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Security

You want to make sure your antivirus software will block most malware. We verify this by analyzing third-party lab tests from organizations like AV-Test and AV-Comparatives, which run extensive antivirus testing multiple times a year. We look for antivirus tools that consistently receive a protection score of at least 5.5 out of 6 from AV-Test and an online protection rate of at least 97% on AV-Comparatives.

Most premium antivirus tools provide protection from additional threats like ransomware, which locks you out of your devices until you pay a ransom, and phishing, which attempts to gain access to your personal data through manipulative means. Pay close attention to whether these protections are included in any antivirus software you’re considering.

Trustworthiness

It’s essential to choose a company you can trust to keep your data safe. The company’s privacy policies should state whether steps are taken to anonymize your information. The privacy policies should also detail what types of data it will share with third parties, when it will share that data and what types of companies data will be sent to.

You should also be able to find information about whether the antivirus company will share data with law enforcement or other government authorities, and if so, when it will share that data. Ideally, the company should only share this information when legally required to do so. Moreover, the information a company may be forced to hand over when complying with legitimate legal requests should be limited in scope, meaning there’s little to no data collection beyond what’s required for an account. 

Most antivirus companies’ privacy policies fall short specifically regarding VPNs. Almost all of the antivirus companies I tested claim to have no-logs VPNs, meaning they don’t record any information about your browsing sessions. However, most lack transparency reports and third-party audits, key trust signals we look for when testing VPNs. As such, I recommend buying one of CNET’s recommended VPNs, even if your antivirus includes a virtual private network.

Features

At a minimum, your antivirus should give you real-time virus protection, the ability to easily run manual scans and automated scans -- the same features you’d get if you stuck with Microsoft Defender. Alternative antivirus tools generally offer simpler scan scheduling as well, which you won’t get from Microsoft Defender.

Additionally, some antivirus software includes device optimization tools. These can help you clean up junk files to improve performance and customize your settings to maximize your device’s efficiency.

System resource use

Antivirus software must run continuously to keep your device safe -- and it should do so without interfering with your daily activities. As a general rule, I recommend avoiding anything that uses more than 10% of your CPU during background operation. The antivirus tools I’ve recommended used 5% or less of my test computer’s CPU, with some using as little as 1% or even less.

Running a scan will use more resources, but some antivirus tools, like Bitdefender, can do this pretty efficiently -- using just 10% or less of my CPU during tests. Other antivirus software, like Norton, used more resources -- around 40% of my CPU at the peak -- but completed its scans rapidly enough to make this only mildly problematic. I recommend avoiding antivirus software that uses more than 40% of your CPU during scans, especially if those scans take more than 10 minutes, to avoid prolonged interruptions.

The percentage of CPU power used by your antivirus will depend on your setup, so it can be difficult to know how much a program will affect your device performance until you’ve used it. Thankfully, most antivirus companies offer a money-back guarantee, so you can spend a few weeks testing the software on your device and switch it out for something else if you need to. 

Protection for all of your devices

Many antivirus packages limit coverage to a certain number of devices. Bitdefender, for example, has a maximum of five devices on all individual plans. You’ll want to pay close attention to these limits if you have multiple devices.

The best antivirus companies generally offer antivirus software for MacOS, iOS and Android as well as Windows. This lets you protect your phone, tablet and other devices you use frequently. However, some features may be limited to one operating system (like the Windows optimization features in Malwarebytes).

Free vs. paid antivirus software

The best free antivirus software is typically created by the same companies as the best premium antivirus software using the same high-quality antivirus engine. 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. Many antivirus packages include things like browser safety extensions, privacy monitoring and dark web monitoring. Some antivirus companies, like Bitdefender and Malwarebytes, also offer identity theft protection and insurance.

VPNs and privacy

Most antivirus companies provide VPNs as part of their cybersecurity suites. However, these VPNs performed poorly during my tests, often causing significantly more than our recommended maximum speed loss of 25%. Most VPNs from antivirus-first companies lack advanced privacy features like obfuscation or Tor Over VPN servers. We recommend buying a separate VPN for better privacy and performance.

