Internet security software recommendation

I just found out about it. What sandbox does is completely isolate the program from the rest of your computer. Very good stuff. Sage and consistent, as always Leo… good work! Sometimes folks DO get caught up in redundancy. What I use is simple, easy to use, all free, and, I think, sans redundancy.

No complaints on these freebies! Updating and doing a backup regularly is a must. I use a spreadsheet to list all maintenance tasks. Some are weekly tasks and some are monthly tasks. I may spend 20 minutes a week in front of the screen, but mostly run maintenance programs as I do other things around the house. I may try new freebies after reading reviews ie. My Defrag 4. Backup, Backup, Backup! I bought a 1Tb ext.

HD about a year ago. Based on your recommendation Leo, I plan to change my backup routine to an imaging routine for the HD. All other programs I use can be downloaded from the web. As others have mentioned, I found you on another website the one with the Pit in it!

I recommend Kaspersky if you want the job done right. But people can buy what ever they want but after they all fail then at least read about Kaspersky Internet Security and no I do not own any stock or get paid for anything I just believe they are great. Thank You. I too have not been impressed with all-in-one security suites. Some were horrible and took up way too many resources.

That is until now. No product finds every little thing. When you load several programs for security, you can run low on memory or resources. VIPRE can replace several things and use less memory and resources overall. I mention it because it runs so well on all my PCs and because I seldom see it mentioned in review or recommendations.

I have had less issues with it than any other security software. It really is that good. I highly recommend PC Pitstop Optimize3 and Advanced System Care for general, day-to-day maintenance and to keep the cobwebs cleared out. Katie was a programmer who could make a mainframe sit up and beg, but was clueless about Windows.

She relied on advice from her IT guru at work, and he recommended ZA as stable, effective, efficient and safe — and reasonably priced. After a long chat with him during which he explained all his reasoning why it was better than the rest, I gave their trial a try, and paid my fee at the end.

It does exactly what it says on the tin, and does not fill my machine with all kinds of spurious bits and pieces that make it impossible to uninstall as Norton does. I have had no problems with any kind of malware over the seven or eight years I have used it. I personally had a bit of trouble with microsoft security essentials.

I have been using the avast free home virsion,and its doing real well. I use since over a year now Norton Internet Security. But over the time I got tired to manage all this free ware, new versions and updates. I recently had a heinous infection on my main computer, which came simply from visiting an infected website.

I was running avg, it did not stop it, and became disabled. Even MalwareBytes was helpless. Online scanning was disabled, as was system restore.

The only thing that fixed it, was HitMan Pro. I downloaded a trial version on another computer, put it on a usb drive, and transferred it. Problem solved. Pretty scary to have something that MalwareBytes could not fix. By the way the last time I removed the Norton bloatware it took me three days to remove all the pieces.

Thanks Leo for simple easily managed suggestions. Thanks for the good advice Leo, especially regarding backups. I also use Acronis for these operations; however I think you should reword your recommendation to specify their version only. The version is a real dog at this stage. Keep up the good work. So my situation is that recently bought a laptop computer which came with 60 days free Norton Protection. If so how do I go about doing uninstalling from my windows 7 laptop?

When I press on these icons I find them difficult to understand. Leo I disagree with you in regard Microsoft Security Essenials. I had installed this product along with Avast and Zone Alarm and all were up to date. I was downloading from Brothersoft and Avast was the only software that picked up and threw out a massively dangerous Trojan. Love reading you newsletter keep up the great work. Thanks Dyson. Is that a good idea?

Can Essentials be installed after AVG is updated? My only recourse is to completely uninstall the entire program, which is cumbersome. Several years ago I used Norton and Symantec but disliked the way they operated and their high subscription cost. It is, of course, important to keep your subscription active, so you get the security updates daily, typically.

When renewing my subscription, I always go for the two or three-year option, as it works out cheaper. Pros: Very secure. Great features, including parental controls. Excellent value for money. Cons: Sometimes hogs CPU during background scan. Overall, I recommend KIS to anyone not sure which security bundle to choose. Hi Leo! Nothing really great, and nothing to write home about!

