Antivirus software is essential to every PC. Without it, your personal information, data and even your bank accounts are at risk. We’ve tested over 40 utilities to help you choose the best antivirus software.
Best antivirus deals of the week*
- Bitdefender Internet Security — $ 32.99 for 3 devices on a 1-year plan (list price $84.99)
- Norton Antivirus Plus — 19.99 plan for $1 per device (list price $59.99)
- Bitdefender Total Security — $35.99 for $ 1 for 5 devices on a 2-year plan (list price $94.99)
- McAfee — $89.99 for $ 1 on the Premium plan (list price $199.99)
- Webroot SecureAnywhere — $39.99 for 1 device with a 1-year plan (list price $39.99)
For years, Kaspersky has faced accusations and condemnation based on its Russian ancestry, though none of these allegations are backed by hard evidence of malicious behavior. We at PCMag focus on the features of the product, not the hustle and bustle around the company. However, the current war in Ukraine has raised the stakes. Governments and third parties are cutting ties with Kaspersky. The FCC has classified Kaspersky as a national security risk .
After consideration, we can no longer recommend you buy Kaspersky security products. We keep the comments with a warning because they provide useful information. But at least for now, we’re dropping Kaspersky products from our “best of” list.
What are viruses, malware and ransomware?
We call it antivirus software, but in reality, it’s very unlikely that you’ll be hit by an actual computer virus. These days, malware is about making money, and there’s no easy way to profit from spreading a virus. Ransomware and data-stealing Trojans are more common, as are bots that let bot herders rent out your computer for nefarious purposes. Modern antivirus utilities deal with Trojans, rootkits, spyware, adware, ransomware, and more . As mentioned earlier, PCMag has reviewed more than 40 different commercial antivirus utilities, and that’s not counting the many free ones . In this broad category, we’ve named several Editors’ Choice products and awarded others four-star ratings. If you have malware , one of the products listed in this article should do the trick.
What is the best antivirus software for malware protection?
Antivirus products stand out by going beyond the basics of on-demand scanning and real-time malware protection. Some URLs use a red-yellow-green color-coding system to rate URLs that you visit or that appear in search results. Some actively block processes on the system from connecting to known malware-hosting URLs or fraudulent (phishing) pages.
The software has bugs, and sometimes those bugs can affect your security. Prudent users will keep Windows and all programs patched to fix these flaws as soon as possible. Vulnerability scans provided by some antivirus products can verify the presence of all necessary patches and even apply any missing patches.
Spyware comes in many forms, from hidden programs that record your every keystroke to Trojan horses that masquerade as valid programs while mining your personal data. Any antivirus should handle spyware as well as all other types of malware, but some antiviruses include dedicated components just for spyware protection.
You want your antivirus to identify and eliminate bad programs and leave good ones alone. Unknown, it can’t identify good and bad programs. In theory, behavior-based detection could protect you from malware, so new researchers never encountered it. However, it’s not always a pure blessing. It is not uncommon for behavior detection systems to flag many innocuous behaviors performed by legitimate programs.
