11 most effective antivirus software for Windows 2023

Anti-virus software is one of the most essential applications on any system. The reason is because viruses, malwares and trojans tend to grow faster and more dangerous, so users are also interested and find the best security options for their systems before attacks. attack on the network system.

However, the problem that arises here is that more and more free anti-virus software and programs are "born", so choosing the best anti-virus software and program is important.

In the article below, Network Administrator will introduce to you the top 11 best and most effective anti-virus software of 2023 on your computer, highly rated for its popularity, updates, and not taking up a lot of resources. computer resources.

Top best anti-virus software on computers:

Feature
Scan for viruses on demand	∨	v	v	v	v	v	v	v	v	v
Scan for viruses according to access	v	v	v	v	v	v	v	v	v	v
Website review	v	v	v	x	v	x	v	x	x	x
Block malicious URLs	v	v	v	v	v	v	v	v	x	v
Detect fraud	v	v	v	v	v	v	v	x	x	v
Detect viruses by behavior	v	v	v	v	v	x	v	x	v	v
Scan for security vulnerabilities	v	x	v	v	x	x	x	x	x	x

 1. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is one of Bitdefender's most valuable products. It's pretty basic, but includes everything you need to protect your computer from malware, adware, spyware, and other viruses.

However, there are notable shortcomings. Web security features are quite limited, with no firewall and no parental controls. If you need any of these, you might consider using Bitdefender Total Security or the Internet Security package.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is designed as an antivirus software package for Windows. To run it, you will need at least Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, 2.5GB of hard drive space and 2GB of RAM. If you need to protect mobile devices or Mac OS, you will need to use another Bitdefender product as mentioned above.

If you use Antivirus Plus software, there are different subscription options: Buy support for up to 10 devices at a time and pay for one, two, or three years upfront.

Bitdefender is one of the highest-rated antivirus and security software providers in the world. Bitdefender's overall service is generally excellent.

The user interface is very intuitive and easy to navigate. You won't have any problems getting set up, even if you're a complete newbie in the tech scene. Besides, the Antivirus Plus package uses minimal computer resources, meaning you won't have any trouble running it alongside other programs. Of course, there are some advanced features missing, but that is very common with low-end plans.

 Advantage:

1. Achieve outstanding scores in independent lab tests and web protection tests
2. Multi-layer protection
3. Has anti-tracking feature (Do Not Track)
4. Have
5. Has a Banking protection feature (protects online financial transactions, such as shopping or paying via bank)
6. Provide a
7. Many additional features focus on security.

Defect:

1. Unlimited VPN access requires a separate subscription
2. If all real-time protections are disabled, ransomware-specific features miss an uncommon pattern.

Bottom Line : With outstanding antivirus test results and a collection of features that puts many other security tools to shame, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is a great choice to protect your PC.

Download Bitdefender Antivirus Plus trial version

2. Kaspersky Anti-Virus

Advantage:

1. Earns perfect and near-perfect scores from 4 independent testing labs
2. Achieved a perfect score in the protection test
3. Scores well in malicious software and URL blocking tests
4. Phone or live chat support is available

Defect:

1. Complementary scanning features overlap each other significantly

Bottom line : Kaspersky Anti-Virus passes experimental virus scanning tests with excellent scores. This is still a recommended choice.

3. Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus

 Advantage:

1. Get a perfect score on the malware protection test
2. Very good anti-phishing ability
3. Features anti-ransomware protection
4. Does not consume a lot of system resources.
5. Fast scanning, small size
6. Possesses many advanced features

Defect:

1. Test results are limited due to unusual detection techniques
2. Missed a specially crafted ransomware sample in testing.

In short : Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus is compact and fast, helping you not waste a lot of system resources. This tool proves to be very good at protecting against malware and can even limit the impact of ransomware.

Download Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus trial version

4. McAfee AntiVirus Plus

Advantage:

1. Protection for every Windows, macOS, Android and iOS device in the family
2. Scores well on practical tests
3. Scored excellent on the anti-phishing test
4. Includes Ransom Guard protection, PC Boost, and many other additional features.

Defect:

1. Ransom Guard missed some real-world ransomware samples
2. PC Boost web acceleration still only works in Chrome
3. Full scans are very slow on Windows
4. The Mac version has fewer features than Windows or Android
5. Still few features for iOS

Bottom line: A single subscription to McAfee AntiVirus Plus lets you protect every Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS device in the household. Other products may have scored higher in testing, but none of those options did.

Download McAfee AntiVirus Plus trial version

5. ESET NOD32 Antivirus

Advantage:

1. Scores very well from independent laboratories
2. Scores well on practical tests
3. The HIPS component blocks attacks
4. UEFI scanner finds malware in
5. Comprehensive device control capabilities

Defect:

1. Anti-phishing protection is only acceptable
2. Device control is too complicated for most users.

Bottom line: ESET NOD32 Antivirus scores well in lab and real-world tests. The collection of security components goes beyond antivirus basics.

