Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
November 11, 2025: With this update, we added Avast Small Business Premium, replacing Avast One Platinum, which has been retired. Our remaining picks have been vetted for currency and availability.
(Credit: Bitdefender)
(Credit: Bitdefender)
Pros & Cons
Award-winning antivirus
Protects Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices
Online management and remote control
VPN, spam filter, and parental control
Vast number of additional bonus features
Full VPN access requires a separate subscription
Parental content filter not fully effective
Support for iOS is limited
You surely have antivirus installed on your PCs, but what about your other devices? And what about security that goes beyond just antivirus? With a Bitdefender Total Security subscription, you can protect devices running Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS. It’s our Editors’ Choice for basic security suite; the macOS and Android editions have separately earned the Editors’ Choice honor in their respective arenas. You can also manage all your devices from the convenient Bitdefender Central online console.
Why We Picked It
Scores in hands-on tests: For many years, Bitdefender has scored lower than expected in my hands-on malware-blocking test. At the same time, the labs rate it near perfect, and I give them more weight. With 9.0 of 10 possible points, it comes in behind about two-thirds of the competition. In a separate test, it managed to block 92% of a collection of real-world malware-hosting URLs, either by diverting the browser away from the dangerous page or by eliminating the malware download. That’s not a top score, but Bitdefender’s 99% detection rate in my antiphishing test is among the best.
Independent lab test scores: Antivirus is the core of any security suite, so I check five antivirus testing labs to see what they think of each antivirus engine. Four of the five reports include Bitdefender, and it scored the maximum possible in all but one test. Each lab has its own way of reporting antivirus success, so I’ve devised an algorithm to map all the scores onto a 10-point scale and generate a combined score. Bitdefender’s 9.8-point aggregate score is among the best.
Pricing and pricing tiers: Bitdefender’s products generally come in two subscription types, Individual and Family. An Individual plan covers five devices, while a Family plan covers 25 and includes parental control. Bitdefender Total Security costs $109.99 per year at the Individual level or $139.99 for a Family subscription. Looking at it another way, you pay $22 per device per year at the Individual level or $5.60 per device per year with a Family pack. That’s the best price of all the suites gathered here.
Core suite features: This Bitdefender suite is packed with features, including favorites such as firewall, antispam, and parental control. It won’t back up your files, but its password manager will help you remember strong passwords, and its optimization features aim to enhance system performance. It even comes with a VPN, though you pay extra to remove limits on bandwidth and server choice.
Ransomware protection: All malware is bad, but some malware is worse. Ransomware, in particular, does damage that can’t be reversed ex post facto by an antivirus. Bitdefender’s Advanced Threat Defense and Network Threat Prevention features detect and prevent malware behaviors (among its other capabilities), and Ransomware Remediation aims to recover any files encrypted before the behavioral defenses take effect. In testing, with all other defenses disabled, Bitdefender successfully prevented 11 of 12 real-world ransomware attacks. Of course, with the regular antivirus turned on, the ransomware vanished in a flash.
Identity protection features: If you want Bitdefender’s antivirus technology with identity theft protection included, you should opt for Bitdefender Ultimate Security, not Bitdefender Total Security, as described here. The closest this app comes to identity protection is the mobile-only Account Privacy feature, which checks your email addresses to see if they’ve appeared in a data breach.
Additional features: Bitdefender’s standalone antivirus packs so many security features that it’s almost a suite, and Total Security adds even more. Scam detection keeps you from being tricked, and an anti-theft system helps when your laptop or mobile goes missing. Other useful features include an active Do Not Track system for the browser, protection against misuse of the webcam or mic, a scanner that applies missing security patches, a hardened desktop for financial transactions, and more.
Who It’s For
Laid-back users: While some may think fooling around with security is fun, you consider it a necessary chore. Bitdefender has you covered. Just turn on its AutoPilot, take any actions the AutoPilot advises, and then sit back while the security suite does its job.
Feature seekers: Every security suite starts with the core protection of antivirus and (usually) a firewall. From there, they diverge, with some models featuring just a handful of additional features and others incorporating every feature imaginable. If you appreciate the latter and want to have all the features, just in case they might be needed, Bitdefender is the ideal choice.
Bargain hunters: In a very real way, Bitdefender is the least expensive of the suites gathered here. If you buy the five-device Individual license, you’re paying $22 per device. However, if you opt for the Family license, which covers 25 devices, the per-device price drops to $5.60.
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Bitdefender Total Security Review
(Credit: McAfee)
(Credit: McAfee)
Best for Multi-Device Households
McAfee+
Pros & Cons
Protects all devices in your household
Identity theft detection and remediation
Helps remove abandoned online accounts
Excellent antivirus lab test scores
No-limits VPN
Missed two real-world ransomware attacks
Some familiar features are no longer present
Limited children’s identity features
You’ve installed security on your desktops and mobile devices. But what about your partner’s devices and all those electronic gadgets that enrapture your children? The generous McAfee+ suite lets you protect every device in your household, running Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS. It even supports Chromebooks and laptops based on ARM architecture. That protection includes the use of McAfee’s VPN with no limits on bandwidth or server choices, as well as numerous security bonus features. But wait; there’s more! McAfee+ comes in three tiers: Premium, Advanced, and Ultimate. You get basic dark web monitoring of personal information at all three levels. The Advanced and Ultimate levels include comprehensive identity theft monitoring and remediation, which is comparable with Norton’s LifeLock and Bitdefender Identity Theft Protection. It doesn’t monitor as many different aspects of your identity, but it targets the most important ones.
Why We Picked It
Scores in hands-on tests: If nobody aces a test, participants can console themselves with the thought that maybe the test was just too hard. McAfee’s performance in my hands-on malware blocking test validates both the test and McAfee’s prowess—it scored a perfect 10 of 10 points. McAfee also detected 100% of the real-world phishing frauds I used in my antiphishing test. Had it also scored 100% in my malicious URL blocking test, that would have been a trifecta. It didn’t, but a 97% protection rate is still quite good.
