Cnet 2010 antivirus reviews

Note that Windows 10 will automatically disable its own Windows Defender antivirus when you install third-party antivirus.

If you uninstall the third-party protection, Windows 10 will turn back on its own antivirus. Norton antivirus provides industry-leading security software for PC, Mac, and mobile devices. Note, we don't think antivirus protection is terribly useful outside the Windows realm. In addition to malware and virus protection for your computer and mobile device, this antivirus suite provides GB of backup to the cloud, safe-browsing tools, a secure VPN, password manager, parental controls and LifeLock identity theft protection and fraud alert.

While not all of those services are necessarily best in their respective class, getting them all in one package is a compelling option. If you'd like to take a step up in securing your PC without taxing your wallet, it's hard to beat Bitdefender's free antivirus software for Windows The Windows security software offers real-time monitoring for viruses, malware, spyware and ransomware protection.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is easy to set up and stays out of your way until you need it. And the protection this antivirus product offers is solid.

Bitdefender antivirus software consistently earns top marks for its antivirus protection and usability from the respected AV-Test independent testing lab. The free antivirus version covers one Windows PC. Malwarebytes does protect your PC from a virus or malware attack, scoring reasonably well in recent independent testing for guarding against malware threats.

But that's not really what Malwarebytes is known for. If you find yourself in trouble, the go-to disinfectant for many is Malwarebytes. To get the antivirus company's free antivirus version, download this trial version , which "downgrades" to a no-fee on-demand cleaner with fewer features that detects and removes viruses and malware when you run an on-demand antivirus scan after 14 days.

In addition to the four antivirus apps we recommend above, a handful of other anti-malware tools are worth considering among the best antivirus protection if you find them at a better price or just prefer to use one over our picks above.

It feels like McAfee Antivirus has been around forever, first on its own in the '80s, then as part of Intel starting in , and then again on its own when Intel spun it off in And McAfee Total Protection has been around forever because quarter after quarter it creates solid, modern antivirus software that protects your PC.

In recent evaluations by AV-Test, it had high scores on both protection and performance. Maybe this antivirus provider is not as well known to consumers because of its focus on enterprise security, Trend Micro antivirus quietly brings its business expertise to the home with its Trend Micro Maximum Security tools.

Trend Micro's software earns high marks from AV-Test -- consistently scoring well for detecting zero-day attacks and widespread viruses and malware. And Trend Micro does a good job of not taxing system resources. Free version? It earns high scores for usability and offers solid virus protection. The free antivirus version of Sophos Home gives you virus protection for three Windows PCs -- using the company's high-scoring anti-malware tool -- plus a day trial of the company's malware-removal tool.

Test after test, Avast Antivirus for Windows performs well for malware detection with options ranging from Avast free antivirus software to Avast Premium Security. And we've included its antivirus in our list of recommended security app options before. But Avast was in the news for several months for its non-antivirus business, so we looked at the company, specifically reports at the end of that Avast allegedly collected user data with its browser plug-ins and antivirus software and then sold data it collected through its Jumpshot subsidiary in early In response to the reports that his company gathered and sold the details of its customers' online activities, Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek said in a statement that he understood that his company's actions raised questions of trust in his company.

To address that, Avast terminated Jumpshot data collection in January and closed its operations because the data collection business wasn't in line with Avast's privacy priorities. These newer reports follow another in from Avast that its internal network was breached , possibly to insert malware into its CCleaner software, similar to an earlier CCleaner hack that occurred prior to Avast's acquiring the Windows utility.

However, in iTunes decoding tests all three notched nearly identical scores, and in the multimedia test the basic AntiVirus was faster than its two siblings by 20 seconds.

Unfortunately, Trend Micro's efficacy is up for debate. It no longer participates in the trials run by AV-Comparatives. Keeping in mind that the data is for a test from September , but the release is actually from fall because of the security industry's naming conventions, Trend Micro had lukewarm results. It was able to detect between 90 percent and 95 percent of malware on demand, between 85 percent and 90 percent of adware and spyware on demand, but only notched one to two false positives.

Support Trend Micro offers free customer support, although if you're looking for help through the program, it will merely shove you, via hot-linked FAQs, toward the Trend Micro Web site. The Product Help link will keep you on your computer, but the rest jump you online. Once there, Trend Micro offers prerecorded video help, manuals, online chat service, and phone service.

The phone number is only listed on the Web site behind several links, and is not particularly easy to get to. Conclusion Trend Micro AntiVirus plus AntiSpyware is adequate for security, but the lack of independent test results combined with the cost and the bare-bones features makes it hard to recommend this program to any but the most die-hard of Trend Micro fans. It's hard to say what's different here from what many of the free antivirus vendors offer.

If you're set on buying Trend Micro's protection, we strongly recommend you look at the more full-featured packages. Seth Rosenblatt. This stripped-down program from Trend Micro lacks many of the bells and whistles that made its siblings worth considering.

Going by older detection and removal numbers, Trend Micro AntiVirus plus AntiSpyware offers competent if basic security protection.

However, so do many free competitors. Cinebench Shorter bars indicate better performance. Trend Micro Internet Security 4, Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 4, Standard machine 4, Multimedia multitasking in seconds Shorter bars indicate better performance.

Trend Micro Internet Security If Windows 10 is already working, why add anything else? If its built-in security suite, Windows Security, performs on par with the best of the free AV options—as we discovered in our roundup of the best free antivirus —why add the extra baggage of a third-party program?

To learn more, see our video on How to use Windows Security , or read our full review. This antivirus suite, which provides highly rated protection, strikes a nice balance between complexity and simplicity: Four category icons at the top let you dive deeper into the suite, but if all you need to do is a scan, that option is right there in the center of interface.

These days, many security suites come with extras such as a backup service for your most essential files, Android apps for mobile security, a more advanced firewall, family protection read: child restriction features, and the right to use the program on multiple PCs.

Whether you need those extras depends on your personal situation. First, we take a look at the interface to determine how easy or complicated it is. Does the interface make it easy to get at essential tools like PC scans and password managers, for example, or is everything buried under multiple clicks? Are alerts interactive or purely informational, and does that make sense in context?

We also examine the features on offer. We like this approach, as Kaspersky seems to have figured out what Norton has not: how to deliver small file updates. Plus, Kaspersky has consistently demonstrated the shortest response time to breaking new malware threats. Kaspersky still provides users with the process of creating a rescue disk, something that many antivirus products no longer offer.

And, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7 includes a process so that the operating system can revert back to a time just before an infection.

Like Norton, Kaspersky can also throttle back on system resources, depending on user activity. Unlike Norton, Kaspersky can, by default, scan only recently changed files, greatly shortening the overall scan time considerably.

Performance Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7 scored well in CNET Labs' performance tests and in third-party, independent antivirus testing using live viruses, although not always the top position. In a test scanning a single folder with compressed and media files, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7 completed it in seconds. And in boot speed, Kaspersky came in second, with a fast In terms of whether or not Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7 will protect your PC, we cite results from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations.

In the latest test results from AV-Comparatives. From CheckVir. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7 was not included in recent tests, however, when it was last tested, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6 earned a Standard rating when only the ability to search is tested, not antivirus removal. Support Kaspersky Anti-Virus 7 provides an excellent context-sensitive, in-program help file.