Best antivirus firewall for netbook

Downloading antivirus software is the first step to staying protected online. It remains the strongest defense against the cybercriminals who want to expose your online devices for their own financial gain. The way that viruses behave and their end goal has changed over the years, but generally the purpose is the same - to steal your money.

Threats come in many forms, but malware, ransomware and Trojans are generally designed to either take your data or do enough damage to your system that you'll pay a high price to reverse the effects. And then there are outright scammers Thankfully, 's best antivirus providers combine watertight protection, extra features to keep you safe from scams, and are easy to install and use.

Today's best antivirus software is Bitdefender You may be more familiar with names such as Norton, McAfee and AVG — but Bitdefender has been the overall best antivirus available for a few years now. It combines watertight security tools with an array of other excellent security features. Scroll through the options below and you'll discover how the likes of Norton, Kaspersky, Avast and Avira rank. And there's even a highest ever placement in our chart for Microsoft's very own Defender virus protection.

If it's free antivirus that you're after, we have some top recommendations for you, too as well as some top business packages. Bitdefender is top of the tree as TechRadar's best antivirus, beating some stiff competition and doing so without asking all that much in terms of subscription costs. So what makes it so good? For starters. Even if you opt for the entry-level Bitdefender Antivirus Plus product, you get Safepay online banking protection, which is essentially a secure browser and one which covers you from all kinds of angles.

The company offers more extensive suites, too, with Bitdefender Internet Security providing all the above plus a tools to help speed up your computer and to help you find your mobile devices if they're lost or stolen.

As the flagship offering, Bitdefender Total Security comes complete with an array of PC maintenance tools, plus it supports Android and iOS devices as well as covering Windows and Mac machines - basically, it's a single solution to your entire family's online security needs. At this point of previous years' reviews, we'd be talking about how Bitdefender beats the rest when it comes to pure virus protection, too. That's not quite the case this year, with the report from AV-Comparatives showing less accurate results than usual.

Considering Bitdefender's strength in previous years, we're happy to give it the benefit of the doubt for now, but we'll have a keen eye on the independent lab results this year to see whether that picture changes. Plus that secure feeling of knowing you're being kept safe by 's overall best antivirus software. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus comes with the added bonus of a VPN and Safepay as well as boasting multi-layer ransomware protection. A fantastic price, for a fully-featured antivirus.

The main attraction here is the absolute stack of features you get - even with the entry-level Antivirus Plus product — not to mention the quality of those features. They include a really useful intelligent firewall, which is a genuinely big help in terms of policing your system, along with some very thorough browser protection measures to keep you safe on the web. And in our very own ransomware testing, we Norton came up a little bit short compared to the more effective protection offered by Bitdefender.

If you want more then NortonLifeLock offers a range of higher-level suites. Norton Standard adds some nifty extra bits of functionality, including an integrated full VPN service, more backup storage 10GB and dark web monitoring for some countries, including the US and UK. There are also strong mobile apps for Android and iOS. While Premium ramps that up again to 75GB backup and 10 devices. Editor's note: Unlike the other providers in this list, Kaspersky is yet to release the version of its antivirus.

What follows is the description of its plan, and will be updated once we have tested the updates. Its core antivirus capabilities are very strong, with Kaspersky ranking at or near the top in all the most recent reports from the big independent test labs. Kaspersky also benefits from some nifty self-protection routines. The good news is that when it comes to extras, the bigger suites bundle more interesting functionality. Kaspersky Internet Security introduces an intelligent firewall which hardly ever bothers you with any queries , plus a secure browser, and it offers coverage for Macs, along with Android and iOS mobile devices.

Kaspersky Total Security brings in more on top of all that, including smart parental controls, a fully-fledged password manager, and automated local or Dropbox backups. Another strong suit is the fact that this antivirus is currently top dog when it comes to blocking phishing sites according to AV-Comparatives , and it provides great web browsing protection including Pay Guard as a secure environment for the likes of online banking.

Weak points? However, you do of course get more functionality with the higher-level security suites from Trend Micro. The next tier product, Trend Micro Internet Security, throws in some interesting extras including parental controls and social media protection tools.

Whereas most updates on this list are fairly superficial, Avast ripped everything up and started again for its latest release - introducing Avast One. Avast One takes the firm's trusted free antivirus now known as Avast One Essential and builds on it with extra features.

