I recently purchased a brand new pc and wanted to get a good antivirus for it, but dont know where to start. I also have an old laptop i wanted scanned and any viruses(if any) cleared off that laptop also so i can give it to my gf. Any help is appreciated.
Hello,
Any of the programs listed in our wiki at https://old.reddit.com/r/antivirus/wiki/index#wiki_anti-virus_.28aka_anti-malware.29_developers would be a good start.
Also, be sure to read this section on independent testers of security software: https://old.reddit.com/r/antivirus/wiki/index#wiki_understanding_antivirus_software_tests_and_testers
Lastly, see the https://old.reddit.com/r/antivirus/wiki/index#wiki_securing_your_computer section of the wiki for additional tips for increasing your computer’s security.
Regards,
Aryeh Goretsky
I have used Microsoft Defender and Malware bytes and I haven’t had any problems.
The absolute best antivirus is your own common sense, don’t download weird shit or click on sketchy links and you should be safe. Other than that bitdefender is pretty good
I’m on 30-day trial with Bitdefender Total Security, so far it’s great and doesn’t cause issues, it comes with VPN, don’t know how it is, haven’t tried it yet.
Usually, either Kaspersky or Bitdefender are top recommended. There are also F-secure or ESET which are more lightweight but still have good detections. (Using F-secure currently)
This sub’s wiki lists some good AV’s. https://www.reddit.com/r/antivirus/s/sNz3RmsT0u
Its not easy to pick like a “best AV money can buy” because a lot of them are really good and offer good protection. Word spreads fast now and virus signatures are updated rapidly so anything which is more than a couple weeks old will be detected by everyone.
Some platforms do a lot of extensive testing on retail AV’s and generally Kaspersky’s is considered the best because of its zero day protection capabilities and its ability to read virus signatures. And it doesn’t throw a lot of false positives and keeps resource consumption low on the PC.
But any of malwarebytes, F-secure, Bit defender and sophos are all very good as well and you can go for them too.
The one to avoid would be McAfee, it’s really terrible. Norton and Avast/AVG have some very wierd marketing tactics which makes me dislike them, more of a personal opinion here, but theyre still decent. Not as good as the others. And norton was recently suspected to be a cryptominer.
Windows defender & Avira aren’t terrible but theyre nowhere near the products i listed.
Why haven’t I heard anyone say eset? I’ve used nod32 for ever. No problems sailing the seas.
In terms of protection and level of configuration Kaspersky AV is the best consumer AV you can buy hands down. Light on resources too.
Kaspersky Premium. You get unlimited VPN and password manager for free.
You can look at the latest test results here Latest Tests - AV-Comparatives in terms of free and paid Bitdefender and Kaspersky are probably the best only issue with Kaspersky might be the whole Russia thing if that isn’t an issue for you than its good
I’ve used Kaspersky + nordvpn on all PCs and phones for as long as I can remember… No issues this far
Quite genuinely unless you are downloading a bunch of sketchy shit off the Internet, you will not need more than good ol Windows Defender. If you are actively downloading sketchy programs (ahem 
) then I will recommend either Malwarebytes or Kaspersky
Common sense or being security conscious.
You must compare for best antivirus , then you should go a head…
While I am using Totalav, … you may try too
check av-test.org
They do proffessional android and windows antivirus tests every 2 month
Same, one of the most affordable and highly rated products. Coming up on a least a year now of using it.
The VPN is limited to 200 MB a day by default, my NordVPN license is expiring soon and Newegg was/is running a BF/CyberMonday on Bitdefender VPN Premium at $20 a year. I snagged 5 years worth and still paying less than 2 years of Nord. It’s based on Aura Hotspot Shield VPN which I think other AVs also license for their VPN backend.
Literally what I use
Systweak Antivirus? You have to be fucking kidding me
Norton and McAfee in one recommendation?
Gotta be the absolute worst anti virus anyone has ever recommended. They’re more malware than the malware they try to stop.