15 best antivirus for PC and laptop UK: 2015's best antivirus for protection, performance value, and best free antivirus
The 15 best antivirus programs for your PC or laptop in the UK in 2015. Antivirus reviews, tests and ratings. Best Windows antivirus.
The 15 best antivirus programs for your PC or laptop in the UK in 2015. Antivirus reviews, tests and ratings. Where to buy antivirus. Best Windows antivirus. (See also:best security software programs of 2015.)
Best Antivirus: Why you need antivirus? What is antivirus?
Antivirus software detects, and then prevents, disarms or removes malicious programs or malware, often referred to as 'viruses'. Antivirus doesn't offer a perfect solution to the problem of malware, but it is a critical first step to securing your PC or laptop. To help prevent viruses infecting your PC you must install antivirus, and then regularly update your antivirus software. All of the antivirus software reviewed here will update automatically.
Best antivirus: How to choose antivirus
Malware is evolving faster than ever, but fortunately the latest generation of antivirus - or AV - is better equipped than ever to handle new threats.
In recent years, the technology that powers AV software has changed dramatically. An AV package you purchased a few years ago was able to stop known viruses and other known malware, but brand-new, unknown viruses proved more difficult. Newer products do a better job of stopping them.
For our antivirus tests we team up with AV-Test.org, a respected independent security-software testing lab based in Germany. AV-Test rigorously tests AV products from a number of leading security companies. The multifaceted testing procedure looks not only at how well an AV product can detect malware using traditional, largely signature-based methods (that is, employing a database of known malware types), but also at how well it can block brand-new, unknown malware. AV-Test also examines how well a security product can clean up after an infection in the event that a piece of malware does get through.
Every program in this list is worth yourINVESTMENT
. The differences between the top few are relatively minor. The critical thing is to install one of these programs.
. The differences between the top few are relatively minor. The critical thing is to install one of these programs.Beest antivirus: free or paid for?
Our tests focus on paid-for and free AV products. Paid-for AV products usually offer better technical support and more comprehensive protection features than free programs, but free is free. Internet security suites go further still, offering firewalls, parental controls, identity theft protection and more.
Best antivirus reviews
Here we review the best antivirus programs you can buy or download in the UK right now. Securing your PC is, of course, about a lot more than antivirus. At the very least you need to run up to date antivirus, antispyware and a firewall. You'll find that almost all of the best antivirus software we test these days forms part of an internet security suite: so all of the above and more is included.
The trouble is, some antivirus is better than others. They all offer a blacklist of known threats, and a whitelist of software that is known to be legitimate. But these days new threats emerge every day, and knowing what is friend and what is foe in real-time can be critical. And that's where we come in. AV-Test challenges Windows security software to withstand threats both old and new, known and unknown.
We then combine that with our own experienced and expert tests of interface and system overhead. We test antivirus programs for how much (if at all) they slow down your PC or laptop, as well as how easy to use and how intrusive they are. Thus you can see from our regularly updated list of the best antivirus for PC or laptop, which is the best for you. Best antivirus for protection, best antivirus for performance, and best antivirus for value. Click through to read the individual antivirus reviews.
15. ESET NOD32 Antivirus 8
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 28 May 15
- RRP: £45 inc VAT (3PCs, 1 year licence)
ESET NOD32 Antivirus is a sound antivirus product with some useful extras, though it’s a bit surprising anti-spam isn't included in the product. The software is easy to use and doesn't disrupt the normal function of a PC it’s running on. Technically, it's a strong contender, without being in the front rank.
Read our ESET NOD32 Antivirus 8 review.
14. Webroot Internet Security Plus 2015
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 25 February 15
- RRP: £50 inc. VAT
It’s not possible to compare Webroot’s offering with the others in terms of AV efficacy, as we have no test results, but the company’s claim to scan fast and leave a light impression looks fair.
13. Avira Free Antivirus 2014
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 3 September 14
- RRP: Free
Avira Free Antivirus 2014 is easy to set up and use and it's good to see free mobile support and backup, as well as the core AV functions. It's not the best free protection available though, with both AVG and Avast! scoring higher in test lab results.
Read our Avira Free Antivirus 2014 review.
12. Panda Global Protection 2015
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 3 November 14
- RRP: £60 inc VAT (5 devices, 1 year licence)
Panda Global Protection 2015 is a good option, if you need to protect a range of different devices from Windows PCs to Macs and Android machines. Not quite as generous as McAfee's ‘as-many-as-you-like' offering and a point off the perfect score in AV-Test's testing, the Panda product costs £20 less, too and is particularly easy to use.