Independent lab test scores: Like ESET, McAfee appears in the latest report from four of the five antivirus testing labs that I follow, though not the same four. McAfee earned a perfect score in every test but one. Perfection could mean 100% detection, a rating of AAA, or Advanced+ certification, so I’ve devised a system that maps all the results onto a 10-point scale and returns a combined result. McAfee’s 9.8-point aggregate score from four labs matches Bitdefender’s achievement. They’re both impressive.
Pricing and pricing tiers: McAfee’s pricing is both simple and generous. Your yearly McAfee+ subscription costs $149.99, and it covers all your devices. Specifically, you can use it to install protection on any device belonging to a member of your household, provided that device runs Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, or even ChromeOS. It’s a bargain.
Core suite features: Over the last several years, McAfee has removed features that weren’t being used, such as spam filtering and parental control. It doesn’t include backup for important files or a system performance tune-up. You do get McAfee’s True Key password manager, and its antivirus, firewall, and VPN form a solid bulwark of protection.
Ransomware protection: To test how well an antivirus defends against malicious ransomware, I typically disable all protective layers except ransomware protection. That plan fails with McAfee, because it’s not possible to separate out the ransomware layers. I managed to run a test anyway by creating a new, never-before-seen set of hand-tweaked sampled. With every possible protective layer active, McAfee failed to block one file-encrypting ransomware sample and one whole-disk encrypting sample. That’s worrying.
Identity protection features: At its lowest pricing tier, McAfee+ is essentially an unlimited-license version of McAfee Total Protection. That does mean it monitors the dark web and warns if your personal data has been breached. The Advanced and Ultimate tiers include identity theft detection and remediation, as well as credit score monitoring, credit freeze assistance, transaction monitoring for your financial accounts, and more. It doesn’t max out on identity features the way Bitdefender or Norton do, but it covers the high points. In addition, it offers privacy advice for your social media accounts, finds and removes personal information from third-party data brokers, and even helps you find and eliminate online accounts that you’ve abandoned or forgotten.
Additional features: McAfee’s studies show that scam texts and other fakes are overtaking malware as the biggest threat to consumer security. You can configure McAfee+ to pre-process your incoming webmail and flag suspicious messages. Giving it access to your mail also allows it to generate a report of all the online accounts you’ve connected with. Eliminating unused and abandoned accounts helps protect your privacy. While you’re thinking about privacy, you can use McAfee’s secure deletion file shredder to wipe out sensitive private documents so thoroughly that no snoop (or lawman) can recover them.
Who It’s For
Lab-test believers: I challenge every antivirus to detect a standard collection of malware samples using every feature available, from simple on-sight recognition to behavioral analysis. Any antivirus can theoretically earn up to 10 points in this test, but McAfee is one of the very few to reach that pinnacle. It also managed a perfect 100% in my phishing detection test and a very good 97% against malware-hosting URLs. Add to that its aggregate lab score of 9.8 points, derived from four labs, and you’ve got a top-scoring suite.
Loyal customers: If you show your brand loyalty by signing up for automatic renewal, McAfee slings some loyalty right back at you in the form of a virus-free guarantee. In the rare event that a malware attack gets past all antivirus defenses, McAfee’s support experts will log in remotely to chase down the problem. And in the even rarer event they can’t fix the problem, you get your money back. Now that’s loyalty.
Identity defenders: You know you want an early warning system against identity theft, plus recovery help if needed, but many of the services can be overwhelming. McAfee covers all the essential identity theft tasks, from dark web monitoring to credit tracking to a million-dollar recovery guarantee. But you may find it easier to grasp than some of its competitors.
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McAfee+ Review
(Credit: Norton)
(Credit: Norton)
Pros & Cons
Award-winning antivirus
VPN with no bandwidth or server limits
Hosted online storage for backups
Effective protection against dangerous and fraudulent websites
Powerful, self-sufficient firewall
Parental control unavailable on macOS
Online backup strictly for Windows
Data-broker opt-out system limited
Among many other features, Norton 360 Deluxe includes a robust, intelligent firewall, a basic password manager, and a dark web monitoring system that warns you if your private data is exposed. Your subscription lets you protect up to five devices running Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS. It also gets you five full licenses for Norton’s VPN. That’s a plus. Many other suites make you pay extra to remove limits from their included VPN components, or reserve a no-limits VPN for their most expensive tier. Norton’s 50GB of online storage for your backups is a nice bonus.
Why We Picked It
Scores in hands-on tests: My malware blocking test gives each antivirus multiple chances to detect and quarantine numerous real-world malware samples, ranging from eliminating the threat on sight to detecting its behavior after launch. Norton, like Avast and AVG, scored 9.7 of 10 available points, beating all but a handful of competitors. For a different view, I challenge each antivirus with 100-odd malware-hosting URLs, giving equal credit if it blocks all access to the dangerous URL or quarantines the malware download. In that test, Norton achieved a near-perfect 99% protection, primarily by diverting the browser away from the dangerous page. Norton also steered the browser away from 99% of the real-world phishing websites I used in my antiphishing test.
Independent lab test scores: Independent antivirus testing labs can’t include absolutely every antivirus in their testing. They have to draw the line somewhere. All five labs I follow included Norton in their most recent test result reports, indicating that they all considered it a significant finding. And four of the five awarded it their top score. Pouring Norton’s scores into my aggregate scoring algorithm yields 9.6 of 10 possible points. That’s the same score achieved by Avast, the only other antivirus currently appearing in results from all five labs.
