We call it antivirus, but security apps actually protect you and your devices from a lot more than viruses. And it’s more important than ever to install and use these apps because threats are everywhere.
Everyone knows to be careful of email attachments, but it’s easy to fall for scams that trick you into clicking on links in social media and in messages from people you trust, but are being impersonated.
And if you do inadvertently tap on a link and hand over personal details because you think you’re giving them to a genuine, reputable website, there’s a chance your ID could be used fraudulently or your bank account emptied.
And all of this is why we recommend getting top-notch security software that offers more than simply antivirus.
Modern security software can warn you of fake websites (and links in messages that lead to these sites), remember different passwords for each account, warn you when your accounts may have been compromised, keep your kids safe online and much more.
We recommend you install security apps on your phone and tablet as well as your laptop to help protect your money and your identity, along with your photos, documents and other important files.
In this article, you’ll find everything you need to know about choosing and buying security software. It’s all subscription based, and each of the packages here can be installed on several devices, whether they’re PCs, phones, laptops or tablets.
Our current pick of the best antivirus is Norton 360 with McAfee Total Protection a very good alternative.
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Top antivirus in 2023
1. Norton 360 Deluxe
Pros
- Excellent malware protection
- ID protection
- Unlimited-use VPN
Cons
- Backup only for Windows
- Limited features on iOS and macOS
Price When Reviewed:
$49.99 (1 year, 5 devices), $104.99 subsequent years
Norton 360 Deluxe is so called because it really does offer all-round security that can protect your key devices as well as alert you if your logins are ever found for sale on the dark web, giving you an early heads-up of potential trouble and the opportunity to change your passwords.
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.
However, not all of those features are available on all devices. You won’t find parental controls for macOS, for example, and cloud backup is only for Windows. As usual, there aren’t a whole lot of features for iPhones.
The good news is that the core malware protection is superb. In AV-Test’s most recent report, Norton 360 scored top marks for protection, performance and usability.
Norton 360 Deluxe costs $49.99 for the first year ($9.99 per device) and $104.99 thereafter.
The price of this protection in the UK is £29.99 for the first year, which is £5.99 per device. As with almost all antivirus software, that’s a discounted rate for the first year: upon renewal it will cost you £89.99 (£18 per device), which is a little higher than some of its rivals.
Read our full
Norton 360 Deluxe review
2. McAfee Total Protection
Pros
- Very user-friendly
- Unlimited-use VPN
- ID protection service
Cons
- Ineffective parental controls
- No kill switch in VPN
Price When Reviewed:
US$39.99 per year (2 years, 5 devices), $119.99 subsequent years
McAfee Total Protection has an airy, easy-to-understand user interface and an integrated VPN service which offers 50 locations and unlimited data. Many security suites have a VPN which limits you to just a few hundred MB per day.
McAfee’s malware protection is among the best, and it’s easy to know when you need to do something to protect your PC (such as updating apps) thanks to useful, comforting alerts.
With UK subscribers now benefitting from ID protection, and subscription options covering all your devices, Total Protection can be great value if you have that many to protect. The price above is for five devices, but the extra cost to protect more is very reasonable.
If you’re in the US, get Total Protection here.
For those in the UK, Get McAfee Total Protection here.
Read our full
McAfee Total Protection review
3. Bitdefender Total Security
Pros
- Excellent malware protection
- Useful management portal
Cons
- VPN limited to 200MB per day
- No identity protection
Price When Reviewed:
$39.98 (1 year, 5 devices), $89.999 subsequent years
Bitdefender’s Total Security is an excellent product. Like most rivals, Bitdefender charges a lot less than the standard price for the first 12 months, bringing it down to £34.99/$39.99 and this covers up to five devices.
In AV-Test’s latest report, Bitdefender’s Internet Security caught 100% of the 0-day malware attacks thrown at it, and also scored top marks for overall protection and performance.
In terms of extra features you get a cross-platform password manager, but parental controls are basic, and there’s still no ID protection. The VPN is really only a trial version that lets you have 200MB of data per day, which means it’s hard to recommend Bitdefender over McAfee and Norton given that it costs the same.
You’d need to upgrade to the full version of the VPN if you want unlimited data (but there are better choices in our VPN roundup if you’re prepared to pay for one).
Get Bitdefender Total Security here.
Read our full
Bitdefender Total Security review
4. McAfee+
Pros
- Simple to use, even if you’re not tech-savvy
- Unlimited device support included
- VPN with unlimited traffic included
Cons
- No option to pay monthly
- VPN doesn’t unblock streaming services
- Some features aren’t available in some countries
Price When Reviewed:
From $139.99 (individual); $159.99 (family)
There’s little doubt that simple antivirus protection isn’t enough in 2023. This is why McAfee+ exists: it doesn’t only protect your files and ID: it’ll help you recover from hacks, ID theft and even lost wallets.
In the US there’s the option of an Ultimate tier (which is better than ‘Advanced’ that’s available elsewhere). This adds up to $1m of cover for identity theft and stolen funds, which offers the sort of peace of mind you won’t find with most other security apps.
