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You've come to the right place if you want to finally narrow down the best antivirus for your computer and mobile devices. We've tested and reviewed the latest antivirus packages - both free and premium - from the biggest names in cyber security, so you can be confident that our recommendations can be trusted.

Creators of malware and viruses are always coming up with new ways to gain access to your PC and other internet enabled devices (with your mobile phone and tablet included). Luckily online software security companies are constantly updating their security software packages. We're already starting to see their 2019 packages come to market, with user experience tweaks and the latest virus definitions to protect against phishing scams, ransomware and all other types of viruses and malware.

Right now, we think that Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2019 is the best antivirus available. It combines watertight security tools with an array of other excellent security features and is super easy to use, too - best of all, it also offers extremely good value for money. You can read more about what it offers below, together with Norton AntiVirus and Webroot SecureAnywhere that complete our top three. 

If you’re looking for all-round protection against the latest cyber threats, then investing in the strongest programme is the best solution you can hope for - and we also have the best business antivirus plans if you're looking to take care of your company computers. That doesn't mean you have to start spending big money either, as our guide also gives you the best available prices for the best software.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2019

Take a look at any rankings of big independent antivirus and Bitdefender's premium security products always rise to the top.It tends to be reliable and accurate in its virus detecting, featuring web filtering to blocks access to malicious sites, a secure browser that keeps your online banking ans shopping transactions safe, and there's a password manager which auto-completes credit card details in web forms. It also scores high for its excellent anti-phishing module, which alerts you to malicious links in your search engine results and blocks access to dangerous sites.

New for the 2019 version of Antivirus Plus are multi-layer ransomeware protection that heuristically learns the behaviour of such threats to keep you safe as well as the ability to scan all your linked devices via the Bitdefender Central mobile app. There are one or two issues – it grabs more resources than average, and might conflict with some programs – but Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2019 is still a likeable package which offers excellent detection rates, great performance, and more than enough bonus features to justify the price.

Bitdefender Internet Security 2019 builds on AVP 2019 and triples the number of devices covered plus offers anti-spam, firewall, parental advisor and file encryption features.For a little bit more you can purchase the Total Security 2019 edition. It adds all of the above and covers up to five PCs, Macs, Android and iOS devices.

Norton AntiVirus Basic

Norton AntiVirus Basic is a top quality malware hunter which can automatically protect your PC all on its own - that's a given. But one of the main reasons we've boosted it to number two in our best antivirus rankings is because it's also one of the very best value paid-for security software options on the market.

Norton offers plenty of tweaks, options and settings for those who need them, as well as features like a handy URL blocker that keeps you away from malicious websites. If that misses something, an excellent file reputation service heuristically recognises suspect downloads immediately. And if malware still finds a way through, intelligent behaviour monitoring uses its up to date virus definitions to quarantine threats at the first sign of trouble.

If you're a more hands-on type, you can easily run scans on demand. Maybe set up and save custom scans to check just the areas you need. Even schedule them to run at a particular time, but only if your system is idle, and it's not running on battery power.

There can be problems with some of the browser extensions. The bundled Norton Identity Safe is a capable password manager when it's running properly, but we've found the Chrome version sometimes stops working for no apparent reason. We've seen plenty of reviewers reporting similar problems, so there does seem to be a real issue here.

Still, you don't have to use Identity Safe at all, and Norton AntiVirus Basic's main functions deliver on all fronts: it's easy to use, has the configuration options experts need, comes highly rated by the testing labs, and is carefully designed to have the least possible impact on your system performance.

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