The Best Antivirus Protection Software of 2023

1. TotalAV Antivirus - The Best Antivirus Software for Malware Protection

Editors Rating:

9.7 /10

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All-Around Digital Security Protection

TotalAV is the Swiss Army knife of antivirus software. In its most basic configuration, it protects your devices from a wide variety of viruses and malware, optimizes your devices’ performance, and makes sure your browser isn’t compromised. With the most advanced subscription, TotalAV will also protect your privacy using a VPN, block intrusive ads, and save your passwords in a secure vault.

But let’s shift our focus on TotalAV’s ability to protect your devices from malware. TotalAV is best-used for manual scans, as it was able to detect all the viruses we hid in our computer, even those that were inside .zip archives. That unmistakably shows that TotalAV is great at detecting malware.

That said, when we turned on real-time protection, which supposedly catches malware even without starting a scan manually, TotalAV failed to catch everything. Our recommendation is to use manual scans even if real-time protection is on. That way, nothing gets past TotalAV.

2. Kaspersky Antivirus - The Best Free Antivirus Software

Editors Rating:

9.6 /10

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Editor’s Note: The German cybersecurity agency BSI put out a warning that the anti-virus software developed by Moscow-based Kaspersky poses a threat of “a serious hacking attack.” This warning comes as Russia’s invasion and attacks on Ukraine escalate.

Kaspersky responded that it is a privately-managed company with no ties to the Russian government and that the BSI warning was politically motivated. We will keep you updated on this development as new information comes forward.

Free Antivirus Software, Premium Protection

There’s no question that Kaspersky does a great job detecting malware. Out of the 40-something software we tested, it was one of the only two to score an impressive 100-percent in our virus detection test. And the best part? We initially tested Kasperksy’s free antivirus option. Of course, we did eventually test the premium version, but the fact that the free version caught all the malware we hid was impressive.

Of course, buying a subscription makes sense if you want all-around protection. The premium Kaspersky subscriptions include additional features like a VPN, identity protection, online payment protection, and a lot more. Premium features like real-time protection are also available only with the premium subscriptions. But in the end, whether you buy it or use the free software, Kaspersky is great at detecting viruses and malware.

3. Surfshark Antivirus - The Best Antivirus Software For Digital Security

Editors Rating:

8.9 /10

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Surfshark is best known as a virtual private network provider, but it also has digital safety tools in its tool belt. One of those tools is the Surfshark antivirus, which is part of the Surfshark One subscription.

Surfshark One

Current Surfshark VPN users can add Surfshark Antivirus for $1.49 a month, while non-users can pay as low as $3.98 a month for the whole deal — VPN, antivirus, password manager, and safe search included. Surfshark antivirus features on-demand scanning, scheduled scanning, and real-time malware detection on Android. And since it uses the same app as the VPN, users get a seamless meshing of vital digital security tools.

4. Norton Antivirus - The Best Cross-Platform Antivirus Software

Editors Rating:

9.5 /10

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Mobile Device Protection At Its Finest

Smartphones have become the prime target of malware these days, with all the sensitive data and apps we have on our mobile devices. That’s why it’s important for antivirus brands like Norton to offer mobile device protection.

In our experience, Norton has one of the best mobile apps. First of all, the app is easy to navigate and clutter-free. Case in point: You can start a scan with a press of button, and there are widgets available so you can access features without having to open the app.

In terms of malware detection, an independent audit by AV-TEST in July discovered that Norton detects 100-percent of widespread Android malware and real-time attacks. While we didn’t have as large a sample size as them, the tests we conducted ourselves concurred with those findings.

5. McAfee Antivirus - The Most Complete Cybersecurity Software

Editors Rating:

8.8 /10

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Multiple Digital Safety Tools In One App

The cybersecurity landscape is evolving quickly, and the latest trend is apps that cover multiple facets of digital safety and security. McAfee is a shining example of this. If you buy a McAfee subscription, you’re not just giving your devices virus and malware protection. You’ll also get a VPN or virtual private network, a password manager, identity monitoring, a safer browsing experience, three-bureau credit monitoring, identity theft insurance, and many more.

This long list of digital and identity safety features doesn’t come cheap, as McAfee subscriptions can cost as much as $199.99 during the first year, but you’ll get premium protection way beyond just malware detection. And if we do the math, paying an average of $17 per month isn’t bad at all considering that a VPN subscription alone can cost up to $15 per month.

6. Bitdefender Antivirus - The Best Antivirus Software for Malware Detection

Editors Rating:

8.7 /10

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Impressive Malware Detection

We use antivirus software primarily to detect malware, and Bitdefender excels in that particular area. When reviewing antivirus software, we test its malware detection by hiding viruses in our computers and letting the software loose to find the viruses we hid. Out of the dozens we tested, Bitdefender, was among the only two that found all the viruses. Although our sample size is small, our simple test clearly shows how much more advanced Bitdefender is at seeking out and destroying malware.

7. Trend Micro Antivirus - The Best Antivirus Software for Web Protection

Editors Rating:

8.6 /10

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“Oversharer Protection”

Antiviruses protect us from malware, but there are other threats lurking on the internet. Many of these threats aim to invade our privacy to obtain personal information that can be used in identity theft. That’s why we appreciated Trend Micro’s Privacy Scanner feature.

Basically, it looked at the social media profiles we linked, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, to check for potential privacy concerns. That’s a nice little feature that goes a long way in making sure your online data is safe. And of course, Trend Micro offered that feature on top of its malware protection features.

8. Avast Antivirus - The Best Antivirus Software for Mac

Editors Rating:

8.5 /10

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Broad Virus and Malware Protection

We tested both the free and premium versions of Avast, and to our delight, both editions offered protection against viruses, malware, adware, spyware, and ransomware. Now, it’s pretty run-of-the-mill for Windows antivirus tools to offer protection against those types of threats. But for Apple computers, which are more secure than Windows (but still vulnerable to a growing number of attacks), that level of protection is just right. That’s why Avast is the best antivirus software for Mac.

9. ESET Antivirus - The Best Antivirus Software for Windows

Editors Rating:

8.4 /10

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Best Protection for Windows

ESET NOD32 and its trademark picture of a human-like robot has been a common sight in Windows computers for decades. And there’s a reason why it’s a preferred Windows antivirus for many (including ourselves). Although NOD32’s features were basic compared to the other security suites offered by ESET, it’s a sturdy and trustworthy antivirus that reliably detected malware, adware, spyware, and ransomware. In fact, in our virus detection test, NOD32 scored a solid four out of five. That’s better than more than half of the other antivirus software we tested. Aside from that, ESET directly integrated a scanning feature into our Windows email apps, namely Live Mail and Outlook. The scan looked for suspicious attachments and prevented us from opening them. Being on the receiving end of countless email chains from co-workers and friends, this was a feature we really appreciated.

10. Vipre Antivirus - The Best Antivirus Software for Android

Editors Rating:

8.3 /10

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Android Security Like No Other

Vipre offers antivirus and device security solutions for Windows, Mac, and iOS, but its Android security solution really stood out. Aside from the usual virus protection that Android antivirus apps provide, the Vipre Android Security app included features we typically don’t see in other Android antivirus apps. For starters, the Autopilot feature acted as our security advisor, letting us know of potential weaknesses in our Android settings. The app also allowed us to lock some apps, like our photo gallery, so that only we can access them using our fingerprints. And aside from digital security, Vipre provided our Android phones physical security. The Snap Photo feature, in particular, snapped a front camera picture of anyone who tried and failed to unlock our phones.