For most people, we recommend sticking with your operating system’s built-in antivirus. Both Microsoft Defender and XProtect provide effective real-time malware protection. Combined with some common-sense strategies for staying safe online, these tools can protect you from most malware and some other online threats. We recommend AVG for free, multilayered cybersecurity protection. AVG Free Antivirus includes real-time malware protection, easy scan scheduling and helpful device optimization tools. You can also get the AVG Secure Browser for free, which blocks various types of trackers to protec
Best Free Antivirus 2026: Keep Your Devices Safe With These Free ToolsIn our 2026 testing, we were impressed with how the competition improved, making it a tight race. Bitdefender earned an Editors’ Choice award as the best antivirus for the second year in a row, thanks to its consistently low resource usage and excellent security scores from third-party testing labs. But in 2026, the competition heated up thanks to Malwarebytes making major strides since our 2025 tests. The biggest difference for most people is the better value of Bitdefender’s family plans, which cover 25 devices instead of Malwarebytes’ 20 devices. Malwarebytes impressed me with its low reso
Best Antivirus 2026: A Tight Race, but Two Providers Lead the Pack… Antivirus software used to look for known threats Since the early days of personal computing, antivirus software mostly worked through recognition. Security companies studied malware, carved out unique signatures for known threats and pushed those updates out to users. …
… Moreover, the best free antivirus tools often use the same antivirus engines as their paid counterparts, ensuring high-quality malware protection. However, paid antivirus software often comes bundled with other cybersecurity tools that can be beneficial for some people. …
… It's easy to comfortably assume that antivirus software and other cybersecurity tools will protect you from malware , but scammers are still finding workarounds to steal our data. …
… CNET's latest antivirus survey shows that 88% of US adults with a laptop have taken action against potential malware over the past year. Among computer users who came across malware, 60% manually deleted the file or closed the website or pop-up, while 35% immediately ran an anti-malware scan. …
… Show more See at Bitdefender Add to compare Pros Low resource usage for background performance and active scans Robust set of cybersecurity tools, including privacy and dark web monitoring Identity theft protection is available for international users Windows optimization tools High-quality live ch… …
… So you’ll get the same malware protection, including easy scan scheduling, using a free antivirus as you would from a paid antivirus. As such, the main advantage of premium antivirus software isn’t the antivirus itself, but the additional cybersecurity tools it comes with. …
… Bitdefender antivirus features, plans and pricing: Excellent options for users at all budget levels Bitdefender’s antivirus software offers real-time protection from viruses and other malware, scheduled and on-demand scanning tools, plus security suites with additional features like scam detection … …
… Malwarebytes Antivirus Buy at Malwarebytes Score Breakdown Performance 9 /10 Security 10 /10 Customer Support 8 /10 Usability 9 /10 Value 8 /10 Features 9 /10 Pros Low resource usage, including during active scans Comprehensive cybersecurity coverage, including identity theft protection for interna… …
… Enable antivirus software Windows and MacOS both come with built-in, free antivirus tools. Windows has Microsoft Defender, an antivirus tool that scans downloads for signs of malware and runs frequent automated scans for viruses. …
… Google Play Protect scans apps for malware and is the main layer of device security on Android phones, with some manufacturers providing additional security tools like Samsung device protection . iOS doesn't use a specific antivirus software, but protocols like sandboxing -- which keeps apps separa… …