Where have you been of late??? You have got to be kidding me! Jesus H. Christ Leo, try and stay a bit up-to-date, even with normal users!!!! Leo, I like what you report. I have use Malware to help clean up clients infected systems.

I have used this for 8 years and it has never let me down. With its new interface it is even better. Are you toting MSE for a reason? Just wondering. I just purchase a tower HP and will be turning it on soon. They scan continuously each day, update and repair — For the beginner they might be too much because there is always a window popping up asking you what you want to do next. But for my money Stop-sign is really good.

MSE is well-touted as an excellent antivirus program, but what about anti-spyware? And the same for a firewall program? Superantispyware-free version. Please can you help. I am receiving unwanted emails that are sent from my email address to bulk recipients and then being returned unsent. Can you recommend a solution. Thanks Ann. Ann: It appears that your AOL account may have been hacked. If this is the case you should change your AOL password and security information.

Trying to tell non comnputer people that Antivirus does not catch everything is hard to do. AVG slow if lines are busy but I have always run the backups first thing daily, and a full scan once a week. Learned my lesson long ago! Microsoft did really well there cracking a very difficult arena to crack.

Not easy to put up a brand new antivirus against the well established paid and free security vendors and Microsoft managed it very well I thought with MSE. Sort of like antimalware insurance.

I have not had the opportunity thankfully to utilize this service yet. Best regards Bob Byrne. Thank you All. Over the years I have tested and used various security products. Many of them were good for a while , but always ended up eventually having some drawbacks high cost, high overhead, clunky interface, too intrusive, etc. It has the best mix of cost, safety, flexibility, ease of use and performance.

Support is really good and is U. They update anti-virus signatures several times a day, usually. As Leo says, one size does not fit all, but I think once you try Vipre you will like it better than anything else you may have tried before. A lot of people use and recommend it, but I have found that it slows my system down a lot.

I have quite an old system. I have used it for almost 8 years. I never had to pay; although some times they try to introduced a new version that has a 30 days trial and then you have to purchased it. AVG now without my permission installs a search bar that slowed my computer a lot. AVG does not offer any info removing the Toolbar even though I did not check the box to include the Toolbar.

It was so annoying I unintalled AVG. Now I still have the Toolbar on Google and I cannot remove it. So AVG is getting paid for hits when someone else uses my computer and this toolbar. Why would AVG offer to uninstall the toolbar. Pretty underhanded business dealings.

I have found several programs that DO work. These of course, are just from my experience as a computer technician and then business owner. I am posting this hoping to save some people the trouble of trying to find good ones, or googling it. Unfortunately like everything else, AV programs are about politics-they pay for reviews, and fake top lists, etc.

Here is a procedure that I recommend to my customers to help stay away from the bad guys — use Mozilla Firefox and install AdBlockPlus available at adblockplus. Since many spyware infections are coming in on otherwise benign web pages especially on XP with IE 8 or less removing the ads will be a huge advantage in the fight against malware. I would recommend microsoft security essentials as well I never though I would recommend a microsoft avs!

AVG used to be good but is now bloated. I have Avast Free which happily tells me my system is secure. But my system was getting slower and slower and repeated full scans with Avast were coming up empty. So I did a Bit full scan — found 10 nasties. Killed those. Then I did a Malwarebytes scan — and found I have used Norton for about 15 years.

My only observation is that you must keep the auto updates running and setup. I use CCleaner to get rid of the junk and Norton Ultilities to tidy up. It all works well together.

Ad-Aware has come a long way. Most all of them update every day. I used AVG for quite awhile but was attacked several times and had trojans, etc. I lost control of my desktop and had to reinstall Windows.

I have been using Avira for many years now. Both the free and the paid for versions with good results. My ISP recommended Malwarebytes just to make sure nothing was missed. Kind of makes me feel good that Leo recommends the same tools that I have been using for years.

