best-antivirus-2021

Protecting your files, finances, and personal information requires an antivirus program. Choosing the right one was made easier with our reviews and ratings.

Antivirus software today does more than just block viruses. The right security suite protects you from malicious attachments and websites, ransomware, and can also help you protect your identity and prevent criminals from emptying your bank account.

Including our recommendations for the best security software for Windows PCs and laptops, you'll find all the information you need here. Most of them will also protect Android phones and tablets.

Protecting files and data stored on these devices requires antivirus software. The criminals who create malware - the umbrella term referring to all types of nasty files that could end up on your device - are getting smarter every day, but antivirus software is keeping up as well.

Norton is our current top pick for best antivirus for PC, followed by McAfee and Bitdefender. Check out our buying guide below for more information.

Best antivirus reviews

1 Norton 360 Deluxe

Pros

Cloud backup

ID protection

Cons

Expensive after first year

£34.99 (1 year, 5 devices), £89.99 subsequent years

Norton 360 Deluxe offers all-round protection for your devices as well as alerts you if your login information is ever sold on the dark web. 

A year's worth of protection costs £34.99 (which equates to £6.99 per device). It is a discount from the regular price of £89.99 (£18 per device).

The US price is $49.99 for the first year ($9.99 per device) and $104.99 after that. Click here for details.

Available for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, some of the highlights include top-notch antivirus performance, phishing protection, and warnings of dangerous websites, a no-limits VPN service and a password manager, plus cloud backup storage and performance tools to help speed up your computer. 

In AV-Test's most recent report, Norton 360 scored top marks for protection and usability.

Get Norton 360 here.

2 McAfee Total Protection

Pros

Great malware protection

Unlimited-use VPN

Cons

Ineffective parental controls

No kill switch in VPN

£29.99 (1 year, 1 device), £59.99 subsequent years

McAfee Total Protection boasts an easy-to-use user interface and a VPN service that offers 50 locations and unlimited data. Most competitors limit you to a few hundred MB per day.

There is excellent malware protection, and useful alerts make it easy to know when you need to do something to protect your PC (such as updating apps).

With ID protection for UK subscribers, and subscription options that cover up to 10 devices, Total Protection is a great value if you need to protect that many devices.

Get McAfee Total Protection here.

If you're in the US, get Total Protection here.

3 Bitdefender Total Security 2021

Pros

Excellent malware protection

Management portal

Cons

Only 200MB per day via VPN

No identity protection

£34.99 (1 year, 5 devices), £69.99 subsequent years

This is a great product from Bitdefender. For the first 12 months, Bitdefender charges a lot less than its competitors, bringing it down to £39.99/$38.99 and covering up to five devices.

Bitdefender's Internet Security caught 100% of the 0-day malware attacks thrown at it in AV-Test's latest report. It also scored top marks for overall protection and performance.

A few features were removed, but Bitdefender says this is because users weren't using them, so you won't miss them. There is a cross-platform password manager, but parental controls are basic, there is no ID protection, and the VPN is only a trial version that gives you 200 MB of data per day. If you want unlimited data, you'll have to upgrade to the full version (although there are better alternatives in our VPN roundup if you're prepared to pay).

However, if you simply want top-notch malware protection, this is a great choice.

Get Bitdefender Total Security 2021 here.

Read our full Bitdefender Total Security 2021 review

4 BullGuard Premium Protection

Pros

ID protection now included

Top malware protection

Cons

No VPN

£20.98 (1 year), £39.18 (2 years), £48.98 (3 years)

This is the company's flagship security suite. Dynamic machine learning technology blocks all kinds of malware, and there's anti-ransomware as well as a secure web browser to provide extra protection when banking or shopping online.

As part of the latest updates, identity protection is now monitored on the dark web, and international phone numbers and bank accounts are now supported. The updated version of Game Booster supports anti-cheat engines.

It normally costs £69.96 / $99.95 for 10 devices, but the first year is heavily discounted. This deal will save you 60%, or £28 / $39.99, or £2.80 / $3.99 per device.

It also achieved perfect scores for protection, performance, and usability in the latest AV-Test test.

