You’ll need more than prayer and luck—choose from our top antivirus software to stay safe.
Antivirus software is an essential tool in today’s online world. Attacks are becoming more complex, especially with the help of AI. Even the most tech-savvy and cautious people can let their guard down at the wrong time or find themselves exposed to malware, spyware, or ransomware. Antivirus protection is an essential backup against such threats.
Most systems come with security software baked into the OS, but for some, an upgrade can help simplify online protection. To help you choose a good package, we’ve identified products that offer the best protection, useful features, and minimal performance impact on your computer.
Why you should trust us: PCWorld has been thoroughly testing computer hardware, software, and services, including security suites, since 1983. For antivirus applications, we regularly evaluate popular or notable software. We consider the user experience, the strength of protection against threats (online and offline), and how well it copes with an ever-growing variety of attacks. Our guide to how we test antivirus software at PCWorld provides full details of our review process, but for the results of our work, read on.
Best antivirus of 2024 reviewed and ranked
1. Norton 360 Deluxe – Best antivirus for PC overall
Pros
- Strong antivirus protection
- Wide protection against major online threats
- Simple, straightforward features
Cons
- Performance impact on some PCs
- User interface would benefit from consolidation
- Upselling of additional services
Why we picked Norton 360 Deluxe
A great antivirus suite packs a little bit of everything you need for protection without costing a lot – that’s why our pick for the best antivirus software of 2024 still stands. Despite its somewhat clunky interface, this software’s comprehensive protection and affordability make it suitable for most users.
This plan has everything most PC users need without any extra bloat. As for antivirus performance, Norton offers robust online protection, while having a minimal impact on system resources if you don’t frequently download or copy large files. Additionally, you get malicious links and link screening, dark web and privacy monitoring, and webcam protection. Norton also offers 50GB of storage for PC apps, including cloud backups, access to Norton’s password manager and VPN, parental controls, and the ability to track down outdated software. Key additional features like the password manager, VPN, and parental controls have easy, simple interfaces without feeling obtrusive.
Overall, Norton is a great choice for those who want to consolidate their online security protection into a single software interface. It has a few quirks (namely a dual user interface, which can slow down navigation a bit), but its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, especially when it comes to the price. You’ll pay $50 for 5 devices the first year, then $120 per year after that.
Who should use Norton 360 Deluxe
Norton 360 Deluxe works for everyone – it combines all the best protection you need online, including parental controls, into one package. If you’re having trouble following the security experts’ recommendations (or haven’t followed them all yet), this collection centralizes and simplifies everything.
2. Avast One – Best overall runner-up
Pros
- Good new design
- Well priced
- Excellent performance
Cons
- Smart scan requires too much user intervention
- Avast asks to install Google Chrome
Why we picked Avast One
Avast not only offers solid protection, but also a simple, friendly interface. Put together useful extras and multi-device coverage, and you’ve got a winning addition to Avast One.
Along with top-rated antivirus protection, it offers remote webcam capture, protection against malicious websites and trackers. The Avast One plan includes dark web monitoring, a VPN with up to 5GB of bandwidth per week, and protection for passwords stored in the browser. You get utilities that help keep your computer’s drivers updated, clean your computer, and optimize your applications.
These features may be standard, and to be honest, many of them are found in competing software. But whether you’re a newbie or a security veteran, Avast makes it easy to stay on top of security. Its default settings require very little input to protect your computer, and if you want to dig in or tinker further, you still have that option.
While Avast’s software performs better than Norton’s, what keeps Avast from the top spot? The number of features for its price. Norton’s performance isn’t perfect, but it’s great for online protection, where it counts. Both software plans are priced roughly the same—Avast One costs $51 for up to 5 devices in the first year (or $70 for up to 30 devices). After that, the price rises to $110 and $150 per year, respectively. In the end, the best subscription wins.
Who should use Avast?
You’ve already installed a password manager, don’t need parental controls, and prioritize high scores on threat detection tests. Avast One lacks the first two features and gets top marks for catching both online and offline threats.
3. AVG Internet Security – Best budget antivirus suite
Pros
- Top-rated antivirus protection
- Expanded protection against malicious websites and remote attacks
- Clean, straightforward interface
Cons
- Some PCs may experience a performance hit during heavier workloads
- Several features are a bit rudimentary
Why we picked AVG Internet Security
AVG is known for its excellent free antivirus software, but there’s good reason to upgrade. AVG Internet Security not only offers comprehensive protection but also makes it easy to manage those devices. That could be valuable if you find online threats overwhelming or time-consuming.
The Internet Security program builds on the free version’s top-ranking protection against malware and Internet, email, and network threats. It also protects passwords stored in your browser; webcam takeovers; anonymous access to files containing sensitive data; malicious redirects (DNS hijacking) on websites you try to visit; and Windows remote desktop attacks. Dark web monitoring is also included. While full scans can hit budget or older systems hard, the app will have minimal impact on system resources while monitoring your system in the background.
Despite minor annoyances (such as ads for premium features), AVG Internet Security is reliable antivirus software with a user-friendly interface — and at a price of just $60 for the first year for 10 devices, it’s affordable, too. In fact, the stronger the free version is, the more solid it is to earn a recommendation.
Who should use AVG Internet Security?
You want in-depth control and comprehensive protection from your antivirus software, but you don’t want to pay extra for features you don’t want. AVG Internet Security expands on the company’s free antivirus quite well, though it lacks elements like parental controls, a VPN, and a password manager.
