The Best Antivirus Protection for 2021
Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus
Tiny, speedy Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus keeps a light touch on your system's resources. It aces our hands-on malware protection test, and can even roll back ransomware activity.
PROS
- Perfect score in our malware protection test.
- Very good antiphishing score.
- Ransomware protection.
- Light on system resources.
- Fast scan, tiny size.
- Advanced features.
CONS
- Limited lab test results due to unusual detection techniques.
- Missed one unique hand-modified ransomware sample in testing.
A subscription for McAfee AntiVirus Plus lets you protect every Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS device in your household. Other products may score better in testing, but none of them offer a deal like this.
PROS
- Protection for all your Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices
- Very good malware protection score
- Excellent detection of malicious and fraudulent websites
- Robust firewall
- Virus protection promise
- Includes Ransom Guard, PC Boost, and many bonus features
CONS
- Missed some modified ransomware samplesSome poor lab test results
- PC Boost web speedup still works only in Chrome
- Mac edition less feature-rich than Windows or Android
- Even fewer features for iOS
Norton AntiVirus Plus gets impressive scores in independent lab tests and our own hands-on tests and offers a wealth of useful features. However, it's expensive and doesn't offer deals for multiple-computer households.
PROS
- Excellent scores in independent lab tests and in our own tests.
- Data Protector defends against ransomware.
- Includes online backup, firewall, exploit protection, password manager, and other bonus features.
CONS
- Data Protector fared poorly in testing.
- Expensive.
- No multi-license pricing.
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 protectionGood 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
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus
With outstanding antivirus lab results and a collection of features that puts many security suites to shame, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is an excellent choice for protecting your PC.
PROS
- Outstanding scores in independent lab tests and our web protection tests
- Enhanced ransomware protection
- Active Do Not Track
- Banking protection
- Offers a virtual private network, or VPN
- Many security-centered bonus features
CONS
- Unlimited VPN access requires separate subscription.
- With all real-time protection disabled, ransomware-specific features missed one uncommon sample.
ESET NOD32 Antivirus earns good scores in our tests and great scores in lab tests, and it offers bonus components that go way beyond the basics.
PROS
- Good to great scores from independent labs
- Decent to good scores in our hands-on tests
- HIPS component blocks exploits
- Can use licenses for Mac protection
- Comprehensive device control
CONS
- Device control too complex for most users
Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security
In addition to malware protection for a single Windows computer, Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security offers layered protection against ransomware, a firewall booster, protection for online banking, and more.
PROS
- Very good scores in our antiphishing and malicious URL blocking tests
- Multilayered ransomware protection
- Pay Guard protects online transactions
- Many bonus features
CONS
- Poor score in our hands-on malware protection test
- Some poor scores in independent lab tests
- Social network link protection choices dated
- No multi-device volume licensing
Malwarebytes Premium now functions as a full-blown antivirus and not just second-line protection, as it did previously. It earns excellent scores in some of our hands-on tests, but still doesn't rate well with the independent testing labs.
PROS
- Excellent scores in our hands-on malware protection and malicious URL blocking tests.
- Includes exploit protection, ransomware protection, behavior-based detection.
CONS
- Few and poor independent lab tests scores.
- Phishing protection ineffective.
- Ransomware detection results mixed.
The affordable Sophos Home Premium expands on basic antivirus with protection forged in the company's enterprise-level products, including a new remote management app. However, the advanced features may be too complex for some users.
PROS
- Convenient new mobile management app
- Excellent scores in malware tests
- Protects against ransomware, keyloggers, exploits
- Remote management for up to 10 PCs or Macs
- Inexpensive
CONS
- Advanced features require uncommon tech expertise
- Parental control and webcam protection limited
- So-so phishing test scores
F-Secure Anti-Virus's advanced network protection and DeepGuard behavior-based detection system make it a powerful malware fighter, but its ransomware protection stumbled in our testing.
PROS
- Good scores in independent lab tests and our tests
- Detects brand-new malware, including ransomware
- Advanced network protection
- Streamlined, simple interface
- Inexpensive
CONS
- Failed some ransomware protection tests
- No phishing protection
G Data Antivirus gets decent marks from the independent testing labs and excellent scores in some of our own tests. Beyond basic antivirus, it includes a spam filter as well as components designed to fight ransomware and other malware types.
PROS
- Excellent score in our hands-on malware protection test.
- Protects against banking Trojans, keyloggers, ransomware, and exploits.
- Includes spam filter.
CONS
- So-so score in our phishing protection test.
- Mixed scores in independent lab tests.
- Ransomware protection only partially effective.
Commissioned lab tests and our own tests show that the machine-learning detection engine in Cylance Smart Antivirus really can identify malware, but it lacks the full range of protection features found in many competitors.
PROS
- Easy installation, no configuration.
- Good scores in our tests.
CONS
- Not included in regular independent lab tests.
