- Okay, look, the market is flooded
with supposedly good antivirus software
but that doesn't make choosing a provider
that's gonna match your online habits any easier.
And yeah, protection is crucial,
so at least I'm here to offer up
some hopefully good insights for you.
(upbeat music)
All right, look, I've tested endless providers
over the years, and let me tell you
there's actually some dangerous stuff out there.
Poor detection ratesو
ad blockers that don't actually block malware
and that's not even half of it.
So today I've carefully curated an updated list
of the best anti-virus 2023 options
with pros and cons for each.
All right.
First provider up is TotalAV once considered an underdog
in the antivirus world, but truly living up to that
underdog becomes a superhero stereotype.
I mean, independent testing scores
show excellent malware detection rates,
both with 0-day threats and 4-week-old malware.
And that all means that your device is protected
against newly discovered threats
which can be harder to uncover.
Now, in my own testing, you know,
where I plant 10 malicious files
onto my PC and then run a full system scan,
TotalAV scored the highest score: 10 out of 10.
Now these were all detected in around 18 minutes
but I couldn't instantly quarantine them.
This means threats are still on my device
as the scan runs and well, could cause some damage.
Now, having said that, there is real time protection
so usually threats are determined instantaneously
and this is a crucial feature
that I could not recommend any provider without it.
Luckily, TotalAV antivirus has this enabled by default.
Performance is also important
which is why I should mention TotalAV took the longest
out of the providers I tested to finish its full scan.
But I also wouldn't say my computer was slower
with TotalAV running in the background.
And if performance is a big consideration for you,
well, they do have some system tune-up options
with their entry level premium plan, so that's good.
Now, detection rates and performance
are part of the antivirus 2023 pie,
sure, but they're only a few of the slices.
Throw in TotalAV's ransomware protection
and you've got yourself a stellar offering here.
This can be found through their browser extension feature
and when I tested it out on a PC
it detected 10 outta 10 of the malicious URLs.
But to be completely transparent, I gotta say
the Web Shield extension isn't as user friendly as I'd like
and it can be a bit of a mixed bag on mobile devices
in terms of blocking those annoying ads.
Then there are the more expensive add-ons you get
with the higher tiered plans.
This includes a fully fledged VPN
and password manager.
After seeing independent testing Institutes score
TotalAV antivirus with top marks and usability
well, I did some testing and once I installed and set it up
I noticed the streamlined dashboard in there.
This is where you'll also find your plan dependent features.
They're right under the relevant tabs on the left.
See 'em? Great.
All right, across different devices
your experience shouldn't vary too much.
The mobile apps are equal to the desktop version
being fully fledged antivirus options
right from your pocket.
The biggest difference between them, well,
the iPhone version looks like it's lacking some stuff
but that's really only
because there's built-in duplicate Apple features.
So they drop the virus scans basically.
So finally, is TotalAV worth it?
Well, there is a free plan, but oh, boy
it is really stripped back and can basically
only remove current malware from your device.
That said, to get all of the security features,
the most expensive plan is really the only option.
Now, hang on,
I know that's not always possible for everyone on here.
So if you want to get good protection at a lower cost,
will the entry level plan sits nicely at around $19
for the first year at the moment
and that's pretty average when looking
at other competing plans.
I'd say all things considered.
It's definitely one of the best antivirus 2023 options.
Now, another provider I gotta talk about
is Norton AntiVirus.
Now, I noticed that on Trustpilot
that over 60% of the reviewers gave four stars or above.
So yeah, time to do some updated research for 2023, huh?
Oh, in speaking of detection rates,
Norton has a glowing pass with av-test.org
across all major categories.
This goes back years too
and it's impressive when compared to other market leaders.
But hey, I gotta do my own test, right?
And well, Norton didn't do as well,
detecting eight out of 10 malware samples.
Now, while those tests aren't as thorough
as independent institutes,
they can give me an idea of consistency and performance.
For instance, Norton's full scan took around 10 minutes
and it was one of the quickest outta my testing.
One caveat here though was
that it was fairly heavy on my system resources.
So not exactly perfect
if you're gonna be doing heavy activities all the time
but despite having a lower score in my personal testing,
I can't deny that Norton has a lot of protection
against a whole host of threats.
All right, looking a little deeper into its capabilities
and features, the smart firewall is impressive.
It's a two-way silent firewall
so it monitors traffic going in and out, and again,
just as important as realtime protection and a must have
from any supposedly best antivirus provider.
Now, there's also this isolation mode too
which is an added security measure
that lets me browse at ease because if I do happen
to visit a harmful site,
well, it's gonna make sure no damage comes to my device
by stripping the webpage of any risky content
before it's even presented to me.
So yeah, gotta say this really
is a full cybersecurity arsenal here.
