Despite what you might think, being the most popular PC operating system in the world – Windows 10 – isn’t easy. Its users make an appealing target to all sorts of illegal, immoral, and/or simply nosey practices, including malware, spying, ransomware, financial frauds, identity theft, and more.
Many Windows 10 users are aware of this fact and are doing their best to protect themselves, primarily by getting an antivirus platform. And while Microsoft’s own Windows Defender that accompanies every Windows PC by default is a pretty robust solution by itself, it’s still pretty basic in comparison to some other players in the industry.
For those that are still on the lookout for the best product to keep their PC safe from the above-mentioned threats or simply wish to replace their current solution with a better one, here are our top 5 suggestions:
Windows 10 users will have nothing to fear should they choose Bitdefender Antivirus Plus as their security assistant. Coming from a successful performer in independent tests which passes with flying colours each time, this product offers core antivirus protection, accompanied by outstanding anti-ransomware measures.
Besides, users opting for it will get a well-designed secure browser called Safepay, which facilitates security in sensitive operations like online banking. They will also be provided with a vulnerability scanner, Wi-Fi Security Advisor that scans each network the user is connecting to, as well as a password manager that enables easier creation of versatile and complex passwords that can’t be cracked easily.
Bitdefender’s Antivirus Plus is exceptionally user-friendly while retaining complex options and settings that more experienced users will be able to tinker with. For instance, you can set up different profiles, such as for minimum background activity to save battery power on your laptop.
That said, the effect on system resources can be a bit hefty, but you can mitigate this in the profile settings. If you need help with anything, free online support is available all year long and there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee if the service isn’t as what you expected.
Thanks to Norton Insight technology, this product can check the reputation of every given file on your system and assist in identifying the more obscure threats.
The advantages include a smart firewall that will keep you informed about all the potential risks to your device and block unauthorised traffic, while a password manager will generate and hold all your passwords in a safe place.
In addition to using minimal resources, the antivirus also comes equipped with handy PC maintenance and optimisation tools, as well as a backup tool with up to 2GB of cloud storage. The latter can be set up to back up files locally.
The company is so confident in its antivirus and malware protection, that it offers to give you your money back if you ever encounter a virus its experts can’t remove.
Although the program’s interface and installation process are as intuitive as they come, the more demanding users might not fancy the lack of configuration and more advanced options at their disposal.
The core service capabilities are high-quality with excellent ransomware protection capabilities as well. The latter is enforced by a dedicated Folder Shield that is efficient in blocking even yet undiscovered ransomware targeting your device.
Users also get a Pay Guard tool to protect their online banking operations, as well as a guard against email scams.
Although it doesn’t’ flaunt numerous extra features as superb as those provided by some competitors and some of its wizards are, in truth, a bit inferior, you’ll still find some tools like a privacy cleaner and vulnerability scanner that can come in handy. And after all, the platform has nailed multiple independent tests.
The antivirus is rather lightweight as well – it does all its real-time and proactive safeguarding work while keeping your machine running fast and smooth at the same time and it doesn’t take up a whole lot of your free space.
Despite being compact and user-friendly, it doesn’t lack advanced features such as a sandbox that allows you to run potentially dangerous apps in a safe, isolated environment, away from the rest of your system.
Being fully cloud-based, the company prides itself with scans faster than the competition. The best part? You can take the product for a test ride thanks to the 14-day free trial period (no credit card required) and there’s also a risk-free no-questions-asked 70-day money-back guarantee if things don’t work out.
