Antivirus software runs virus scans for known viruses and malware, of course, and can offer real-time protection. And it watches for shady websites and suspicious links to keep you out of trouble. It can also offer ransomware protection and monitor unexpected behavior that may be a sign of new and not-yet-identified viruses and malware. You want antivirus software that can successfully identify these unknown online threats without flagging too many false positives. Light on system resources.
You don't want antivirus software that taxes your PC's resources. If after you install the program, websites open slowly, apps download or open sluggishly or file copies take longer than expected, you may want to try another service. The good news is, all our picks offer a free trial to let you try out the antivirus program, so if your system feels sluggish after installation, you may want to keep looking. Cost and discounts. Don't just pay the sticker price for antivirus protection.
Before you buy, check for discounts on a company's website. Another way to save: The prices we list above are for 10 devices -- if the company offered that package -- but you can trim your cost with antivirus packages if you need to cover three or five devices.
You may also find discounts on an app's Amazon page. To be effective, antivirus software needs to monitor what's going on with your PC, check in with company servers about unusual behavior and should provide sound banking protection. The companies say they anonymize this technical data as much as possible to protect your privacy. But if you want to know more, the security companies on our list post privacy policies on their websites, so read their privacy statements to learn what the companies do with the information you share.
Protection for other platforms. Microsoft is by far the biggest target for viruses and malware. While the Mac does come under attack via side-loaded apps, it's rare, and if you download apps only from the Mac and iOS app stores and keep your guard up when clicking links and download files, you should be OK without an antivirus app on Apple devices.
CNET editors pick the products and services we write about. When you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Best free Windows antivirus Microsoft Defender.
Jump to details. See at Microsoft. See at NortonLifeLock. See at Bitdefender. Best on-demand Windows malware removal Malwarebytes. See at Malwarebytes. Solid subscription antivirus alternative McAfee Total Protection. See at McAfee. Another good subscription option Trend Micro Maximum Security. See at Trend Micro. See at ESET. Alternative free Windows antivirus Sophos Home. See at Sophos. Our recommendations Looking for free antivirus protection, malware protection or virus detection, willing to pay for an antivirus program that offers broad internet security coverage across all your devices, including from ransomware and phishing, or need to remove a computer virus or malware from your PC right now?
Best free Windows antivirus. Microsoft Defender. Best antivirus subscription for Windows. Norton with LifeLock Select. Best free antivirus alternative for Windows. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition. Best on-demand Windows malware removal. Oh my what a mistake. I received countless. I mean hundreds of emails asking why I was going to renew it..
Writing Reviews till Customer Support answers the phone. It gets one star only because I cannot give negative stars. Had an old subscription with them and I canceled the auto-renewal they still charged me. I have been holding for 1 hour 52 minutes and counting. If they are that busy with customer refunds something is seriously wrong.
Avoid this stress and go with another more reliable service one with better customer service. Now at 1 hour 53 minutes. I have used McAfee for a few years, and I believe what this company is doing may fall under hidden and sneaky practices to make money off of customers. Therefore, this year, I am a little more vigilant about the the product.
Admittedly I don't recall seeing it in the license agreement last year. I paid for it and then went to McAfee website to install. There were many attempts on the website to trick the customer into signing up for auto renewal because it offers no choice. I believe I was able to avoid the auto renewal with the 1st download but with the 2nd download, the only way it will allow the download is if customer agrees with the license agreement before downloading.
Today, I have made several attempts to contact the company with the contact phone number listed on the website but each time the call was dropped. Also, with the same email used to download the 1st one, on the same day, practically minutes later when I attempted to do the 2nd download, I received a message that says it does not recognize the email address. Does anyone know of a good, not so costly internet and virus security? Forced to give at least one star, don't even deserve one, should be an option for zero stars!!!
Ordered 2 yr antivirus subscription in March Declined auto renewal. Called for help downloading and found that auto renewal is a default, told technician I wanted to decline it. He promised to turn it off.