Pricing and pricing tiers: Norton 360 Deluxe costs $119.99 per year, period. That gets you security suite protection for five devices, five licenses for Norton’s no-limits VPN, and 50GB of hosted online storage to back up your Windows boxes. If you want a single Norton subscription that covers more than five devices, you must upgrade to one of the Norton 360 With LifeLock suites.
Core suite features: File backup, either online or local, was once a standard feature in top-tier security mega-suites, but it’s becoming less common. With Norton, you get 50GB of hosted storage for backing up your Windows devices. Norton no longer bothers trying to filter out spam, but it incorporates all the other standard suite features: antivirus, firewall, VPN, parental control, password management, and even system performance tuneup.
Ransomware protection: In a perfect world, your antivirus would eliminate every malicious program, including ransomware. However, the consequences of letting a ransomware attack run even temporarily are high, so Norton builds in additional protection in the form of its Data Protector feature. Data Protector prevents unauthorized programs from modifying files residing in protected folders. In testing, with all other protective layers disabled, it missed one real-world ransomware sample but caught the rest. Of course, with Norton fully active, the samples didn’t stand a chance.
Identity protection features: While full identity protection would require an upgrade to Norton With LifeLock, this suite includes several identity-related components. It monitors the dark web and warns if your personal data has been compromised. Its Privacy Monitor flags data brokers that have created a profile from your personal information, though you must pay extra if you want it to help remove those profiles.
Additional features: Like McAfee, Norton is devoting more and more energy to detecting scams and frauds. If its AI-powered Norton Genie component identifies a message or screenshot as suspicious, you can converse with it about its findings. Other more traditional security bonuses include protection against webcam misuse, a browser extension to block ads and other trackers, a vulnerability scan to find apps that need patching, and a tool to analyze and manage apps that launch at startup.
Who It’s For
Lab-test believers: One way to choose your security suite is to check the scoreboard. In my hands on tests using phishing frauds drawn from the real world, Norton detected a near-perfect 99%, and it did the same in a separate test using malware-hosting URLs. It scored 9.7 out of 10 points in my malware-blocking test—only three recent products have achieved a better result. And all five independent labs include Norton in their reports, with all but one assigning it perfect scores. Based on the scoreboard, Norton’s a winner.
Old-school enthusiasts: Do you respect brands that have survived the test of time? Norton has been supplying antivirus and other security protection since before the advent of Windows. Choose this one for your protection, and you’re backed by decades of experience.
Loyal customers: Once you’ve picked your security suite, it makes sense to stick with your choice. It’s best to sign up for automatic renewal. When you do so, Norton returns your loyalty with its Virus Protection Promise. If a malware attack somehow gets past all of Norton’s many protective layers, security experts will log in to your computer remotely and manually wipe out the threat. If they can’t (which is unlikely), the company will refund your purchase price.
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Norton 360 Deluxe Review
(Credit: Avast)
(Credit: Avast)
Pros & Cons
Excellent scores in antivirus lab tests and our tests
Full remote configuration management
Can remotely trigger scan, update, reboot, more
Includes firewall, VPN, file shredder
Web control filters inappropriate content
Exchange and SharePoint security for servers
Relatively expensive
No VPN for Mac installations
Many security companies prepare a special version for small business owners. In many cases, the small business version closely resembles the associated consumer-side suite, with additions and enhancements tailored to business functions. That’s not how Avast works. You install its protection on all your company’s desktops, whether they are PCs or Macs. With that done, you have total control over protection on all your company computers. You can view status, launch scans, force a reboot, and more. By editing global policy online, you can push configuration changes out to the entire company. Avast Premium Business Security is an Editors’ Choice pick for small business security.
Why We Picked It
Scores in hands-on tests: In my hands-on malware blocking test, Avast detected 97% of the samples and scored 9.7 of 10 possible points, precisely the same performance as AVG and Norton. Challenged with over 100 malware-hosting URLs, featuring fresh, live malware, Avast’s score of 94% protection is commendable, although nearly a third of competitors performed better. Avast proved more effective at detecting phishing fraud, with a near-perfect 99% detection rate.
Independent lab test scores: Independent labs around the world regularly test antivirus apps and report their findings. I closely track five such labs, and all five consider Avast significant enough to merit testing. All five rated Avast at or near the top in their latest tests. My aggregate scoring algorithm incorporates those test results and yields 9.6 of 10 possible points, a very good result.
Pricing and pricing tiers: As a small business product, Avast handles licensing differently from many other suites. You can sign up to protect any number of devices from one to 999. The yearly price per device decreases from $49.81 for a few devices to $22.88 for a maximum of 999 devices. Many small business suites max out at 25 devices—that would cost over $1,000 with Avast. The price is high, but you get some unique remote management features.
Core suite features: This business-centric security suite focuses on full remote management of essential antivirus and firewall features, while omitting some of the ancillary security features found in Avast’s consumer-facing products and competing products. It does offer a VPN with no limits on bandwidth or server usage, and its content filter system serves as a form of parental control. But you won’t find spam filtering, backup, tuneup, or password management.
Ransomware protection: A regular antivirus should protect against all types of malware, including ransomware. However, Avast’s Folder Shield adds an additional layer of protection. If an unauthorized program attempts any change to files in folders you’ve specified for protection, you get a warning, and a chance to axe the program and prevent the change. In testing, Avast successfully protected files in the listed folders; however, some real-world ransomware samples encrypted as many as 10,000 files in folders not included in the protected list.
Identity protection features: Avast focuses strongly on endpoint security, remotely managed from the powerful business hub. Identity theft protection isn’t part of the plan.
Additional features: The primary reason to choose Avast over other suites is its powerful, detailed remote management system. You can fully control antivirus settings for every one of your company computers from the online Business Hub. The hub also allows you to manage the use of removable devices across the entire company. Webcam and microphone protection keeps your meetings safe from corporate snoops, and a file shredder lets you destroy sensitive files beyond any hope of forensic recovery.
