Anti virus information review

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition 3. Windows Defender Antivirus 4. Avast Free Antivirus 5. Kaspersky Security Cloud Free Antivirus may be the best free antivirus program we've ever seen. It has excellent malware protection, a decent set of extra functions and features, and a system-performance impact so small that our computer actually sped up after we installed the program.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition has been officially discontinued, and we're not sure how long Tom's Guide readers can still download it. It's the best "set it and forget it" free antivirus option. It's now one of the best antivirus programs altogether.

You don't have to install or download it — it's already on your PC. If you want an unlimited password manager or a hardened web browser, Avast Free Antivirus might be for you. Its malware protection is much better than it once was, although its performance impact is fairly heavy.

Avast's stepsister AVG has the same malware-detection engine, but lacks Avast's full slate of useful extra features. But it does have a file shredder and system optimizer. We have to mention one program that's not antivirus software, but which we recommend anyway: Malwarebytes Free. While antivirus tries to stop malware from infecting your machine, Malwarebytes functions as the cleanup crew, sweeping out less-harmful adware or potentially unwanted programs that the antivirus software ignores.

It works well alongside any antivirus program. Kaspersky doesn't talk much about its free antivirus product, and you might have a hard time finding the free Kaspersky software download page on the company's website. That's too bad, because Kaspersky Security Cloud Free is the best free antivirus product we've ever tested.

We've never seen such a combination of excellent protection and extra features in a free antivirus program. It's got a bright, comprehensible interface, a lot of customization potential and Kaspersky's unbeatable malware protection.

The program also lets you schedule scans, and its performance impact was so small that it actually sped up our test machine a bit. Kaspersky's useful extra features include a file shredder, an on-screen keyboard and an email scanner. The password manager and VPN service are fairly limited, however, unless you pay. Read our full Kaspersky Security Cloud Free review. Bitdefender has officially discontinued Antivirus Free Edition, and it will be supported only until June 30, We still love it and you can still get it , but proceed at your own risk.

Compared to premium paid antivirus programs that are big, heavy and loaded with extra bells and whistles, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is like a '60's sports car, stripped to the essentials but still providing plenty of power. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition offers nothing but the basics.

There's no password manager, no gaming mode, no quick scans and no scan scheduling. You can manage the software from the program's System Tray icon, but you don't really need to interact with Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition after its installation. Yet Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition has the excellent Bitdefender malware-detection engine, which sits just below Kaspersky and Norton in the lab-test rankings. It's the best free antivirus software if you want a security solution that you can set up and then forget about.

It's also perfect if you need to protect the computer of an elderly relative but don't have time to manage antivirus software from afar. Read our full Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition review. Microsoft's built-in antivirus software is now a heavy hitter. While Windows Defender, aka Microsoft Defender Antivirus, doesn't quite beat Norton or Kaspersky in malware-protection lab tests, it comes out ahead of Avast, AVG and most other free antivirus products while operating almost entirely behind the scenes.

You won't be getting many extra features with Windows Defender itself, yet Windows 10 does have parental controls, a gaming mode and protections for its own Edge and Internet Explorer browsers.

There's no built-in VPN, but you also won't be bothered by pop-ups trying to upsell you to paid antivirus software. As for a password manager, there's a stealth one built into the Microsoft Authenticator app for Android and iOS that syncs with the Edge browser, as long as you're signed into your Microsoft account on all devices.

We still recommend going for Kaspersky Security Cloud Free, which has even less of a system impact, better malware protection and more useful extras, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with using Windows Defender as your primary antivirus solution.

Read our full Windows Defender review. Avast Free Antivirus has the best assortment of extra goodies of any free antivirus program, including a hardened browser, a gaming mode, a Wi-Fi network scanner and a recently added ransomware shield. Unfortunately, the unlimited password manager has been discontinued. The program is also very customizable, letting you tweak its appearance and functions to suit your style. It even offers limited access to Avast's VPN service. However, Avast Free Antivirus caused a pretty heavy system load in our testing and its scans took a long time.