6. Norton AntiVirus Plus

Advantage:

1. Excellent scores in independent testing and private testing
2. Capable of protecting data against ransomware
3. Includes online backup, exploit protection, password management, and other additional features.

Defect:

1. The Data Protector feature was quite poor in testing
2. Expensive
3. There is no good price when buying multiple licenses

Bottom Line : Norton AntiVirus Plus scores impressively in independent lab and real-world tests, offering many useful features. However, it is very expensive and there are no incentives for households with multiple computers.

7. Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security

Advantage:

1. Excellent scores in malicious URL blocking and anti-phishing tests
2. Multi-layer ransomware protection
3. The Pay Guard feature protects online transactions
4. Many additional features

Defect:

1. Scored quite poorly on the practical malware protection test
2. Pay Guard does not protect consistently
3. Spam filters only work with
4. There is no universal license for multiple devices.

Bottom Line: In addition to effective anti-malware protection, Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security provides multi-layered protection against ransomware, firewall strengthening, online banking protection, and more.

8. Emsisoft Anti-Malware

Advantage:

1. Scored well on the malware protection test
2. Suspicious behavior detection successfully blocked ransomware
3. Cloud Console enables full remote management
4. There is a new extension that can detect phishing.

Defect:

1. There are virtually no recorded scores from independent laboratories
2. Anti-phishing protection is not available for all browsers
3. Cloud Console may be too complicated for some people

Bottom Line : Emsisoft Anti-Malware effectively handles the basic tasks of malware protection, including ransomware, although it didn't score top marks in testing. The new Cloud Console provides comprehensive remote management capabilities for tech-savvy users.

9. F-Secure Anti-Virus

Advantage:

1. Achieve good scores on independent laboratory tests and practical tests
2. The DeepGuard feature is based on completely new malware detection, including ransomware
3. Advanced network protection capabilities
4. Reasonable and simple interface
5. Inexpensive

Defect:

1. Protection against ransomware failed against a real-world sample during testing
2. No anti-phishing components

Bottom Line : F-Secure Anti-Virus's advanced cyber protection and DeepGuard behavior-based detection system make it a powerful anti-malware tool, but its protection against ransomware missed a sample in testing.

10. Malwarebytes Premium

Advantage:

1. Achieved excellent scores for malware protection and malicious URL blocking tests in real-world tests
2. Includes protection against exploits, ransomware, and behavior-based detection

Defect:

1. Independent laboratory test scores are few and quite poor
2. Anti-phishing protection is not effective
3. The results of ransomware detection are quite confusing

In short : Malwarebytes Premium now has comprehensive antivirus capabilities and is no longer a secondary protection tool like before. The tool earned excellent scores in some real-world tests, but still wasn't rated well by independent labs.

11. Sophos Home Premium

Advantage:

1. Achieve excellent scores in real-world tests and from independent laboratories
2. Protects against ransomware, and exploits
3. Remote management for up to 10 PCs or Macs
4. Inexpensive

Defect:

1. Advanced features require special technological expertise
2. Limited parental controls and webcam protection

Bottom Line : Sophos Home Premium extends the basic antivirus program with the protection found in the company's enterprise-level products. The results are great, although some features may be too complicated for some users.

There are also some other anti-virus software that are also quite impressive such as:

1. The Kure
2. VoodooSoft VoodooShield
3. Cylance Smart Antivirus
4. G Data Antivirus
5. McAfee Gamer Security

As you can see, most of the best antivirus software above cost money to ensure many protection features. If you cannot afford to use a paid version, you can use the free versions of the major software companies we listed above.

Should combine anti-virus and anti-malware

You need antivirus software on your computer, no matter how carefully you browse the web. Intelligence is not enough to protect you from threats, and security software can act as another line of defense.

However, antivirus software itself is no longer fully secure. Therefore, the article recommends that you use an anti-virus program in combination with an anti-malware program. When combined together, they will protect you from most of the most ominous threats on the Internet today: Viruses, spyware, ransomware and even PUP programs, etc.

Is Microsoft Defender a good choice?

When you install Windows 10 or Windows 11, you will have an antivirus program running by default. Microsoft Defender is built into Windows and automatically scans the programs you open, downloads new virus definitions from Windows Update, and provides an interface you can use for in-depth scans. Best of all, it doesn't slow down your system like other antivirus programs.

In a short time, Microsoft's antivirus software has fallen behind other options on the market. But now things have changed, Microsoft Defender now offers great protection.

Use Malwarebytes in combination!

Virus removal is very important. Nowadays, it is essential that you use a good anti-exploit program to protect your web browser, which is often targeted by attackers. Malwarebytes is the recommended program here.

Unlike traditional antivirus programs, Malwarebytes is very good at finding 'potentially unwanted programs' (PUPs) and other junk software. Since version 3.0, it also contains an anti-exploit feature, aimed at blocking common exploits in programs, even if they are never-before-seen Zero-day attacks.

It also contains anti-ransomware software, to block extortion attacks like CryptoLocker. Malwarebytes' latest version combines these three tools into one easy-to-use package for a low annual fee.

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