It earns high scores for usability and offers solid virus protection. The free antivirus version of Sophos Home gives you virus protection for three Windows PCs -- using the company's high-scoring anti-malware tool -- plus a day trial of the company's malware-removal tool. Test after test, Avast Antivirus for Windows performs well for malware detection with options ranging from Avast free antivirus software to Avast Premium Security.
And we've included its antivirus in our list of recommended security app options before. But Avast was in the news for several months for its non-antivirus business, so we looked at the company, specifically reports at the end of that Avast allegedly collected user data with its browser plug-ins and antivirus software and then sold data it collected through its Jumpshot subsidiary in early In response to the reports that his company gathered and sold the details of its customers' online activities, Avast CEO Ondrej Vlcek said in a statement that he understood that his company's actions raised questions of trust in his company.
To address that, Avast terminated Jumpshot data collection in January and closed its operations because the data collection business wasn't in line with Avast's privacy priorities. These newer reports follow another in from Avast that its internal network was breached , possibly to insert malware into its CCleaner software, similar to an earlier CCleaner hack that occurred prior to Avast's acquiring the Windows utility.
Avast is now saying the right things about taking its customers' privacy seriously , but it only came to that point after reacting to investigative reporting that revealed the Jumpshot practices. The CCleaner revelations, while concerning, were self-disclosed, which is important to building user trust. We hope Avast's more privacy-friendly policies mean that there will be no further Jumpshot-style activities and it returns to glory as one of the best antivirus software.
In the meantime, we'd recommend using one of the many other solid choices in this realm listed above. Because the company has been in the news the past few years, let's talk about Kaspersky Lab -- specifically about the federal ban that blocks US government agencies from using Kaspersky Antivirus products.
Based in Moscow, Kaspersky Lab has for years produced some of the best antivirus software for business antivirus needs and home customers. But in the US government prohibited Kaspersky security cloud software on federal government computers because of alleged ties between Kaspersky and the Russian government. But as with China-based Huawei , the question remains: If the federal government doesn't think the products are safe enough for its own devices, should consumers avoid them as well?
In a statement sent to CNET, the company said, "Kaspersky Lab has no ties to any government, and the company has never, nor will ever, engage in cyber offensive activities.
Kaspersky Lab maintains that no public evidence of any wrongdoing has been presented by the US government, and that the US government's actions against Kaspersky Lab were unconstitutional. In Kaspersky's favor, it continues to earn top scores and awards for virus and malware detection and endpoint protection from independent testing labs. And it's reasonably priced. In the end, even though no one has ever publicly produced a "smoking gun" linking the company to Russian intrigue, we think any of the options listed above are a safer bet.
And if you are a US government employee or work with the federal government, you'll want to steer clear of Kaspersky internet security products -- and perhaps use one of the antivirus software products mentioned here instead.
Picking the best antivirus software for Windows means finding one that keeps your PC safe, doesn't take up a lot of system resources, is easy to use and stays out of the way till you need it. Here's what to look for. Antivirus software runs virus scans for known viruses and malware, of course, and can offer real-time protection. And it watches for shady websites and suspicious links to keep you out of trouble. It can also offer ransomware protection and monitor unexpected behavior that may be a sign of new and not-yet-identified viruses and malware.
You want antivirus software that can successfully identify these unknown online threats without flagging too many false positives. Light on system resources. You don't want antivirus software that taxes your PC's resources. If after you install the program, websites open slowly, apps download or open sluggishly or file copies take longer than expected, you may want to try another service.
The good news is, all our picks offer a free trial to let you try out the antivirus program, so if your system feels sluggish after installation, you may want to keep looking.
Cost and discounts. Don't just pay the sticker price for antivirus protection. Before you buy, check for discounts on a company's website. Another way to save: The prices we list above are for 10 devices -- if the company offered that package -- but you can trim your cost with antivirus packages if you need to cover three or five devices.
You may also find discounts on an app's Amazon page. To be effective, antivirus software needs to monitor what's going on with your PC, check in with company servers about unusual behavior and should provide sound banking protection. The companies say they anonymize this technical data as much as possible to protect your privacy. But if you want to know more, the security companies on our list post privacy policies on their websites, so read their privacy statements to learn what the companies do with the information you share.
Protection for other platforms. Microsoft is by far the biggest target for viruses and malware. While the Mac does come under attack via side-loaded apps, it's rare, and if you download apps only from the Mac and iOS app stores and keep your guard up when clicking links and download files, you should be OK without an antivirus app on Apple devices.
Bitdefender barely slowed my system down during scans, and its additional security features are really good — I especially like the secure Safepay browser, which secures all online transactions. Bitdefender has a day money-back guarantee on all of its plans.
Download Bitdefender Now. Avira Free Antivirus provides better spyware protection than some paid antivirus suites — and it includes some pretty good additional features, as well. Avira comes bundled with a PUA potentially unwanted application Shield — this feature is specifically designed to detect and remove spyware apps that come bundled with legitimate software.