Checked later in the month and it was not deactivated, called and spoke to Renz, he promised to deactivate it. I deactivated it prior to speaking with Renz, but apparently, as soon as you exit, it re-activates. Pretty sneaky and scammy if you ask me Never could apply for the free service - McAfee could not help nor could T-Mobile.
Why would Mcafee not help resolve this?? I was beyond frustrated at them. Also, found out that auto renewal had been set as active AGAIN despite my turning it off on sign up AND asking tech to uncheck it on call for help and calling specifically to have it deactivated.
Finally had enough of them today and called to cancel service, asked for email proof service was cancelled, and requested a refund for the second year of service. And they are arguing about refunding the second year. Mind you, each phone call involved transfers, extended holds on line no less than 23 minutes, long involved explanations from Rhoda, Raja and others about why they cannot cancel my subscription; cannot send email confirmation of cancellation and they want a supervisor to call me to handle it.
Who has time for this aggravation??? There's also anti-phishing protection and a two-way firewall that replaces the Microsoft one. It also can block outsiders trying to burrow into your home LAN.
McAfee's App Boost makes programs run faster by reprioritizing system resources, while the Web Boost browser extension for Edge, Chrome and Firefox blocks unrequested downloads. McAfee Internet Security adds an email filter to stop spam and phishing attempts, while LiveSafe and Total Protection for five or more devices add file encryption.
You can connect to servers in two dozen countries. It took 5 seconds for me to connect to a local server in the New York area, although my data speed dropped from Mbps to 90Mbps. It filters websites based on a child's age and a personal profile, and also limits screen time, locates children's phones and schedules app blocking. To measure McAfee Total Protection's impact on system performance, we used our custom benchmark test, which clocks how long it takes to match 20, names and addresses on a spreadsheet.
Our testbed was a Lenovo ThinkPad T with a 2. Prior to McAfee's installation, our test took an average of After we loaded McAfee Total Protection, that completion time rose to Bitdefender Total Security had twice the background impact. However, the benchmark completion time rose to By comparison, Bitdefender's full scan slowed the system by about a third, and Kaspersky's by only about a quarter. Fortunately, McAfee's scans are over quickly.
After the initial full scan, during which McAfee Total Protection took an hour to index the entire drive's , files, subsequent full scans took an average of 4 minutes and 5 seconds, about midway between Kaspersky and Bitdefender. McAfee's quick scan took to look at 7, files and stayed at roughly that duration regardless of how many times we ran it. There's no overall appraisal of your security status, as you might see with other antivirus brands, but each major section has useful information.
The Settings section has so many options that only one-third of them at a time fit on an HD screen. McAfee's taskbar icon can update the software, use the VPN, change settings for real-time scanning and the firewall and even connect you to the company's online support website.
Installing McAfee Total Protection starts with a trip to the company website or to a third-party retailer. You've got to enter credit-card information or an activation code, then create a McAfee account. McAfee's auto-renewal policy sets you up to pay for another subscription when the current one expires.
It's easy to change this after the software is installed but leaving it on is required to use McAfee's VPN and identity-theft protection features.
The beachhead installer is only When the circular progress gauge is finished, the program puts you on the dashboard page, ready to run a scan. McAfee's tech support crew works with Twitter and Facebook but won't reply to emails.
McAfee guarantees your money back if its software can't clean up your system — but, again, only if you don't turn off the subscription auto-renewal. From its basic Antivirus through Internet Security to Total Protection and LiveSafe, McAfee's software and services hit most of the hot buttons for the security-conscious, often at a bargain rate considering how many devices can be covered by a single license. The only major chinks in McAfee's online armor are the lack of a dedicated defense against webcam hijacking or a hardened browser for online commerce, plus the fact that some other brands detect more malware.
It's also a bit stinky that the VPN and identity-theft protection won't work if you turn off subscription auto-renewals. Overall, McAfee's protections are good, but programs from Bitdefender , Kaspersky and Norton provide more complete coverage and better malware detection.
Brian Nadel is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in technology reporting and reviewing.
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