Computers have changed almost every aspect of our lives, from helping students learn and assisting in monitoring patients in hospitals and controlling crucial manufacturing processes. The increasing dependence on computers and devices has also led to a rise in cyberthreats, such as malware, viruses and ransomware. Antivirus software detects these threats and prevents them from causing harm to your computer or stealing your personal information.
When choosing an antivirus software it is essential to consider its virus-scanning capabilities and, if it comes with an internal fire barrier, and how it performs in independent laboratory tests. You may also want to consider its customer support, how often it updates and the amount of devices it can protect. Some programs, like Norton come with additional features that will help you to prevent identity theft and safeguard your privacy online.
The top programs offer several options for protecting your data such as heuristic detection which is a method of identifying patterns in behavior typical of viruses or malware and signature matching, which checks files against a list of known malicious software. Some programs also utilize sandboxing, which isolates suspicious files and runs them in a closed virtual environment where they can’t cause harm.
A few of the top antivirus software is available for download. However, they might not have the same features as paid alternatives. Bitdefender’s premium version has parental controls, a file shredder, as well as a password manager, but its free version scored very well and also comes with firewall. Similarly, Malwarebytes’ free version received top marks in AV Test for 2023 however it fell short in our tests for usability. Intego Mac Internet Security X9 provides a robust combination of tools (VirusBarrier and NetBarrier) that caught and killed the most malware-related threats in our test.