Who It’s For
Lab-test believers: You don’t want to buy a security suite based on rumors and reputation—you want facts. Well, it’s a fact that five independent testing labs put Avast to the test and four awarded it their highest possible score (the fifth was close). Likewise, it’s a fact that Avast successfully fended off 99% of phishing attacks and 94% of malware-hosting URLs in hands-on tests. In a malware-blocking test with a top score of 10, Avast achieved a score of 9.7.
Business managers: Once you have Avast installed on all your company computers, you have complete control over your network security. From the online hub, you can adjust any antivirus setting and have the change applied to all computers. You can also check status remotely, launch scans, effect remote reboots, and more. You’re the boss.
Specs & Configurations
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Avast Premium Business Security Review
(Credit: Bitdefender)
(Credit: Bitdefender)
Pros & Cons
Excellent device-level security
Supports Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS
Thorough identity and credit monitoring
Dedicated resolution specialists help remediate identity theft
Identity theft insurance
No-limits VPN
Parental content filter not fully effective
Password manager lacks advanced features
Cannot actually prevent identity theft
Ultimate is the right word for Bitdefender Ultimate Security. It incorporates Bitdefender Total Security, Bitdefender Premium VPN, Bitdefender’s SecurePass password manager, Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection, and more. You also get a full-scale identity protection and remediation system, complete with privacy monitoring, breach alerts, and white-glove personal assistance in the event you experience identity theft. Bitdefender backs its identity theft protection with a $1 million guarantee, with a $2 million guarantee available at the highest subscription tier. And if you choose a Family subscription, you get identity protection for up to five family members.
Why We Picked It
Scores in hands-on tests: With 9.0 of 10 possible points in my hands-on malware blocking test, Bitdefender barely makes it out of the bottom one-third. That’s no surprise; Bitdefender routinely scores lower than expected in this test. Perfect scores from the labs wipe away the stain of those low scores. A separate test rates how successfully an antivirus prevents malware from being downloaded from dangerous URLs—Bitdefender scored 92% in that test. On a more positive note, when challenged with hundreds of real-world fraudulent (phishing) URLs, Bitdefender detected 99% of them.
Independent lab test scores: In addition to my hands-on tests, I carefully consider test results from independent labs around the world. They don’t include every antivirus in testing, just the ones they consider most important. The fact that four of the five labs featured Bitdefender in their latest tests means it’s important; the fact that it took a perfect score in all but one test means it’s effective. Bitdefender’s 9.8-point aggregate lab score is among the best.
Pricing and pricing tiers: Like many identity theft products, Bitdefender offers different pricing tiers, each with additional features. The basic tier, which includes only the most basic identity protection, costs $159.99 for a five-device Individual subscription or $199.99 for a 25-device Family subscription. Upgrading to the Plus tier raises those prices to $189.99 and $269.99 and activates full identity theft features and insurance for one or five individuals, depending on the plan you chose. For maximum identity theft protection, you must upgrade to Plus Extended, available at an Individual price of $249.99 per year or a Family subscription at $349.99.
Core suite features: As for device-level protection, Bitdefender Ultimate is identical to Bitdefender Total. It covers all the expected suite features, including firewall, spam filter, parental control, password management, and system performance tune-up. And unlike Bitdefender Total, this suite’s VPN comes with no bandwidth limits or restrictions on server location choice.
Ransomware protection: At one time, Bitdefender’s File Safe feature protected against ransomware by blocking all unauthorized programs from modifying files in protected folders. The developers have since dropped that component, relying instead on powerful behavioral detection. With all other antivirus layers turned off, Bitdefender successfully detected and defeated 11 of 12 real-world ransomware attacks. A feature called Ransomware Remediation is designed to clean up any files encrypted before the behavioral protection kicks in. However, I never got to see it in action because the behavioral protection didn’t leave any files to clean up.
Identity protection features: At its least expensive level, this suite includes Bitdefender’s digital identity protection, which checks if your personal data is for sale on the dark web, exposes social media impersonators, and finds your profile on data broker sites. The Plus tier gets you full identity theft remediation, powered by TransUnion, which also partners with ESET and Malwarebytes. At the top Plus Extended tier, you get $2 million insurance rather than $1 million, tracking three credit bureaus rather than just one, and a system to monitor your accounts for anomalous transactions. And if you opt for the Family license, you receive identity protection for up to five individuals.
Additional features: Local device protection is largely the same between Bitdefender Ultimate and Bitdefender Total. Upgrading to Ultimate does remove limits on the VPN, but that’s about it. You still get the almost-overwhelming collection of security features. Among these are webcam protection, browser isolation for banking, a scan for vulnerable apps, a file shredder for secure deletion, anti-theft for laptops, and more.
Who It’s For
Laid-back users: It’s true that getting identity protection configured requires some concentrated effort on your part, but once you’ve passed that initial stage, you’re done. The most you might need to do is respond to privacy alerts. For standard security suite features, simply enable Bitdefender’s AutoPilot. It may have a task or two for you, but with those done, Bitdefender’s in charge, and you can chill.
Feature seekers: Bitdefender offers all the expected security suite features, plus an impressive array of security-related bonuses. On top of that, you get a wide-ranging collection of features for detecting incipient identity theft, heading off identity theft attempts, and (if necessary) recovering from identity theft. Better to have all those features and not need them than to need them and not have them, right?
Identity defenders: Antivirus protects your data against malicious software, and VPN keeps your data safe as it travels the internet. However, identity theft can occur anywhere, from stealing your password to retrieving financial documents from your trash. You want to cover all the bases, so you need a suite like this one, with everything from data breach detection to lost wallet help to white-glove remediation help from a personal agent. And it’s not just for you—if you spring for the Family license, you get identity protection for up to five individuals.
