It’s not easy to select the most effective antivirus software. There are a lot of things to think about, such as how many devices you want to safeguard, what features are important and whether the tool will use excessive system resources. It is also important to avoid false positives — tools that incorrectly identify and block safe programs. The good news is that there’s a wide range of trustworthy programs on the market with some of them being more affordable than others.
Our antivirus comparison chart provides an overview of the market by displaying the total protection, performance and False Positives scores derived from different independent lab tests. You can filter results in order to find specific AV tools according to their name, or compare them by a range of criteria. Included are the price, the number of devices covered, and if applicable, an annual subscription fee.
Some of the most well-known brands in the AV industry are Avast, AVG, ESET and Trend Micro. Avast’s free AV tool is widely used, while AVG has a very solid subscription-based tool that comes with lots of additional features. ESET provides a range of tools that offer a variety of features, including network security that are usually included in more expensive antivirus tools. Some users are concerned over the recent scandal that has surrounded marketing and data sharing.
The Trend Micro brand is a well-known name that is known for its top Mac malware detection. The company’s antivirus program is quite affordable and its Internet Security Maximum Security adds the ability to manage passwords and a secure vault for files.