It also kept nagging us to upgrade to Avast's paid antivirus protection, and played bait-and-switch with features that looked like they were free but weren't.

Most significant of all, the malware protection in Avast Free Antivirus is a peg down from Kaspersky's or Bitdefender's, whose free programs also bothered us less about paid upgrades and had lighter system loads. Read our full Avast Free Antivirus review. AVG shares a decent, if unspectacular, malware-detection engine with its corporate sibling Avast while having a much lighter system-performance impact.

While the latter is almost a free security suite with lots of bells and whistles, AVG AntiVirus Free is the quiet, neglected child that gets the hand-me-downs. The good news is that AVG's wide range of customization options and its file shredder and system optimizer are still available, and its interface is open and easy to use. Worst of all, given its middling malware detection and dearth of extra features, there's no convincing reason to choose AVG AntiVirus Free over the built-in and overall better Microsoft Defender.

Malwarebytes Free, formerly called Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, is not antivirus software. Instead, it's a very useful malware-removal tool. What's the difference? Unlike antivirus software, Malwarebytes Free can't prevent a PC from being infected. But it does an excellent job of cleaning out malware that's already on your system, as well as removing legal adware and potentially unwanted programs that antivirus software often ignores. Malwarebytes Free doesn't interfere with any antivirus software that's already installed, so it's perfectly safe to install it alongside one of our recommended brands.

Just don't upgrade to the paid Malwarebytes Premium, true antivirus software that does poorly in lab tests and which will conflict with other AV programs. We recommend Malwarebytes Free as a complement to any of the best antivirus programs, free or paid. Read our full Malwarebytes Free review. Before you buy antivirus protection, figure out what you need. If you have young children at home, then consider midrange antivirus products, most of which include parental controls.

Do you want an all-encompassing security solution? Or are you a techie who understands and the risks of using the internet? Then a low-priced basic program might be all you need. MORE: How to buy antivirus software. 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. For more details on this topic, see our full breakdown of exactly how antivirus software works.

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. The good news is that the best antivirus products are getting cheaper and cheaper to purchase, and free products are getting more and more effective A good free antivirus — like the ones we recommend on this page below — is a perfectly reasonable option for protecting your PC, with Microsoft Defender now the best we've ever seen it.

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. 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. Behavior-based detection can, in theory, protect you against malware that's so new researchers have never encountered it.

However, this isn't always an unmixed blessing. It's not uncommon for behavioral detection systems to flag many innocuous behaviors performed by legitimate programs. Whitelisting is another approach to the problem of unknown programs. A whitelist-based security system only allows known good programs to run.

Unknowns are banned. This mode doesn't suit all situations, but it can be useful. Sandboxing lets unknown programs run, but it isolates them from full access to your system, so they can't do permanent harm. These various added layers serve to enhance your protection against malware. Firewalls and spam filtering aren't common antivirus features, but some of our top products include them as bonuses. In fact, some of these antivirus products are more feature-packed than certain products sold as security suites.

Among the other bonus features you'll find are secure browsers for financial transactions, secure deletion of sensitive files, wiping traces of computer and browsing history, credit monitoring, virtual keyboard to foil keyloggers, cross-platform protection, and more.

And of course, we've already mentioned sandboxing, vulnerability scanning, and application whitelisting. We're seeing more and more antivirus products adding modules specifically designed for ransomware protection. Some work by preventing unauthorized changes to protected files. Others keep watch for suspicious behaviors that suggest malware. Some even aim to reverse the damage. Given the growth of this scourge, any added protection is beneficial. Your antivirus utility works in the background to keep out any faint possibility of infestation by malware, but its abilities don't extend beyond the bounds of your computer.