I have been using it on every computer I have built which is a lot. I also use it on all 7 of my home computers 3 desktops 3 laptops and one netbook. I rely on Ask Leo thanks for a great service. I did it and have been using nod32 for years with no problems and its found every thing that tried to get by it. The first time it happened…well it just sort of happened, I went to restart my computer and right when it got to the windows splash screen, it blue screened.

Allen Millions of people have been using AVG without any problems. I used Ad-aware for many years but last week succumbed to blandishments to upgrade to Ver. I also got some bizarre effects like empty emails. Big trouble removing program. I finally tried a system restore and wonder of wonders — it worked.

Note that they have added AV to spyware detection ie exactly what Leo warned against. I installed Spybot which I have used previously. Lo and behold. Is it a false positive? I have no symptoms of anything wrong. Security Essentials did not find this, nor did Ad-aware 9. I am using AVG and it, and all other security ware mentioned, is up to date. I recently had a problem with my desktop computer and the tech recommended Webroot. I was using Microsoft Essentials.

It has failed every time! I virtually reamed my system of security programs, also using several cleaners and registry-fixers in sequence, not simultaneously to be sure all of it was gone.

OR, what could I have done wrong? Perhaps I needed to do that prior to the MSE install as well? You are not the only one to recommend MSE.

I would appreciate any ideas you have as to why the installation of MSE keeps on failing! And possibly what I can do about it. I did and have had no more problems with sluggish performance or malware. Excellent article. Will visit more often! I know HDD probably needs to be much larger, but what can I do to maximize the speed on this machine?

Look through the links at the bottom as they are good too: How can I make my computer run faster. I haave mb ram on my system and I have tried almost all antivirus softwares. They tend to slow down the systyem cosiderably. If someone knows any antivirus compatible to mb ram kindly let me know. Can that be so?? Kaspersky Internet Security had the highest rating with Avira and Bitdefender not far behind. Anything other than systematic testing is just guesswork.

Thank you for this article. I would like to link my friends to it. I use Advanced System Care ,and it seems to do all that is required to keep your computer running in tip top condition.

Gets rid of malware and the junk along with many other things that affect your computer and Excellent program. Check it out!!! Same goes for Spybot. So far, I have had no problems, infestations, etc. I actually agree with Leo on this as Micro Security Essentials as first choice my reasons are so simple ,I repair computers for friends and have Windows Based Computers in my home and also one Imac the pcs have never had a virus in at least 4 years and I use a VPN on these repaired friends computers which on request I can check them remotely when a problem arises with no problem up to now as far as Trojans viruses or unwanted nasties so Microsoft Security gets my vote, remember also its free,,,,,,,,,,.

I tried reinstalling with the settings the support gave me but never really worked together kept blocking my whole internet etc. All seem to be highly recommended and highly effective. I, too, use Avast!

Avira tech support had no answer for why. So I switched to Avast! Have had no problems with it for 5 years. Desktop connects to the Internet thru my router via a Belkin adapter, so none of my computers are even visible on the Internet.

Hence, never get anything. I provide tech support to a dozen families and non-profit organizations, and set their computers up the same way. They, too, never have malware problems. Had Norton, tried AVG and a couple of freebies. I will stick with this combo. Best antivirus, malware, all around security on-line? Vipre is fast, lean, and user friendly interface. Not to mention their wonderful,free, weekly newsletter via email, with updates on security risks and other useful info.

As well as various phones my router links to an iPad and three Windows computers. My main computer runs Win7 with ESET protection since ages ago when Nortons just about paralyzed my computer, I trust things are better these days. Now I find I can use it on three computers. What a waste! That is, until it crashed miserably due to virus intrusion. One angry woman and she was pointing at me! It was after clearing all the problems in the XP installation that I decided that free virus programs were inviting failure.

The odds favour ESET. I recently bought a new desk-top with Wndows 8. It had a trial version of Kapersky now expired but the built in anti-virus etc. Should I switch to MSE. I should clarify this in the article, but in Windows 8 the program called Windows Defender is, basically, Security Essentials. If you are using the free versions of AVG or Avast, and are getting prompted to get the newest version, users are reporting various problems with these, you may want to check this out, there are various reports online about it….

