Connecting to the Internet without an antivirus is crazy these days. All sorts of computer threats are circulating on the Internet, looking for the slightest mistake to infect our computer and take over our data. From software vulnerabilities to malicious links and email and social media scams, staying safe is getting harder. For this reason, it is very important to have a good antivirus when we are going to connect to the Internet, but what is the best option?
Each antivirus that we can find on the market has its own advantages and disadvantages. While they all share a common database thanks to the cloud (so they will almost certainly detect the same threats), not all of them protect you in the same way. In addition, we must consider not only the security they offer, but also the impact it has on the PC hardware, since the wrong choice can cause our computer to turn on for a long time and run very slowly due to this program.
To help you make the right decision, we wanted to take advantage of this hot summer to recommend only 3 antiviruses that we would install on our computer to protect ourselves from all threats. Let’s go to them.
Microsoft Defender: Free, Simple, and Installed by Default
The first antivirus that we recommend, how could it be otherwise, is Microsoft Defender. It is an antivirus that is installed by default in Windows 10 and Windows 11 and provides a basic level of protection against all kinds of threats. Thanks to this and the protection measures included in Windows itself, we can forget about most of the security problems, since it will be responsible for detecting and eliminating all threats that can reach our PC.
Antivirus is 100% recommended for those who do not want to pay anything and are not looking for additional protection modules that will be available by default from the first moment of Windows installation.
Bitdefender, the complete security suite
As a paid alternative to Windows’ own antivirus, we’re spoiled for choice. And the truth is that the great antiviruses are almost all the same or very similar. We might as well choose kaspersky, or McAfee. But the former are suspected of collaborating with the Russian regime (and there’s not much to brag about right now), while the latter, since Intel sold its stake to a private company, have been drifting a bit. And beware, both antiviruses have received a perfect score of 6 out of 6 in various security, performance and usability tests.
Therefore, as a security package, we recommend using Bitdefender. It is one of the most complete security software that offers us comprehensive and complete protection for all of our devices. It has one of the best antivirus engines, anti-phishing, fraud and other protections, a full firewall and a large number of privacy tools. Wi-Fi also keeps us safe and offers us a VPN when we need extra protection.
We can protect up to 5 PCs or mobile phones with one license and it will be valid for one year.
Avast, the best free alternative
Avast, It is now owned by Norton and is the best free antivirus that we can install on our computer. It is one of the oldest free antiviruses and has been protecting our computers for a long time. It has a powerful antivirus engine and various additional shields to detect and block all possible threats that can reach our PC.
It also allows us to secure our Wi-Fi network, analyze mail, protect ourselves from ransomware, and notify us of data breaches. And if we pay for the Premium version, in addition, we will have a full-fledged firewall to control our PC’s connections.