Battle Which antivirus do I get?

[Vanya123]

Hey guys, I recently got my laptop reinstalled, now which antivirus should I put? I care about security the most and I can afford to pay thats not a problem

 

[ZeroStrawberries]

There are plenty of options. Testing out a trial version would be ideal. My top pick is either ESET or Kaspersky, but some other software could be better suited for you, so try a few different trial versions and see if that program works for you or not.

 

[HarborFront]

Just make sure the AV/AM can work properly (or supports) the browser

Maybe someone should list what AV/AM works with what browser(s)

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Some option to try:

After all my tests an reviews of last year's products, I am ready to give some of them an improvised award.

The first category is Best Free Protection.

Awarded are:

1. Microsoft Defender + ASR rules
This configuration not only provides free protection with no alerts and nags, but also features very effective behavioural-based/ML detection, quick reaction to new threats and reduces the attack surface to a minimum (in a home environment). It can easily be coupled with tools such as Malwarebytes Browser Guard or Bitdefender TrafficLight to reduce exposure to phishing and other malicious URLs.
The ASR rules can be enabled via @Andy Ful Configure_Defender.

2. Kaspersky Security Cloud Free

Kaspersky Security Cloud Free provides excellent protection at no cost and is quiet, with no alerts and nags. Though attack surface reduction is not available, effective detection and web antivirus will be sufficient to most users. Quick reaction time to new threats, large user and cloud base and vast amount of innovation behind every layer of defence make this product an excellent choice.

3. AVG Antivirus Free

The free AVG antivirus includes effective Web-Blocker (Web Shield), ransomware protection shield, Cyber-Capture and hardened mode to protect against unknown executables. However, the product displays more alerts than usual and this makes Microsoft Defender, and Kaspersky Security Cloud Free a much better choice.

Second category is Best Paid Protection:

Awards go to:

1. Kaspersky Internet/Total Security or Kaspersky Security Cloud
Kaspersky offers an unmatched level of protection coupled with high performance and ease-of-use. No area has been overlooked/over-developed on the account of others and this makes Kaspersky the perfect all-rounder.
Overall Rating: 5/5

2. AVG Internet Security

Together with the high detection already included in the free version, Internet Security features Password Protection Shield, Remote Connection Shield, Webcam Shield and Fake Wesbites Shield.
Though some of these are gimmicky, others like Password Protection and Sensitive Data protection can reduce the risk of exfiltration in the event of malware evading other layers. Very effective behavioural blocking, quick reaction time and above-average scripting protection render this product sufficient to protect a home user.
Overall Rating: 4/5

3. Bitdefender Total Security

The product shines with great performance and protection and large array of features. However, slower reaction to new threats than the other two opponents + hit and miss performance of ransomware remediation, place this product last with the lowest rating.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Most Progressive & Loved for 2020:

1. F-Secure Safe
No bloatware, no hassle, huge improvements in performance area and privacy consciousness ensure this product the first place in this category.

2. ESET Smart Security

This is another product with no bloatware, great web-filtering , light on system resources. Effective signatures and machine learning keep ESET tough on threats and easy on users.

3. Trend Micro Maximum Security

Not too popular amongst users, but Trend Micro has greatly improved the performance of their products in the 2021 edition. The product is very easy to use, rarely shows any alerts and when it does, they don't require an action. There are not too many features that divert from the main purpose of protecting Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of data and Web-Protection is highly-effective.

Great list by @McMcbrad with free and paid options (under spoiler bonus content) here:

User Feedback - Kaspersky Total Security/Kaspersky Cloud Security Free

[/spoiler] [/SPOILER]

malwaretips.com

Like @NihonSwede suggested: always do a trial on your actual system before you buy anything.

 

[enaph]

I suggest you post your config here: Computer Security Configuration so we can advise the best option for you.

 

[rain2reign]

I agree with Pablozi here.

Although, I have used almost all of them at this point just for the fun of it and see what I could break, I like breaking things, and I have come to prefer Eset and Emsisoft myself. From which I currently use the latter myself for a few years already. If you don't mind a set and forget with a little user-dependent interactions I could recommend it.

