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Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
The Best Antivirus Software for 2025
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. What's the best antivirus? PCMag has reviewed antivirus products for as long as PC viruses have existed. Starting more than 30 years ago, our antivirus roundups point out the best choices. We put each new product and new update through real-world testing, challenging them to defend against all types of malicious software. Based on our hands-on tests, independent lab tests, and decades of experience, we've named Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and Norton AntiVirus Plus as our Editors' Choice antiviruses. Still, they aren't the only ones we recommend. Look over the complete list below, compare their specs, then keep reading for a detailed guide on selecting the antivirus that's 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 many dozens of commercial antivirus utilities. We've named two Editors' Choice winners from that extensive field and honored others with four-star or better ratings. One of the utilities listed in this article should address the problem if you have malware. Every Windows computer has Microsoft Defender Antivirus installed, making it the most widely installed antivirus. However, if you've installed third-party protection, Defender stays on the sidelines. If no other antivirus is present or your existing antivirus expires, Defender steps up. Commercial antivirus apps offer protection beyond what's included with Windows, but Defender is looking better lately, with some solid scores from independent testing labs. The combination of good lab scores and a great score in our hands-on malware protection test brought its rating up to 3.5 stars. As it is a free, built-in utility, we're not including it in this roundup of commercial antivirus apps. You've come to the wrong place if you're looking for free antivirus protection. Our list here covers the very best antivirus tools, and they're not free. On the other hand, the best free antivirus apps beat out many of their commercial counterparts. Consider Avast One Basic or AVG AntiVirus Free if your budget just doesn't stretch to paying for antivirus protection. This roundup gathers the best antivirus tools for your Windows PCs. That doesn't help if you're strictly a Mac user, of course. We've created a separate collection of the best Mac antivirus software for you. You'll notice some familiar names—our Editors' Choice picks for Mac antivirus are Bitdefender Antivirus Plus for Mac and Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac. As for the most-used commercial antivirus software, survey results vary, but Norton and McAfee generally appear at or near the top. Is Norton or McAfee better? Both rise above most competitors, but of the two PCMag has identified Norton's protection as outstanding, making it an Editors' Choice. We take the results reported by independent antivirus testing labs seriously. The simple fact that a company's antivirus shows up in the results is a vote of confidence. It means that the lab considered the program significant, and the company felt the cost of testing was worthwhile. Of course, high scores on 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 also subject every antivirus app to our own hands-on test of malware protection, in part to get a feeling for how the app works. Depending on how thoroughly the antivirus 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 program's handling of brand-new malware, we test each antivirus using a large collection of extremely new malware-hosting URLs supplied by MRG-Effitas, noting what percentage of them it blocked. Apps get equal credit for preventing all access to the malicious URL and wiping out the malware during download. Some apps 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, which bring significantly greater resources to their testing. Want to know more? You can dig into a detailed description of how we test security software. Antivirus utilities distinguish themselves by going beyond the basics of on-demand scanning and real-time malware protection. Some rate URLs you visit or appear 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 fraudulent (phishing) pages. All 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 apps can verify 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 masquerading as valid programs while mining your 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 leave good programs alone. What about unknowns, programs your AV can't identify as good or bad? Behavior-based detection can, in theory, protect you against malware, 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. Allowlisting is another approach to the problem of unknown programs. This type of 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 and spam filtering aren't common antivirus features, but some of our top picks include them as bonuses. Some of these antivirus programs are even more feature-packed than certain security suites. Among the other bonus features are secure browsers for financial transactions, secure deletion of sensitive files, wiping traces of computer and browsing history, credit monitoring, virtual keyboards to foil keyloggers, cross-platform protection, and more. And, of course, we've already mentioned sandboxing, vulnerability scanning, and application allowlisting. We're seeing more and more antivirus apps 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 malware infestation, 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 of your data being compromised in transit. Sticking to HTTPS websites when possible can help, but you should install a VPN (virtual private network) to protect your data in transit. This component is important enough that we're seeing it as a bonus feature in some antivirus tools. Which antivirus should you choose? While you have many options, two stand out from the rest. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus holds perfect and near-perfect scores from three independent antivirus testing labs, with more features than some security suites. Norton AntiVirus Plus likewise offers many suite-level features, and it gets excellent scores from all four testing labs we follow. We've named these two our Editors' Choice winners for commercial antivirus, but they're not the only antivirus apps worth consideration. Read the reviews of our top-rated programs, then make your own decision. Editors' Note: Given that the US government has banned new sales of Kaspersky security products, we no longer recommend them.
USA Today
22-02-2025
- USA Today
Protect your devices with Norton: Get 58% off your first year now
Hear this story — Recommendations are independently chosen by our editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. The internet can be a tricky place to navigate. From scammers to hackers, it is crucial to protect your sensitive material from being shared with the wrong people. If you want to keep yourself and your data protected from unwanted cyber threats, Norton is one of the most reputable names in the business. Offering advanced security features, password management and trusted customer support, Norton has much more than just antivirus software. Right now, you can save up to 58% on your first year of protection. Check out the offers below and find the protection that best fits your needs. Norton AntiVirus Plus The Norton AntiVirus Plus package is the basic offer from Norton and includes the following: 1 PC, Mac, tablet or phone Real-time threat protection against viruses, malware, spyware, and ransomware NEW! Genie Scam Protection 2GB cloud backup to protect important files from ransomware Password manager to store and manage your passwords securely 24/7 customer support for any technical assistance Pricing: An annual subscription is $29.99, 50% off the usual $59.99 price. Norton 360 Standard The Norton 360 Standard package includes all features of Norton AntiVirus Plus and the following: 3 PCs, Macs, tablets or phones Secure VPN for online privacy and anonymity Dark Web Monitoring to alert you if your personal information is found on the dark web Pricing: An annual subscription is $39.99, 57% off the usual $94.99 price. Norton 360 Deluxe The Norton 360 Deluxe package includes all the features of Norton 360 Standard plus the following: 5 PCs, Macs, tablets or phones Parental control to manage your kids' online activities Privacy control to keep your personal data and online history even more secure Pricing: An annual subscription is $49.99, 58% off the usual $119.99 price. 📲 More:Order your new Samsung Galaxy S25 device and get up to $1,200 in savings Norton 360 with LifeLock Select Plus The Norton 360 with LifeLock Select Plus option includes all the features of Norton 360 Deluxe plus the following: 10 PCs, Macs, tablets or phones LifeLock identity theft protection Stolen Wallet Protection Social Security and Credit Alerts Credit Monitoring Coverage: One bureau Up to $25,000 in Stolen Funds Reimbursement Pricing: An annual subscription is $99.99, 47% off the usual $189.99 price. Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