Specs & Configurations
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Bitdefender Ultimate Security Review
(Credit: Norton)
(Credit: Norton)
Pros & Cons
LifeLock identity theft remediation
Excellent device-level security protection
Full VPN with no bandwidth limits
Supports Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS
Million-dollar identity protection guarantee
Security protection is limited on iOS devices
No parental control or backup for macOS
Cannot actually prevent identity theft
Norton’s security software can protect your devices and local data, but it cannot extend its protection into the real world and safeguard your identity. That’s why you want Norton 360 With LifeLock. This suite starts with everything we like about Norton 360 Deluxe and adds identity monitoring and identity theft remediation supplied by identity pioneer (and Norton property) LifeLock. You can choose from three protection tiers, each with more identity theft features, device-protection licenses, and storage for your online backups. The top tier includes all identity features, protection for an unlimited number of devices, and 500GB of hosted online backup storage.
Why We Picked It
Scores in hands-on tests: All the antivirus protection in the world won’t help if you willingly give away your security credentials to a phishing website. In a test using hundreds of real-world phishing pages, Norton correctly blocked access to 99%. Its browser protection also proved effective against dangerous malware-hosting URLs. In that test, it also scored 99%, mostly by blocking URL access but in some cases by quarantining the malware download. As for my basic malware-blocking test, Norton detected 97% of the samples and scored 9.7 of 10 possible points, the same as AVG and Avast. Only a very few competitors have scored higher in that test.
Independent lab test scores: There’s no easy way to put identity theft remediation to the test, but antivirus protection is another story. I follow five labs that regularly report on the efficacy of important antivirus applications. Some antivirus apps don’t show up in any of the reports, but Norton makes its presence known in all five. With perfect scores from four labs and decent scores from the fifth, it earns an aggregate lab score of 9.6 points, from a maximum of 10. Avast, the only other antivirus currently in all five reports, also scores 9.6.
Pricing and pricing tiers: The cost of Norton 360 With LifeLock depends on the identity tier you select (Select, Advanced, or Ultimate Plus) and the number of identities (individual, family, or family and kids). At the Select, Advanced, and Ultimate Plus tiers, you receive protection for 5, 10, and unlimited devices, respectively, with straightforward pricing: $149.99, $249.99, and $349.99 per year. Expanding to cover two adults or two adults plus kids significantly increases the price, with a maximum of $819.99 per year for a family with kids at the Ultimate Plus level.
Core suite features: The local device security provided by this suite is identical to that of Norton 360 Deluxe. Where the basic Norton 360 gets 50GB of hosted storage for backups, the three tiers of Norton With LifeLock get 100GB, 250GB, and 500GB, respectively. Other than that, suite protection is the same, with almost all the traditional expected features.
Ransomware protection: Some antivirus apps include a detection layer specifically designed to detect ransomware behaviors. Others boil that detection down to one behavior that must not be allowed—encrypting important documents. Norton’s Data Protector monitors files in a list of protected folders and prevents unauthorized programs from making changes to those files. In testing, with all other protective layers disabled, it defeated all but one of a dozen real-world ransomware samples.
Identity protection features: LifeLock is the pioneer of identity protection services, and it’s a valuable addition to Norton’s device-level security suite protection. Depending on the subscription tier, it provides coverage for your recovery from identity theft with a guarantee of up to $3 million, along with special funding for ransomware losses. In addition to credit and transaction monitoring, it can warn about home title fraud, alert you to anomalies in retirement accounts, prevent phone account takeover, and more. At the top tier, it’s not cheap, but it offers the most comprehensive identity protection available.
Additional features: As far as traditional security suite protection, there’s no difference between Norton 360 With LifeLock and plain Norton 360 Deluxe. You’ll find gems like webcam protection and active Do Not Track for the browser in both. And both feature a growing collection of scam-detection elements, from analysis of iffy texts to deepfake detection.
Who It’s For
Old-school enthusiasts: Norton was one of the first antivirus apps back in the day, and LifeLock offered identity theft protection long before most of its competitors existed. If relying on venerable, well-known brands makes you feel safe, you could hardly do better than this pairing.
Loyal customers: No software is perfect. There’s always the faint chance that some clever new malware attack might get past Norton. If that happens, the company guarantees a fix. Either tech experts will remotely connect to your computer and eliminate the infestation, or Norton will refund your money. That loyalty requires you to reciprocate by signing up for automatic renewal.
Identity defenders: LifeLock has been protecting identities for 20 years. At its top tier of protection, it offers a collection of identity defense features that surpass the competition. If you’re concerned about the potential devastating effects of identity theft on your life, you won’t go wrong by choosing the identity protection OG.
Specs & Configurations
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Norton 360 With LifeLock Review
(Credit: ESET)
(Credit: ESET)
Pros & Cons
Excellent price for family identity protection
Global VPN coverage
Good antivirus lab scores
Cross-platform password manager
Identity protection lacks advanced tracking
Poor score in hands-on malware protection test
Annoying firewall pop-ups
Password manager lacks secure sharing and inheritance
ESET Home Security Ultimate leans toward high technology. For example, it offers a Device Control system that provides granular control over which device types and devices can connect to your PC. You could block USB drives in general, but allow the use of those you’ve personally vetted, for example. This suite features a comprehensive set of security tools, some of which are suitable for all users, while others require advanced technical expertise. Going beyond ESET’s other suites, it offers a capable VPN and identity protection for the whole family. Other ESET features include a network inspector, a firewall, a spam filter, an anti-theft system for laptops, webcam security, banking protection, and a limited parental control system.
Why We Picked It
Scores in hands-on tests: Phishing websites are fraudulent sites that attempt to deceive victims into divulging their login credentials. Presented with hundreds of real-world phishing frauds, ESET achieved 100% detection. In a similar test using newly discovered malware-hosting URLs, it managed 95% protection, blocking access to the URL in some cases and deleting the dangerous download in others. As for my simple malware-blocking test, which gives each antivirus several chances to detect and quarantine numerous samples, ESET scored 8.2 out of 10 possible points, the lowest score in this group. An impressive collection of perfect scores from the independent labs counterbalances this low score.
