The top antivirus packages all offer advanced protections — full-suite anti-malware engines (including phishing protection, ransomware protection, webcam protection, and Wi-Fi protection), security enhancements (including customizable firewalls, parental controls, and device optimization). It’s really not a question of whether you need an antivirus, just whether you can pay for extra features like a password manager, VPN, and so on.

So the question of buying an antivirus isn’t so much about if you need it — because you do — but it’s more about what level of protection you want to have.

After testing dozens of antivirus products, we found Norton to be the best antivirus software overall. Norton is a trusted name in cybersecurity, offering a comprehensive suite of software that protects against malware, emerging cyberthreats, hackers, identity thieves, and more. Norton also demonstrates consistent performance during our hands-on testing and third-party testing. 

Which antivirus should you choose? While you have many options, two stand out from the rest. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus holds perfect and near-perfect scores from three independent antivirus testing labs, with more features than some security suites. Norton AntiVirus Plus likewise offers many suite-level features, and it gets excellent scores from all five testing labs we follow. We've named these two our Editors' Choice winners for commercial antivirus, but they're not the only antivirus apps worth consideration. Read the reviews of our top-rated programs, then make your own decision.

Editors’ Note: Given that the US government has banned new sales of Kaspersky security products, we no longer recommend them.