Best Rated Antivirus Free Edition For

Anti-theft: No Backup software: No Firewall: No Game mode: Yes Hardened browser: Yes Parental controls: No Password manager: Yes Ransomware rollback: Yes Webcam protection: No Virtual keyboard: Yes VPN: Limited upsell Wi-Fi scanner: Yes Exclusive - 60 off Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 23.99 year Visit Site at Bitdefender Very good malware protection Small performance penalty Fast scans Lots of useful extra features Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is our top choice among entry-level antivirus products.

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ESET Smart Security Premium Paid antivirus suites offer you a plethora of features that often go far beyond basic malware protection.

You can get dedicated defenses against ransomware and webcam hijacking, extra functions such as file shredding or system optimization, and even features that compete with stand-alone services like password managers, cloud-backup solutions or identity-theft protection.

Antivirus makers normally offer multiple paid Windows products with identical malware protection but different numbers of extra features that get added as the retail price goes up.

For example, theres the basic Kaspersky Anti-Virus, the midrange Kaspersky Internet Security and the top-line Kaspersky Total Security.

The different feature sets are aimed at different customers, and we explain further in our section about antivirus protection pricing and features at the end of this buying guide.

Dont forget to check out our list of the best free antivirus software halfway down this page.

Best Mac antivirus software Best Android antivirus apps Best free antivirus software What is the best antivirus software Our top pick for best antivirus software is Kaspersky Total Security, which gives you excellent malware protection, a full complement of extra features and an easy-to-use interface.

Right behind that are Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, an entry-level paid program that is perhaps the best bargain in antivirus software, and Norton 360 Deluxe, which offers excellent protection with unlimited VPN service and a ton of extra features, including the option to add LifeLock identity protection.

Any one of these three would serve you well, but the ideal choice would depend on what best fits your circumstances.

For more, see our section on how to choose the best antivirus software below, or our stand-alone antivirus buying guide.

Best Rated Antivirus Free Edition For

For the best free antivirus protection, we liked Kaspersky Security Cloud Free, which sailed past Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition for the top spot.

Both offered excellent protection against malware without slowing down your system, but Kaspersky lets you schedule scans, has a quick-scan option, adds a ton of useful extra features and had the smallest impact on system performance weve ever seen.

Our free rankings immediately follow our paid rankings below.

The best antivirus software you can buy today (Image credit: Kaspersky) 1.

Kaspersky Total Security The best antivirus protection overall.

Anti-theft: Yes Backup software: Yes Firewall: Yes Game mode: Yes Hardened browser: Yes Parental controls: Yes Password manager: Yes Ransomware rollback: Yes Webcam protection: Yes Virtual keyboard: Yes VPN: Limited upsell Wi-Fi scanner: Yes Kaspersky Anti-Virus 29.99 year Low Stock Kaspersky Internet Security 39.99 year Kaspersky Total Security 5 Devices 1 Year 49.99 year Visit Site at Kaspersky Lab Nearly perfect malware protection Backup software, rich parental controls, unlimited password manager Two-factor authentication for online account Heavy system impact during full scans VPN data usage capped unless you pay extra Kasperskys Windows products have excellent malware-detection scores and a moderate system-performance impact, which are the two most important criteria in our rankings.

The entry-level program, Kaspersky Anti-Virus, has dedicated ransomware protection, a virtual keyboard and a convenient online account portal.

But at this level, its beaten by Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, which has even more features.

Kaspersky Internet Security is our top choice among the midrange packages.

It has decent parental controls, a secure browser, anti-theft protection for laptops, webcam protection and a limited-use VPN client that kicks in when you connect to an open Wi-Fi network.

The premium antivirus suite, Kaspersky Total Security, adds backup software, file encryption, a file shredder and an unlimited password manager.

Read our full Kaspersky Total Security review.

Image credit: Bitdefender) 2.

Best Rated Free Antivirus For Mac