Best pc protection program

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. See at McAfee. Another good subscription option Trend Micro Maximum Security. See at Trend Micro. See at ESET.

Alternative free Windows antivirus Sophos Home. See at Sophos. Our recommendations Looking for free antivirus protection, malware protection or virus detection, willing to pay for an antivirus program that offers broad internet security coverage across all your devices, including from ransomware and phishing, or need to remove a computer virus or malware from your PC right now?

Best free Windows antivirus. Microsoft Defender. Best antivirus subscription for Windows. Norton with LifeLock Select. Best free antivirus alternative for Windows. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition. Kaspersky Total Security is a top-level security program that is super easy to use and navigate. Download Kaspersky Now. Malwarebytes also has really good phishing protection, with near-perfect detection rates, as well as a decent VPN.

Download Malwarebytes Now. Trend Micro has a good malware scanner and decent internet security tools for Windows users. Trend Micro has a good cloud-based malware scanner as well as decent extras like data breach monitor and email phishing protection. Download Trend Micro Now. ESET provides an advanced anti-malware engine and diagnostic tools for security experts — while ESET is a good choice for highly tech-minded users, most users should look elsewhere.

ESET provides secure antivirus protection along with some unique features for advanced users. If comprehensive system usage reports and device encryption tools sound like an appealing extra, then ESET is a great choice. If you have no idea what those features are, then check out one of the other programs on my list. Cylance is an ok choice for users without any previous experience using an antivirus, but there are much better choices, even for non-technical users.

Cylance provides a good AI-based malware scanner and not much else. Cylance is available for up to 10 users, and it offers a day money-back guarantee. Download Cylance Now. Yes, most Windows 10 computers come pre-installed with Windows Defender, which is much more useful now than it was a few years ago. However, it does not provide the same malware protection that the other antiviruses on this list do.

But if you keep any kind of sensitive info on your computer — logins, passwords, banking info, photos, etc. While there are a few free Windows antiviruses that do a decent job of protecting your PC, none of them will fully protect all of your data. Antiviruses like Norton and McAfee have a huge range of internet security features that make sure your computer and all of your most important data is fully protected from the latest cyber threats. All of the antiviruses on this list will run smoothly, quickly, and without performance issues.

The top Windows 10 antivirus of — Norton — will not slow down your PC system at all, regardless of how you use it. Many antiviruses cover multiple operating systems across Windows, Android, iOS, and Mac devices, including most on this list. All of these antiviruses have been ranked and rated for Windows, but they all have other OS support which is equally as impressive. Professional Reviews. Affiliate Commissions. Reviews Guidelines. Ben Martens Updated on: January 1, This article contains.

Malwarebytes — Best for Basic Cybersecurity Protections Short on time? Comes with a VPN, parental controls, secure storage, and a password manager. And then there are outright scammers Thankfully, 's best antivirus providers combine watertight protection, extra features to keep you safe from scams, and are easy to install and use.

Today's best antivirus software is Bitdefender You may be more familiar with names such as Norton, McAfee and AVG — but Bitdefender has been the overall best antivirus available for a few years now. It combines watertight security tools with an array of other excellent security features.

Scroll through the options below and you'll discover how the likes of Norton, Kaspersky, Avast and Avira rank. And there's even a highest ever placement in our chart for Microsoft's very own Defender virus protection. If it's free antivirus that you're after, we have some top recommendations for you, too as well as some top business packages. Bitdefender is top of the tree as TechRadar's best antivirus, beating some stiff competition and doing so without asking all that much in terms of subscription costs.

So what makes it so good? 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. 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.