The best antivirus software can help you keep your devices safe from malware, ransomware and phishing. It also guards against spyware that snoops over your browsing history and passwords, and it can stop data breaches from damaging your personal information. There are a myriad of programs available, and a majority of them cost more than you’d prefer to pay.
We’ve tested over 300 of them to discover the most effective protection against viruses for your budget. We’ve scoured for strong and easy-to-use software that protects you without causing a slowdown to your computer or deterring you from using it. And we’ve made sure the software is updated with its malware database frequently.
The top packages come with a complete set of anti-malware tools, as well as extra features such a VPN or password manager as well as parental controls. Some offer a dark-web monitoring service which checks if your email address, credit card details or any other personal information have been stolen from you by a malicious.
Our winner is Norton 360, which offers great all-round protection with excellent malware detection rates, as well as impressive extra features like the ability to manage passwords and a VPN to protect your privacy when surfing online. The service provides dark web monitoring in real-time, as well as cloud backups.
It’s one of the few security programs that are available for Macs (most other products only cover Windows PCs). In tests conducted by the independent lab AV Comparatives, it performed well. It’s expensive at around PS2/month, but there’s a free trial.