Which is the best anti-virus software? A com­par­is­on

If a computer system is infected by malware, it can lead to the loss of highly sensitive data, such as passwords, banking in­form­a­tion, or other personal data. Antivirus programs protect your computer from various types of malware. Which solutions are re­com­men­ded?

How to choose the right antivirus software

To find a suitable antivirus program for your computer system, you need to evaluate its various features and functions. Should the software provide basic security or do you require more advanced security features? Do you need special tools, such as a secure zone for online banking or reliable en­cryp­tion for highly sensitive data? Your personal usage needs play an important role in de­term­in­ing a suitable antivirus software. This may also determine whether you should opt for a free or fee-based software. However, don’t expect the most expensive program to offer the best pro­tec­tion. When it comes to antivirus programs, it’s best to consider the ad­vant­ages and dis­ad­vant­ages of your top choices and choose an option that matches your security needs.

As a user, you should be aware of the pros and cons of in­di­vidu­al programs and choose the software based on your specific needs.

Antivirus software in com­par­is­on

In­form­a­tion correct as of January 2025

An overview of the best antivirus software available

There are countless antivirus programs on the market. With the intense com­pet­i­tion, the race for quality has also grown, and the dif­fer­ences in security, per­form­ance range, usability, and support are now barely no­tice­able. Even free antivirus programs today adhere to com­par­able high standards and have become a promising al­tern­at­ive. In our detailed overview, based on selected top providers, you can find out what security features you can expect in current antivirus software, what ad­di­tion­al tools and features exist, and how free programs differ from paid ones.

Bit­de­fend­er

Bit­de­fend­er is a Romanian man­u­fac­turer of antivirus software and offers various packages for private users and busi­nesses. With cross-platform, paid products like Small Office Security, Premium Security, or Total Security, Bit­de­fend­er focuses on high quality in terms of security, per­form­ance range, and program usability – at cor­res­pond­ingly high prices. The program interface is clear and features large buttons, making it easier to use on touch-enabled devices. The following features in par­tic­u­lar dis­tin­guish Bit­de­fend­er products:

• Real-time scanner ensures a con­stantly active security field and remains powerful due to the in­teg­rated cloud scanner, without putting too much strain on the system’s per­form­ance.
• Automatic updates: Programs are updated hourly, ensuring a high detection rate for various types of malware.
• Safepay offers special pro­tec­tion for financial trans­ac­tions.
• Spam pro­tec­tion filters out ir­rel­ev­ant messages in your inbox.
• Vul­ner­ab­il­ity scan shows possible weak­nesses in the computer system.

However, a major dis­ad­vant­age of Bit­de­fend­er is that the per­form­ance range decreases with the lower-priced versions. For example, the lowest-priced version of the antivirus software lacks spam pro­tec­tion, mobile pro­tec­tion, and ad­di­tion­al en­cryp­tion tech­niques. For mobile pro­tec­tion, an ad­di­tion­al package needs to be purchased.

Norton by Norton­Life­Lock

Norton is an antivirus program series by US software developer Norton­Life­Lock (pre­vi­ously Symantec). The company acquired Peter Norton Computing in 1990 and kept the Norton product name ever since. Norton Security products are of a high-quality standard and provide customers with a wide range of security features for multiple device types. The products aren’t free, but they offer great per­form­ance, user-friendly in­ter­faces and direct support at a low cost.

The most important features of the Norton Security antivirus software are:

• Real-time pro­tec­tion against all types of malware attacks
• In­tel­li­gent firewall for Windows PCs and Macs
• Exclusive Norton expert including Virus Pro­tec­tion Promise (refund if a virus cannot be removed)
• Password Manager
• Cloud Backup (depending on the edition, 2, 10, 50, or 200 GB)
• SafeCam feature to block un­au­thor­ised access to your webcam (not included in the Plus version)
• Dark Web Mon­it­or­ing scans the dark web for your personal data and alerts you if someone attempts to offer sensitive in­form­a­tion (not included in the Plus version)

A dis­ad­vant­age is the lack of P2P worm pro­tec­tion, i.e., in peer-to-peer networks where users exchange data directly. Pro­tec­tion for instant messaging at­tach­ments is only available for Apple Mail and Apple Messages. Ad­di­tion­ally, in the Plus version, pro­tec­tion features such as SafeCam and Secure VPN are not included.