Independent lab test scores: ESET’s motto translates to “trust in German security,” but we don’t have to merely trust that it’s effective—we can check the lab scores. Of the five independent testing labs I follow, four included ESET in their latest test reports, and all four awarded it their very highest scores. That gives ESET a perfect 10 for its aggregate lab score.
Pricing and pricing tiers: Some security suites are available in fixed-size subscriptions, typically one-, three-, five-, and 10-packs. With ESET, you pay $179.99 per year for a five-license subscription (the minimum), plus $5 per year for each additional device, up to a total of $204.99 for 10 devices. Being able to choose the precise number of licenses you need is convenient; however, ESET costs more than many of its competitors.
Core suite features: With antivirus, firewall, and a no-limits VPN, ESET presents a strong core of security suite features. It also includes spam filtering and parental control, two features that are common but not needed by every user. And if you don’t already have a password manager, well, ESET has one built right in.
Ransomware protection: Most antivirus apps wipe out my ransomware samples on sight. ESET only got about half of them on sight, but eliminated the other half when they tried to launch. With ordinary antivirus turned off for testing, leaving only ransomware-specific detection enabled, ESET performed poorly. It caught only half the real-world samples in the test, leaving the rest free to encrypt files and demand their ransom. Even the addition of LiveGuard, a feature reserved for the top-tier suite, didn’t help.
Identity protection features: Like Bitdefender and Malwarebytes, ESET partners with TransUnion to supply identity theft detection and remediation. It offers the expected features, including dark web monitoring for personal data, social media monitoring, wallet recovery assistance, credit score tracking, and more. If you suffer from identity theft, a trained agent will assist you through the recovery process, backed by a $1 million guarantee. ESET doesn’t offer to monitor your accounts for anomalous transactions and lacks a few other features, such as tracking suspicious address change requests, monitoring court records, and checking the sex offender registry.
Additional features: ESET’s most unusual feature is its device control system, which offers fine-grained control over the use of external devices. You could, for example, ban the use of all USB thumb drives, but make exceptions for specific drives or users. After you take advantage of ESET’s file encryption system, you can put the plaintext originals through the file shredder for maximum privacy. It’s unusual anti-theft system puts a powerless “phantom account” in charge when you mark a device as missing. You can set it to warn you about unauthorized use of the webcam, or enable its browser isolation to prevent interference with your financial transactions.
Who It’s For
Feature seekers: For minimalist computer security, you could just get an antivirus and stop there, but the point of a suite is to break out of minimalism. ESET goes way beyond the basics, with webcam protection, an isolated browser for banking, and an encryption system to protect your sensitive files. It’s a powerful and detailed device control system that surpasses what any competitor offers. You can also remotely locate, lock, or wipe a missing laptop or Android device. If you want a suite that’s packed with features, well, here it is.
Lab-test believers: When you’re buying a car, you can take it out for a test drive, but there’s no similar way to test drive a security suite. Fortunately, labs around the world run tests and report on the efficacy of popular security apps. Four of the five labs I follow report on ESET, and all four give it a perfect score. It also reached perfection in my hands-on phishing detection test. Admittedly, it stumbled in my hands-on malware-blocking test, but its many other top scores overshadow that one blip. If you’re looking for a high-scorer, ESET fits the bill.
Identity defenders: All the suites gathered here provide powerful local protection for your devices. Several, including ESET, go beyond device protection to add full-scale identity theft detection and remediation. ESET partners with TransUnion, as do Bitdefender and Malwarebytes, but it reduces the feature collection slightly. That can actually be a boon if you find the full range of identity monitoring to be overwhelming. With ESET, you get the essentials of identity protection, like credit monitoring and personalized help with recovery.
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(Credit: Malwarebytes)
(Credit: Malwarebytes)
Pros & Cons
Identity theft protection by partner TransUnion
Personal data removal service
Includes no-limits VPN protection
Near-perfect score in malware blocking test
Very good protection against malicious and fraudulent sites
Omits some common suite components
Relatively expensive
When other antiviruses fail against malware, experts turn to Malwarebytes to clean up the mess. At the premium level, Malwarebytes excelled in our hands-on malware protection test and also earned a perfect score from two independent testing labs. As the name suggests, Malwarebytes Ultimate goes beyond mere antivirus, with an integrated VPN, personal data removal, and a full-powered identity theft protection service. This isn’t your typical security suite. It doesn’t include a firewall, and it doesn’t offer parental control or spam filtering, features that not everyone needs. And that can be just fine for many users.
Why We Picked It
Scores in hands-on tests: Every year, I gather and analyze a new set of malware samples for testing. I trigger real-time protection for each antivirus by copying samples, downloading them from the internet, or simply opening the containing folder. Then I launch each sample that survives, giving the antivirus many chances at detection. Malwarebytes detected almost every sample just as it tried to launch, scoring a near-perfect 9.9 points. Tested against hundreds of real-world phishing frauds, it achieved a decent 96% detection rate. However, it didn’t perform as well in preventing downloads from malware-hosting URLs, blocking only 83% of the downloads, whereas competitors managed 99% or even 100%.
Independent lab test scores: In years past, developers of the Malwarebytes antivirus engine contended that it was too advanced for standard lab tests. Indeed, Malwarebytes had a spotty past with the labs, not always appearing in the reports and not always scoring well when it did. More recently, its fortunes have turned around, and at present, Malwarebytes holds perfect scores from the two labs that included it, yielding an aggregate lab score of 10 points.