When you connect to the wild and wooly internet, you risk the possibility that your data could be compromised in transit. This component is important enough that we're starting to see it as a bonus feature in some antivirus tools. Which antivirus should you choose? You have a wealth of options. Kaspersky Anti-Virus and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus routinely take perfect or near-perfect scores from the independent antivirus testing labs.

Its unusual behavior-based detection technology means Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus is the tiniest antivirus around. We've named these four Editors' Choice for commercial antivirus, but they're not the only products worth consideration. Read the reviews of our top-rated products, and then make your own decision. By Neil J.

Rubenking 3 Dec , p. Top Picks. Best For Wealth of Bonus Features. With impressive antivirus lab results and a collection of features that puts many full security suites to shame, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is an excellent choice for protecting your PC. Kaspersky Anti-Virus takes perfect or near-perfect scores from all the independent testing labs, and it aced our hands-on ransomware protection test. It remains an antivirus Editors' Choice. PROS Perfect and near-perfect scores from four independent testing labs Effective ransomware protection Good scores in our hands-on tests Full-scale phone and live chat support Bonus scans for privacy and performance CONS Bonus scans significantly overlap each other Vulnerability scan offers little information.

Best For Multi-Device Households. Other products may score better in testing, but none of them offer a deal like this. A full AV software protection package can monitor your Windows operating system as well as MacOS, iOS and Android devices and include a password manager, secure online backup, identity theft protection, a VPN, parental control, webcam protection, protection against phishing and malicious websites and more -- all worthwhile security suite tools that can keep your data secure and guard your privacy.

To help you decide on the best antivirus software for your needs, I've put together a list of the best antivirus products for Windows 10, encompassing both free antivirus programs and subscription options. These picks of the best antivirus programs are a combination of recommendations from independent third-party labs AV-Test , AV-Comparatives and SE Labs , as well as our own hands-on testing. We regularly research and test our options to determine which software leads the pack, and we update this list periodically based on those tests.

We would also like to note that antivirus software isn't the only security feature you should invest in. A secure virtual private network to protect your internet traffic, a password manager to keep track of login credentials and an end-to-end encrypted messaging app to stop others from spying on your communications are all essential in protecting your personal information.

Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and high-profile attacks like the Columbia Pipeline hack are becoming more commonplace, which is concerning. 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?

Here's where to start when looking for the best antivirus software for your needs. Honestly, if you practice safe computing -- you keep your software up to date, you use strong passwords with the help of a password manager , you steer clear of unexpected emails and you don't click suspicious links that may be phishing attempts -- you probably can avoid zero-day attacks and ransomware attacks. And with the free Microsoft Defender Antivirus software running on Windows 10, you have a malware protection safety net if you do let your guard down.

In fact, it is one of the best antivirus software. Note that Microsoft changed the name of Windows Defender to Microsoft Defender and has expanded the service to other platforms. This free antivirus program is built into Windows and it's turned on by default, the antivirus engine does its thing, and this antivirus solution will cover the basics of internet security.

Microsoft pushes new updates frequently. Defender also lets you tune the level of protection you want, giving you control over blocking potentially unwanted apps and protecting folders and files from a ransomware attack.

Note that Windows 10 will automatically disable its own Windows Defender antivirus when you install third-party antivirus. If you uninstall the third-party protection, Windows 10 will turn back on its own antivirus. Norton antivirus provides industry-leading security software for PC, Mac, and mobile devices. Note, we don't think antivirus protection is terribly useful outside the Windows realm.

In addition to malware and virus protection for your computer and mobile device, this antivirus suite provides GB of backup to the cloud, safe-browsing tools, a secure VPN, password manager, parental controls and LifeLock identity theft protection and fraud alert.

While not all of those services are necessarily best in their respective class, getting them all in one package is a compelling option. If you'd like to take a step up in securing your PC without taxing your wallet, it's hard to beat Bitdefender's free antivirus software for Windows The Windows security software offers real-time monitoring for viruses, malware, spyware and ransomware protection.

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.