Stay safe with effective Antivirus

Protect your computer from viruses and malware with these great solutions.

The online dangers are many, and their numbers continue to grow with each year that goes by. This situation was constant ever since the internet was invented, and even before, since the first computers. As technology advances, online dangers are becoming bigger, cleverer, and more devastating.

Of course, the situation is not as grim as it seems at first since we do have methods of protecting ourselves against most of these dangers. The methods are different depending on the danger, but considering that viruses and malware are the most common ones, the best place to start with ensuring your safety is to start using antivirus software.

With that in mind, here are the top five options that will protect your PC from various viruses that might still be lurking online, as well as from most known types and forms of malware.

1. McAfee Antivirus

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McAfee Antivirus, a security company named after its founder, John McAfee, is one of the oldest and best-known antivirus providers in the industry. It is rich with features, and a single subscription will allow you to protect pretty much any device that you own. This is a great opportunity to protect your entire family, and their phones, tablets, and PCs. Whether they use Android or iOS, Windows or Mac, McAfee Antivirus will cover all of these devices and keep them safe from malware and viruses.

The price of the software is not particularly high, being only around $60 per year. This is pretty much a standard price, offered by many other services as well, and it is more than worth it, as it will keep your PC clean of danger.

McAfee Antivirus also provides a one-license version that is available only on Windows and is a bit cheaper, with a price of around $40. However, with only $20 more, you can protect every device in your house. It is easy to install and use, with a simple, intuitive interface, but a variety of options. You will find that the most options are available to Windows users, while mobile and Mac users have fewer of them. All that is left is to do regular scans and get rid of any malware that attempts to infect your device.

  • Works for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS

  • A standard license protects unlimited devices

  • Good scores on tests

  • Perfect phishing protection

  • Protects against ransomware

  • PC Boost only supports chrome

  • Fewer features for Mac and iOS users

Great pick for home and business

Unlimited devices for one standard license

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2. Bitdefender Antivirus

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Bitdefender is one of the best antiviruses you can run on your computer. The software has best-in-class security features including multi-layer protection, ransomware prevention, and adware removal. Bitdefender is fast and secure and will not affect your Mac’s performance.

We were particularly impressed by Bitdefender’s anti-phishing protection that detects and blocks malicious websites. This helps safeguard sensitive data such as your passwords and credit card info.  

In addition to antimalware protection, Bitdefender comes with an integrated VPN allowing you to protect your privacy when online. With the VPN you can also bypass geo-restrictions and access any content on the internet from anywhere in the world.

Bitdefender’s Mac software is simple to use and boasts an Autopilot feature regularly that makes smart security recommendations. The antivirus is reasonably priced and at $29.99 per years is one of the most affordable. However, expect the price to increase when you increase the number of devices and add VPN protection.

  • Fast scanning

  • Multi-level layer Protection

  • Premium VPN

  • 24/7 cloud-based protection

  • 30-day free trial

  • Limited features compared to some competitors

Top Choice For Security

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3. Intego Mac Internet Security X9

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Intego Mac Internet Security X9 is another antivirus product that stands out from the crowd. The software automatically scans files and provides real-time malware protection keeping you covered 24/7. 

Intego’s Netbarrier X9 is excellent and fights back against all forms of online privacy and security threats. The software is equipped with an intelligent firewall that stops uninvited users from accessing your Mac.

Netbarrier allows you to choose which devices to communicate with and which to block. The feature also stops connections to malicious domains and websites.

The application is well-designed, unobtrusive and straightforward to use. Intego does have some extra features including email and live support and protection up to 5 devices. Each additional device comes at an extra cost, but you can lower the price by opting for the cheaper 2-year pricing plan.

  • Real-time malware protection

  • Intelligent firewall

  • User-friendly UI

  • Support for 5 devices

  • Free trial

  • Expensive 1-year plan

4. ESET NOD32 Antivirus

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ESET NOD32 is another well-known and highly capable antivirus that goes well beyond simply providing the essentials. For example, NOD32 provides quite a few additional security features, a Host Intrusion Prevention System, a PC firmware scanner, and more.

During tests, NOD32 performed quite well. Also, it is very cost-efficient, with a price of around $40. It offers additional licenses, which add around $10 per year. Its interface is simple to understand, and features are easy to use. With that being said, more complex features might be a bit too much for new users and might need a while for the user to understand how to use them properly.

Apart from that, NOD32 is an excellent choice for protecting your PC from malware and viruses, it is highly customizable, as well as a search box that will let you find the option you want easily.

  • Cost-efficient

  • Excellent test scores

  • Many, many options and features

  • Easy to use

  • Provides additional licenses

  • Advanced features are complicated

  • Phishing protection is not the best

5. Webroot Antivirus

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Next, we have Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus. This one is different from most other antivirus software examples, as it never used massive signature databases to identify dangerous files and protect computers from malware. Instead, it would monitor unknown programs and judge them based on their performance. This system might seem unusual, and it is, but it also ended up being highly effective.

As far as price is concerned, Webroot is pretty much the same as most others — it has a $40 subscription that will last one year, and provide you with a single license. If you wish a three-license subscription, you can get it for only $10 more. Webroot works perfectly on Macs and Windows systems alike. The antivirus installer itself is less than 4MB, which makes it tiny and fast.

The software also offers a variety of features, such as malware scans, analysis of apps, and more, all for the purpose of securing your device and optimizing performance.

  • Excellent score in malware protection tests

  • Fast scans

  • Tiny size

  • Many advanced features

  • Easy to use

  • Good against phishing and ransomware

  • Unusual detection techniques make it difficult to test

  • Ransomware protection was not at 100% during tests

6. Kaspersky Free Antivirus

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Budget choice 2020

Finally, we have Kaspersky Free Antivirus. Kaspersky is a well-known name in the antivirus industry, and its’ premium version is among the best in the world, just like that of Bitdefender. However, Kaspersky also features a free version, although it is quite difficult to find, as the company does not like to advertise it, or even mention it.

The download page is difficult to find as a result, but once you locate it, you will end up with one of the best free antivirus programs out there. Its interface is great and easy to understand to use, it has a light-to-moderate impact on the system, and it is among the best options out there when it comes to malware protection.

Of course, this all comes at the cost of additional features, customization, various scans, and alike. But, what remains will definitely be able to protect you, even if it is quite bare-bones when compared to its full version.

  • Exceptional malware protection for a free antivirus

  • The performance hit is not too big

  • Scans are fast

  • Not a lot of additional features

Summary

Using antivirus software is the best way to ensure that you will stay protected on the internet. There are always additional steps that you can take, such as employing a VPN, avoiding websites that do not use HTTPS, and alike. However, all of those are extra options, and it all starts with the protection of the machine you are using. Because of that, use a strong antivirus and keep your devices safe.

This should be imperative for all your devices, but it is particularly important for those using a PC. PC is the most targeted device, which typically holds the most data that can be infected, stolen, or held for ransom. Because of that, the PC is also the most vulnerable, and with the highest number of flaws regarding its security.

You can never be too safe on the internet, but that does not mean that you should not do everything in your power to protect yourself and your device from harm.

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