 

[Divine_Barakah]

Personally I would go for AVG internet security which offers decent protection. The hardened mode is also amazing.

 

[tipo]

Personally I would go for AVG internet security which offers decent protection. The hardened mode is also amazing.

likewise! thanks to @McMcbrad `s review i trust and use a very good product once again.

 

[upnorth]

Hey guys, I recently got my laptop reinstalled, now which antivirus should I put? I care about security the most and I can afford to pay thats not a problem

One section of several I can highly recommend, is MTs malware Hubs statistic report section.

Security Statistics and Reports

Discussions about statistics and tests for different security products.

malwaretips.com

 

[Ink]

Hey guys, I recently got my laptop reinstalled, now which antivirus should I put? I care about security the most and I can afford to pay thats not a problem

You can share your Computer Security Configuration, and edit as needed if or when you make any changes to it.

 

[SomeRandomCat]

I highly recommend Kaspersy Total Security or Cloud Security. Good all around and easy to use.

 

[MegenM]

I am using Bitdefender for the past couple of years. So I would recommend Bitdefender Total Security.

 

[Dhruv2193]

from my pov. install the trials of
1. Emsisoft
2. Eset
3. Kaspersky
4.Norton
and see which is best.

 

[alakazam]

I recommend Avira or Panda.

 

[Divine_Barakah]

Personally I would go for AVG internet security which offers decent protection. The hardened mode is also amazing.

While AVG and Avast offer decent protection, I will no longer recommend them to people because of their privacy violations if I may say.

Personally, I have tried many solutions out there such as McAfee, Trend Micro, Bitdefender, Bullguard, Malwarebytes, F-Secure. All vendors will protect you and choosing the "best" product is purely up to you. For me, I want the product to be light (no to little performance impact) and more importantly to be cheap (pricing). McAfee is very very cheap and covers unlimited devices. Its Web Advisor is very effective. Bullguard is also cheap and offers good protection as it is using Avira signatures and cloud and I would personally choose it over F-Secure for F-Secure is very expensive.

So in a nutshell, choose a product that you like and that does not slow you down.

 

[ZeePriest]

I would recommend Kaspersky Total protection as it offers excellent protection and at the same time it's very light on your system.

 

[XLR8R]

Hey guys, I recently got my laptop reinstalled, now which antivirus should I put? I care about security the most and I can afford to pay thats not a problem

I'll recommend only five if you don't want too many compatibility issues, bugs and headaches: BullGuard, Kaspersky, G-Data, F-Secure and Vipre. If you're the type who can keep monitoring your AV and proactively redress/report bugs, you can also go for Avira and AVG/Avast in addition to these five.

 

[Minimalist]

If money is no issue and I was choosing I would choose between Kaspersky, ESET and Emsisoft. I would test them all and then decide which is best for me.

 

[Cortex]

The price difference in different countries is also a factor - ESET for example is a great AV but not cheap in the UK, AVAST & AVG/Mcafee can be found very cheaply as can Kaspersky, but in my experience latest K can be a bit slow on my other half's lappy, so depends on what level PC you are using, no AV slows this PC down much - Don't pay over the odds as all the AV's in this thread will do a good job, & if you use Google/Facebook/Amazon any AV privacy concerns fade into the background compared to any social media.

 

[ForgottenSeer 72227]

There's a lot of great options to choose from, with many already being mentioned. The best advice really will be to trial each product yourself and see which one you like most. Keep in mind that every AV have pro's and con's...none of them are perfect, nor are any one of them able to protect you 100% of the time. In saying that, most major companies will do fine, including WD and the built in security within W10.

Always keep in mind that your overall security will in large part be based on your overall security habits. Poor habits lead to infection no matter which program you are using. Good habits on the other hand will reduce your chances of getting infected significantly. You can still get infected regardless, however, your chances are much lower by comparison. Doing things like having proper backups of all your data will do more for your security than any AV will.

Every computer is different, as is everyone's use cases...hence why it's so important to try out these programs for yourself. Some may find x product slow, others may find the same product fast. Some find y product annoying, others not so much. End of the day it's your system and your money, so you have to be the one happy with it!