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. It also offers the most value, with an unlimited password manager, a secure browser with a virtual keyboard, a Wi-Fi network scanner, a file shredder, protection against encrypting ransomware and Bitdefender's new web-privacy software -- features often found only with pricier antivirus packages.
The midrange Bitdefender Internet Security adds parental controls, webcam protection and a two-way firewall, while Bitdefender Total Security tops off the lineup with an anti-theft feature for laptops, a system optimizer and licenses for Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac and Bitdefender Mobile Security for Android.
Read our full Bitdefender Antivirus Plus review. All of Norton's antivirus products offer excellent malware protection, and the once-heavy system-performance load is much lighter. The number of extra features each program has varies, but the sweet spot in the lineup is Norton Deluxe. It includes a password manager that works on all major platforms, unlimited VPN service, dark-web personal-data monitoring, parental controls and up to 50GB of online storage space.
Two other offerings, Norton Premium and Norton Platinum, give you more online storage and expand the antivirus and VPN coverage to 10 and 20 devices, respectively. If you want full-on identity protection, Norton offers three bundles with varying degrees of LifeLock service and even more online storage. Their subscription prices run well into the triple digits, but still cost less than if you were to buy the identity protection, password manager, cloud-backup storage and antivirus software separately.
Unlike some of the other best antivirus software makers, Norton doesn't offer a file shredder, file encryption or secure web browser with any of its products. Yet every other digital-protection service you could possibly ask for is included with at least some of its bundles.
Read our full Norton Deluxe review. McAfee's malware detection has improved greatly in the past couple of years, but it's still not quite top-of-the-line. To get parental controls or one of the best password managers in the business, you'll have to spring for McAfee Total Protection or its sibling McAfee LiveSafe, which comes pre-installed on many new PCs. The multi-device licenses of those two security suites also come with an identity-protection service.
But none of the McAfee products have a secure browser or webcam protection, which you often get with other premium antivirus programs. Read our full McAfee Internet Security review. Trend Micro offers very good protection, but its malware-detection engine creates a heavy system load during scans and returns a fair number of false-positive results. Parental controls, a system optimizer and a file shredder are bundled into the mid-range Trend Micro Internet Security.
Trend Micro Maximum Security adds a password manager, a secure browser and file encryption, while the new Trend Micro Premium Security adds a VPN and dark-web monitoring of personal data. However, none of Trend Micro's programs include a two-way firewall or webcam protection, standard with other brands' midrange offerings. Nor does the premium product have the cloud storage or backup software that some of the best antivirus brands add as enticements to their flagship packages. Read our full Trend Micro Maximum Security review.
ESET is one of the biggest antivirus names in Europe, with a very small system-performance load and fast scans. Its malware-detection rate used to be kind of meh, but has improved markedly in recent lab tests. However, there's no VPN client, backup software or file shredder. ESET's pricing is per device, which is optimal for users who might have more than a few devices to protect. But if your device count gets into double digits, ESET's costs can add up. Sophos Home Premium does its job economically, offering reasonable protection from malware at an affordable price.
Because it's spun off from Sophos' enterprise software for business clients, Sophos Home Premium lacks many of the bells and whistles other security suites offer, such as a password manager, identity theft protection service or VPN service. What Sophos Home Premium does have is the essentials: ransomware rollbacks, webcam defenses and protection against keyloggers, malicious websites and boot-sector and fileless malware. It also has a web-filter system for parents and an online management console from which you can tweak most of the settings.
Some people might demand more from an antivirus suite, but anyone who would rather buy only what they need will appreciate Sophos Home Premium's just-the-basics approach. Read our full Sophos Home Premium review. A good paid antivirus suite is a digital-protection jackknife, often bundling in parental controls, identity theft protection, a password manager, backup software, cloud storage, a firewall, a system optimizer and software for Mac, Android and iOS as well as Windows.
But what if you just want Windows antivirus software without all of those pricey extras? And what if you can't afford to pay for antivirus software?
One of the best free antivirus programs might be exactly what you need. Free antivirus software used to be a step down from the paid software and involved trade-offs. The protection wasn't as good and you'd either have to put up with ads filling your screen or with constant nags to upgrade to a paid program. That's all changed. One of the best antivirus makers, Kaspersky, offers a free version with the same excellent malware protections as its paid offerings.
Its top rival, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition, has been officially discontinued, although Tom's Guide readers can still download it with this link. A merger between the biggest names in free antivirus, Avast and AVG, created a combined malware-detection engine that's much better than the sum of its parts. Meanwhile, Microsoft's built-in antivirus software, Windows Defender, aka Microsoft Defender Antivirus, has gone from being a joke to being one of the best antivirus programs out there, free or paid.
You can now get free antivirus protection that's as good as anything you pay for. So here are the best free antivirus programs based on their protection, system impact, ease of use and extra features. Kaspersky Security Cloud Free 2. 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.
There are lots of essential features missing with this product, though, and I would never rely on this to keep my Mac products safe.
There are a lot of great vulnerability scanning tools out there, but ScanMyServer is free and completely online — no download necessary. If you are worried about the security of your website, ScanMyServer will scan your code for common vulnerabilities and send you a full report, usually within a few hours of testing.
ScanMyServer is an efficient web-based vulnerability scanner for websites and servers. If you have a website or a public server and you need a vulnerability scanner that can keep you up to date with the latest hacking threats, ScanMyServer will help.
Try ScanMyServer Now. Honestly, the answer is yes and no. But there are some online resources — like VirusTotal — which can scan individual files that you upload to them, and they can also assess the safety of different websites you may browse to. Antivirus software needs to be downloaded and given permission to erase files from your computer. Any website that is claiming to remove viruses from your computer is being dishonest. There are a lot of fake cybersecurity companies looking to profit off of your data.
I included large, reputable companies like Bitdefender and Norton on this list because they have a long history of respecting data privacy for their millions of worldwide users. VirusTotal discloses their business model on their homepage — they are able to provide free antivirus scanning because they are paid by cybersecurity companies to gather information on global malware trends.
Malwarebytes Free is a minimalistic antivirus scanner with good virus detection and removal rates. It also comes with a browser extension that blocks malware, phishing sites, ads, and trackers. Download Malwarebytes For Free Now.
Sophos Home Free offers pretty good free anti-malware protection. It also includes some helpful web protections and covers up to 3 PCs all within its free antivirus package. In addition to multi-device protection and remote management, Sophos is also a decent choice for families because it has free parental controls. Sophos offers pretty good antivirus scanning and remote management for up to 3 devices — which is pretty generous for a free antivirus.
Users looking for coverage on up to 10 devices, advanced malware and ransomware protection, and advanced web safety tools should upgrade to Sophos Home Premium. Download Sophos Free Now. There is no such thing as a truly free antivirus. Most antivirus companies limit the free version of their software to only offer basic protection.
Windows Defender is not a bad antivirus — it even ranks a little bit better than some third-party free antiviruses. If you choose an antivirus program from a trustworthy company, then yes.
All of the brands on this list here are perfectly safe to use — the only difference between their free and paid versions is that the paid software includes additional features, like a VPN, a password manager, and parental controls, as well as better customer support options.
Avira is my 1 pick for the best free antivirus in If you need a free antivirus, take a look at our list of the best free antiviruses in or just download Avira Free. If you want the best protection for all of your devices, you need to pay for a premium antivirus program like Norton or Bitdefender. While there are literally billions of malware attacks reported annually, trojans and adware are consistently the most common types of malware found on Windows computers.
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