When deciding on an antivirus program security experts and customers alike consider many factors besides the program’s capabilities to protect. Cost impacts on systems compatibility, usability, and personal opinions regarding the practices of a company can all be important factors that affect a person’s decision to choose an antivirus program.
Germany-based Avira is a great option for anyone looking for an antivirus suite with solid test results and the option of billing monthly. This antivirus program has impressive lab scores across all categories. It also offers an array of useful additional features including a password manager. Avira scans are lightweight and don’t use many resources. The full-scan speed is reduced by 53 percent. This is one of our most notable results.
It’s not easy to determine the best free AV program due to M&A deals software the fact that some of our top picks have a few drawbacks. Kaspersky can slow down your PC by up to 53% thanks to its powerful background effect, whereas Avast is only a little slower at 44%. On the other side, Bitdefender has an excellent free version as well as a powerful subscription-based antivirus solution that has superb independent testing lab scores. Its features include a VPN and is large, making it stand out among the competition.
F-Secure is the highest-rated paid antivirus program. McAfee Total Protection and Trend Micro Internet Security are also highly rated. While Microsoft Defender, which is built into Windows 10 and 11, has a relatively light post-installation background effect of 9 percent, it’s susceptible to massive slowdowns during full system scans.