Whether you choose to go free or upgrade, the software is really in favor with the independent testing labs at the moment, ranking towards the top of the pile in real-world malware tests and anti-phishing tasks. You also benefit from a simple firewall, data breach scanning to warn you if your online accounts are breached, and apps for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. So why bother paying for Avast One? You'd have to really want one of those specific add-ons to want to part with your cash, otherwise we'd suggest going for a more fully featured internet security suite or just sticking with the free Essential download.

We saw a lot more thought pieces coming out in suggesting that the time was at an end to pay for your antivirus software. And while we generally disagree with that notion, Microsoft Defender is probably the best argument in its favor. That's because if you're a Windows user, there's a perfectly capable virus protection already sitting within your operating system. Microsoft Defender is a solid product that gives capable mid-range protection - mostly without users ever even knowing it's there.

The firewall can be set up with several profiles so it behaves differently in each given scenario. For example, you can have a home network setting and a public wifi profile.

As well as blocking incoming connections, the suite enables you to monitor bandwidth usage, throttling some apps to make more bandwidth available to key applications. The traffic management functions go down to port number, program, and process. The monitor is always on and it tracks all activity on your computer, looking for suspicious anything suspicious. Like TinyWall, the firewall functions of GlassWire are actually just a management interface to the native Windows Defender.

Download GlassWire. Privatefirewall is a product of Privacyware. However, you can download it for free from software distributors, such as CNet, and Softpedia. The program will run on Windows from XP up to 8. As well as being a firewall, this utility is a host-based intrusion detection system.

It examines the log files on your computer to look for worrying events. It will also protect those log files from unauthorized alteration or deletion, which is a track-covering trick that some malware uses. The regular firewall features of this suite include whitelisting and blacklisting functions, as well as content privacy controls such as text copy shutdown and clipboard monitoring.

The interface for the firewall is a popup context menu that you activate by right-clicking on the program icon in the system tray. The tool will also monitor email activity, disable infected or banned websites from loading, and block internet activity from a specified address. Download Privatefirewall. OpenDNS is a business network security system that also has a free Home edition. This firewall covers all of the internet-active devices in your home, including DVRs and smart TVs, computers, tablets, and smartphones.

Instead, the service changes your router settings to channel all of your internet traffic through the OpenDNS server. Businesses religiously install firewalls to protect their resources from attack see Best Web Application Firewalls , but the general public has become less interested in this form of protection.

A big reason for this complacency is that protection is often built in to devices. At home, wifi routers offer protection against attack from the internet in the form of a hardware firewall. However, the advent of Trojans means that this incoming connection request block is no longer enough; Trojans will open up outgoing connections back to base and invite in other viruses.

Popular operating systems often come with their own software firewall, such as Windows Defender in newer versions of Windows. However, this is a rudimentary firewall that could do with a lot more options, which you get with third-party firewalls. Apart from this really good anti-malware engine, Avira also has a wide range of privacy optimization tools that stop companies from tracking and harvesting private data.

It also removes browser cache, browser history, and chat logs, and permanently deletes files — all in just one click! Avira is a fast, secure, and easy-to-use antivirus with really good privacy protections. Avira also has a very user-friendly interface, and it comes with a good range of additional tools, including a decent VPN, good anti-phishing tools, and a browser extension which helps you find the best online shopping deals.

Download Avira Now. TotalAV is really good at virus detection — it uses the same cloud-based antivirus scanner that Avira uses. I was able to quickly and easily delete over 8 GB of junk and duplicate files, remove useless and unwanted apps, clear browser cookies, and a lot more — significantly improving the overall speed of both my Windows and Mac laptops. TotalAV has both a really good virus scanner and easy-to-use optimization tools. It caught virtually all of my malware samples during testing, and it cleared out a lot of space from both of my laptops.

All TotalAV purchases come with a day money-back guarantee. Download TotalAV Now. BullGuard uses virus databases and machine learning to identify and block all kinds of malware, including zero-day threats — it caught most of the malware in my testing, but it missed a few adware and spyware files that the others on this list found. I tested this feature while playing Destiny 2, and BullGuard actually increased the frame rate on my gaming laptop.

BullGuard also provides a range of internet security features for both gamers and non-gamers, such as:. The home network scanner is pretty cool. It ran an in-depth threat scan of all the IoT devices connected to my network, including my printer, baby monitor, and security camera. Norton and McAfee offer similar protection, but only for US-based users.

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.

CNET editors pick the products and services we write about. When you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Best free Windows antivirus Microsoft Defender. Jump to details.