A colleague recently told me that he had accidentally downloaded several adware and spyware programs along with GIMP, an image manipulation program.
Avira offers the best free spyware protection, and it includes a couple of decent internet privacy protections — including a built-in PUA Shield that detects spyware and adware that comes bundled with software.
Download Avira Now. After I bought and downloaded TotalAV, the program automatically scheduled a system scan and initiated real-time protection. TotalAV has good anti-spyware protection and a solid range of additional features inside an attractive interface. Download TotalAV Now. For my testing, I downloaded over 1, pieces of sample malware, including adware and spyware like Red Shell, the notorious spyware app that is frequently used to harvest gamer metadata for big corporations. BullGuard managed to increase my frame rate while playing Destiny 2 on my gaming rig, and it stands out among other internet security products as the best antivirus for gaming.
BullGuard also comes with an excellent game booster for improving gaming performance and identity theft protections for users in the US, Canada, and some parts of Europe. Download BullGuard Now. Malwarebytes provides a minimalistic antivirus program that is able to detect all types of spyware. In my tests, Malwarebytes detected and removed every spyware sample I installed, including the WebDiscover Browser, a fake spyware browser that secretly collects your data and displays annoying pop-ups.
Malwarebytes has affordable pricing and a generous day money-back guarantee. Malwarebytes offers excellent spyware detection and removal, but it lacks a lot of the cybersecurity protections I want to see in a top-quality internet security suite. Download Malwarebytes Now. Intego is the best antivirus suite for Mac computers , and its anti-spyware detection is great, too.
Intego also detected other malware samples, including trojans, ransomware, adware, and cryptojackers. Intego offers a couple of different antivirus plans. Intego is my favorite Mac-only anti-spyware protection in It has comprehensive spyware protection as well as some excellent extra features, like a customizable backup feature, parental controls, clean-up features, and more.
Intego offers a day risk-free money-back guarantee. Download Intego Now. MacKeeper is an antivirus suite for macOS that quickly removes spyware and other threats. When I tested it, the malware scanner took 30 minutes to scan every file on my Mac. The plan is for a single device, but you can pay extra for coverage on up to 3 devices. MacKeeper offers a day money-back guarantee. MacKeeper is a decent antivirus suite for Mac with good spyware protection.
Download MacKeeper Now. Adaware has grown from a pretty simple adware-blocker to a decent antivirus that offers protection against spyware, ransomware, and other threats.
But Adaware underperformed in my general malware tests, failing to catch a lot of advanced ransomware and cryptojacker files that the other brands on this list successfully detected. Adaware provides a variety of additional features. And it also works behind the scenes to prevent malicious attachments and downloads, as well as to block unsafe links. What's more, the service scans your device for performance issues that could be related to unwanted programs such as spyware. If you like the free version, moving onto the paid version gives you a whole host of other benefits.
And, while it is good at what it does, it is a fact that this antivirus does get much better when you pay. That said, the basic plan gets the job done and will scan your device for any existing malware or spyware that has made its way on. Plus, this free antivirus does have real-time protection even on the free version, which is actually a massive benefit of this service. Another benefit of Avira is that despite doing its job, it is very light and will not overly affect the performance of your computer or mobile device.
A solid all-rounder that promises to have a free version forever and can fight ransomware, Trojans, worms, viruses, and spyware! Spyware is a general term for malware malicious software designed to snoop on the computer or mobile device it is deployed on. It is installed onto the infected device without the knowledge of the device owner, and negatively affects the victim's privacy.
Cybercriminals generally use it to gather data from an infected device, to allow a hacker to track the user's movements, or to steal data that could then be used to engage in identity theft or fraud. Although this hazardous class of malware is usually installed remotely by a cybercriminal, it is also possible that someone may be subjected to spyware at the hands of somebody with direct access to their computer or mobile device.
Thus, people might fall victim to spyware that a friend, family member, partner, or colleague has installed. See our what is spyware page for more details about it and an explanation on how you can remove it from an infected device. Anybody infected with Spyware could end up suffering very serious repercussions. Spyware can pinpoint your location, allowing a cybercriminal to track you down and engage in stalking. Alternatively, the software may be used to ascertain when you are out of the house in order to allow for burglary.
Spyware can also be used to steal account credentials and passwords, account numbers, financial information, personally identifiable information, and other personal and private data. This can lead to hackers stealing private business data, for example. Once a criminal has stolen data using spyware, they might make use of it to engage in secondary attacks.
They could steal more information or use the data they have to commit fraud or identity theft, creating false accounts in the victim's name. The very worst types of spyware Trojans enable a hacker to install secondary payloads via a Command and Control server. This lets them deliver further exploits used to steal information or to turn on device cameras and microphones for the purposes of data theft and surveillance.
Antivirus programs that include spyware protection are common these days, so you have a wide variety of products to choose from! These anti-malware programs have one thing in common, however, which is that they use libraries of known spyware exploit codes to scan for any potentially harmful software that could be used to snoop on you.
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