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Best Antivirus of 2017 Credit: Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt (Screen: Getty Images / HYWARDS )

The Best Antivirus Software of 2024

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Best Antivirus of 2017 Credit: Reviewed.com / Brendan Nystedt (Screen: Getty Images / HYWARDS )

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Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.

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Editor's Choice Product image of Bitdefender Antivirus Plus
Best Overall

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus

Check Price at Bitdefender

If you're looking to protect one device or three, Bitdefender offers an affordable solution. Even the free version offers an excellent experience. Read More

Pros

  • Flexibility in coverage
  • Offers excellent bonus features
  • Runs quickly and simply

Cons

  • None that we could find
2
Editor's Choice Product image of Microsoft Defender
Best Value

Microsoft Defender

Check Price at Microsoft

Defender is lean, mean, and best of all, free (for Windows 10 users). You won't have to think about it as it runs and updates in the background. Read More

Pros

  • Runs and updates in the background
  • Free for Windows 10 users
  • Includes ransomware protection

Cons

  • Expensive for older OS users
3
Product image of Avira Antivirus Pro

Avira Antivirus Pro

Check Price at Avira

It's fairly pricey for a program that only covers one PC, but iAvira offers some nice extra protections. Read More

Pros

  • Offers plenty of additional protection
  • Offers a free version
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Free version is underwhelming
  • Scanning takes a while
  • Only one computer covered
4
Product image of Kaspersky Anti-Virus

Kaspersky Anti-Virus

Check Price at Kaspersky

This is a high-quality, easy-to-use program, so long as you buy one of the higher tier options. Read More

Pros

  • Plenty of user options
  • Covers three computers

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Cheapest option doesn't offer many features
5
Product image of Avast Pro Antivirus

Avast Pro Antivirus

Check Price at Avast

A note of caution for non tech-savvy users: this fairly pricey program tries to install bloatware without your consent. Read More

Pros

  • None that we could find

Cons

  • Sneakily tries to install bloatware
  • Expensive
  • Covers one computer at a time
  • Best Overall Bitdefender Antivirus Plus
  • Best Value Microsoft Defender
  • Other Antivirus Software We Tested
  • More Articles You Might Enjoy

If you're looking for the best antivirus subscription for your Windows-based PC, we recommend Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. It's easy to use, affordable, didn't bog our system down, and it has been consistently rated among the most effective antivirus solutions by malware experts. Of the 20+ paid and free services we researched, it offered the best all-around protection for the money.

That's important, because these days you have to watch out for more than just run-of-the-mill viruses. While common sense is still the best antidote to the most common online threats, things like ransomware, identity theft, phony tech support scams, and social engineering can cost you thousands of dollars. There's no subscription for common sense (unfortunately), but paid A/V suites often come with extras like password managers, tech support, and identity theft protection.

Free utilities like Windows Defender (included with Windows 10) are a good option if you just want to scan for viruses, but for a more complete package, these are the best antivirus solutions right now.

Best Overall
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus

Our favorite paid antivirus software is Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. We've seen pricing as low as $19.99 per year for one computer, but a yearly subscription for three PCs costs just $59.99. That A yearly subscription for three PCs gets you enhanced ransomware protection, a secure password manager, and an on-screen keyboard designed to bypass keystroke logging software.

When testing the virus functionality of the free version of Bitdefender, we were impressed by its no-nonsense interface and how quickly it scanned a PC for suspect files. Its protection bona fides are backed by AV-Comparatives, who named it as an Outstanding Product, and PC Magazine, who awarded it their Editors' Choice seal of approval. On top of these superlatives, it also was named as a Best Product by AV-Test, who gave it perfect marks in protection, usability, and performance.

Pros

  • Flexibility in coverage

  • Offers excellent bonus features

  • Runs quickly and simply

Cons

  • None that we could find

Buy now at Bitdefender
Best Value
Microsoft Defender

Why is a product that ostensibly costs $199 our Best Value? You might be wondering why this software is our Best Value pick. That's because Windows Defender is already included with Windows, and that price is just if you want to upgrade to Windows 10 from an earlier version. Defender is a clean, no-nonsense virus scanner that you don't have to worry about. It runs in the background automatically and updates itself to protect against the latest threats. Microsoft even added improved ransomware protection last year, for both the OS and the Edge browser.