McAfee isn’t alone in having a ‘mega-suite’, though. Norton offers a similar one that includes the same individual protection in the event of a breach or scam. What we love about McAfee+ is that, on top of this, it has ‘gameified’ security to encourage good behaviour without lots of unnecessary jargon, making it far more accessible to the less tech-savvy who want to do the right thing but don’t know where to start.
Read our full
McAfee+ review
5. Avast One
Pros
- Powerful, effective antivirus and privacy tools
- Unlimited VPN usage
Cons
- No parental controls
- No password manager
Price When Reviewed:
$29.99 / 5 devices I $48.99 / 30 devices
Avast One is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. It’s one of the friendlies security apps and gives you notifications that you don’t need a degree in computer science to understand. It offers excellent malware protection across all devices and has a decent VPN, too. That’s primarily a privacy tool, but it did also unblock BBC iPlayer in our tests. Oddly, it wouldn’t let us watch a different Netflix library to our home one, though.
The slightly confusing aspect of Avast One is that it’s free if you download the Essential version. The main limitation here is that the VPN will allow you to use 5GB of data per week only. That’s pretty generous compared to most free VPNs, but Avast does collect and store some data such as connection times and how much you download which isn’t ideal.
The paid-for versions of Avast One come in Individual and Family subscriptions. The former lets you use it on five devices, and the latter up to 30. The weekly data cap is also removed from the VPN.
The fact you get so much for free with Avast One Essential makes it hard to recommend paying for it, and it’s worth noting that even the paid-for versions don’t have a password manager or any parental controls. The suite includes basic ID protection that tells you if your email address has been included in any data breaches, but you can get more robust ID protection elsewhere.
Read our full
Avast One review
6. Eset Smart Security Premium
Pros
- Solid malware protection
- Lots of settings for power users
Price When Reviewed:
$59.99 (1 year, 1 device)
On the surface, ESET Smart Security has a simple interface that hides an impressive (but also hugely complex) raft of features.
Of these, only the poor parental controls and in-need-of-an-overhaul firewall configuration let the side down. And it’s worth noting that there’s no provision for identity monitoring / protection, nor a VPN.
Fortunately, the core malware protection – which includes anti-ransomware – is absolutely solid and while there is a bit of a negative impact on performance, the worst is when installing apps – something you won’t do all that often.
You can get ESET Smart Security Premium for £49.99 here for one device and one year. If you’re in the US, it’s $59.99. It’s inexpensive to add licences for extra devices, so it’s considerably better value if you need to protect more than one computer. If you don’t need a password manager or the ability to encrypt files, folders and USB drives, then opt for ESET Internet Security which is cheaper.
Read our full
ESET Smart Security Premium 2021 review
How to choose the best antivirus software
Security software, including antivirus software, detects, and then prevents, disarms or removes malicious apps or programs, which are often referred to as viruses.
While we still refer to it as antivirus, that’s only one feature of modern internet security software. That’s because security is no longer just about countering viruses. Although they very much still exist, viruses are just one type of the malware now prevalent on the web.
Arguably more important is security of your personal information and protection for your files from ransomware. Security exploits aren’t about show-off hackers massaging their egos, anymore, but about making money.
The modern day criminal doesn’t have to be a hard-line hacker, either. They can buy all the software they need on the dark web to do it with almost no effort.
What you need to look for, then, is antivirus that will protect you from viruses, ransomware, other types of malware (such as spyware). The best also include ID protection, but some are much better than others. Check what they actually do: will they monitor for more than just a couple of email addresses?
VPNs are often bundled with security suites, and here you need to check how much data it lets you use per month or per day. Unlimited is best, and 200MB per day is not really useful at all.
It’s rare to find a bundled VPN that will unblock video services, but they do exist (such as McAfee’s).
Beyond this, pick antivirus with the features you want: parental controls, a password manager and other things. But, of course, do read our reviews as well as they will tell you if these features are any good or not.
How we test antivirus software
We install and use the software ourselves to evaluate the user experience as well as testing out all the additional features which go far beyond viruses. Testing the protection offered from malware, however, is a subtle art that requires serious expertise. For this reason we use test results from independent testing houses including the UK’s SELabs as well as Germany’s AV-Test.org and AV-Comparatives. Each rigorously tests security apps from a number of leading security companies.
The multifaceted testing procedure looks not only at how well an antivirus product can detect malware using traditional, largely signature-based methods (that is, employing a database of known malware types), but also how well it can block brand-new, unknown malware caught fresh from the wild. These companies also examine how well security products clean up after an infection if a piece of malware does get through.
We’ve focused on paid-for antivirus products here, but you can get free antivirus. Paid-for antivirus usually offers better technical support and more comprehensive protection features than free ones, but free is free and some free packages can still give paid packages a good run for their money. Internet security suites go further still, offering firewalls, parental controls, identity theft protection and more.
If you’re looking to protect a Mac, most of the packages here will also work on Macs. But you can also read our sister site Macworld’s round-up of the best antivirus for Mac.