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2 Virus Protection Promise: You must have an automatically renewing device security subscription with antivirus for the virus removal service. If we are unable to remove the virus from your device, you will be entitled to a refund based on the actual price paid for the current term of your subscription. If you have a subscription from NortonLifeLock purchased with either another offering from NortonLifeLock or a third party offering, your refund will be limited to the price of only your subscription for the current term, not to exceed the total price paid. Any refund will be net of any discounts or refunds received and less any applicable taxes, except in certain states and countries where taxes are refundable. The refund does not apply to any damages incurred as a result of viruses. See norton.com/virus-protection-promise for complete details.

Oh, there are a few minor nits. The first full scan after installation can be slow, for example. And if you want unlimited use of the VPN, you must pay a bit extra. But, overall, this is a marvelous choice for antivirus protection.

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McAfee no longer offers the cross-platform antivirus protection of McAfee AntiVirus Plus, but the basic McAfee AntiVirus is a powerful choice for a single Windows PC. Single is an important word here, as you don't find the usual volume discounts for three, five, or 10 licenses. You must buy the software again for each new device you want to protect.

The independent labs adore McAfee's malware-fighting technology. Three of the four labs we follow include McAfee in their analysis, and all three award it their maximum possible score. It earned excellent scores in our hands-on tests, too. And it goes beyond basic antivirus features with a ransomware protection system, a simple firewall, a system to foil cryptojacking, and more.

The G Data website states that G Data released the first antivirus program in 1985. Whether or not it was the very first, G Data Antivirus has a long and storied history. Two of the four independent labs we follow typically include this venerable tool in their tests. AV-Test routinely gives it the top possible rating, while its scores in tests by AV-Comparatives range from passing to perfect. G Data scored close to the maximum in our hands-on malware protection and malicious download defense tests.

Throughout its evolution, this antivirus tool has picked up many bonus security tools. With the regular antivirus disabled, its behavior-based ransomware protection layers detected half the samples we threw at it. An exploit detection component scored better than most competitors in testing. Other bonus features include spam filtering, BankGuard protection for financial transactions, active defense against keyloggers, and fine-grained control over startup programs.

Some antivirus apps include so much additional security software they are nearly suites. On the other hand, Total Defense Essential Anti-Virus sticks to the core tasks of an antivirus utility: scanning for malware on demand, on schedule, and on file access. The time for a Total Defense full scan came in about average, but a second scan cut 90% off of that thanks to optimization.

Though it originated in Los Angeles, Trend Micro is now a global security corporation based in Japan, and it has acquired many other security businesses over the years. Its collective technology makes Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security more than just an antivirus. Among other components, Trend Micro features Pay Guard to protect your financial transactions; a Firewall Booster; spam filtering with a separate Fraud Buster component; multi-layered ransomware protection; a detector for unauthorized cryptocurrency mining, and markup of dangerous links in search results and social media.

We call it antivirus, but in truth, it's unlikely you'll get hit with an actual computer virus. Malware these days is about making money, and there's no easy way to cash in on spreading a virus. Ransomware and data-stealing Trojans are much more common, as are bots that let the bot-herder rent out your computer for nefarious purposes. Modern antivirus utilities handle Trojans, rootkits, spyware, adware, ransomware, and more. As noted, PCMag has reviewed more than 40 different commercial antivirus utilities, not counting the many free antivirus tools we've looked at. We've named two Editors' Choice antivirus apps out of that extensive field and honored others with four-star or better ratings. One of the utilities listed in this article should address the problem if you have malware.

These commercial apps offer protection beyond the antivirus built into Windows. However, Microsoft Defender Antivirus is looking better lately, with some solid scores from independent testing labs. The combination of good lab scores and a great score in our hands-on malware protection test brought its rating up to 3.5 stars. As a free, built-in utility, however, we're not including it in this roundup of commercial antivirus apps.

