One of the basic premises of the security of the computers of private users is to have a good suite or security solution, commonly known as antivirus. There are more and more malware threats in the form of adware, ransomware, phishing, crapware and a long etcetera that forces us to exercise extreme caution. Fortunately, the range of antivirus for Windows is wide and we even have the integrated Windows Defender solution. To help you make the decision, we analyze the latest AV-Test results to find out which is the best Windows 10 antivirus in 2021 with maximum malware protection.
Finding the best antivirus for Windows 10 is not easy and requires hundreds of tests with thousands of malware samples. Therefore, we use the results that are published every two months by AV-Test to be able to offer you the best possible recommendation. In this case, they have analyzed almost 40 security suites that have faced more than 200 samples of zero-day attacks, and almost 20,000 known threats , browsing tests and copying of thousands of files to measure the impact and 1.5 million sample to detect false positives.
In this analysis we have both paid antivirus and free antivirus . If you are looking for a free antivirus for Windows 10, we recommend you click on that link to access an article that offers us the details of the most outstanding. In case you do not care about the price and the protection, we urge you to continue reading to find out which is the best antivirus for Windows 10.
How antivirus is scanned
As we have already explained, AV-Test is an independent organization that publishes analyzes of the main antivirus for Windows and Android according to different criteria. Every month we have news for different platforms from this company based in Magdeburg (Germany) . They have been dedicated to this for more than 15 years, something that does not avoid the suspicions of users and manufacturers (as in any other field).
Their testing is thorough and uses a methodology that can be faulted little. Next, we are going to review it, but go ahead that the results after many years are quite reliable and faithfully reflect the reality of antivirus.
AV-Test has test labs equipped with more than 200 identical workstations and more than 200 servers with a capacity greater than 2,500 terabytes to process and store one of the largest malware databases in the world . In the Windows section, the one that concerns us now, the antivirus are subjected to 3 tests:
- Protection : They check the level of protection against the latest malware (real-world test), as well as against very common malicious programs.
- Performance : They measure the performance of the computer, for example, when accessing web pages, downloading programs and other test scenarios that reflect daily use. Here we see the impact or slowdown that the program generates.
- Usability : Checking to what extent the use of the tested products limits usability through false alarms, if any.
Antivirus for Windows 10 can get a maximum of 6 points per category . A solution that does not have the 6 points is not a bad antivirus, but it is possible that it has problems in a specific section that prevent it from performing at its best as other alternatives.
AV-Test gives the “Top Product” rating to the best products analyzed on that occasion, but that does not mean that they all have 6 points in the 3 categories. We usually have top products with 5.5 points or 5 points in some of them. However, we will always try to prioritize those with the best score.
Best antivirus Windows 10 in 2021
The data published by AV-Test shows us that several antivirus achieved the “Top Product” rating, but not all of them have 6 points in all categories. These are some of the most prominent and their scores:
AhnLab V3 Internet Security 9.0 – 18.0 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 100% and 100%
- Known threat detection: 100% and 100%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average
- Usability: 1 false positive
Avira Antivirus Pro 15.0 – 18 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 100% and 99.4%
- Known Threat Detection: 99.9% and 99.7%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average
- Usability: 0 false positives
BitDefender Internet Security 24.0 – 17.5 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 100% and 98.8%
- Known threat detection: 100% and 100%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average
- Usability: 3 false positives
Bullguard Internet Security 20.00 – 17.5 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 99.3% and 97.6%
- Known threat detection: 99.3% and 99.5%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average (except for standard applications)
- Usability: 3 false positives
BullGuard Antivirus Software 3 Devices – 1 Year – Solid Security and Complete Unbreakable Defense and Full System Performance
Buy it at
EUR
39.90
ESET Internet Security 13.1 and 13.2 – 17.5 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 100% and 100%
- Known threat detection: 100% and 100%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average (except for standard applications)
- Usability: 2 false positives
F-Secure SAFE 23 – 18 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 100% and 100%
- Known threat detection: 100% and 100%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average
- Usability: 0 false positives
McAfee Total Protection 23 – 18.0 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 99.3% and 97%
- Known threat detection: 100% and 100%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average
- Usability: 1 false positives
Kaspersky Internet Security 20 – 18.0 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 100% and 99%
- Known threat detection: 100% and 100%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average
- Usability: 0 false positives
NortonLifeLock Norton 360 22.20 – 18.0 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 100% and 100%
- Known threat detection: 100% and 100%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average
- Usability: 3 false positives
Norton Security Premium 2019 – Antivirus, PC / Mac / iOS / Android, 10 Devices, 1 Year
Buy it at
EUR
30.58
Trend Micro Internet Security 16.0 – 17.5 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 100% and 100%
- Known threat detection: 100% and 100%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average
- Usability: 1 false positives
VIPRE AdvancedSecurity 11.0 – 17.5 points
- Protection against attacks day 0: 99.3% and 98.2%
- Known Threat Detection: 99.9% and 100%
- Performance and slowdown: Below average
- Usability: 2 false positives
Complete list of antivirus for Windows 10
This is the complete list of the antivirus analyzed for Windows 10 by AV-Test with their scores. You can get more details of the results at this link .
The antivirus that get the Top Product rating are:
- AhnLabV3 Internet Security
- AvastFree Antivirus
- AVG Internet Security
- Avira Antivirus Pro
- Bitdefender Internet Security
- BullGuard Internet Security
- ESET Internet Security
- F-Secure SAFE
- G Data Internet Security
- Kaspersky Internet Security
- McAfee Total Protection
- Microsoft Defender Antivirus
- NortonLifeLock Norton 360
- Protected.net Total AV
- Trend Micro Internet Security
- VIPRE Security AdvancedSecurity
And what about Windows Defender?