There's safe cam, which blocks unauthorized access
to your pc and like TotalAV, the password manager
and VPN are also great additions.
But it is a shame that a lot of these extra features
open up in different tabs,
meaning a beginner could get a little flustered at times.
Now, having said all that,
the main features are still accessible from here.
If you can see past this little quirk,
Norton is a fairly streamlined provider.
Scanning options can be found on the dropdown menu
under device security.
And what's really cool is your security status
can be seen here at just a glance.
The desktop version was easy enough
with an introductory guide after installation.
And with regards to the mobile apps, well,
I'd say the Android version has a couple more features
than iOS and is arguably one of the best antivirus
for Android options, but both still offered device security
and protection as you browse.
So you're good to go either way.
Norton has been called expensive at times
but I honestly just don't see it.
Despite having no free version,
their entry level plan is still currently the same
as TotalAV, just under $19 for the first year.
Okay, but do you get the same protection?
Well, it's only possible
to protect one device at this price.
And with TotalAV, well, they're a bit more generous.
Now, I will say the cheapest plan is basic and fine
for a novice, but for people looking
to protect their browsing too well, the standard plan
and above are tailored more toward advanced users,
throwing in the VPN and dark web monitoring.
Again, if you're considering this provider,
I've got updated deals in the description
for you to try 'em out.
And another really popular antivirus provider
that I wanted to do a fresh take on is Bitdefender.
And if you were about to say they've had a good run,
well, that would be an understatement.
These guys have won AV-Comparatives Product of the Year
more times than any other antivirus provider.
In their April testing, it blocked 100% of threats.
And what's cool is the virus scan is based
on a malware directory.
So in short, this means it's capable of detecting unknown
and known threats while being synced across a whole network.
All right, time for my testing.
Ah, look at that.
Nine outta 10 threats were detected,
sitting comfortably just under TotalAV
in terms of my testing scores.
Looking at duration, well, Bitdefender Antivirus
took around 17 minutes to complete a full scan.
But what's more impressive here is the low impact
that the provider had on my PC while running.
With full marks in the AV-Comparatives performance category,
I don't feel like this was a fluke.
This is all thanks
to their scans happening within their cloud.
So the impact on your PC is lowered
and it's hardly noticeable when running in the background.
All right, now looking under their cybersecurity hood, well,
there's some must-haves
like Advanced Threat Defense and ransomware mitigation.
The former is basically real-time protection
and the latter protects you against a dangerous threat
that encrypts your precious device files
and holds them captive.
And another feature
that amps up the value here is anti-spam.
Something I really appreciate since it works
with your mailbox scanning all the contents, metadata
and even the headers for signs of spam emails.
Love it.
They also have a password manager,
a VPN and even webcam protection.
Nothing groundbreaking compared
to what we've already covered, but I will say
that the system optimization tools are really cool.
They help me to clear up some space
and there's even an option to do privacy cleanup.
So Bitdefender is a reliable option with a good offering
in terms of performance focus features,
and even in security.
But what about its ease of use?
Well, once you've got Bitdefender up and running,
it's a breeze.
Just know that it does take a while to install
and get set up, at least compared to other providers.
Now their UI is nothing revolutionary.
It's a classic take on the antivirus dashboards.
And to the left, you're gonna find all the main sections
all neatly categorized in there.
Now, the desktop and Android apps, well,
they're my preferred options
cuz they are fully fledged versions
with protections in most forms.
So I'd say it's one of my best antivirus for PC options
but I really wouldn't recommend Bitdefender
to expert antivirus users who want to use it
on their iPhones.
I mean, it's fine, but it's really more of a strip back
and watered down version of what they really can offer.
And speaking of what they can offer
is all this worth the money?
Well, there's actually a totally free version,
but again just like many other free plans out there
they are basic as hell.
So I wouldn't call it the best free antivirus on the market.
The biggest negative that I can find is only being able
to protect one device
which takes us to the premium offerings.
Are they reasonable?
Well, starting currently at under $18 a year,
their plus plan is the cheapest
that I've mentioned thus far.
Even with their reputation alone and advanced architecture,
I'd say this is a great value
and you can protect three devices with it as well.
Now, another provider
that you may be surprised to see here today is NordVPN.
Yep, namely with their threat protection plan.
Now, bear with me here
and I have added this for good reason, so stick with me.
The first is that the company has a strong reputation
and excellent security background.
Second, NordVPN antivirus is a good option
for someone who wants a layer of protection
but also at an affordable price.
It gives you the ability to browse without worry
while blocking malicious trackers, ads and sites.
Sure, calling it a full antivirus
could be a little controversial
but what I do like most is
that it can detect downloaded malware.
Now do keep in mind it can only run scans
on executable files.
So it's a shame that this doesn't include Word documents
because, oh boy, those are the common ways
cyber criminals spread malware.