Pricing and pricing tiers: Malwarebytes has many virtues, but a low price isn’t one of them. Pricing starts at $239.99 for a one-device license, which is significantly higher than the prices of other products. As you choose larger packages, the price per device goes down, but remains higher than most. You pay $279.99 for a three-pack and $319.99 for a five-pack. If you need to protect even more devices, a 10-device Malwarebytes subscription costs $399.99, and at 20 devices, the price hits $499.99. Admittedly, Avast costs more, but it’s the only suite that offers this level of protection.
Core suite features: Malwarebytes Ultimate is not a traditional suite. It features a powerful antivirus and a VPN with no limits, and offers system tune-up features to offset any performance drag. Given that Windows Firewall is effective in its own way, Malwarebytes doesn’t add a firewall (though it helps you configure the built-in). Many users don’t need spam filtering, and not every user needs or wants parental control, so these two options are removed from the menu. And Malwarebytes assumes you’re happy with your dedicated password manager.
Ransomware protection: If you get hit by a zero-day ransomware attack, one so new your antivirus doesn’t recognize it, you’ve got trouble. An antivirus update will surely clear out the infestation before long, but your files remain encrypted. To simulate a zero-day attack for testing, I disable every protective layer except those specifically designed to counter ransomware. This app’s behavior-based ransomware detection successfully caught all my real-world samples, although most managed to encrypt some unimportant files during analysis.
Identity protection features: Upgrading to Malwarebytes Ultimate gets you a full-powered VPN and TransUnion-backed identity theft protection. If you’ve seen identity protection offered by Bitdefender or ESET, this one will look familiar, as they all partner with TransUnion. You get credit reports, credit monitoring, data breach tracking, social media tracking, and more. Malwarebytes can track your financial accounts and flag unusual transactions. Separately, it includes a personal data remover service to delete your personal data profile from data broker sites.
Additional features: If you’re looking for a security suite that’s overflowing with features, look elsewhere. Malwarebytes focuses on antivirus, VPN, and identity protection.
Who It’s For
Efficiency fiends: While most antivirus apps take well over an hour to complete a full scan, a Malwarebytes Threat Scan takes just a few minutes. If it finds anything suspicious, then it’s time for a more thorough scan, but that’s not usually necessary. If you want to minimize the time spent seeking out malware, Malwarebytes is the ideal solution.
Identity defenders: Keeping ransomware and trojans out of your devices is important, but attacks on your identity are a step further. Imagine trying to log in to your email or your bank, only to find that identity thieves have locked you out. Like ESET and Bitdefender, Malwarebytes partners with TransUnion to provide a comprehensive suite of identity theft detection and remediation features.
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Malwarebytes Ultimate Review
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The Best Security Suites for 2025
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Buying Guide: The Best Security Suites for 2025
Basic vs. Advanced Security Suites
Most security companies offer at least three levels of security programs, including a standalone antivirus utility, an entry-level security suite, and an advanced suite with additional features and enhancements. Entry-level suites typically include antivirus software, a firewall, spam protection, and parental control features. The advanced “mega-suite” often includes a backup component and a system tune-up utility, and some also add password management, a VPN, or other security extras.
When a new or updated security line is released, we begin by reviewing the antivirus. In our review of the entry-level suite, we summarize results from the antivirus review and dig deeper into the suite-specific features. For a mega-suite review, we focus on the advanced features, referring to the entry-level suite review for features shared by both. Your choice of a basic or advanced security suite depends entirely on what features matter to you and what you’re willing to pay for them.
Is Windows Defender Good Enough?
Over the years, the Windows Defender program built into Windows 10 and 11 has evolved into Microsoft Defender Antivirus. In addition to antivirus protection, it manages Windows Firewall and other Windows security features. It doesn’t truly qualify as a suite; it’s just an antivirus that manages other Windows components. Independent antivirus test scores for Windows Defender have historically been low or zero, but its scores have been steadily improving. You can still achieve better overall protection with the best third-party free antivirus utilities, but Windows Defender is continually improving its capabilities. Even so, it can’t begin to replace a full-scale security suite.
Security Suites Fight Malware, Adware, and Spyware
Malware protection is the heart of a security suite; without an antivirus component, there’s no suite. Naturally, you want a suite with an effective antivirus. When evaluating an antivirus, we look for high marks from the independent antivirus testing labs. The fact that the labs consider an antivirus important enough to test is a vote of confidence in its effectiveness. The best antivirus utilities consistently receive high ratings from multiple labs. All of our top picks have high scores from at least two labs.
We also perform our own hands-on testing. For one test, we use a relatively static set of malware samples that we replace once per year. We note how the antivirus reacts when we try to launch those samples and score it on how well it protects the test system. Additionally, we attempt to download new malicious files from URLs that are no more than a few days old. Lab test results, our own test results, and other factors, such as ease of use, contribute to our antivirus rating.
What Do You Want in a Firewall?
A typical personal firewall offers protection in two main areas. First, it monitors all network traffic to prevent inappropriate access from outside the network. Second, it monitors running applications to ensure they don’t misuse your network connection. The built-in Windows Firewall handles monitoring traffic but doesn’t include program control. A few security suites skip the firewall component, assuming that Windows Firewall already handles the most essential firewall tasks.
The last thing you want is a firewall that bombards you with incomprehensible queries about online activity. Program PoleznyyIdiot.exe wants to connect with IP address 212.192.156.38 on port 443. Allow or Block? Incoming or outgoing? Once, or always? Plastic or paper? Modern firewalls reduce these queries by automatically configuring permissions for known programs. The very best also handle unknown programs by monitoring them closely for signs of improper network activity and other suspicious behaviors.
Providers Mostly Handle Spam Filtering
These days, most of us hardly ever see spam messages in our inboxes because our email providers filter them out. If you don’t receive this service from your provider, it can be challenging to find your valid mail amid all the offers for male enhancements and free cryptocurrency drops.