Avira

Avira is a well-known German software company that offers various antivirus software products for private users and companies. It provides both free and fee-based products for PC, Mac, Android, and iOS. Avira Pro, Avira Internet Security, and Avira Prime are good options for private users. Avira also offers packages for busi­nesses such as the Avira Antivirus for Endpoint and Avira Antivirus for small business editions. All plans provide good pro­tec­tion and excellent support at a fair price.

The free Free-Security version has been one of the best antivirus programs in the freeware category for years, but it offers fewer features than the premium versions.

The key features Avira packages offer include:

• Automatic software and driver updates (not included in the Pro version)
• Real-time pro­tec­tion and repair function
• Pro­tec­tion for online payments and credit cards
• In­tel­li­gent ad blocker
• Smart home pro­tec­tion
• Anonymous browsing (Avira Prime)

The program interface is somewhat confusing due to the multi-layered menu bar and is more geared toward ex­per­i­enced users. The mul­ti­lin­gual support includes help resources such as FAQs, tutorials, manuals, forums, or the ‘Virus Lab’, a col­lec­tion of all current malware threats.

Kaspersky

With more than 30 branches worldwide, a team of over 4,000 highly qualified spe­cial­ists, and extensive ex­per­i­ence in security software since 1997, the Russian software company Kaspersky Lab has been offering high-quality security solutions for both private users and busi­nesses for years. The portfolio ranges from classic antivirus software for family PCs to the complex en­ter­prise security suite for busi­nesses with more than 1,000 employees. Some editions, such as Security Cloud Personal and Internet Security, offer cross-platform support, while others are spe­cific­ally designed for use on Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS.

The most important features of Kaspersky products are:

• Browser en­cryp­tion for secure online shopping/banking (Windows and macOS only)
• Webcam and VPN pro­tec­tion on unsecured Wi-Fi (not included in Anti-Virus version)
• Phishing pro­tec­tion
• Password manager (not included in all editions)
• Special pro­tec­tion for servers and work­sta­tions (Business editions)

Knowing that it has developed some of the most reliable and best antivirus programs of the past decades, Kaspersky has also priced the current editions of its security solutions ac­cord­ingly. The licenses (available in­di­vidu­ally or in 3- and 5-pack bundles) must be renewed either annually or every two years.

McAfee

McAfee is also one of the pioneers in the de­vel­op­ment of computer security software. Like many other antivirus program providers in this com­par­is­on, the U.S. software company offers special editions for home use as well as for small to large busi­nesses. These versions can be purchased for one person or device, or for an unlimited number of clients, with customers always pur­chas­ing a one-year license, which must then be renewed.

The main features of the cross-platform solutions (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android) at a glance:

• Password Manager
• File en­cryp­tion function (128-bit) (McAfee Total Pro­tec­tion and others)
• Browser pro­tec­tion for secure browsing
• Vul­ner­ab­il­ity scanner finds security holes in Windows and apps
• Easy man­age­ment of the system firewall
• Shredder ensures that files are per­man­ently deleted and cannot be re­con­struc­ted

The man­u­fac­turer’s extensive ex­per­i­ence is also reflected in the usability of the antivirus software: Both users of desktop ap­plic­a­tions and mobile apps benefit from the well-organised, in­tu­it­ively designed user interface of McAfee products.

