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I tested the most popular antiviruses on the market on multiple Windows 10 devices, and I rated them on malware detection, internet security, and overall value. I found ten Windows 10 antiviruses which were the best of the best. Even if they had decent malware detection rates, many of them kept giving me false positive scan results.
Others either slowed down my PC, were too buggy, or were extremely overpriced. Norton is the gold-standard of antivirus software. The antivirus engine — powered by artificial intelligence AI and machine learning — is excellent at protecting against all cybersecurity threats.
Norton also offers a range of browser extensions designed for internet security, all of which performed really well in my tests — blocking all phishing links and malicious sites that I tried to access.
The scanning engine is pretty lightweight — I was able to watch movies and edit videos while the antivirus scanner was running without any drain on my CPU.
But after trying almost all other antivirus software , this was the one we decided to keep. The software is fast and easy to use, and Norton guarantees that all PCs will remain completely protected against cybersecurity threats. If you need a high-powered Windows antivirus, Norton is the best there is. Download Norton Now. Bitdefender offers some excellent additional features as well, including comprehensive anti-phishing protections, a lightning-fast VPN limited to MB per day , and some of the best parental controls on the market.
Bitdefender caught more phishing sites in my testing than most competitors, the VPN removed geo-strictictions without a significant speed drop, and the parental controls made it easy for me to filter unsafe content and receive alerts when my children left a predefined safe location. Bitdefender Total Security delivers complete malware protection with a cloud-based antivirus backed by machine learning.
You can try out Bitdefender risk-free with a day money-back guarantee. Download Bitdefender Now. My girlfriend and I both tested these features on our Windows 10 devices.
The Startup Manager feature made it really easy to remove all of these unnecessary startup programs — which sped up the startup time by around 4 minutes. The junk cleaner found over 8 GB of useless files that were clogging up my hard drive, so I could actually make room for my video software. TotalAV has 3 plans — Antivirus Pro comes with the anti-malware engine and the optimization tools, and it covers 3 devices. Internet Security adds on a VPN, and it covers 5 devices.
Total Security adds on an ad blocker and a password manager, and it covers 6 devices. And all TotalAV purchases come with a day money-back guarantee. TotalAV is my favorite antivirus for device cleaning and optimization tools. The antivirus protection is really good, and it makes cleaning and speeding up PCs really simple — even my non-tech girlfriend found it easy to use.
You can test it out using the day money-back guarantee. Download TotalAV Now. McAfee Total Protection has an excellent malware scanner — detecting over Plus, the firewall provides active protection against network-based hacking threats. McAfee Total Protection is a great value, offering tons of excellent features for up to 10 devices including Androids, Macs, and iOS devices , as well as an excellent discount for 2-year subscriptions.
McAfee offers excellent malware protection along with a huge variety of additional security features. McAfee also comes with useful extras like system tune-up tools, a file shredder, and identity theft protection US users only , has one of the most affordable 2-year plans of any antivirus on my list, and provides a no-risk day money-back guarantee. Download McAfee Now. Outdated programs can expose systems to threats, so I was happy to discover that Software Updater identifies outdated programs and automatically updates them.
Avira is definitely one of the most reliable antivirus programs around — its perfect detection rates are hard to beat. It is powerful, yet extremely lightweight at the same time. My favorite extra feature is the Software Updater, as it makes life so much easier by automating the boring yet important task of keeping software up-to-date! Download Avira Now. BullGuard offers a really good anti-malware engine with some decent extras and a unique game booster which optimizes PC performance during gaming.
Performance boosting aside, BullGuard also offers some other internet security protections, such as:. The firewall is really good, but the parental controls failed to block most of the inappropriate content in my testing.
The most basic package — BullGuard Antivirus — is just the antivirus and the game booster, and it only covers 1 device. BullGuard has a good malware scanner, a decent range of extras, and an advanced game booster that increases frame rate and decreases load times during gameplay. Download BullGuard Now. Panda Dome has a good antivirus scanner and a few unique security features that are really useful. Panda Dome made it super easy for me to encrypt really important work documents behind a secure password to safeguard them from malware and ransomware.