My Dollar three ninty-eight. Keeps the locals and the drive-bys out. Not the ones that really want in. And, Once in the locks are useless to keep them leaving with the goodies. Having a good firewall, that prevents all those OEM freebies and downloaded hypes from calling home, is a must.

The big boys are guilty of attempting those calls also. Adobe, Picasa, And on and on. A firewall that offers a report of same would surprise most if read. Who and how many attempts on each usage. The firewall? ZoneAlarm free. Originally from Steve Gibson. Now by?? I keep aware of the new as it comes across the screen. Norton OEM was the hardest to remove. Had to call and threaten them to get their tool to completely erase it! In five minutes on line the log has checked 4 million bits of data and commands to and from every open port on my PC.

Which did you use? Mint is user friendly as is Ubuntu. Very, very few virus attack Linux based systems. Instructions for creating a ISO image are posted on their respective web sites. You may also use the portable version USB stick or load and try the system without installing it. And the more people do what you say, the sooner viruses for Linux will proliferate to the level that they do with Windows, just as Mac users are beginning to find out.

Can you recommend a VPN? What would be a good VPN for that purpose? Good free anti-virus; 1. Avast 2. Avira 3. 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. See at Microsoft. See at NortonLifeLock. See at Bitdefender. Best on-demand Windows malware removal Malwarebytes. See at Malwarebytes. Solid subscription antivirus alternative McAfee Total Protection. See at McAfee. Another good subscription option Trend Micro Maximum Security. See at Trend Micro. See at ESET. Alternative free Windows antivirus Sophos Home. See at Sophos. Our recommendations Looking for free antivirus protection, malware protection or virus detection, willing to pay for an antivirus program that offers broad internet security coverage across all your devices, including from ransomware and phishing, or need to remove a computer virus or malware from your PC right now?

Best free Windows antivirus. Microsoft Defender. Panda Dome Complete has a good malware scanner, an easy-to-use interface, and more additional features than most competitors. Panda Dome Complete offers good malware protection and is one of the most feature-rich internet security suites on the market — although not all of its extra features are that good. Panda detected most of my test malware, and I was impressed with its intuitive interface and unique features like the Rescue Kit.

Learn More — Panda Dome Complete. Kaspersky also has comprehensive parental controls, a good password manager, and a solid VPN — although the VPN is pretty limited. While Kaspersky offers good protection, I think all of its plans are a little bit too expensive when compared to competitors with a similar amount of features.

All Kaspersky purchases come with a risk-free day free guarantee. Learn More — Kaspersky Total Security. Malwarebytes Premium is an easy-to-use internet security suite for users looking for malware and web protection… and not much else. Malwarebytes also comes with a browser extension that prevents phishing attacks, blocks sites with malware including cryptojackers , and removes ads. Malwarebytes is a highly effective anti-malware program, but it lacks most of the additional features I want to see in an internet security suite.

The company offers a generous day money-back guarantee on both plans. Learn More — Malwarebytes Premium. Most of the products on this list are primarily intended for Windows although they all work well on Mac , so I decided to add one more that focuses on protecting Macs.

Intego has excellent real-time malware protection which blocked all of the Mac-specific malware samples I threw at it — including newer spyware samples that macOS antiviruses from competitors like Panda missed. I also really like the phishing detection feature, which blocked more suspicious sites in my tests than Safari or Chrome. Internet security is important because of the huge amount of valuable data most users keep online, and the increasing number of hackers targeting unprotected online accounts.

Without proper internet security protection , you could fall victim to one of these hacks, leaking banking info and credit card numbers, compromising social media accounts, and ultimately becoming a victim of identity theft and fraud.

Antivirus software protects against computer-based malware like viruses and trojans. Internet security software protects against network-based malware like spyware and ransomware. Then we compare the overall scores to see if the decline between the two benchmarks is significant. Each security suite is tested on a clean install of Windows 10 Home. Looking for a cheaper option or something with more flexibility? Or perhaps you just want to see what else is out there?

Norton Deluxe. AVG Internet Security. Windows Security. Trend Micro Maximum Security. Avast One. Avira Prime.