I tested five antivirus programs on one PC in 2026. Norton 360 is the fastest, Bitdefender the lightest, and Avast the best free tier.

AVG Antivirus scores 4.2/5 in our August 2026 tests. See what the AVG free version blocks and whether Internet Security is ...

Scams and attacks can come from every direction in our digital lives. There are emails which are not what they claim to be, websites that are fraudulent and seek to download malicious code to take ...

You get what you pay for. That’s what they always say, right? And while that can be true for many things, antivirus software is a little different. There are reputable free antivirus solutions out ...

Malware remains one of the most significant and persistent online risks, with several recent high-profile attacks garnering headlines. DanaBot, for example, resurfaced this year after a prolonged ...

Chances are, if you’re not running a Mac, you’re using Windows 11. According to StatsCounter, Windows 11 PCs make up 36.35% of all Windows machines. While antivirus software has always been ...

All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. These are the tech, tools, ...

The best free Mac antivirus software includes Bitdefender for overall protection, Malwarebytes for malware cleanup, Avira for free extras, AVG for removable-media scanning, and Avast for beginners.

Based in rural Minnesota, Brian Burgess worked in IT for 10 years before finding his passion for writing about consumer technology. Brian earned his degree in computer and network technology in 2000.

Forbes Advisor Australia may earn revenue from this story in the manner disclosed here. Read our advice disclaimer here. Computer viruses designed to harm or gain access to your computer are more ...

Shopping for antivirus software can feel harder than it should. Many product pages lead with buzzwords, lab scores and long feature lists. Most of us just want a simple answer: Will this help keep my ...