Best Antivirus Protection for Windows

1. Bitdefender Antivirus - Best for Windows Overall

Editors Rating:

8.7 /10

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How We Review

We’re always impressed with Bitdefender, which could be one reason why it consistently tops our list of the best antivirus software on the market. It’s fast, it’s effective, and there’s a fully functional free version. And when we put out the money for a full year’s subscription, we were rewarded with a ton of even more amazing features, from an “autopilot” function to Bitdefender’s VPN. Maybe Bitdefender’s iOS apps could use a little work, but we couldn’t find much too much to complain about regarding its Windows app.

Passed all our tests

Bitdefender gets great scores from AV-Test. Call us old fashioned, but we like to see for ourselves just how well an antivirus does at stopping viruses. So, before we load a new antivirus package onto our Windows computer, we took the time to hide a few viruses here and there, just to see if the software could detect them once it was installed. Don’t worry, we handpicked viruses that wouldn’t execute on their own and wouldn’t do much harm to our computer in the event they did. We’ve tested over 40 different products, and only two managed to catch every single virus we threw at them: one of those was Bitdefender. Simply put, we’re impressed.

Free Version

Here’s something we don’t come across every day: Bitdefender offers a completely free version of their software, no strings attached. That free version comes with a full system scan and a firewall plus options for setting exclusions and handling quarantined files. Of course, we were impressed by all of Bitdefender’s pricing options. Their Antivirus Plus package, for instance, runs for just $23.99 for a year with coverage on three devices and includes features like a file shredder, a password manager, and a VPN. Meanwhile, their Total Security package, priced at $36 for a year, covers five devices and features parental controls, webcam security, and anti-theft tools. Still, it’s hard to beat free.

Autopilot

One of the cooler features available with the paid versions of Bitdefender Antivirus is “Autopilot.” Originally, this system was developed for users who didn’t want to worry about settings, users who just wanted an antivirus that would do its job and stay out of their way. However, the newest version of Autopilot takes a more active approach to our computer’s security. Rather than simply operate based on a list of defaults, Bitdefender now learns from our behaviors, adapting to recommend the best security settings to us for our particular situation. Of course, it isn’t like it’s replaced our best friend. Yet.

2. Trend Micro Antivirus - Most User-friendly for Windows

Editors Rating:

8.6 /10

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How We Review

An antivirus, no matter how good it is at catching viruses, isn’t much use if we can’t figure out how to use it. One of the real hallmarks of Trend Micro’s Windows app is just how user-friendly it is. The screen was uncluttered and buttons were simply named. It was easy to make decisions about how and when we wanted the software to run scans. And it came with a number of great extra features, such as a password manager, a file shredder, and parental controls.

Scanning Options

We’re also fans of options. The more ways we have to run scans on our laptop, the better. Trend Micro’s Windows version offers on-demand scans, meaning we can essentially run a scan any time we feel nervous. And we can choose to perform a quick scan of what’s loaded on our computer at startup, or a deep scan that looks at everything on our machine. The app even has a scheduler so we can plan scans around our routines. What we really like, though, is that the software performs an automatic scan every single time we open it up. And since it starts up automatically after we boot our computers, the on-access scan feature was a useful function since we can be a bit forgetful at times. It reminds us to stay on top of our computer’s security, no matter how busy we may get.

Privacy Scanner

Social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn tend to set all the defaults to share. And they don’t always make it easy to find the off buttons. That’s why we were pleased that Trend Micro’s Windows version featured a “Privacy Scanner.” Basically, this checked all of our social media account settings to check for any privacy concerns. When it pointed out that everyone who visited our Facebook page could see our phone number, it was a simple matter to have Trend Micro make the changes for us.

Extra Safety Tools

Ah, the extras. Again, not necessary, but always fun. In addition to its Privacy Scanner, Trend Micro included a password folder, where we could keep all our many passwords stored under one master password (they obviously read our feature on password best practices). The program also came with a number of online safety tools including a privacy scanner that helped to prevent us from sharing too much on social media. Of course, with Pay Guard, we never had to worry about our credit card being stolen during online purchases. That being said, we have to confess that we were a bit disappointed that Trend Micro didn’t come with a firewall. But on the plus side, they do offer a downloadable VPN to keep our network connections extra secure.

3. Vipre Antivirus - Best No Contract Antivirus for Windows

Editors Rating:

8.3 /10

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How We Review

Typically, we’re given a choice when it comes to technology: user-friendly or customizable. Vipre offers both. We got to make the decisions about what would and wouldn’t be scanned, what would and wouldn’t make it through the firewall, and what would and wouldn’t be treated as spam. And the Vipre app interface on Windows was so intuitive that making these decisions was simple and straightforward. Oh, and how good is it at protecting against malware? AV-Test gave it a 100 percent rating for detecting the most recent viruses out there.

Customizable

Vipre made it easy to customize our experience of the software, allowing us to make changes to its:

• Antivirus functions
• Firewall setup
• Update behaviors
• Email protections
• Privacy options.