Issues with Avast

Once upon a time, Avast was the gold standard of antivirus protection; it was the first thing folks in the know -- including me -- installed on our computers. But in 2024, the FTC fined Avast $16.5 million to settle charges that Avast had been selling customer data collected by its safe browsing extensions and antivirus software from 2013 to 2019. This data was allegedly sold through Jumpshot, an Avast subsidiary.

Avast closed Jumpshot in 2020 after a statement released by then-CEO Ondřej Vlček acknowledged the loss of trust caused by this series of events. No further allegations of illicit data sales have been levied against Avast in the intervening years. We hope and trust that this means Avast has not resumed Jumpshot-style activities and that it will at some point rejoin our list of recommended antivirus tools. However, we haven’t re-tested Avast in recent years, so we can’t actively recommend it at this time. 

Issues with Kaspersky

Kaspersky’s antivirus software is highly rated by third-party labs like AV-Test. However, in 2024, the Moscow-based company was banned from selling to US citizens or to anyone located within the US, whether directly or indirectly.

According to Gina Raimondo, the Secretary of Commerce at the time of the ban, this decision was made because “Russia has shown time and again they have the capability and intent to exploit Russian companies, like Kaspersky Lab, to collect and weaponize sensitive US information, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to safeguard US national security and the American people.”

Kaspersky’s own statement insisted that it "does not engage in activities that threaten US national security and, in fact, has made significant contributions with its reporting and protection from a variety of threat actors that targeted US interests and allies." Despite this, Kaspersky remains banned in the US. As the majority of our customer base is in the US, we have opted not to test (or recommend) Kaspersky for as long as this ban is active.

How we tested antivirus tools for Windows

My testing process begins with analyzing antivirus companies’ plans and pricing to determine overall quality. If plans provide solid value, I move on to hands-on assessments, using a 2025 Lenovo Thinkpad to test antivirus tools for usability, system resource usage and scan speed. Additionally, I research companies’ test results from third-party labs like AV-Comparatives to determine the antivirus software’s effectiveness.

I follow these tests up by installing and running each company’s additional cybersecurity tools to determine their speed, usability and effectiveness. This includes a modified version of our usual VPN testing process, with speed tests set to different server locations to calculate average speed loss.

Finally, I examine companies’ privacy policies to determine the data collected, how well user data is secured and when or if user data is shared, including policies on sharing with law enforcement. I also research each company’s history for data breaches or instances of misusing customer data, ensuring that all of the companies on this list treat user data with care.

We analyze each antivirus tool’s website to evaluate its features, built-in security tools and bundled products (like a VPN and password manager). We also note the operating systems and number of devices covered by each plan, then compare the prices to similar offerings from other reputable antivirus companies.

Finally, we look at test scores from AV-Test, a third-party lab that evaluates antivirus tools for protection, performance and usability. An antivirus must have scores of at least 5.5 out of 6 in all three categories during all tests from the previous years to be included on this list.

McAfee

McAfee’s antivirus is great at defending you from malware, provides unique privacy tools for reducing your digital footprint and touts unlimited device coverage. It boasts a 99.3% online detection rate in AV-Comparatives’ September 2025 tests as well, but this benefit is offset by the high resource usage and lengthy scan time. 

McAfee’s digital footprint cleanup tools excel. Personal Data Cleanup finds your information on data broker and people finder websites, and, if you’re on the right plan, lets you send data removal requests with a single click. The online account cleanup tool connects to your email to find accounts you’ve registered for, with results going back decades -- my own search found over 450 accounts spanning almost 20 years. You can then send account closure requests or, if you’re on the right plan, have McAfee send those requests for you.

Many McAfee plans come with unlimited device coverage at no additional charge, which few competitors can beat or even match. This can make it beneficial for users who have many devices and folks seeking to secure their families’ devices. But identity protection will only be extended to additional users if you buy a designated family plan.

The big downside of McAfee is its high resource usage: McAfee used between 70% and 90% of my CPU power during my tests. Worse, most of my deep scans took over an hour, with the first one coming in at a full five hours -- and leaving my computer effectively unusable for that entire time. This may not cause problems for users with high-powered machines, but it’s a significant issue for everyone else.

Antivirus protection from McAfee starts at $30 for the first year (renewing at $60 a year) for one device. However, I recommend investing in McAfee Plus Advanced, which is $90 for the first year and renews at $200 a year, to access McAfee’s online data cleanup tools.

Read our McAfee antivirus review.