Read our Panda Global Protection 2015 review.
11. F-Secure Safe 2014
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 25 October 14
- RRP: £60 (3 device licence)
The Usability score of 5.5 reflects a low total of five false positives, during system scans and the use of legitimate applications. The 4.5 figure for a Performance score shows a noticeable resource hit while running regular computing tasks, like downloading and installing software.
Read our F-Secure Safe 2014 review.
10. G-Data Internet Security 2015
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 20 February 15
- RRP: £45 inc VAT (3 PC licence)
G-Data Internet Security 2015 is relatively inexpensive for a full-featured security suite. It's not the most successful at beating out web threats, but it is sufficiently good to be worth installing. A decent purchase, if not the best.
Read our G-Data Internet Security 2015 review.
9. Kaspersky Total Security 2015
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 16 December 14
- RRP: £42 inc VAT (3 PCs, 1 year)
A three-device, full protection IS suite for under £50 is good value and when that includes cover on all the major platforms, it should be flexible enough for most. Kaspersky Total Security 2015’s technical strength can’t be faulted, with only Avira Anti Virus Pro matching it in the AV-Test group.
Read our Kaspersky Total Security 2015 review.
8. McAfee LiveSafe 2015
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 31 October 14
- RRP: £80 inc VAT (unlimited, personally owned devices, 1 year subscription)
If you run a couple of home Windows PCs, a Mac, a tablet and a smartphone, or a similar combination, McAfee LiveSafe 2015 is an economical way of protecting them all and providing anti-theft facilities on the mobile devices. While the feature set of the IS component of the package may lack back-up and PC tune-up, the power of its AV protection can't be denied.
Read our McAfee LiveSafe 2015 review.
7. Bullguard Internet Security 2014
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 7 November 14
- RRP: £50 (3 PC licence, 1 year)
We like Bullguard Internet Security 2014 a lot. It's AV and protection provision is robust and well automated, but it's also one of the most comprehensive suites we look at each year. Combining IS, backup and tune-up seems to us the ideal approach and this one suite handles all these issues in a sensible and easily controllable way. It's also one of the most economically-priced solutions out there.
Read our Bullguard Internet Security 2014 review.
6. Qihoo 360 Internet Security 4.3
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 28 October 14
- RRP: Free (unlimited licence)
Although the Performance score, which shows the resource hit, is a bit low, this wasn’t reflected in our own, admittedly simpler, test. The Protection result was pretty good on recent threats, though it dropped down to around 90 percent on zero-day attacks.
Read our Qihoo 360 Internet Security 4.3 review.
5. Trend Micro Internet Security 2015
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 24 February 15
- RRP: £42 inc. VAT
With such a good performance and the lower asking price, Trend Internet Security 2015 represents very good value, even though it misses out on certain extras offered by some of its competition.
4. Bitdefender Total Security 2015
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 4 September 14
- RRP: £60 inc. VAT
BITDEFENDERis consistently among the best IS suites we’ve tested and also provides the best AV protection, according to AV-Test. There are a few small chinks in its armour, though. The syncing process, by which it backs up designated files and folders is by no means clear and 2 GB of storage for a 3-PC package is downright mean. We’d want to check why the anti-theft feature places us in South Yorkshire, too.
is consistently among the best IS suites we’ve tested and also provides the best AV protection, according to AV-Test. There are a few small chinks in its armour, though. The syncing process, by which it backs up designated files and folders is by no means clear and 2 GB of storage for a 3-PC package is downright mean. We’d want to check why the anti-theft feature places us in South Yorkshire, too.
Read our Bitdefender Total Security 2015 review.
3. Avast Free Antivirus 2015
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 29 May 15
- RRP: Free
Avast Free Antivirus 2015 is one of the best free security products you can install. It offers a surprising range of free goodies, including application and browser app analysis and, separately, an excellent Android suite, covering AV and anti-theft. A better than average AV-Test rating completes a very impressive picture.
Read our Avast Free Antivirus 2015 review.
2. Bitdefender Internet Security 2015
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 7 April 15
- RRP: £40 inc VAT (3 PC, 1 year licence)
This is one of the very best AV suites available, in terms of outright protection against malware. It's also very good at not throwing up false warnings, but there are other products offering more auxiliary modules for theMONEY.
.1. Symantec Norton Security with Backup
- Rating:
- Reviewed on: 23 February 15
- RRP: £60 inc. VAT
Offering excellent value with 10 licences to cover all your devices, Norton Security with Backup also offers a strong feature set and very good protection from viruses and other malware. Recommended.
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