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. Want to know more? You can dig in for a detailed description of how we test security software. 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 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. This component is important enough that we're starting to see it as a bonus feature in some antivirus tools.
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.
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. By Neil J. Rubenking 4 Dec , a. Top Picks. Best For Multi-Device Households.
Other products may score better in testing, but none of them offer a deal like this. Best For Wealth of Bonus Features. With impressive antivirus lab results and a collection of features that puts many full security suites to shame, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is an excellent choice for protecting your PC. Best For Single Desktop Protection. Norton AntiVirus Plus gets impressive scores in independent lab tests and our own hands-on tests, and it 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 our hands-on tests Data Protector foils ransomware attacks Includes online backup, firewall, exploit protection, password manager, and other bonus features CONS 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 protection Good 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.
It earned excellent scores in our hands-on tests and can even roll back some ransomware activity. PROS Near-perfect score in our malware protection and phishing protection tests Light on system resources Fast scan, tiny size Can remediate ransomware damage Advanced features CONS Limited lab test results due to unusual detection techniques Mixed results in testing with hand-modified ransomware Firewall component not working at this time.
Best For Techies. 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. Best For Speedy Scanning. Malwarebytes Premium now functions as a full-blown antivirus, not just an assistant to your main antivirus.
It earns excellent scores in our hands-on tests and its scores with independent testing labs are improving. 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. Best For No-Frills Protection. 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.
Emsisoft Anti-Malware effectively handles the basic tasks of malware protection, including ransomware, though it doesn't score at the top in testing. Its new Cloud Console offers comprehensive remote management to tech-savvy users. Best For Breadth of Features. 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. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus.
See it. 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 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. This component is important enough that we're starting to see it as a bonus feature in some antivirus tools.
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. 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. By Neil J. Rubenking Dec. Top Picks. Best For Multi-Device Households. Other products may score better in testing, but none of them offer a deal like this.
Best For Single Desktop Protection. Norton AntiVirus Plus gets impressive scores in independent lab tests and our own hands-on tests, and it 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 our hands-on tests Data Protector foils ransomware attacks Includes online backup, firewall, exploit protection, password manager, and other bonus features CONS 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 protection Good 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. Best For Wealth of Bonus Features. With impressive antivirus lab results and a collection of features that puts many full security suites to shame, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is an excellent choice for protecting your PC.
It earned excellent scores in our hands-on tests and can even roll back some ransomware activity. PROS Near-perfect score in our malware protection and phishing protection tests Light on system resources Fast scan, tiny size Can remediate ransomware damage Advanced features CONS Limited lab test results due to unusual detection techniques Mixed results in testing with hand-modified ransomware Firewall component not working at this time.
Best For Techies. 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. Best For Speedy Scanning. Malwarebytes Premium now functions as a full-blown antivirus, not just an assistant to your main antivirus. It earns excellent scores in our hands-on tests and its scores with independent testing labs are improving.
Best For Thrifty Users. 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. 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 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.
Best For No-Frills Protection. 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. Emsisoft Anti-Malware effectively handles the basic tasks of malware protection, including ransomware, though it doesn't score at the top in testing. Its new Cloud Console offers comprehensive remote management to tech-savvy users.
Malware, Spyware, and Adware Protection We call it antivirus, but in truth it's unlikely you'll get hit with an actual computer virus. Our Pick. Excellent 4. Good 3. About Neil J. He was present at the formation of the Association of Shareware Professionals, and served on its board of directors.
By , he had become PC Magazine 's technical editor, and a coast-to-coast telecommuter. His "User to User" column supplied readers with tips and solutions on using DOS and Windows, his technical columns clarified fine points in programming and operating systems, and his utility articles over forty of ….
More From Neil J. McAfee AntiVirus Plus. Editors' Choice Excellent 4. Norton AntiVirus Plus. Kaspersky Anti-Virus. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. Editors' Choice Outstanding 5.
Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus. Malwarebytes Premium.
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