Before finishing, we have to talk about Windows Defender , the free security solution integrated into Microsoft’s operating system. In recent years it has been improving remarkably and the truth is that it is more than enough for the vast majority of users. Based on AV-Test, Windows Defender 4.18 achieved 96.3% effectiveness in detecting threats on day 0 and 100% in detecting common threats.
How could it be otherwise, the impact on performance is below the industry average except in the installation of frequent applications. For the first time, it records 0 false positives. All this added allows Windows Defender to position itself as one of the best antivirus in the world.
Even so, if we prefer to have any of the antivirus mentioned above on our computer, we can always choose to disable the Windows 10 antivirus and install any of the previous solutions to protect our PC.
Best antivirus with a PC already infected by viruses
If your PC is already infected by a virus or malware , the antivirus solution that protects the best may not be the one that cleans and repairs the computer the best. In this case, we have another study that analyzes the strengths of these antivirus:
- Avast Free Antivirus
- AVG Internet Security
- Avira Antivirus Pro
- Bitdefender Internet Security
- Kaspersky Internet Security
- Microsoft Defender
- NortonLifeLock Norton Security
And of these four special tools:
- G Data Boot Medium
- Heise Disinfec’t 2019
- Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool
- VIPRE Security Virus Removal Tool
In relation to antivirus, Kaspersky Internet Security achieves the best score.
In relation to special tools, Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool is the most efficient.
Best Windows 10 antivirus for business
In the business world, antivirus protection is basic, but also against other types of security threats. The best known antivirus are:
- Avast Business Antivirus Pro Plus
- Bitdefender Endpoint Security
- Bitdefender Endpoint Security (Ultra)
- Check Point Endpoint Security
- Cylance Protect
- ESET Endpoint Security
- F-Secure PSB Computer Protection
- G Data AntiVirus Business
- Kaspersky Endpoint Security
- McAfee Endpoint Security
- Microsoft Defender Antivirus
- Seqrite Endpoint Security
- Sophos Intercept X Advanced
- Symantec Endpoint Protection
- Trend Micro Apex One
- VIPRE Security EndpointSecurity
- VMware Carbon Black Cloud
Among them, Bitdefender Endpoint Security, F-Secure PSB Computer Protection and VIPRE Security EndpointSecurity get the highest marks .
How can I choose the best antivirus myself
Although we have already given you all the keys to the best antivirus for Windows 10, including performance tests, impact on the PC, threat detection and much more, you must be the one who makes the final decision. The truth is that the easy option would be to stay with Windows Defender, which offers a good result at cost, but if we decide to go for another option, either free or paid, we must consider the following:
Take advantage of the free trial: Many of the paid solutions listed above have a free trial that typically lasts between 7 and 30 days. This is the ideal period for us to test it thoroughly before deciding. Nor should we lose sight of the refunds, since some of them do not let us try the antivirus for free, but they do give us the money back.
Necessary functions: The basic protection of all antivirus is quite similar, but the big differences are in the special or added functions. For example, if we are going to surf a lot on public WiFi networks, we may want to consider purchasing a solution with an integrated VPN.
Compatible devices: Although we are talking about Windows 10, the truth is that we all have more devices susceptible to being infected at home, from mobile to tablet. For this reason, something that we can value is the purchase of a protection that includes several devices. We have some from McAfee on up to 10 devices or Panda, although in this case it is not compatible with all mobiles.
Unpowered PC Antivirus
Antiviruses work in the background, which makes them constantly consume resources from our PC. The big problem comes when we have a weak computer running Windows 10. Can it affect performance? Should we choose a specific antivirus to avoid it?
Again, we will turn to AV-TEST to find the best antivirus for basic and inexpensive computers. We will do this by ordering your antivirus by the Performance category that measures the impact on the computer and on the different activities we carry out. In fact, we can sacrifice some protection for this upgrade.
VIPRE AdvancedSecurity 11.0, PC Matic 3.0, eScan Internet Security Suite 14.0 and AhnLab V3 Internet Security 9.0, would be some of the solutions indicated for these computers, although Windows Defender could also enter, which is pre-installed ‘from the factory’ in Windows 10 and that, Out of 6 maximum points, get 5.5 for resource consumption.
McAfee Internet Security slows down by only 5% on an average PC, compared to a 19% impact from the industry average. On the latest generation PCs, however, the performance impact is reduced to 4%, in both cases on 50 popular web pages. When downloading programs the impact is reduced to 0% on an average PC, and when running regular software the impact on performance is 8%. In standard software installation, the impact was 26% based on the analysis data.
Norton Security had a 6% impact on the performance of an average PC when visiting 50 popular websites, and 0% when downloading popular files. Both values relative to average PCs, while in last generation PCs the results were 7% and 0%, for each of these sections. When running standard software, the impact was 7% on an average PC versus 12% for the industry average.
F-Secure SAFE showed an 8% impact when loading 50 popular web pages, 7% for a next-generation PC. This impact was reduced to 0% when downloading typical programs, and increased to 7% when running standard software. These last two values were identical in the case of the latest generation computers. When installing programs, F-Secure SAFE produced a negative impact of 27%, yet the impact is reduced to 0% for copying and pasting files both locally and over the network.
