Programme antivirus

Though these threats are similar to others in many ways, they can be much harder to detect. Furthermore, once your computer is infected, these threats can be almost impossible to remove. Exploits get their name because they literally exploit vulnerabilities in a system, software, or web browser in order to install malicious code in a variety of ways.

Anti-exploit measures were developed as a shield against this method of attack, protecting against Flash exploits and browser weaknesses, including new exploits that have not been identified or vulnerabilities for which patches have not yet been created. Ransomware emerged on the malware scene to spectacular effect in Ransomware made a name for itself by hijacking and encrypting computer data, and then extorting payments as it held the data hostage.

Originally, both these threats resulted in the development of dedicated anti-exploit and anti-ransomware products. In December , Malwarebytes folded anti-exploit and malicious website antivirus protection into the premium version of Malwarebytes for Windows. We have since added anti-ransomware for even more advanced anti-malware protection. Artificial intelligence AI and machine learning ML are the latest stars in the top antivirus and anti-malware technology.

AI allows machines to perform tasks for which they are not specifically pre-programmed. AI does not blindly execute a limited set of commands. ML is programming that's capable of recognizing patterns in new data, then classifying the data in ways that teach the machine how to learn.

Put another way, AI focuses on building smart machines, while ML uses algorithms that allow the machines to learn from experience. Both these technologies are a perfect fit for cybersecurity, especially since the number and variety of threats coming in every day are too overwhelming for signature-based methods or other manual measures.

Both AI and ML are still in developmental phases, but they hold immense promise. In fact, at Malwarebytes, we already use a machine-learning component that detects malware that's never been seen before in the wild, also known as zero-days or zero-hours.

Other components of our software perform behavior-based, heuristic detections—meaning they may not recognize a particular code as malicious, but they have determined that a file or website is acting in a way that it shouldn't.

In the case of business IT professionals with multiple endpoints to secure, the heuristic approach is especially important.

We never know the next big malware threat, so heuristics play an important role in Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection , as does AI and ML. Together, they create multiple layers of antivirus protection that address all stages of the attack chain for both known and unknown threats.

From desktops and laptops to tablets and smartphones, all our devices are vulnerable to malware. Given a choice, who wouldn't want to prevent an infection instead of dealing with the aftermath?

The best antivirus software alone is not up to the task, as evidenced by the regular stream of newspaper headlines reporting yet another successful cyberattack. So, what should you do to stay safe?

What kind of cybersecurity software — antivirus software or anti-malware software — should one choose to address a threat landscape that consists of legacy viruses and emerging malware? What is the best antivirus program for you? What's needed is an advanced cybersecurity program that is flexible and smart enough to anticipate today's increasingly sophisticated threats. Malwarebytes for Windows fulfils this need for advanced antivirus security along with Malwarebytes for Mac , Malwarebytes for Android , and Malwarebytes business solutions.

Malwarebytes offers one of the best antivirus programs to protect computers against malware, hacks , viruses, ransomware, and other ever-evolving threats to help support a safe online antivirus experience. Our AI-enhanced, heuristics-based technology blocks threats that a traditional computer antivirus isn't smart enough to stop. For an additional layer of antivirus protection, consider Malwarebytes Browser Guard.

It's the browser extension that stops annoying ads and trackers. Plus, it's the world's first browser extension that blocks tech support scams. Industry watchers have cited Malwarebytes for Windows for its role in a layered antivirus protection approach, providing one of the best antivirus programs without degrading system performance. It removes all traces of malware, blocks the latest threats, and is a fast virus scanner.

Regardless of the cybersecurity software you choose your first line of defense is education. Stay up to date on the latest online threats and antivirus protection by making the Malwarebytes Labs blog a regular read. The official Malwarebytes logo The official Malwarebytes logo in a blue font. Online Privacy. Business Business Solutions.

Get Started Find the right solution for your business See business pricing Don't know where to start? Help me choose a product See what Malwarebytes can do for you Get a free trial Our team is ready to help. Partners Explore Partnerships.

Partner Success Story. Resources Resources Learn About Cybersecurity. Malwarebytes Labs — Blog. Business Resources. See Content. With our Firewall Manager you can optimize the protection with just one click.

Our Email Protection , available for the Pro version, scans emails for these dangers. You can protect yourself and your devices from viruses, ransomware, banker Trojans, and other types of malware with our free antivirus for Windows.

We will continue to provide updates until the end of While we encourage you to upgrade to Windows 10, we still offer protection if you decide to continue using Windows 7 for a while.

