Having a PC without an antivirus software is just an invitation to malicious programs to corrupt your system and steal sensitive information. A good antivirus program must be installed in your PC to ensure that you are safe online and offline. Fortunately, there are many antivirus programs available, both free and paid.
However, not all antivirus programs can protect you against the latest threats, so finding the right software is important. You can check our selection of 5 best antivirus software to choose the best antivirus for your PC.
1. Bitdefender
Bitdefender is one of the best Antivirus program that offers both free and paid solutions for the users. If you just need good malware protection on your PC, then Bitdefender’s free edition will do a great job of protecting you against the latest threats. However, if you want full protection including online protection and encrypted data transmission, then you will have to pay for it.In the latest test results from AV-TEST, Bitdefender has a perfect score and they have stayed above 98% average in all the tests since 2010. Bitdefender is also known for having a very simple setup process and being light on the resources. Bitdefender is the go to solution for everyone who need a simple antivirus program that offers optimum protection.
Price: Free/ Pro version for $38.97/year for 3 PCs
2. Avast
Avast is known for its free antivirus solution that offers reliable protection and fulfills all basic requirements of the users. With Avast free version, you will get complete real-time malware protection and along will the ability to scan your PC using Quick Scan, Full Scan and Boot-time Scan. You will also get some other handy features like, automatic software updater, browser add-ons remover, network scanner and protection against malicious websites.
If you are looking for Internet protection, then you might like to try out Avast Pro. As far as the test results are concerned, Avast do sometimes skips 0-day malware attacks with an average of 96%. However, its free version and low prices make it perfect for an average user.
Price: Free/ Premium version for $39.99/year for a single device
3. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Malwarebytes is known for cleaning up even the latest types of malwares that even top antivirus programs may not be able to detect. It is light, fast and cleans up 99% of the malwares. However, with the free version you will only be able to clean up your PC that is already infected, no real-time protection is provided. You will have to manually scan the PC every now and then to ensure your PC is free of malware. For real-time protection, you will have to upgrade to the Premium version that offers real-time protection and few internet protection features. It is recommended that Malwarebytes free version should always be used alongside another antivirus program that offers real-time protection (like Avast). Furthermore, Malwarebytes focuses on latest threats and may left out old types of malwares that other antivirus programs can easily detect, the above tip help here as well.
Price: Free/ $24.95/year for upto 3 PCs.
4. AVG AntiVirus
AVG AntiVirus and Avast are quite similar when it comes to free antivirus programs. They offer same level of protection along with similar features. AVG free version will protect you against most of the malware threats and alongside you will also get email and link protection. For most people, these features should be more than enough.
If you want more, then you can opt for premium version. With the premium version, you will get complete internet security, including safe downloads, online and offline data encryption and complete payment protection.
Price: Free/ Premium version for $39.99
5. Norton
Norton is a renowned brand in this field and has been protecting millions of users from the latest threats. Norton doesn’t come with any free version, but for $69.99/year, you can get complete PC and online protection along with some other handy tools like, bootable recovery tool and file backup, etc.
Norton offers 100% virus removal guarantee (no one else offer this), and claims it will refund all the money if they are unable to remove any malware. Although it offers astounding protection, but it is also known to be resource heavy and it even struggles in AV-Test performance criteria. Some of its features include, child internet usage protection, up-to-minute updates, browsing protection and complete malware and Internet usage protection.
Price: $69.99/year for a single device