Best rated antivirus antispyware

It also has a web-filter system for parents and an online management console from which you can tweak most of the settings. Some people might demand more from an antivirus suite, but anyone who would rather buy only what they need will appreciate Sophos Home Premium's just-the-basics approach.

Read our full Sophos Home Premium review. A good paid antivirus suite is a digital-protection jackknife, often bundling in parental controls, identity theft protection, a password manager, backup software, cloud storage, a firewall, a system optimizer and software for Mac, Android and iOS as well as Windows.

But what if you just want Windows antivirus software without all of those pricey extras? And what if you can't afford to pay for antivirus software? One of the best free antivirus programs might be exactly what you need. Free antivirus software used to be a step down from the paid software and involved trade-offs. The protection wasn't as good and you'd either have to put up with ads filling your screen or with constant nags to upgrade to a paid program.

That's all changed. One of the best antivirus makers, Kaspersky, offers a free version with the same excellent malware protections as its paid offerings. Its top rival, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition, has been officially discontinued, although Tom's Guide readers can still download it with this link. A merger between the biggest names in free antivirus, Avast and AVG, created a combined malware-detection engine that's much better than the sum of its parts.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's built-in antivirus software, Windows Defender, aka Microsoft Defender Antivirus, has gone from being a joke to being one of the best antivirus programs out there, free or paid.

You can now get free antivirus protection that's as good as anything you pay for. So here are the best free antivirus programs based on their protection, system impact, ease of use and extra features. Kaspersky Security Cloud Free 2. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition 3. Windows Defender Antivirus 4. Avast Free Antivirus 5.

Kaspersky Security Cloud Free Antivirus may be the best free antivirus program we've ever seen. It has excellent malware protection, a decent set of extra functions and features, and a system-performance impact so small that our computer actually sped up after we installed the program.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition has been officially discontinued, and we're not sure how long Tom's Guide readers can still download it. It's the best "set it and forget it" free antivirus option. It's now one of the best antivirus programs altogether. You don't have to install or download it — it's already on your PC. If you want an unlimited password manager or a hardened web browser, Avast Free Antivirus might be for you.

Its malware protection is much better than it once was, although its performance impact is fairly heavy. Avast's stepsister AVG has the same malware-detection engine, but lacks Avast's full slate of useful extra features. But it does have a file shredder and system optimizer.

We have to mention one program that's not antivirus software, but which we recommend anyway: Malwarebytes Free. While antivirus tries to stop malware from infecting your machine, Malwarebytes functions as the cleanup crew, sweeping out less-harmful adware or potentially unwanted programs that the antivirus software ignores. It works well alongside any antivirus program. Kaspersky doesn't talk much about its free antivirus product, and you might have a hard time finding the free Kaspersky software download page on the company's website.

That's too bad, because Kaspersky Security Cloud Free is the best free antivirus product we've ever tested. We've never seen such a combination of excellent protection and extra features in a free antivirus program. It's got a bright, comprehensible interface, a lot of customization potential and Kaspersky's unbeatable malware protection.

The program also lets you schedule scans, and its performance impact was so small that it actually sped up our test machine a bit. Kaspersky's useful extra features include a file shredder, an on-screen keyboard and an email scanner.

The password manager and VPN service are fairly limited, however, unless you pay. Read our full Kaspersky Security Cloud Free review. Bitdefender has officially discontinued Antivirus Free Edition, and it will be supported only until June 30, We still love it and you can still get it , but proceed at your own risk.

Compared to premium paid antivirus programs that are big, heavy and loaded with extra bells and whistles, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is like a '60's sports car, stripped to the essentials but still providing plenty of power.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition offers nothing but the basics. There's no password manager, no gaming mode, no quick scans and no scan scheduling. You can manage the software from the program's System Tray icon, but you don't really need to interact with Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition after its installation.

Yet Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition has the excellent Bitdefender malware-detection engine, which sits just below Kaspersky and Norton in the lab-test rankings. It's the best free antivirus software if you want a security solution that you can set up and then forget about. It's also perfect if you need to protect the computer of an elderly relative but don't have time to manage antivirus software from afar. Read our full Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition review. Microsoft's built-in antivirus software is now a heavy hitter.

While Windows Defender, aka Microsoft Defender Antivirus, doesn't quite beat Norton or Kaspersky in malware-protection lab tests, it comes out ahead of Avast, AVG and most other free antivirus products while operating almost entirely behind the scenes. You won't be getting many extra features with Windows Defender itself, yet Windows 10 does have parental controls, a gaming mode and protections for its own Edge and Internet Explorer browsers. There's no built-in VPN, but you also won't be bothered by pop-ups trying to upsell you to paid antivirus software.

