The entry-level program, Kaspersky Anti-Virus (starting at £12.49 UK/$29.99 US), has dedicated ransomware protection, a virtual keyboard and a convenient online account portal. Kaspersky's Windows products have excellent malware-detection scores and a light-to-moderate system-performance impact, the two most important criteria in our rankings.

Read our full Bitdefender Antivirus Plus review. The midrange Bitdefender Internet Security adds parental controls, webcam protection and a two-way firewall, while Bitdefender Total Security tops off the lineup with an anti-theft feature for laptops, a system optimizer and licenses for Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac and Bitdefender Mobile Security for Android.Ī fourth product, Bitdefender Premium Security, is basically Total Security with unlimited VPN usage, a cross-platform password manager and priority tech support.īut the best deal is the Bitdefender Family Pack, which puts Total Security on up to 15 devices for (a frequently discounted) $120 per year.Īs mentioned above, Bitdefender Total Security has merited a Highly Recommended mention for Best Antivirus Software in the Tom's Guide Awards. It also offers the most value, with an unlimited (but Windows-only) password manager, a secure browser with a virtual keyboard, a Wi-Fi network scanner, a file shredder, protection against encrypting ransomware and Bitdefender's web-privacy software - features often found only with pricier antivirus packages. Its active scans don't add much to the background system impact, but that background load is a bit heavy. It has very good, if not perfect, malware-detection scores.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is our top choice among entry-level antivirus products.

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