Best Virus Protection Software (2026)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Do I still need antivirus software in 2026?

Yes! There is simply no way for creators of any Operating System and therefore, your standard built-in antivirus software, to keep up with the fast-changing cyber security landscape. If you want to safeguard your computer against advanced cyber threats like phishing, online theft, and all sorts of malware attacks, you need the extra layer of protection provided by third-party antivirus suites.

Isn’t free antivirus software sufficient?

As with all things free, you only get the bare-bones with a free version. This means basic protection against viruses, spyware, and malware, and other potential threats. While that is better than nothing, it is rarely effective against any issues outside of an underlying bug in the platform and will not protect you against phishing scams, ransomware attacks and other nasties.

Besides real-time protection against virus attacks, what else do I get from a paid antivirus software?

Besides getting better protection, paid antivirus programs often come with extra features such as password management, a firewall, protection for your mobile and tablet, a VPN, parental controls, identity theft protection, and much more.

I’m currently running a free antivirus program from another vendor, do I need to remove that before installing a new one?

Yes! It is not advisable to have two antivirus scanners running at the same time as this might create a conflict. For example, your old antivirus software may detect the new one as malicious and attempt to stop its actions. The same is true for the new software. Also, running two software at the same time is inefficient on your system's resources.

Does antivirus software slow down my computer?

All software requires a certain amount of processing power to do its job and antivirus programs are no different in this respect. With the increase of processing power, the belief that antivirus software slows down your computer usually comes from people who have suffered these issues in the past. However, the last 10 years have seen significant improvements in this respect and during our testing process, we now find that even the most thorough scans consume almost negligible amounts of resources. Unless your computer or laptop is more than 7 years old, you do not have to worry about modern antivirus software affecting your computer's speed at all!