As for a password manager, there's a stealth one built into the Microsoft Authenticator app for Android and iOS that syncs with the Edge browser, as long as you're signed into your Microsoft account on all devices.

We still recommend going for Kaspersky Security Cloud Free, which has even less of a system impact, better malware protection and more useful extras, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with using Windows Defender as your primary antivirus solution. Read our full Windows Defender review.

Avast Free Antivirus has the best assortment of extra goodies of any free antivirus program, including a hardened browser, a gaming mode, a Wi-Fi network scanner and a recently added ransomware shield. Unfortunately, the unlimited password manager has been discontinued. The program is also very customizable, letting you tweak its appearance and functions to suit your style.

It even offers limited access to Avast's VPN service. However, Avast Free Antivirus caused a pretty heavy system load in our testing and its scans took a long time. It also kept nagging us to upgrade to Avast's paid antivirus protection, and played bait-and-switch with features that looked like they were free but weren't. Most significant of all, the malware protection in Avast Free Antivirus is a peg down from Kaspersky's or Bitdefender's, whose free programs also bothered us less about paid upgrades and had lighter system loads.

Read our full Avast Free Antivirus review. AVG shares a decent, if unspectacular, malware-detection engine with its corporate sibling Avast while having a much lighter system-performance impact. While the latter is almost a free security suite with lots of bells and whistles, AVG AntiVirus Free is the quiet, neglected child that gets the hand-me-downs. Spyware is a type of malware that can be used to remotely snoop on your device. By using spyware, someone could track your movements, access your data, read your emails and messages, or even turn on your camera.

Any devices infected with spyware can suffer severe privacy breaches, and lead to cyberstalking as well as harassment in real life. With so many potential dangers involved, it is vital that you regularly scan your devices for spyware, and that you use a program with real-time scanning to prevent exploits from making their way onto your device.

Below you can take a look at the best free anti-spyware programs available on the market. These anti-spyware programs won't cost you a penny, and can scan your device for known spyware exploits. Additionally, they engage in real-time scanning that ensures you won't become infected with dangerous spyware exploits such as rootkits and trojans. That makes Avast one of the most expensive single device security suites on the market. The good news is that stepping up to the paid version is unnecessary to scan and remove known spyware exploits from your devices.

As a result, this is a superb free anti-spyware program that anybody can use on their device to ensure they keep it clear of a whole range of threats and exploits, including highly malicious Trojans. What's more, the software is pretty lightweight, meaning that it shouldn't slow your machine down as you use it. Finally, it is true that the free version of Avast does harvest data from its users.

According to an investigation by PC Mag and Motherboard it collects its user's browsing histories and sells that data to create a revenue stream. We must highlight that this is far from ideal. However, the antivirus product is very good considering it's free. It may not be the most privacy-friendly option, but should you decide to trade this information for solid protection, it's the cream of the crop.

Malwarebytes has always been popular thanks to its free version. The antivirus is available for all popular platforms and it allows you to scan for threats on-demand or schedule scans on a daily or weekly basis. The only downside with this free anti-spyware program is that its free version does not offer any real-time scanning. 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. Its Digital Lock feature is pretty good — it can encrypt, password protect, and permanently delete sensitive files. Adaware is a decent anti-spyware program that also offers good file encryption and protection tools. Download Adaware Now. The free version only performs on-demand scanning. SpywareBlaster is a good anti-spyware app for browsers that specializes in blocking ActiveX malware. ActiveX is a tool that provides interactive website content.

ActiveX controls can be useful — they allow you to play media and fill in forms on websites. But hackers can also use ActiveX controls to gain access to your system. Once inside your system, hackers can install keylogging software, steal your private files, and access your webcam. SpywareBlaster offers both free and paid versions.

The paid version, SpywareBlaster Autoupdate , provides automatic updating, multi-user coverage, and technical support. SpywareBlaster blocks spyware that hijacks your computer via ActiveX website content. Download SpywareBlaster Now. Spybot — Search and Destroy uses active scanning to prevent spyware and other types of malware from making changes on your computer.

And it can also perform full spyware scans of your system. However, Spybot does contain some advanced features to protect your device from spyware and adware, including:. Spybot can erase usage tracks that document the files you opened, the applications you launched, and the websites you visited. Norton Deluxe. AVG Internet Security.

Windows Security. Trend Micro Maximum Security. Avast One. Avira Prime. Total Security. Kaspersky Security Cloud Bitdefender Total Security. Panda Dome Premium.