We were able to, for instance, set the program to run a full scan automatically if the quick scan noted anything suspicious. We could also have the firewall use different levels of online security for different networks. Vipre even let us choose from a variety of app themes so we could give it our own distinctive look. Best of all, all of these tools were organized and labeled so that making changes was simple and intuitive.

A Clean Record

Obviously, we want our antivirus software to protect us from outside threats, but that’s not worth much if the company itself becomes a threat. We hear the stories all the time about security breaches, even at respected companies, that put user data at risk. Antivirus companies are not immune. Some of the best companies out there have been hacked, including FireEye, McAfee, and Symantec.1 Vipre’s record, however, is squeaky clean. We did an exhaustive search for any hint of a breach and came up empty.

Straightforward Pricing

Vipre operates a little differently from most antivirus companies when it comes to pricing. Most plans these days require a minimum commitment, usually a year. Vipre, on the other hand, doesn’t use contracts at all. Rather, we paid a one-time fee for the software with no recurring payments. Monthly or yearly payments versus a one-and-done? It’s easy to see which is the better deal in the long run. Plus, Vipre’s price structure is simple and straightforward: you pay per device. One device costs $34.99. Three devices run for $44.99. Five cost $54.99. Given that the industry average for one device for one year is $34.40 and that price typically rises after the first year, we’d say that Vipre is one of the best deals out there.

4. AVG Antivirus - Best Antivirus for Windows with a VPN

Editors Rating:

8.6 /10

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How We Review

AVG is another example of a company that offers a free version of its antivirus software for Windows, and that version contains effective tools for running both quick and in-depth scans. However, its Internet Security version is reasonably priced at just $44.99 a year, and its Ultimate package, which costs just $15.00 more, comes with a VPN, tuneup software, and coverage for up to 10 devices. That makes AVG one of the best deals out there for Windows antivirus software.

VPN

A number of antivirus companies out there offer a VPN— for an additional price. But with AVG Ultimate, it comes standard, boosting the overall value of an AVG subscription. Why is a VPN such a valuable extra feature? It allows us to go online through a secure tunnel, masking our IP address and adding an additional layer of protection from hackers. It makes the perfect complement to high-quality antivirus software. We find that hackers have a much harder time infecting our computer with ransomware if they can’t track us to begin with. Read our complete review of AVG’s VPN to find out more.

10 Devices

AVG’s Ultimate package not only comes with a VPN, but also with coverage for 10 devices. AVG prices its Ultimate package at $59.99 for a one-year subscription. That’s just $15 more than their Internet Security package, which only comes with coverage for one device. We value our money as much as the next person, but for $1.25 more a month, we’d say the upgrade to 10 is absolutely worth it. After all, why would we want just one of our devices to be protected when we can protect them all?

Highly Rated Mobile Apps

AVG works great with Windows. In fact, its free version is especially designed to work with Windows 10 and provide more protection than using Defender alone. However, in addition to Windows, AVG works with iOS, Android, and macOS. And its mobile apps are among the most highly rated of any we’ve come across. At the Google Play store, the software gets a 4.7 rating out of five. The rating at the Apple store is even higher, at 4.8 out of five. Bottom line: AVG works great with Windows, but it also works great with other systems.

5. ESET Antivirus - Best Antivirus for Windows Customer Support

Editors Rating:

8.4 /10

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How We Review

ESET has a long, storied history of antivirus development, dating back as far as 1987, and that shows in their high AV-Test ratings and in their clean record of no security breaches. In addition, though, ESET isn’t afraid to break the mold of what an antivirus company can be, offering deep discounts for multi-year contracts and great customer support, two things we don’t always see in this industry.

A Long History

ESET has been around so long that when it developed its very first antivirus software, its headquarters were actually in the old communist country of Czechoslovakia.2 That kind of long history gives the company some serious credibility. More importantly, in their more than 33-year history, they haven’t been subject to any security breaches of any kind. That’s an impressive record of excellence.

Multi-year Contracts

It has become standard practice lately for antivirus companies to offer a teaser price, a tempting price for the first year that promptly balloons into something much more for the second. Needless to say, we aren’t huge fans of this bait and switch. One reason we like ESET is because they push back against such practices. Their price doesn’t rise after the first year. In fact, we saved money in the second year by signing up for a multi-year contract upfront. According to ESET pricing, a one-year contract costs $49.99, a two-year contract costs $79.99, a $20 savings, and a three-year contract costs $109.98, a $40.00 savings. And for their Windows 10 version, they have a free 30-day trial, so you can check everything out before you buy.

Customer Service

Customer service doesn’t get talked about enough these days, which could be one reason why it has become so abysmal at so many companies. Thankfully, ESET has our back, with a whole range of support options. There’s a robust online help center. There’s an email option. But there’s also phone support and, our favorite, live chat. When we had questions about the differences between the privacy policies in Europe and the U.S., we headed over to the ESET support page, pulled up a messenger box and got an accurate response in minutes.