4. Avira Prime – Best antivirus for beginners
Pros
- Strong security with a reasonable subscription price
- Well designed and user-friendly
- Offers a host of features in the areas of security, privacy, and performance
Cons
- No subscription option for fewer than five devices
- Simplicity of app feels slightly at odds with the depth of the PC tools
Why we picked Avira Prime
Avira Prime is one of the best choices for those seeking more help with managing their PC, thanks to its simple, clear interface and feature lineup. In addition to to solid antivirus protection, it offers a password manager, unlimited VPN, and a boatload of PC utilities that (among other things) can keep apps up to date, securely delete files, and back up data.
The one major feature missing from Avira Prime is a set of parental controls. You can’t use it to filter web content or monitor device usage. It also can hit older and budget PCs hard when full scans are running, if you’ve added or changed large amounts of files. But typically, it only minimally affects system performance when left to run in the background, so most people won’t notice Avira running.
For those who want the comprehensive simplicity that this security suite offers, you’ll pay $60 for the first year, and then $105 for every year after. That first-year cost is slightly higher than our overall top pick, but if you prefer more newbie-friendly software, it’s worth the extra ten bucks.
Who should use Avira Prime
Avira Prime will likely feel best to users who want a simple antivirus suite, broad online protections, and robust PC utilities—and also want to use those latter tools for more confident management of their computer. Not every utility is a winner, but the overall set can help you identify and understand the more technical aspects of Windows and system upkeep. Parents will need to look elsewhere for controls that let them monitor and limit their kids’ PC use, however.
5. McAfee Total Protection – Best for privacy
Pros
- Good protection
- Nice features like file shredder and home network analyzer
Cons
- Mixed impact on performance
- New app design is a little scattered
Why we picked McAfee Total Protection
McAfee has been around for a long time – and the company continues to address current threats to PCs with solid results. These days, the risks have expanded beyond malware to identity and privacy issues, and McAfee Total Protection addresses these as well as ransomware and phishing sites.
IT security sets it apart from competitors, especially if you pay to upgrade the service. The program we tested included dark web scanning for lots of personal information (email address, phone number, Social Security number, passport, driver’s license, date of birth, tax ID, credit card, username and more). When applicable, the app also helps you change your password for online accounts. VPN access is also included.
Mid-tier and budget machines may see an impact on system resources when running a McAfee scan. We noticed some performance degradation during the full scan while performing a variety of common tasks (web browsing, document editing, etc.). However, you can minimize this impact by scheduling scans for the rest of the period.
Currently, McAfee Total Security is available through third-party vendors (McAfee has turned its focus to the new McAfee+ plan on its website). We still like this version because it’s cheaper – for example, a license on PCWorld’s own software platform costs $19 per year, covering ten devices per year.
Who should use McAfee Total Security?
Your personal information can be used against you online – data breaches are so painful these days that having help keep track of who has access to your information can be a relief. For anyone who doesn’t have a lot of time to handle the job themselves or monitor a separate service, McAfee serves as a central place to manage all your online security concerns.
6. Panda Dome Complete – Most feature-rich offering
Panda Dome Complete – Most feature-rich offering
Pros
- Very easy-to-understand mobile-like interface
- Contains some basic smart home network monitoring
- Month-to-month pricing option
Cons
- Good performance results but currently limited in third-party testing
Why we picked Panda Dome Complete
All deluxe antivirus suites offer extra tools as part of their package, but Panda Dome Complete particularly stands out. It also has one of the most striking interfaces we’ve seen. Similar to Microsoft’s Bing homepage, Panda Dome features a beautiful background photo, with the interface elements placed on top of it.
A whole raft of utilities come with this suite, including a virtual keyboard, advanced virus removal, an update manager for your Windows apps, a disk defragmenter, hard drive cleaner, and startup apps manager. You also get Wi-Fi protection (which lets you see what devices are connected to your network), a password manager, parental controls, and a VPN that offers 150 megabytes of bandwidth per day.
In addition to offering reliable antivirus protection, Panda had the most minimal impact on system performance during our benchmarks. So minor, in fact, that in the real-world it worked out to no difference.
As one of the most feature-rich offerings, Panda Dome Complete also one of the most expensive, too. You can purchase a subscription for $64.50 during the first year ($86 per year afterward), but that’s covers just one device. Fortunately, it only costs a little more to upgrade to a three device plan ($72 for the first year, $96 per year afterward) or five device plan ($79 for the first year, $105 per year afterward).
Who should use Panda Dome Complete
Panda Dome Complete puts a ton of features right at your fingertips—an ideal interface for those who want to dive into everything straight away. If you hate buried or oversimplified menus, you’ll feel right at home with this software.
All of the deluxe antivirus packages offer additional tools as part of their packages, but Panda Dome Complete is particularly different. It has one of the most attractive interfaces we’ve seen. Much like Microsoft’s Bing home page, Panda Dome has a beautiful background photo with interface elements placed on top of it.
The suite comes with a variety of utilities, including a virtual keyboard, advanced virus removal, an update manager for your Windows applications, a disk defragmenter, a hard drive cleaner, and a startup apps manager. You get Wi-Fi protection (which lets you see which devices are connected to your network), a password manager, parental controls, and a VPN that provides 150 megabytes of bandwidth per day.
Apart from providing reliable antivirus protection, Panda had little impact on system performance during our benchmarks. In fact, so little that in the real world it works without any difference.
As one of the most feature-rich offerings, Panda Dome Complete is also one of the most expensive. You can purchase a subscription for $64.50 ($86 per year) for the first year, but it only covers one device. Fortunately, it costs a little more to upgrade to a three-device plan ($72 for the first year, $96 per year after that) or a five-device plan ($79 for the first year, $105 per year after that).
Who should use Panda Dome Complete?
Panda Dome Complete puts a ton of features at your fingertips—the perfect interface for those who want to dive right into everything. If you hate cluttered or crowded menus, you’ll feel right at home with this software.