If your computer or laptop operates with Windows 10, download Avira Free Security, the best free antivirus for Windows Our next-gen AI Technology with cloud-based threat detection provides real-time protection and blazing fast virus scans. Avira is the pioneer of the freemium business model, offering free privacy, security, and performance tools for a wide range of platforms.

Our free antivirus uses the same real-time virus scan engine as the pro version. The pro version brings extra features, such as unlimited VPN traffic, limited to MB per month in the free version, and automatic software updates, but you can enjoy a carefree digital life completely free of charge. If you are looking for extra convenience, you can check out our all-in-one premium solution, Avira Prime.

Download the award-winning free antivirus for Windows. Home Avira Antivirus Windows. Avira Free Antivirus for Windows Award-winning protection, and free forever Top antivirus: blocks spyware, adware, ransomware, etc. Editors' rating: Rating: 5 stars. Award-winning technology that helps protect millions of users.

Top product Advanced malware protection Top malware protection Best performance Best usability. Download for free Download for free. Real-time updates via the cloud Stronger together: every secured device is as a sensor, which detects emerging, never-seen-before attacks. Light and fast Avira has one of the smallest footprints in the industry — with virus definition updates lighter than most other antivirus products.

The best antivirus protection With over 30 years of security experience, Avira offers superior detection, with additional web protection and repair capabilities. Made in Germany. Downloaded by millions. Rating: 4. But most antivirus packages nowadays include more than just an antivirus scanner — they come with features that add additional protection, like a network firewall, a virtual private network VPN , a password manager , and parental controls among a lot of other things.

Because the more secure your device is, the less likely you are to get hacked or expose your sensitive data online. So how do you know which antivirus products offer the best security, the best malware protection, and the best value? I compared the top antiviruses on the market and ranked them on security, functionality, speed, and price. Norton offers unbeatable virus and malware protection.

Norton provides excellent features across all of its packages. While the password manager is not amazing, getting all of this in one package is a really good value for an entry-level, paid antivirus.

Norton provides the best antivirus protection in Norton offers one of the strongest cybersecurity packages around — complete protection from all malicious threats alongside a ton of excellent extra features, like a VPN with unlimited data , a password manager, secure cloud storage, parental controls, and a lot more. Get Protected with Norton Now. Bitdefender has an extremely advanced antivirus engine — it uses a massive malware database together with machine learning and artificial intelligence to detect and protect against malware more effectively than almost any other competitor on the market.

During my testing, Bitdefender found and removed every single malicious threat from my system. Bitdefender caused virtually zero system impact to both my Windows and Mac laptops, even during intensive, full-disk scans. Similar to Norton , Bitdefender includes advanced settings for users who know how to customize their antivirus protection. Bitdefender has a very limited free version of its paid antivirus which is just simple malware detection.

Bitdefender Total Security offers cloud-based antivirus scanning and a wide range of cybersecurity tools for a cheaper price than most competitors. And you can try out Bitdefender risk-free with a day money-back guarantee. Get Protected with Bitdefender Now. Intego is the best macOS antivirus out there.

And its scans are fast — scanning over , files in under 2 hours. Intego has a few package options. If you need a Windows antivirus, any of the other ones on this list are better choices. Get Protected with Intego Now. TotalAV has an excellent antivirus scanner and a couple of really good extras, all inside a very intuitive dashboard — making TotalAV a particularly great choice for beginner and non-technical users.

TotalAV has a powerful antivirus engine and a good range of features inside a user-friendly dashboard — I recommend TotalAV for first-time users just needing something safe, secure, and easy to use.

And all TotalAV purchases have a day money-back guarantee. On the other hand, McAfee has some pretty good extra features. This provides an easy-to-read map of all devices on your home Wi-Fi network, giving you total control over your online security and allowing you to lock out intruders. The virus infected our Wi-Fi router, giving hackers a backdoor into our entire home network.

McAfee alerted me to this unauthorized access attempt and immediately stopped the attack! However, users who want to protect multiple devices should consider the Multi-Device plan that also includes identity theft protection for US users or the Family package which adds excellent parental controls. We've highlighted its long list of features below, together with information on how well it performs at independent testing labs.

A very impressive freebie. That's pretty good for a freebie, and why we have no qualms at all in naming it as our 1 best free antivirus download. As well as the essential security smarts, we also love the clean, friendly interface and the fact it has a track record of throwing up minimal false positives.

In fact, the list of features reads more like a fully paid premium package. It throws in identity protection, a password manager, anti-scam protection to prevent phishing attempts, and even a PC cleaner to keep your system spick and span. If there's one thing we'd change then it's the tad overeager badgering - although popups and advertisements are very common to free products, and that doesn;t prevent us from wholeheartedly recommending Avira Free Antivirus.

