-demand antivirus scan after 14 days.
In addition to the four antivirus apps we recommend above, a handful of other anti-malware tools are worth considering among the best antivirus protection if you find them at a better price or just prefer to use one over our picks above. It feels like McAfee Antivirus has been around forever, first on its own in the '80s, then as part of Intel starting in , and then again on its own when Intel spun it off in And McAfee Total Protection has been around forever because quarter after quarter it creates solid, modern antivirus software that protects your PC.
In recent evaluations by AV-Test, it had high scores on both protection and performance. Maybe this antivirus provider is not as well known to consumers because of its focus on enterprise security, Trend Micro antivirus quietly brings its business expertise to the home with its Trend Micro Maximum Security tools. Trend Micro's software earns high marks from AV-Test -- consistently scoring well for detecting zero-day attacks and widespread viruses and malware. And Trend Micro does a good job of not taxing system resources.
Free version? It earns high scores for usability and offers solid virus protection. The free antivirus version of Sophos Home gives you virus protection for three Windows PCs -- using the company's high-scoring anti-malware tool -- plus a day trial of the company's malware-removal tool. Test after test, Avast Antivirus for Windows performs well for malware detection with options ranging from Avast free antivirus software to Avast Premium Security.
And we've included its antivirus in our list of recommended security app options before. But Avast was in the news for several months for its non-antivirus business, so we looked at the company, specifically reports at the end of that Avast allegedly collected user data with its browser plug-ins and antivirus software and then sold data it collected through its Jumpshot subsidiary in early In response to the reports that his company gathered and sold the details of its customers' online activities, Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek said in a statement that he understood that his company's actions raised questions of trust in his company.
To address that, Avast terminated Jumpshot data collection in January and closed its operations because the data collection business wasn't in line with Avast's privacy priorities.
These newer reports follow another in from Avast that its internal network was breached , possibly to insert malware into its CCleaner software, similar to an earlier CCleaner hack that occurred prior to Avast's acquiring the Windows utility. Avast is now saying the right things about taking its customers' privacy seriously , but it only came to that point after reacting to investigative reporting that revealed the Jumpshot practices. The CCleaner revelations, while concerning, were self-disclosed, which is important to building user trust.
We hope Avast's more privacy-friendly policies mean that there will be no further Jumpshot-style activities and it returns to glory as one of the best antivirus software.
In the meantime, we'd recommend using one of the many other solid choices in this realm listed above. Because the company has been in the news the past few years, let's talk about Kaspersky Lab -- specifically about the federal ban that blocks US government agencies from using Kaspersky Antivirus products. Based in Moscow, Kaspersky Lab has for years produced some of the best antivirus software for business antivirus needs and home customers.
But in the US government prohibited Kaspersky security cloud software on federal government computers because of alleged ties between Kaspersky and the Russian government. But as with China-based Huawei , the question remains: If the federal government doesn't think the products are safe enough for its own devices, should consumers avoid them as well?
In a statement sent to CNET, the company said, "Kaspersky Lab has no ties to any government, and the company has never, nor will ever, engage in cyber offensive activities. Kaspersky Lab maintains that no public evidence of any wrongdoing has been presented by the US government, and that the US government's actions against Kaspersky Lab were unconstitutional.
In Kaspersky's favor, it continues to earn top scores and awards for virus and malware detection and endpoint protection from independent testing labs. And it's reasonably priced. In the end, even though no one has ever publicly produced a "smoking gun" linking the company to Russian intrigue, we think any of the options listed above are a safer bet. 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.
It takes just seconds to install, and the program files are barely 2MB in size some antivirus software can more than MB , with no bulky signature updates to hog your bandwidth. Aside from the core protection, it comes with smart behaviour monitoring, accurate real-time antiphishing, a firewall and network connection monitor, enhanced anti-ransomware, and other bonus features. But when they are tested, they score well - and certainly our tests revealed solid, reliable protection.
We have thoroughly researched antivirus packages and security software from a wide range of companies including all of the big names in internet security. Norton, Bitdefender, McAfee, Kaspersky - they're all here along with a few names that you maybe haven't heard of too.
We've put hours into researching what each antivirus software offers, collating pricing information and feature lists while also digging deep into how these programs actually perform in the wild. We regularly turn to industry experts like the teams over at AV Test , and AV Comparatives and other laboratories and use their research when deciding on our overall antivirus ratings.
We also regularly update our reviews to take the latest rounds of testing into account, so you can be sure that our reviews are reflective of the current antivirus landscape. If your computer is infected with malware, we recommend seeking out a professional to help remove the viruses. Most local computer stores have professionals on hand who can remove malware for you or can recommend someone close by. Larger retailers usually have dedicated teams who can repair your device, like Best Buy's Geek Squad, though they often require membership sign ups.
Once your computer is clean, you should install a good antivirus program like Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. This will keep the system clean by blocking malware from downloading and infecting your computer, to begin with. If they can't you get your money back. McAfee also offers a similar money back guarantee. Also bear in mind that these prices are usually introductory offers and the price will increase in subsequent years. It's often best to jump to another provider every year to keep taking advantage of these deals.
These typically come with three or more user licenses and include additional protection features like password managers, safe banking features, VPNs and mobile security.
There are also free antivirus programs out there to consider. Avast Free Antivirus is the best free antivirus program we tested because it has comparable performance to even the best paid antivirus programs, despite the lack of cost. Other companies that offer a free antivirus solution include Avira and AVG.
The biggest drawback of free antivirus programs, besides the lack of security tools, is the number of pop-up ads asking you to upgrade to the paid version. The protection is the same for free antivirus as it is for the pricier internet security programs offered by the same company, but the paid programs do come with more tools, like a personal firewall, vulnerability detection and password managers.
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus also has a data sharing program that allows the software to send information about viruses, Trojans, rootkits and other malware found on your computer back to its databases. This is a way to keep tabs on new threats and pass along protection to other Bitdefender users before the malware becomes a cyber outbreak. However, you can turn off this feature altogether from the Bitdefender dashboard if it worries you.
Most smartphones come with in-built antivirus and other security measures as part of their operating systems, but you can layer additional security on top of that with some third party programs.
The vast majority of basic antivirus software don't cover phones though, so if you're looking to cover your mobile devices alongside your home computer then you should look into getting an internet security software setup. Best encryption software Best internet filter software Website blockers to protect your family.
Best VPN service Best internet security software Protect your online devices. Best identity theft protection services AVG Antivirus review. Malwarebytes Privacy review. Vivaldi web browser review. PrivacyGuard Total Protection review. Norton LifeLock review. Most antivirus software competes with other protection programs, so you need to uninstall your old program before installing a new one.
Also, antivirus programs take up substantial memory, and having two installed will cause your computer to run much slower. During the installation process, most programs perform a scan to see if any other antivirus software or components are already installed, and they will either uninstall the old program for you or prompt you to uninstall it manually. However, there are a couple programs that work in tandem with other antivirus software.
Both AVG and Avast work alongside other protection software to add a second layer of security, catching threats your main program may miss. If you install Avast or AVG as a secondary antivirus program, make sure to install it after your main antivirus. Otherwise, your primary program will require you to uninstall it before completing the installation process. It includes password managers, data backup, both antispam and antiphishing tools, and web controls to keep tabs on what your employees are doing online.
However, keep in mind that there has been some suspicion about Kaspersky using its security programs to gather sensitive information and spy on government employees, even in their own homes.
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