Download BullGuard Premium Protection here.

Read our full BullGuard Premium Protection review

5 How it compares to ESET Smart Security Premium

Pros

Solid malware protection

Lots of settings for power users

Cons

No ID protection

No VPN

£49.99 (1 year, 1 device)

On the surface, ESET Smart Security has a simple interface that hides a raft of impressive (but also extremely complex) features.

Only the poor parental controls and in-need-of-reorganization firewall configuration let them down. Neither an identity monitoring / protection system nor a VPN is available.

The malware protection - which includes anti-ransomware - is absolutely solid, and while there is a negative impact on performance, the worst experience is when installing apps, which you will not be doing very often.

For one device and one year, you can get ESET Smart Security Premium for £49.99 here. It costs $59.99 from here if you're in the US. If you need to protect more than one computer, you can add licences for extra devices at a very low cost. It is cheaper to choose ESET Internet Security 2021 if you don't need a password manager or file encryption capabilities.

Read our full ESET Smart Security Premium 2021 review

6 Kaspersky Security Cloud

Pros

Excellent malware protection

ID protection

Cons

Home Network Monitor not that useful

£49.99 (1 year), £89.99 (2 years)

There isn't much to choose between Kaspersky Security Cloud and Kaspersky Total Security at first glance. Both products contain all the essential antivirus tools, making them both good choices.

The most important feature of Security Cloud is that it includes adaptive security technology that adjusts your settings based on your current activities. Besides helping you detect unauthorised devices and untrustworthy websites, it helps you make stronger passwords and manage them safely.

Kaspersky Security Cloud wasn't included in AV-Test's latest test, but Kaspersky Internet Security, which uses the same engine, achieved top marks for performance, protection, and usability.

It's £49.99/$89.99 for three devices (including mobile) for a year. You can buy it here in the UK, or here in the US.

Read our full Kaspersky Security Cloud review

Malicious apps or programs, commonly referred to as viruses, can be detected by security software, and blocked, disarmed, or removed with antivirus software.

Even though we still call it antivirus, modern internet security software includes much more. It isn't just about preventing viruses anymore. There are many types of malware on the web now, and viruses are just one of them.

Perhaps even more important is the protection of your files from ransomware and the security of your personal information. The aim of security exploits is no longer to massage the egos of hackers, but to make money.

Today's criminals do not necessarily have to be hard-core hackers. On the dark web, they will find all the software they need to do it with almost no effort.

Therefore, you need to find antivirus software that will protect you against viruses, ransomware, and other types of malware (such as spyware). The best antivirus software also offers ID protection, but some are better than others. Check what they actually do: do they monitor for more than a few email addresses?

It's important to find out how much data you can use each month or per day from a VPN, as they're often bundled with security software. Having unlimited data is better than having 200MB per day.

It's rare to find a bundled VPN that will unblock video services, but they do exist (such as McAfee's).

Furthermore, pick an antivirus that has the features you want: parental controls, a password manager, etc. But make sure to read our reviews as well, as they will tell you whether these features are worthwhile.

Our testing process for antivirus software

results in well-funded programs. Most will have similar features. You have to choose one.

As obvious as it may seem, we install and use the software ourselves to evaluate the user experience, as well as to test out all the other features that go beyond viruses. However, testing the level of protection from malware is a delicate art that requires expert knowledge. This is why we rely on independent testing houses, such as SELabs in the UK and AV-Test.org and AV-Comparatives in Germany. Each tests antivirus products from a range of leading security companies.

In a multifaceted test process, not only are antivirus products examined for their ability to detect malware using traditional, signature-based methods (defined as using a database of known malware types), but also for their ability to block brand-new, unknown malware. If a piece of malware does get through, these companies also test how well the security products clean it up.

You can get free antivirus software, but we've focused on paid-for products here. A paid antivirus program offers better technical support and more comprehensive security features than a free one, but free is free, and some free packages are still as powerful as paid ones. Some Internet security suites go further, offering firewalls, parental controls, identity theft protection, and more.

In addition to PCs, most of these packages will also work on Macs. Also check out Macworld's round-up of the best antivirus for Mac.