Review and where to download: Avira Free Antivirus. Avast and AVG haven't yet fully merged, despite the former formally acquiring the latter in mid The newly combined company says the two free antivirus products will remain separate, although there's apparently a joint AV package on the way soon.

Obviously, though, Avast now has a lot more data to work with, having expanded its effective userbase and, therefore, its threat detection network to a whopping million users. The latest edition of Avast's free antivirus - now branded Avast One Essential - adds an automatic gaming mode to mute popups and reduce system load when you're firing up a processor-hungry game, which is very handy indeed, and the interface has been given a clean new overhaul.

There's a password manager, too, which is an undeniably good addition to your security portfolio. It scores well on AV-TEST's widespread malware benchmark and continues a clean sweep against 0-day attacks — presumably that expanded detection network is really helping. Less impressive is the slight negative effect Avast has on software launch times, and its slightly popup-heavy attitude.

Review and where to download: Avast Free Antivirus. Microsoft Defender formerly Windows Defender was generally seen as a bit of a joke in the not-too-distant past. It performed terribly by most measures and was a good advert for why you should really pay for antivirus. But as we explain further up this article, Microsoft Defender has come on leaps and bounds and can now legitimately be mentioned in the same company as Bitdefender, Norton and Kaspersky.

As well as very solid virus protection, Defender has extra bits and bobs like a ransomware shield, webcam protection, privacy tools and even basic parental controls and cloud backup. And the best bit No need to download a thing, just find it in your menu and get protected straight away.

Read more and see how to use: Microsoft Defender review. The paid-for version of Kaspersky's Windows security software frequently tops charts of best virus prevention solutions and AV-TEST once again gave it full marks across the board in its latest round of testing.

As you would expect, Kaspersky Free is a scaled down version of the full program - a tool that we really like more on which below. The free version ditches additional features such as privacy protection and safe payment sandboxes to concentrate on powerful, no-frills and - most importantly - free protection for your PC.

The result is a tremendously easy to use and navigate bit of software that does an effective job of keeping you protected from viruses. Using the nuts and bolts real-world scanning engine of the paid-for suite, Kaspersky Free is fiendishly hard for viruses and trojan horses to break down.

And we love that it doesn't constantly pester you with nudges to upgrade to the full version. But, ironically, we will just for a moment, because Kasperksy Anti-Virus isn't expensive to buy and yet affords much better protection to your PC or PCs. Review and where to download: Kaspersky Free. Marketing itself as "business-grade security", Sophos Home does a little more than most free antivirus software, and actually seems better suited to families.

You get standard virus protection and anti-malware protection, along with browser tools like anti-phishing and, most importantly, content control.

Combined with central management of up to 10 PCs, this means you can effectively lock down your kids' browsing options. Although Sophos Home has always had desktop notifications, there was no premium version of the software for it to encourage an upgrade to. That changed in February with the launch of Sophos Home Premium. Review and where to download: Sophos Home. Each entry in this list has been carefully chosen for its business features, such as remote installation and central management.

The best business antivirus software will have enterprise-level protection against threats, but that doesn't mean they have to cost a lot of money, either. The price per installation can sometimes be cheaper than even our recommended best antivirus packages. Avast Business Antivirus Pro An excellent business antivirus suite, giving you various tools such as virus protection, Firewall, email protection, anti-spam and the ability to sandbox applications for complete security.

Avast Business Antivirus Pro as opposed to the standard Avast Business Antivirus also includes Sharepoint and Exchange protection, as well as a number of tools for your servers. Bitdefender products are loved by the independent testing labs, highly rated for malware detection, removal, performance and usability. Most of the features work automatically — anti-malware, firewall, web advisor, URL filtering — but you can also customise the product to control user actions.

Symantec Endpoint Protection Symantec's first benefit is the company's Insight file reputation technology, an effective way to detect and block even the very latest undiscovered threats. Other layers of protection include virus protection, behaviour monitoring, intrusion protection, a firewall, and the 'Power Eraser' to remove stubborn threats and repair your system. Avira Antivirus for Endpoint This is Avira's main small business product. It takes all the core features you'd expect — antivirus, baseline network protection, web filtering — and extends them with file server protection and optimisation, along with application whitelisting and blacklisting.

The desktop side of the package has all the usual quality Kaspersky modules — antivirus, antispam, a firewall, more — but the mobile security technologies are even more impressive. Mike began his career as a lead software developer in the engineering world, where his creations were used by big-name companies from Rolls Royce to British Nuclear Fuels and British Aerospace.

He now covers VPNs, antivirus and all things security for TechRadar, although he still has a secret love of quirky open-source and freeware apps which find brand new ways to solve common problems.