Best antivirus software for Windows PCs 2025: Reviews and top picks
You need antivirus software. The attacks on your PC continue to become more sophisticated, thanks to the help of AI. Even technicians and prudent can be deceived to expose themselves to malware, spy software, ransomware or a phishing attack. Antivirus protection is an essential backup against such threats.
Windows computers are delivered with the safety software cooked in the operating system, but for some people, an upgrade can help demystify and simplify safety. To help you choose a good suite, we have identified products that offer excellent protection, interesting features and an impact on minimum performance on your computer.
How to test antivirus software
Our approach to testing antivirus software is in several components – we are not only looking at the way in which the suite catches malware and other threats (although this is certainly a leading factor), but also other elements.
First of all, we spend a little time in the interface, to determine if it is simple or complex to use. Ideally, he should not take a click or two to find vital tools such as digitization of PCs, as well as the password manager and VPN (if included). The elements that are clickable must also be clear. And alerts should have meaning; You must both understand the information and they should be relevant for what you do.
We also look at the available features. Renowned antivirus consequences should include bases such as real -time protection and deeper analyzes. Better subscription plans will also add a password manager or a firewall. Overall, we try to determine if the extras are useful, or just another marketing chip.
To assess how an antivirus application will reach your PC system resources, we execute several benchmarks. The first is the prolonged test of PCMARK 10, which simulates various workloads, including publishing documents, web navigation, video chat and light games. The second is ultimate, focusing on publishing documents in Microsoft Office – EG, Word, Excel, PowerPoint applications. Then, as the most punitive test, we execute the handbrake to transcode a large video into a smaller. This encoding task often uses 100% of CPU on many domestic PCs.
When we carry out benchmarks, we first execute the three tests on our Windows 11 PC before installing the antivirus suite during examination. Then, we install the application and follow up again the benchmarks, as an approximation of how the application behaves during execution in the background. Finally, we open the software and launch continuous complete analyzes while performing each reference. Subsequently, we compare the scores to find any drop and note the amount.
Currently, the laptop we use for tests is an Acer Aspire 3 15 with an AMD Ryzen 5 7520U, 8 GB of RAM and an SSD of 512 GB. We use a clean installation of Windows 11 during the test of each safety suite.
To calculate the detection capacities of an antivirus suite, we count on the tests of researchers dedicated to security. Most often, we examine organizational reports such as AV comparisons and the AV test.
We also assess prices for each subscription, as well as the features you get for the price.
Generally, we do most of our tests using free trials to understand what customers will really see. All the examination codes provided by companies are used to take clean screenshots for the exam (that is to say without recalling to be upgraded or buying).
For more details on our examination process (and the philosophy of the reason why we test like us), you can also read our complete explanation on our antivirus test practices.
Why you should trust PCworld for antivirus reviews
PCWORLD has been deeply in the trenches of the hardware, software and IT services since 1983, including security suites. As users of PC hardware and software, we have all products thanks to rigorous tests, with a lot of practical evaluation and benchmarks (when the latter is applicable). We do not recommend equipment or applications that we would not use ourselves.
Who organized this article?
Alaina Yee is the PCWORLD security publisher, with more than 15 years of experience in consumer technological journalism covering PC hardware, software and online security coverage.
You should also take into account other considerations. Many things have changed since the first days of antivirus software. The safety suites are now filled with extras such as a backup service for essential files, mobile applications for Android and iOS, advanced firewall features, content restriction and GPS location for family members and the possibility of installing the application on several computers. Access to a VPN and a password manager has also become more common. Your budget and personal situation will dictate if you need these additional features.
If you are looking to go beyond the bases, our reference recommendation is to find a suite provided with a firewall, takes care of enough devices to cover what you have and (if you have not already set up separate services) to a password manager and a VPN. You don’t know if you need all this? Our guides on the functionality of the security suite, password managers and VPNs can help you decide.
