The best antivirus software you can buy today Our free rankings immediately follow our paid rankings below. See our section on how to choose the best antivirus software below, or our stand-alone antivirus buying guide.įor the best free antivirus protection, we like Kaspersky Security Cloud Free, which sailed past Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition for the top spot.īoth offered excellent protection against malware without system slowdowns, but Kaspersky's free program lets you schedule scans, has a quick-scan option, adds a ton of useful extras and had the smallest system impact we've ever seen. Right behind that are the entry-level Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, which may be the best bargain in antivirus software, and Norton 360 Deluxe, which offers excellent protection and a ton of extra features, including unlimited VPN service and LifeLock identity protection.Īny of these three would serve you well, but the ideal choice depends on your circumstances. It delivers excellent malware protection, a full complement of extra features and an easy-to-use interface. Our first choice for best antivirus software is Kaspersky Total Security. If you've got kids at home and you want to see what they're up to online, you need a VPN provider or you want to manage all your passwords, then paying for a full-featured antivirus security suite may save you money. Many include parental controls, unlimited VPN service and password managers. But it can't match the extra protections and features that come with the best paid antivirus software and even some of the other free programs. If all you want to do is keep out malware, Microsoft Defender will do it. Thankfully, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows 11 all come with the built-in Microsoft Defender Antivirus (aka Windows Defender), which just a few years ago was terrible but now is one of the best free antivirus programs available. Windows gets attacked much more often than any other software platform, and using a PC without antivirus software is asking for trouble, especially if that computer is always online.

Got a Windows PC? You'll need one of the best antivirus programs, free or paid.

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