The Rescue Kit disinfects PCs that are already blocked by malware — this is useful for those emergency situations where a device is completely inaccessible. Simply load the Rescue Kit onto a USB drive, plug in the USB drive into the infected device, boot it, and Panda will automatically erase malware and make the device usable again. Download Panda Dome Now. Kaspersky provides a secure malware scanner for Windows along with some excellent additional features and a very intuitive dashboard.
But the multi-device plans for up to 10 devices including Mac, Android, and iOS are a much better value. Kaspersky Total Security is a top-level security program that is super easy to use and navigate. Download Kaspersky Now.
Malwarebytes also has really good phishing protection, with near-perfect detection rates, as well as a decent VPN. That said, Malwarebytes is similarly priced to Norton and Bitdefender , both of which provide significantly more cybersecurity protections. Download Malwarebytes Now. Trend Micro has a good malware scanner and decent internet security tools for Windows users.
Trend Micro has a good cloud-based malware scanner as well as decent extras like data breach monitor and email phishing protection. Download Trend Micro Now.
ESET provides an advanced anti-malware engine and diagnostic tools for security experts — while ESET is a good choice for highly tech-minded users, most users should look elsewhere. ESET is a good anti-malware tool with some unique security features — the best value plan is ESET Internet Security which also comes with a day money-back guarantee.
ESET provides secure antivirus protection along with some unique features for advanced users. If comprehensive system usage reports and device encryption tools sound like an appealing extra, then ESET is a great choice. If you have no idea what those features are, then check out one of the other programs on my list. Cylance is an ok choice for users without any previous experience using an antivirus, but there are much better choices, even for non-technical users. Cylance provides a good AI-based malware scanner and not much else.
Cylance is available for up to 10 users, and it offers a day money-back guarantee. Download Cylance Now. Yes, most Windows 10 computers come pre-installed with Windows Defender, which is much more useful now than it was a few years ago.
However, it does not provide the same malware protection that the other antiviruses on this list do. But if you keep any kind of sensitive info on your computer — logins, passwords, banking info, photos, etc. While there are a few free Windows antiviruses that do a decent job of protecting your PC , none of them will fully protect all of your data. Antiviruses like Norton and McAfee have a huge range of internet security features that make sure your computer and all of your most important data is fully protected from the latest cyber threats.
All of the antiviruses on this list will run smoothly, quickly, and without performance issues. The top Windows 10 antivirus of — Norton — will not slow down your PC system at all, regardless of how you use it. Many antiviruses cover multiple operating systems across Windows, Android, iOS, and Mac devices, including most on this list. All of these antiviruses have been ranked and rated for Windows, but they all have other OS support which is equally as impressive.
RON Romanian leu. Professional Reviews. Affiliate Commissions. Reviews Guidelines. Short on time? Comes with a VPN, parental controls, secure storage, and a password manager. Get the best Windows 10 antivirus here off first year, terms apply. Here are the top Windows 10 antiviruses for 1. McAfee — Secure antivirus with a PC optimizer and web protection.
Avira — Lightweight antivirus with great extra features. Frequently asked questions about antiviruses for Windows. Offers advanced protection at the network layers — blocking malware before it can be delivered to your device. But this software is far too complex for most home users, and it lacks many additional features that other antiviruses provide for the same price. Avast and AVG, which are owned by the same company, were alleged to be selling user data to third-parties. You can read more about the allegations here.
Are free antiviruses good enough? Will an antivirus slow down my computer? Share It: 0. About the Author Alex Kassian Software developer and tech enthusiast. About the Author Alex Kassian is a software and tech developer who regularly travels around the globe for both work and pleasure. He loves testing different antivirus programs and other cybersecurity products to find out which ones offer the best protection.
