The best antivirus software for staying protected online

Over the years, Bitdefender has earned its reputation for being reliability when it comes to virus detection. That trend continues with Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. It's solidly dependable for the vast majority of its users.

In terms of its most basic features, it has a strong antivirus component, real-time behavioural monitoring for any pesky suspicious files, and ransomware protection. Scanning speeds are reasonably efficient with a quick scan taking a matter of seconds, and a full scan gradually taking less time the more you use it. For many, that's all you're ever going to need, but Bitdefender throws in a few more features along the way too — malicious website blocking, a password manager tool, and ransomware detection are also included.

Overall, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is the kind of software you can leave running in the background and it simply just works. It also doubles up well as a form of security suite, rather than simply virus protection tool.

Long gone are the days when households owned just one computer. Odds are that everyone in your home has their own PC or laptop, as well as a smartphone. Buy McAfee Total Protection once, and you'll have a license for all of these systems. It's possible to buy individual protection for half the price, but it's a poor value for any household with more than one device that needs protecting. McAfee Total Protection isn't entirely foolproof but it's a well-priced solution for multiple devices.

Its scan takes an average length of time compared to its competitors, but it does a solid job of detecting most threats. Similarly, the built-in firewall detects most threats automatically, without much need for you to tweak or fiddle around with any settings (unless you want to, of course). In all cases, McAfee Total Protection hardly slows down the system it's installed on, amply reminding you of why it's worth the investment. Being able to use one program across multiple devices is a huge help in simplifying security matters at home, and it's pretty effective too.

Creeping up on 30 years in the field, almost everyone has used a Norton Antivirus software tool at some stage. The company's basic product – Norton Antivirus Plus – offers enhanced security for your devices and a wealth of additional features. However, while this may beguile enthusiasts, it can potentially confuse novices.

That's immediately noticeable from the outset with Norton, which urges you to install not just the antivirus software, but multiple browser extensions. As part of its ability to protect you from dangerous search results, there's Norton Safe Search, along with Norton Toolbar, which assigns each site a safety rating, and Norton Identity Safe (its password management tool). Such a wealth of options continue throughout the software, which is why it can be a little confusing for some, albeit very secure. It's higher-tier security suite, Norton 360 Standard, also includes a VPN and SafeCam mode that detects if anyone tries to access your webcam.

Technology has progressed to the point today where no antivirus software slows down a normal PC that drastically, but they can still definitely have a negative impact on the performance of older PCs. Webroot's antivirus software bucks that this with a super small footprint that means there's no reason not to install it, even if your computer has seen far better days.

Occupying only about 15MB of disk space, Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus takes predictably little time to install. Impressively, its system scan is also as speedy, taking less than a minute. Impressively, there's room for a sandbox feature too, an unusual addition for any antivirus package, that lets you run dubious programs in an isolated environment to see if they are actually worthy of your suspicion or not.

The sole issue arises from the lack of independent test results for Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus, but it's a relatively small issue in something that, anecdotally, has consistently garnered good results.

A familiar name in the sector, Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security is a lot like the others, bar some very crucial new features. Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security approaches things a little differently than others, ensuring its ransomware detection is particularly effective.

Much of that is down to Trend Micro's Folder Shield component. It blocks all access to protected files by any program or app that isn't on your dedicated trusted list. By default, it covers the usual documents and pictures folders, but you can extend it to anything else of your choosing.

Elsewhere is the addition of Mute mode. This pauses all Trend-Micro-Antivirus+-Security-related activities as well as Windows Update while you're otherwise preoccupied. Playing a game and don't want to be disturbed by a pop-up? This is where you go, and is exactly why Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security is so good for gamers.