Hi, you’ll find a list and tests at : https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/
Personnaly, i use eset 
Would I need antivirus software if it’s for my son’s gaming PC? The only thing I let him download are games from Steam and Xbox Game Pass. Is the PC still at risk if that’s all it’s used for?
No one really knows this but Trend micro believe me nothing will get past it setting it up is tricky and cost quite a few $$
I’ve been using BitDefender for years now, I don’t notice any issues on Windows PC’s. Mobile (Android & IOS) are buggy as hell. BitDefender offers Parental Features that don’t really work, a lot of people have already complained about it to BD, but not much is being done about it over the years. The AV/Firewall is solid, year after year BD scores top marks for finding/flagging threats, I can confirm, I’ve never had issues over the years. The VPN works, but other VPN providers do a much greater job with transfer/ping when tunneling. The GUI is simple to use for technically challenged folks. BitDefender does install a Plug-in for all your web browsers that blocks a ton of tracking/advertising network traffic. They do have a simple free version that does plenty of work on its own before needing to spend $$$. I have used Trend/Macafee, AVE, Kaspersky, and Windows Defender at other IT Jobs. Still keep going back to BitDefender for personal use. Paid subscriptions come in single/multi pack license options and are sensible for Family discounts. I can recommend Windows Defender if you stick to normal web browsing though.
Bitdefender looks good on many sites but they are based in Romania which is a pro-Russian government. They might fall into the same category as Kaspersky.
im Mac user but I heard from my friend that windows defender was good for protection
I think windows defender with windows latest version update
Not for my threat model: I want active file scanning, Trojan ID, quarantine, and erasure; root-kit id and deep clean heuristics that rip em right out of the registries, and ransomware mitigation in the form of regular backup capabilities, and ID theft protections, vulnerability scans, privacy and security optimization functionality (including registry cleanup, temp cache deletions, cookie wipes, the works), secure file shredding, personal encrypted files vaults, a password manager that I can use as my primary hub with extensions in all major browsers.
Fully integrated web protection that stops malicious redirects, malicious downloads, phishing attempts, insecure website certificate notifications, and a SANDBOXED browser not just on banking apps, but with my entire browser whenever opened. Give me anti-phishing for emails, dark web monitoring for important emails, numbers, and other records. Compromised password monitoring. Look outs for crypto mining Trojans, and other PUAs, plus stick as hell as many Firewall rules robust enough that I don’t neeed to worry about bad actors or their toys ever compromising my machine.
I want whatever virus suite the Pentagon + NSA + CIA use together, all buildout for me by members of US cyber command TAO unit masterminds.
What is the closest I can get to the above. Prices isn’t a limit, and I will happily purchase small business or enterprise level software as long as it is as stone cold code killer with a firewall that would make the Great One in China seem like a child’s frivolous sandcastle
You dont need one now. Windows defender literally does what others do. User awareness is enough , stay out clinking bad links and stay safe.
If the virus strong enough no antivirus is gonna stop it for you. Most just scam you in the of protection but ultimately it lies on the user.
¨Just don´t get out of the house and you won´t get mugged!¨ Some advices given here are from the past decade…
The pandemic changed the online environment by a lot. Techniques have become more accessible and known to bad actors because they needed to reach us when nobody was out on the streets to keep stealing from us.
Yes, good awareness and common sense are still key but they don´t suffice anymore.
I use Bitdefender for over 3 years on all my devices. Stealthy, effective and doesn´t impact performance or battery life. I expect prices to go up now that Kaspersky is out of the market and there is one less competitor.
I am a Compliance Officer and I use all AVs in my daily work. The amount of false positives you get from the likes of Avast, Avira, AVG, Norton and the so called AI based scanners is very high, leading more to panic than protecting the users. Some even use these false positives to their advantage because they think the users feel protected when they see how much their AV ¨blocks¨… Shameless from companies meant to protect and which have access to all of our files with the purpose of scanning them for security reasons.
I use Windows Defender and from time to time I do scans with Malwarebytes free version.
Windows defender, ad blockers, and common sense.
I’ve lived by avast free for well past a decade but tbh theyre getting really bloaty nowdays
-do custom install, uncheck literally everything extra.
-turn on silent mode in settings
-turn off notifications
Also the free version is fine, id only pay if i chose to keep it after a year of the free to support the company
Can’t say for you but I never needed one ( not even windows defender ).
Windows defender.
Or you don’t need nothing more than that or there’s no AV that can solve the problem.
Can we make this a sticky for this sub already? Asked so many times, like every other day. Windows Defender is all you need these days. FireFox + Adblockers are nice to have too. But for the most part Windows Defender is really all you need.
You can try K7 Antivirus. It won’t slow down your pc
I use avg free version. I manually scan with malwarebytes. And every suspect file i download i upload it to virustotal.com before using it.
I also have the avg extension for opera.
linux, mac OS…
In Windows: Defender and an IQ higher then 80
Bitdefender is the way to go