
Kaspersky's Windows products have excellent malware-detection scores and a light-to-moderate system-performance impact, the two most important criteria in our rankings. Limited VPN usage -Microphone protection hard to enable The best antivirus software you can buy today Our free rankings immediately follow our paid rankings below. See our section on how to choose the best antivirus software below, or our stand-alone antivirus buying guide.įor the best free antivirus, we like Kaspersky Security Cloud Free, which sailed past Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition for the top spot. Both offered excellent protection without system slowdowns, but Kaspersky's free program lets you schedule scans, adds a ton of useful extras and had the smallest system impact we've ever seen. Right behind that are the entry-level Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, the best bargain in antivirus software, and Norton 360 Deluxe, which offers a ton of extra features, including unlimited VPN service and LifeLock identity protection.Īny of these three would serve you well, but the ideal choice depends on your circumstances.

Our top choice is Kaspersky Total Security, which delivers excellent malware protection, a full complement of extra features and an easy-to-use interface.