While Windows Defender isn't the best-tested antivirus around, it's very lightweight, non-obtrusive, and...well...the price is right. Though many of the other suites we tested have free versions, Windows Defender won't bug you to upgrade all the time. Though Windows 7 and 8 still see security updates, Windows 10 is your best bet for a secure system thanks to Defender.

Pros

  • Runs and updates in the background

  • Free for Windows 10 users

  • Includes ransomware protection

Cons

  • Expensive for older OS users

Buy now at Microsoft

Other Antivirus Software We Tested

Product image of Avira Antivirus Pro
Avira Antivirus Pro

While it looks a bit rough around the edges, Avira Antivirus is easy-to-use and well-designed. Though the free version lacks many features, the paid version gives you a lot more for your money. The real claim to fame? It won AV-Comparatives' coveted best-of-year award for 2016, and was also lauded by AV-Test as a Top Product.

That said, it's more expensive than some of its competition, covering only one PC for its $45 yearly fee. The subscription option nets you additional ransomware protection along with features like USB device gatekeeping. We also found that its full scan took longer than others, although it didn't bog down our computer's overall system performance.

Pros

  • Offers plenty of additional protection

  • Offers a free version

  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Free version is underwhelming

  • Scanning takes a while

  • Only one computer covered

Buy now at Avira
Product image of Kaspersky Anti-Virus
Kaspersky Anti-Virus

Kaspersky has been a trusted name in security software for years, and its latest anti-virus suite is as good as advertised. In our own testing, we found that it over-delivered, offering up a lot of customizability without feeling overly pushy or bogging our system down. Unfortunately, it's a bit pricey; there's no free version, and the cheapest option offers virus scanning and little else.

That said, if you have multiple computers the $59.99 per year introductory option covers three machines, making it one of the better deals we came across in our research. It's also a trusted name and it comes highly recommended (AV-Comparatives, PC Magazine, and AV-Test all give it high praise), but for single-system protection it's a bit too much.

Pros

  • Plenty of user options

  • Covers three computers

Cons

  • Expensive

  • Cheapest option doesn't offer many features

Buy now at Kaspersky
Product image of Avast Pro Antivirus
Avast Pro Antivirus

Avast's Antivirus protection is very popular, and it has earned good-but-not-great results from PC Mag, AV-Test, and AV-Comparatives. That said, in our subjective examination, Avast was one of the most annoying of the top antivirus suites. While we were setting it up, it tried to install Google Chrome, sneaking it away into a corner of the installer. Worse, Avast loads its own custom SafeZone browser onto your system without asking you first.

As if this wasn't annoying enough, Avast is also one of the pricier subscription options around. For $59.99 per year, Avast only covers one Windows PC. Bonus features and popularity aside, there are simply better values to be had.

Pros

  • None that we could find

Cons

  • Sneakily tries to install bloatware

  • Expensive

  • Covers one computer at a time

Buy now at Avast
Product image of Norton Antivirus Basic
Norton Antivirus Basic

Symantec's Norton software has been around just about as long as anyone can remember. This steadfast software suite often comes pre-loaded on new Windows computers, but it's also available as a standalone subscription. Though there's no free version, the entry-level price protects one system for $19.99 per year. The interface was well-designed and easy to use, but too many problems popped up while using it, leaving a bad taste in our mouths.

In fact, Norton was the only Antivirus software we tested that froze during a full system scan, which forced us to restart the app entirely. Add in some rather obnoxious pop-ups and we're giving it a pass. It is another trusted name, though, and it has been tested and verified by AV-Test in addition to winning PC Mag's Editors' Choice award in its 2017 comparison.

Pros

  • Easy to use

  • Affordable

Cons

  • Froze during scan

  • Persistent pop-ups

Buy now at Norton

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Meet the tester

Brendan Nystedt

Brendan Nystedt

Contributor

@bnystedt

Brendan is originally from California. Prior to writing for Reviewed.com, he graduated from UC Santa Cruz and did IT support and wrote for a technology blog in the mythical Silicon Valley. Brendan enjoys history, Marx Brothers films, Vietnamese food, cars, and laughing loudly.

See all of Brendan Nystedt's reviews

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