- No protection against fraudulent or malicious URLs.
- Lacks additional protection layers found in many competitors.
Malware, Spyware, and Adware Protection
âI donât need an antivirus program,â you say. âI donât have anything important on my computer. I just share social media posts with my friends and watch cat videos.â Letâs suppose thatâs true, that youâre not forgetting the occasional login to your bank, or to your email account. You could still find your social media accounts take over by malware. A bot could enlist your computer into a zombie army to spew spam or participate in a DDoS attack, and those extra tasks could make your cat videos laggy. Ransomware could lock up your computer entirelyâno more social posts for you! In truth, you probably do use your computer for important activities, activities that malware could disrupt. You need antivirus protection thatâs up to date. If yours is outdated or absent, donât worry. Weâve put more than 40 antivirus tools through testing and evaluation, so you can pick the one thatâs best for you.
We call it antivirus, but in truth it's unlikely you'll get hit with an actual computer virus. Malware these days is about making money, and there's no easy way to cash in on spreading a virus. Ransomware and data-stealing Trojans are much more common, as are bots that let the bot-herder rent out your computer for nefarious purposes. Modern antivirus utilities handle Trojans, rootkits, spyware, adware, ransomware, and more. As noted, PCMag has reviewed more than 40 different commercial antivirus utilities, and that's not even counting the many free antivirus tools. Out of that extensive field we've named four Editors' Choice products, honored others with a four-star rating, and bestowed 3.5 stars on several more. If you have malware, one of the products listed in this article should take care of the problem.
Some nonstandard commercial antivirus utilities proved effective enough to earn an excellent four-star rating alongside their more traditional counterparts. VoodooSoft VoodooShield bases its protection on suppressing all unknown programs while the computer is in a vulnerable state, such as when it's connected to the internet, and also acts to detect known malware. The Kure resets the computer to a known safe state on every reboot, thereby eliminating any malware. These are interesting approaches, but not directly comparable with traditional antivirus tools.
These commercial products offer protection beyond the antivirus built into Windows 10; the best free antivirus utilities also offer more than Windows does. However, Microsoft Windows Defender Security Center is looking better and better lately, with some very good scores from independent testing labs. The combination of good lab scores and a great score in our hands-on malware protection test was enough to bring it up to 3.5 stars. It doesn't appear in this roundup of commercial antivirus products, naturally.
Listen to the Antivirus Testing Labs
We take the results reported by independent antivirus testing labs very seriously. The simple fact that a company's product shows up in the results is a vote of confidence, of sorts. It means the lab considered the product significant, and the company felt the cost of testing was worthwhile. Of course, high scores in the tests are also important.
We follow four labs that regularly release detailed reports: SE Labs, AV-Test Institute, MRG-Effitas, and AV-Comparatives. We've devised a system for aggregating their results to yield a rating from 0 to 10.
We Test Malware, Spyware, and Adware Defenses
We also subject every product to our own hands-on test of malware protection, in part to get a feeling for how the product works. Depending on how thoroughly the product prevents malware installation, it can earn up to 10 points for malware protection.
Our malware protection test necessarily uses the same set of samples for months. To check a product's handling of brand-new malware, we test each product using 100 extremely new malware-hosting URLs supplied by MRG-Effitas, noting what percentage of them it blocked. Products get equal credit for preventing all access to the malicious URL and for wiping out the malware during download.
Some products earn stellar ratings from the independent labs, yet don't fare as well in our hands-on tests. In such cases, we defer to the labs, as they bring significantly greater resources to their testing.
Multilayered Malware Protection
Antivirus products distinguish themselves by going beyond the basics of on-demand scanning and real-time malware protection. Some rate URLs that you visit or that show up in search results, using a red-yellow-green color-coding system. Some actively block processes on your system from connecting with known malware-hosting URLs or with fraudulent (phishing) pages.
Software has flaws, and sometimes those flaws affect your security. Prudent users keep Windows and all programs patched, fixing those flaws as soon as possible. The vulnerability scan offered by some antivirus products can verify that all necessary patches are present, and even apply any that are missing.
Spyware comes in many forms, from hidden programs that log your every keystroke to Trojans that masquerade as valid programs while mining your personal data. Any antivirus should handle spyware, along with all other types of malware, but some include specialized components devoted to spyware protection.
You expect an antivirus to identify and eliminate bad programs, and to leave good programs alone. What about unknowns, programs it can't identify as good or bad? 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, Ransomware Protection, and More
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. Sticking to HTTPS websites when possible can help, but for full protection of your data in transit you should install a Virtual Private Network, or VPN. This component is important enough that we're starting to see it as a bonus feature in some antivirus tools.
What's the Best Malware Protection?
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. A single subscription for McAfee AntiVirus Plus lets you install protection on all your Windows, Android, Mac OS, and iOS devices. And 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.
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