We take the results reported by independent antivirus testing labs seriously. The simple fact that a company's antivirus shows up in the results is a vote of confidence, of sorts. It means the lab considered the program significant, and the company felt the cost of testing was worthwhile. Of course, high scores in the tests are also important.

We also subject every antivirus app to our own hands-on test of malware protection, in part to get a feeling for how the app works. Depending on how thoroughly the antivirus prevents malware installation, it can earn up to 10 points for malware protection.

Our malware protection test necessarily uses the same set of samples for months. To check a program's handling of brand-new malware, we test each antivirus using a large collection of extremely new malware-hosting URLs supplied by MRG-Effitas, noting what percentage of them it blocked. Apps get equal credit for preventing all access to the malicious URL and for wiping out the malware during download.

All software has flaws, and sometimes those flaws affect your security. Prudent users keep Windows and all programs patched, fixing those flaws as soon as possible. The vulnerability scan offered by some antivirus apps can verify all necessary patches are present and even apply any that are missing.

Spyware comes in many forms, from hidden programs that log your every keystroke to Trojans masquerading as valid programs while mining your data. Any antivirus should handle spyware, along with all other types of malware, but some include specialized components devoted to spyware protection.

You expect an antivirus to identify and eliminate bad programs and leave good programs alone. What about unknowns, programs your AV can't identify as good or bad? Behavior-based detection can, in theory, protect you against malware, so new researchers have never encountered it. However, this isn't always an unmixed blessing. It's not uncommon for behavioral detection systems to flag many innocuous behaviors performed by legitimate programs.

Firewalls and spam filtering aren't common antivirus features, but some of our top picks include them as bonuses. Some of these antivirus programs are even more feature-packed than certain security suites.

We're seeing more and more antivirus apps adding modules specifically designed for ransomware protection. Some work by preventing unauthorized changes to protected files. Others keep watch for suspicious behaviors that suggest malware. Some even aim to reverse the damage. Given the growth of this scourge, any added protection is beneficial.

Your antivirus utility works in the background to keep out any faint possibility of infestation by malware, but its abilities don't extend beyond the bounds of your computer. When you connect to the wild and wooly internet, you risk the possibility your data could be compromised in transit. Sticking to HTTPS websites when possible can help, but for full protection of your data in transit, you should install a VPN (virtual private network). This component is important enough that we're starting to see it as a bonus feature in some antivirus tools.

Which antivirus should you choose? While you have a wealth of options, two stand out from the rest. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus holds perfect scores from three independent antivirus testing labs, and it has more features than some security suites. Norton AntiVirus Plus likewise offers many suite-level features, and it gets excellent scores from all four testing labs we follow. We've named these two our Editors' Choice winners for commercial antivirus, but they're not the only antivirus apps worth consideration. Read the reviews of our top-rated programs, then make your own decision.

Early viruses like Elk Cloner were mostly designed as pranks. Their creators were in it for notoriety and bragging rights. However, by the early 1990s, adolescent mischief had evolved into harmful intent. PC users experienced an onslaught of viruses designed to destroy data, slow down system resources, and log keystrokes (also known as a keylogger). The need for countermeasures led to the development of the first antivirus software programs.

Those using antiviruses online had to regularly download an ever-growing database file consisting of hundreds of thousands of signatures. Even so, new viruses that got out ahead of database updates left a significant percentage of devices unprotected. The result was a constant race to keep up with the evolving landscape of threats as new viruses were created and released into the wild.

In December 2016, Malwarebytes folded anti-exploit and malicious website antivirus protection into the premium version of Malwarebytes for Windows. We have since added anti-ransomware for even more advanced anti-malware protection.

In the case of business IT professionals with multiple endpoints to secure, the heuristic approach is especially important. New malware threats emerge regularly, so heuristics play an important role in Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection, as does AI and ML. Together, they create multiple layers of antivirus protection that address all stages of the attack chain for both known and unknown threats. e24fc04721