The best antivirus software in 2019

Welcome to our guide to the best antivirus software in 2019. It might not be the sexiest of subjects, but having a quality antivirus system is vital if you want to keep your creative work safe. Now more than ever, with cyber attacks on the rise and becoming ever-more sophisticated, it's super important to have measures in place to keep you fully protected online.

01. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2019

Solid and reliable: this is the best antivirus software overall
Platform: Windows only. Mac, Android, iOS protection available separately with an upgrade | Best for Demanding and experienced users who need maximum antivirus power

There's accurate antivirus, for instance. A password manager to manage your logons. Web filtering prevents you from accessing malicious URLs, a file shredder securely deletes confidential or personal files, and a vulnerability scanner spots outdated software and missing Windows patches. That's just the start. Multi-layered ransomware protection keeps your digital content safe from hackers. A VPN protects your connection over insecure public wifi (though beware, there's only a tiny 200MB daily traffic allowance), and a secure and isolated browser keeps your banking, shopping or other personal activities safe from snoopers.

For all its feature overload, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2019 is generally very easy to use. It doesn't hassle you with alerts or baffle you with complicated settings; mostly you can leave the program to handle everything itself. And whatever you're doing, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2019 keeps you safer than most. The company is loved by the independent testing labs, and for example AV-Comparatives' October 2018 Real-World Protection report) saw Bitdefender ranked a clear first out of 18, with a protection rate of 100% and no false positives at all.

02. Norton Antivirus Plus

Top value and excellent performance

Platform: Windows only | Best for: Users who want great value protection without compromising power

The one in the list you've probably all heard of, and there's a valid reason for that.
Norton AntiVirus Plus (formerly Norton AntiVirus Basic) has been around for a long while now, and that's probably because of its bloody good at what it does. Not only does it automatically protect your PC all on its own, but it's also excellent value for money.

Norton changed the name of its product in the US in late April 2019, however not in the UK, which makes things slightly confusing. But the long and short of it is Norton AntiVirus Plus is a direct replacement for the old Norton AntiVirus Basic, albeit it with a few extra functions thrown in for good measure. A couple of said functions are a very good thing: bonus 2GB of cloud backup and a password manager, however, the name change has been coupled with a price hike, which is not such a welcome addition.

Standout features include a URL blocker to help fend off malicious websites and excellent file reputation service to keep you protected from suspect downloads. And if all that fails against malware, Norton also comes armed with intelligent behavior monitoring, using virus definitions to immediately stamp out any threats.

03. Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus

Maximum protection, minimum effort
Platform: Windows, Mac; Android and iOS protection available separately | Best for Staying out of your way and keeping you safe

Security powerhouses like Bitdefender Antivirus Plus have their place, but many professional users are looking for something simpler, more lightweight, which doesn't hog system resources or require any attention or management. If that sounds like you, it might be worth taking a look at Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus.

The package is so tiny – just a few megabytes – that it installs in seconds. It grabs the absolute minimum of RAM and doesn't soak up your network bandwidth by downloading antivirus definition updates, as Webroot handles its detection in the cloud. System scans are very, very fast. The Webroot website claims an average of 20 seconds, our tests say closer to 60, but that's still a huge improvement on the 10, 20, maybe 30-minute system scan times of other products. Despite the apparent simplicity, SecureAnywhere isn't lacking in features. As well as antivirus, the package blocks attempt to hijack your webcam, protects you from identity theft and blocks access to phishing and other malicious sites.

04. ESET NOD32 Antivirus

One for the antivirus experts
Platform: Windows only | Best for: Experienced antivirus users who want expert protection

Well, it's because ESET focuses on the main job in hand, and that's protection. And it does it with gusto. Armed with real-time malware protection, URL filtering to block malicious website, unmatched heuristic detection and modules to prevent attacks using PowerShell and malicious scripts, you can be sure your PC is in safe hands.

It's worth noting ESET NOD32 that isn't a great choice for those new to the world of antivirus software. This is much more for users with a deeper understanding of how it all works, plus designers will want to cry when using/looking at its unintuitive interface.

But those not totally baffled by this technical world of computing will love ESET's power and capabilities, in particular, the recently added UEFI Scanner, which gets to work protecting your machine before Windows has even started.

05. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2019

Solid all-round protection for a bargain price

Platform: Windows only. Mac, Android, iOS protection available separately with an upgrade | Best for Delivering solid all-round protection for a bargain price

This simplicity keeps the program easy to use, though. A straightforward interface has just four main buttons, and you can be running a full system scan in a couple of clicks. But there's also some flexibility, with options to run quick scans of commonly-infected areas only, selective scans of particular files and folders, or external device scans to uncover threats on USB keys or other external drives.

Reports from the independent testing labs show Kaspersky is more accurate than most. AV-Test's October 2018 Windows Home User test found the package blocked 100% of sample threats in both test months. AV-Comparatives October 2018 Real-World Protection Test results weren't as impressive, with Kaspersky ranking 14th out of 18, but it still blocked 99% of threats.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus is a PC-only product, but upgrading to Kaspersky Total Security adds protection for Macs, iOS and Android devices. It's fractionally more expensive at an initial £27.99 ($36.40) for a 1 year, 1 device license, but if you've plenty of hardware to cover, there are savings to be made. You can buy a 5 device, 2-year license for £76.99 ($100), for instance, around £7.70 ($10) per device per year.