Mal­ware­bytes

Mal­ware­bytes has also committed to the fight against malware and the promotion of cy­ber­se­cur­ity:

The U.S.-based company has been im­press­ing since 2008 with various security ap­plic­a­tions for home use and the business sector. A free antivirus program is also part of the product range – however, Mal­ware­bytes re­com­mends using this Free Edition only as a sup­ple­ment to other antivirus software, as it is designed solely for cleaning infected devices and does not take pre­vent­ive measures. The en­ter­prise products are available for small (up to 99 employees), medium-sized (up to 999 employees), and large busi­nesses (over 1,000 employees). The core features of Mal­ware­bytes are sum­mar­ised in the following list:

• Pro­tec­tion against ransom­ware
• Central dashboard for dis­play­ing threats (Business editions)
• Brute-force and phishing pro­tec­tion
• Browser Guard extension: Browser pro­tec­tion for secure browsing (Firefox, Chrome & Edge)

Many of Mal­ware­bytes’ solutions are available not only for the two desktop operating systems Windows and macOS, but also for Android, iOS, and Chrome­book. However, the version for Apple notebooks and desktop computers is sig­ni­fic­antly more limited compared to the Windows version.

ESET

Founded in Brat­is­lava in 1992, Slovakian software company ESET now secures people digitally in over 200 countries. Most of its security solutions, which include antivirus programs for private and business customers, have been developed for Microsoft Windows. ESET also provides adequate pro­tec­tion solutions for Android, Linux and macOS devices. The free ESET NOD32 Antivirus edition – the classic antivirus software by the company – provides the most important pro­tect­ive measures against computer viruses and other malware. For extended security options, customers should choose a premium package such as ESET Internet Security or Smart Security Premium. En­ter­prise solutions by ESET are a good choice for busi­nesses.

ESET Premium users gain access to the following features and functions:

• Hacker pro­tec­tion against cy­ber­at­tacks
• Secure online shopping and secure web payments
• Com­pre­hens­ive network pro­tec­tion
• Password manager
• En­cryp­tion function for private files
• Webcam pro­tec­tion and parental control
• Pro­tec­tion against harmful apps (Android)

Busi­nesses can find specific solutions from ESET for the pro­tec­tion of end devices (desktop and mobile) or servers (file servers, Share­Point, mail servers, etc.), as well as in­di­vidu­al products for en­cryp­tion and au­then­tic­a­tion.

Se­cur­eAny­where by Webroot

The US-based company Webroot – now a sub­si­di­ary of Carbonite Inc. – has been de­vel­op­ing per­form­ance and security tools for home users since 1997. Its Se­cur­eAny­where product series includes simple antivirus software for Windows and macOS, as well as complex security suites for extended pro­tec­tion on desktop and mobile devices. The pricing structure makes the antivirus solutions suitable for use by busi­nesses, but Webroot is missing a dedicated En­ter­prise edition. The spectrum of features included in Webroot are:

• Real-time phishing pro­tec­tion blocks harmful websites
• Mon­it­or­ing of firewall and network con­nec­tions
• Very fast malware scans
• Ransom­ware pro­tec­tion
• Pro­tec­tion for passwords and login data
• 25 GB of online storage (only included in the most expensive package)

In the antivirus program com­par­is­on, Se­cur­eAny­where stands out primarily due to its slim program code. The security ap­plic­a­tion is not only quick to install but also uses a minimal amount of system resources.

F-Secure

One of the first companies to combine multiple virus scan engines in antivirus software and have them work sim­ul­tan­eously was the Finnish company F-Secure. To this day, the focus of the security company remains on antivirus pro­tec­tion and intrusion pre­ven­tion, with the product range spanning from basic antivirus software to com­pre­hens­ive business suites. The antivirus package ‘F-Secure Anti-Virus’ protects your PC from spyware, viruses, and other malware, but it is only available for Windows. Therefore, if you need pro­tec­tion for other systems like macOS, Android, or iOS and a broader security spectrum, you must opt for the premium editions or the business solutions.

Here is an overview of the features and func­tion­al­it­ies of F-Secure security ap­plic­a­tions:

• Browser pro­tec­tion including family manager (limit surfing time, block sites, etc.)
• Ransom­ware pro­tec­tion
• Banking pro­tec­tion for secure online banking
• Private VPN, Wi-Fi pro­tec­tion, and tracking pro­tec­tion (F-Secure Total)
• Central F-Secure account for managing all devices

When using F-Secure products in busi­nesses, customers have various options available: You can protect all end devices or an entire cloud, install com­pre­hens­ive threat pro­tec­tion, or set up vul­ner­ab­il­ity man­age­ment.