Best Antivirus Software We've Tested in 2025: This Security Service Just Dethroned a Top Competitor

The best antivirus software is Bitdefender. Our hands-on testing found that Bitdefender has a wide range of features, a user-friendly interface and excellent performance.

Both Norton and McAfee have achieved 100% malware detection during third-party testing from AV-Test. However, new malware is created every day, and lab conditions can’t perfectly replicate real-world conditions, so the same results are unlikely in real life. Following basic internet safety best practices is essential regardless of the antivirus software you’re using.

Norton is better if you’re looking for a total security suite. The Norton 360 subscription includes high-quality antivirus software, a password manager and VPN, safe browsing tools, parental controls and 50GB of cloud storage. You can also get some identity theft protection features and 250GB of cloud storage if you get the most expensive Norton plan. Plus, Norton had better user-friendliness and performance in our hands-on testing.

However, McAfee can be more useful for users with significant assets, as it provides up to $2 million in identity theft insurance. McAfee’s plans also cover unlimited devices, which makes it a good choice if you have more than 10 devices to protect.

Microsoft Defender — formerly Windows Defender — provides good security for most users, but it only had a 98.8% malware detection rate in the most recent tests conducted by AV-Test. Norton had a 100% malware detection rate in its most recent tests, proving that Norton is better than Windows Defender.

To a degree, yes. Some antivirus programs can do things like warn you or block you from visiting a suspected phishing site. Others may automatically block suspicious emails that appear to come from a malicious sender or contain phrasing common in phishing emails. 

However, you cannot count on an antivirus program to be a failsafe solution for phishing protection. You still need to be vigilant and know what to look out for on your own when it comes to phishing because an antivirus program won’t be able to catch everything.

Any program running on your computer will require a certain amount of processing power to work, which can affect your computer’s overall performance. If an antivirus program is just running in the background, it shouldn’t affect your computer’s performance. 

When actively running a scan of your system, antivirus software can noticeably slow down your computer. If this is the case, try scheduling antivirus scans at night, or at a time when you’re not using your computer.

There is a common misconception that Macs are inherently immune to malware, but the truth is that most malware simply wasn’t created to target Macs due to their limited market share. As Macs continue growing in popularity, they’re increasingly attractive targets for cybercriminals looking to deploy malware designed for the MacOS operating system. 

MacOS has a built-in antivirus solution called XProtect that can detect and remove malware. It works in the background and updates automatically to keep up with the latest threats, but it still may not catch everything that a third-party antivirus program will. So if you want to play it safe and boost the malware protection on your Mac, it’s a good idea to add a third-party antivirus solution.