If your provider doesn’t block spam, choosing a suite with built-in spam filtering is a smart move. Look for one that integrates with your email client. Client integration allows it to divert spam into a dedicated folder and sometimes enables you to train the spam filter by flagging any spam messages that got through or, worse, valid messages that wound up in the spam folder.
Prevent Phishing and Protect Your Privacy
The best antivirus in the world can’t help you if a fraudulent website tricks you into giving away your security credentials. Phishing sites often masquerade as legitimate banking sites, auction sites, and even online dating platforms. When you enter your username and password, your account is instantly compromised. Some clever frauds pass along your credentials to the real site to avoid raising suspicions. You can learn to avoid phishing scams, but having some backup from your security suite is important when you’re not as alert. We test phishing protection using real-world fraudulent sites scraped from the internet.
Steering users away from phishing sites helps protect privacy, but that’s not the only way suites can keep your private information out of the wrong hands. Some offer specific protection for user-defined sensitive data, such as credit card and bank account information. Any attempt to transmit sensitive data from your computer sets off an alarm. Other spyware protection techniques include thwarting keyloggers, preventing the misuse of your webcam, and providing a hardened browser that allows you to conduct online banking in an isolated environment, separate from other processes.
Content Filtering and Parental Control
We don’t penalize a suite for omitting parental control. Not everyone has kids, and not every parent feels comfortable controlling and monitoring their children’s computer use. In fact, we don’t even recommend buying a third-party parental control utility, not when Apple, Google, and Microsoft offer such services at no cost. Even so, if a suite offers parental control as one of its features, it had better work properly.
Blocking inappropriate websites and controlling the amount of time a child spends on the internet (or on the computer) are the core components of a parental control system. Some suites offer advanced features, such as instant message monitoring, game filtering based on ESRB ratings, and location tracking for the child. Others struggle to manage even the most basic tasks successfully.
A VPN Protects Your Communications
Local antivirus and security suites protect your data and documents, but their protection doesn’t extend to your internet communications. A virtual private network, or VPN, secures your internet traffic and can hide your IP address and location from snoops. Most VPN companies have just one product, but an increasing number of security suite companies are venturing into the VPN realm.
Often, though, you don’t get full VPN protection as part of your suite. Some install a free edition or a free trial. Others offer a link that sends you online to subscribe. Norton 360, McAfee+, and Malwarebytes Ultimate are exceptions, offering VPN protection without such limits.
Will a Security Suite Slow Down My PC?
One significant reason to use a security suite rather than a collection of individual utilities is that the integrated suite can perform its tasks using fewer processes and a smaller portion of your system’s resources. However, hardly any modern suites have a significant impact on performance.
In the past, we’ve run some simple performance tests, timing three common system actions with and without the installed suite, averaging many runs of each test. One test measured system boot time, another moved and copied a large collection of files between drives, and a third repeatedly zipped and unzipped the same file collection. After years of spending time on these tests with little to no effect on performance, we’ve retired this test.
Do I Need Backup and Tune-Up Utilities?
In a sense, having a backup of all your files is the ultimate security. Even if a sample of asteroid dust goes astray and destroys your computer, you can still restore it from a backup. And if ransomware gets past your antivirus, you can restore from backup after eliminating the attacker.
Recommended by Our Editors
Some companies reserve backup as a feature for their premium suite offering, while others include it in their entry-level suite. Read our reviews carefully, as backup capabilities vary wildly. At the low end, some companies give you nothing you couldn’t get for free from IDrive or another online backup service. At the high end, you might get 25GB, 50GB, or even more online storage hosted by the company, possibly paired with the separate ability to make local backups.
Tuning up your system performance has no direct connection with security unless it counteracts the security suite’s performance drag. However, tune-up components often include privacy-related features, such as clearing browsing history traces, deleting temporary files, and removing lists of recently used documents.
What Can I Do About Identity Theft?
No software solution can guarantee that malefactors won’t capture and misuse your personal information. What they can do is alert you when they find evidence that your data has been compromised, so you can head off full-scale identity theft. This kind of dark web monitoring is becoming more common.
If the worst happens and your identity is thoroughly stolen, you can get help. McAfee+ includes identity theft remediation at its two higher pricing tiers, and Norton offers suites that include LifeLock identity protection. The top-level suites Bitdefender Ultimate, ESET Home Security Ultimate, and McAfee+ enhance device-level security with identity theft remediation and a no-limits VPN. Malwarebytes Ultimate also adds VPN and identity protection. All of these will assign a caseworker to help you recover and spend what it takes to remediate the problem, typically a million dollars or more.
Do Suites Offer Security for Mac, Android, and iOS Devices?
Windows still dominates the desktop market, but many households also have Macs. Cross-platform, multi-device suites provide a single source of protection for all your devices. Typically, you don’t get as many features on macOS. In fact, most companies just offer a Mac antivirus, not a full suite. Be sure to take advantage of the option to protect your Macs. They’re not immune to malware.
Android devices are ubiquitous, and the Android platform isn’t locked down like iOS. Even if you stay away from third-party app stores and refrain from jailbreaking your device, you can still get hit with Trojans, ransomware, and other Android malware. Smart users protect their devices with an Android antivirus. Most Android antivirus utilities include antitheft features such as locating, locking, or wiping a lost or stolen device. Some include bonus features, such as blocking unwanted calls or warning you when you connect to an insecure Wi-Fi network.
As for iPhones and other iOS devices, Apple’s built-in security makes life tough for malware coders and antivirus writers alike. Many cross-platform suites simply skip iOS; those that don’t typically offer a seriously stripped-down experience. Given the platform’s intrinsic security, it rarely makes sense to expend one of your licenses installing protection on an iPhone.
Editors’ Note: Given that the US government has banned the sale of Kaspersky security products, we no longer recommend them.
