The best antivirus software doesn’t only shield your computer from malware – it should also protect you from hackers, dodgy websites, and other online threats. It should also offer a range of additional features, too, such as a VPN, password protection and phishing detection. There is a wide variety of options, starting with basic antivirus software that focus on eliminating viruses to comprehensive suites that offer all the essentials, plus additional features such as identity theft protection and a password manager. The majority of these are sold as yearly subscriptions, so be sure to look around before making your decision.
Kaspersky is a household name read in the world of antivirus, but it also has privacy issues that haven’t been resolved due to suspicions the company is connected to the Russian government. Still, it has impressive antivirus protection in AV-Comparatives tests and has a remarkable feature set. In addition to standard security tools like a firewall, it offers brute-force and zero-day exploit protection, which will help prevent you from being a victim of attacks targeting your usernames and passwords or your bank information.
Malwarebytes is a different alternative. It has a good reputation for malware detection, and has a great set of security tools. It’s a top heuristic detector and behavior monitoring, as well as an extremely secure VPN. It is a little more expensive than other premium offerings, but it comes with a simple interface and an impressive number of additional features like dark web scanning and a virtual keyboard.