A good antivirus is vital to be able to connect to the Internet safely. Every time more and more complex threats are hidden in the network, which end up endangering our security. Therefore, regardless of the operating system we use, in addition to using common sense, and being careful, it is necessary to have security software. However, what is the best antivirus? Will it be able to protect me while I use Windows 10? Answering these questions is what AV-Test does .
AV-Test is an independent platform dedicated to analyzing the protection, usability and performance of the main antivirus on the market. In total, this company periodically tests 22 popular security solutions to help us find the one that offers the best protection, the one that slows down the PC the least, or the easiest to use.
These are the best antivirus for Windows, free and paid, that we can download today.
Best antivirus of September 2020
As these new security tests show us, the best antivirus that we can install, today, with a perfect score in performance, usability and, above all, security in Windows 10 are:
- AhnLab V3 Internet Security 9.0
- Avira Antivirus Pro 15.0
- F-Secure SAFE 17
- G Data Internet Security 25.5
- Kaspersky Internet Security 20.0
- McAfee Total Protection 23.0
- Microsoft Defender Antivirus 4.18
- Norton 360 22.20
The security programs that have obtained a 6 out of 6 in protection, but have failed in performance (that is, those that will make our PC slower than normal) are:
- Avast Free AntiVirus 20.5 & 20.6
- AVG Internet Security 20.5 & 20.6
- ESET Internet Security 13.1 & 13.2
- Trend Micro Internet Security 16.0
Although these antivirus will protect us more or less without problems, we should not urge them because of the negative impact they will have on the computer. Especially Avast and AVG (which are the same AV with a different name and another interface) since Avast (the owner of both) has admitted that it collects and sells user data for its products, especially with CCleaner.
Finally, the antivirus that offer good protection, good performance but generate too many false positives that can confuse us are:
- Bitdefender Internet Security 24.0
- BullGuard Internet Security 20.0
Security programs that you should never install in Windows 10
But not all security programs protect us equally. Although most of the analyzed AVs have scored perfect in terms of protection, there are others that have not been able to detect and block all threats. Obviously, these must be avoided at all costs, since they will only serve to endanger our PC.
There are some who, although they have not achieved a maximum mark in protection, have remained at the doors. What’s more, AV-test has also awarded them its ” Top Product ” award for offering 5.5 out of 6 protection, and a perfect score for performance and usability:
- VIPRE AdvancedSecurity 11
- Total AV 5.8
Malwarebytes Premium 4.1.2 has also scored 5.5 out of 6 in protection, although the performance and usability of this antivirus leave a lot to be desired.
Then, the antivirus that we should not install under any circumstances on our PC are:
- K7 Computing Total Security 16
- eScan Internet Security Suite 14
- PC Matic 3.0
- Thor Premium 2.5
- Cylance Smart Antivirus 2.0
The latter is the one with the worst score, letting 30% of the virus samples analyzed pass. More than an antivirus, it is a sieve.