Now it does have real-time protection
which is super crucial and it's intuitive
and it's great that it runs all in the background.
But I do wish it had a scan option like, you know,
some more dedicated antivirus providers do out there.
Now also, I didn't face any UI quirks here,
and I think that any beginner
is gonna have a smooth experience.
It hasn't been audited yet.
So I did some testing against ransomware,
a growing threat that's become a booming industry
for cyber criminals and nor detected, woo-hoo, 10 out of 10.
They also detected eight out of 10 malware files
that I planted.
So pretty good for a new provider
and it only took under a minute.
Whoa.
And just to make things super clear,
this service has two options
depending on your device:
Threat Protection and Threat Protection Lite.
The former only currently works on Windows or macOS.
This version is more fully fledged
with the ability to scan downloaded files.
So if you're looking to use the mobile application,
well, it's called the Lite version
which checks URLs only on the DNS level
and it works only if your VPN is connected.
So it can detect malicious websites though
but it doesn't block ads or trackers.
So in general, the threat protection feature
is simple yet effective and all at a reasonable price.
Now if you've already got a NordVPN account,
it can be activated for free as well.
So go check that out.
Now, going with a particular theme here,
I wanna talk about Surfshark antivirus.
Again, a VPN provider, if that's branched out a bit
but they've done it with a different audience in mind.
I found Surfshark antivirus
to be a lot more of a cybersecurity bundle
offering a VPN, antivirus, safe search
and alerts with their Surfshark One plan.
Unlike Nord, they have a scan option
and while it isn't as lightning fast
it did detect my files in around 11 minutes.
Now I gotta say I am happy
that they've made some adjustments since my last review,
adding realtime protection
and expanding their software to macOS users.
Woo-hoo. Yep.
Now you can access Surfshark One
on most of the popular operating systems,
but sadly they don't have a firewall yet,
so I couldn't really recommend them
to die hard cybersecurity enthusiasts.
Now, I did a lot of testing with this provider recently
and I gotta say it's a streamlined experience
and a reliable option.
What I like most is that this company
has such a transparent background.
I've used their VPN for quite some time
and that alone has been a consistent experience.
So I'm really glad they've branched out here.
This plan does feel like a good value
with having so many dedicated tools,
all housed under one roof
and it's really competitively priced.
Just know that your only option is the full bundle
since you can't get the antivirus as a standalone plan.
But hey, why not cover all your bases at once, right?
Now to save you some time,
I've got two notable mentions
that I wanna quickly recommend.
Avira Antivirus.
It's a great free antivirus provider
that also has stellar premium plans
with impressive independent testing scores,
Avira successfully blocked 99.2% of threats.
But what I really like is that they pretty much offer
most of what I'd expect, real-time protection, a VPN
and password manager, and even a free version
that is simple, but a great start for beginners.
Now, having said all that, I was a little disappointed
that the free version lacks web protection.
So you might want to consider the premium counterparts
for more sophisticated protection, which yeah, yeah, yeah,
it can look more expensive compared to the other providers
that I've mentioned.
And a final shout out goes to McAfee Antivirus.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Quit screaming.
Stop jumping to conclusions here,
because McAfee has changed a lot in recent years,
and I was surprised just like many of you to see
that it does a lot more than just basic malware protection.
McAfee has a password manager of VPN
and even encrypted storage, including tools
to speed up your browsing and protect all your documents.
Now, I will say I didn't run into any problems
navigating their UI.
The scanning options are clear
but the iOS app doesn't have as much to offer
as the Android and desktop versions do.
Now, one big factor why I've added them to this list is
that the independent testing scores speak for themselves,
detecting 100% of a whole host of malware
and they boast impressive security features like a firewall.
So to be honest, looking at their pricing, yeah, well,
gets a little confusing, doesn't it?
And they aren't exactly the cheapest
on this best antivirus list.
But hey, I will say they do have so much to offer
regardless of your online habits.
Now, look, even experienced internet users still fall victim
to device hijacking or loss of data
by downloading those annoying malicious programs.
So that's not only why using an antivirus is important
but finding one that has all the features you need
for your daily activities is crucial.
Now, I can't tell you which one to get, but I can say
that all of these top antivirus options are trustworthy.
Now, whether you need a cheap and reliable fix,
like TotalAV or a lightning fast provider like Norton,
it's all gonna come down to your personal preference.
Just promise me that you will get protected, please.
And on an important note, at least for me, how did you find
our little best antivirus software video here?
And did I skip something that you were dying to know about?
What should we cover next?
You can ask those questions
and drop me a comment and say what you gotta say.
Write down in the comments.
All right?
I'd love to provide you with all the best possible content
and the only way to know that is by you.
All right.
So don't forget to subscribe to our channel
for more videos just like this and more
and I'll catch you in the next one.