Best programs for internet security

Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. One Museum Park. January 11, Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Let us know you thoughts about our service and information we provide in our blog sections. Info onemuseumpark. Get In Touch. Facebook Twitter Dribble Instagram. Like Bitdefender, Kaspersky offers anti-theft features for laptops, ransomware rollbacks and a secure browser mode for online banking, but Kaspersky's browser works on Macs as well as on Windows.

It also offers file encryption and unique protection against "stalkerware" used by jealous partners. However, while Kaspersky offers backup software, like Norton, it doesn't provide online storage for those backups, but instead sends you to your own Dropbox account.

Read our full Kaspersky Total Security review. Norton isn't the only antivirus maker with an identity-theft-protection service. The package also includes McAfee's protection against malware, the True Key password manager, Safe Kids parental controls, file encryption, file shredding, a firewall and unlimited VPN service for up to five devices. Like many McAfee antivirus subscriptions, Total Protection Ultimate nominally protects up to 10 devices but in practice is unlimited.

The downsides are that neither the VPN nor the parental controls work on Macs, and that there's no webcam protection, hardened browser or backup software.

But if you want all-encompassing protection at a bargain rate, you could do a lot worse than McAfee. There's also what Trend Micro calls "ID Protection," which actually just monitors the dark web for your data and can be accessed only through mobile apps.

On the antivirus side, Trend Micro does very well in lab tests of malware detection and also provides ransomware rollbacks, a file shredder, file encryption and a system optimizer. Trend Micro's malware engine has a remarkably small impact on Windows system performance when running in the background, but can eat up a fair amount of resources during full scans. Read our full Trend Micro Premium Security review.

ESET is one of the biggest names in antivirus protection in Europe, and while its top-end Smart Security Premium suite doesn't pack in VPN service, backup software or identity protection, it's still remarkably light, fast and efficient.

ESET Smart Security Premium does have a password manager, parental controls, anti-theft protections for laptops, dedicated webcam protection, a dedicated secure browser and even home-network-management software. It even includes bare-bones antivirus software for Linux machines, and its Windows malware-detection engine does very well in lab tests.

The only downside is that the parental controls don't work on iOS. Most antivirus brands tier premium subscriptions at five, 10 and sometimes 15 devices.

So do you really need all these extra features with your antivirus software? Well, it's hard to argue against using a password manager. Beyond that, you have to consider your personal circumstances. If you've got young kids or teenagers at home, then you might want parental-control software to keep tracking of what your children are doing online or to track the physical location of their phones.

If you're a person of means, then investing in identity-theft protection might be wise. If you travel a lot, you'll want to use a VPN while in hotel rooms and airport lounges. To get a better idea of the stand-alone services these premium security suites compete with, visit our buying guides for the best identity theft protection , best cloud backup services, best parental-control apps and best password managers. You just have to decide which ones you really need. Paul Wagenseil is a senior editor at Tom's Guide focused on security and privacy.

He has also been a dishwasher, fry cook, long-haul driver, code monkey and video editor. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We love Avast because it makes us feel like pirates whenever we say it, but beyond that it also offers a compelling choice for those looking for free antivirus software. You get the standard antivirus and firewall protection along with a nifty tool that lets you run suspicious apps and programs in a walled-off sandbox to test it before letting it loose on your computer, but the features set is a little anemic beyond that.

VPN access is walled off behind Avast Ultimate, the most expensive option. Parental controls are nowhere to be found, locked away in Avast Omni, a home internet security solution that requires the installation of a specific device. McAfee Total Protection is the only internet security software that it offers and while there are a few pricing options depending on the number of devices you need to cover, the core software is the same.

Those are good numbers, but they do lag behind other options on the market. Considering none of the competition has this limitation, McAfee is a difficult sell. As such you get a very powerful antivirus program at the heart of this package. That means protection from malware, spyware, phishing schemes and more.

Beyond that you also get multi-device coverage including support for iOS and Android. This even lets you remotely control your device so as to secure your data should you misplace your phone or have it stolen.

F-Secure SAFE is a light running system which means it's good for older machines too, since it can be fast to operate and won't put a strain on system processing resources. Trend Micro Antivirus Plus offers very powerful protection from its excellent antivirus software.

This specializes in malware protection with anti spam, anti ransomware and anti phishing protection that stands out. The addition of a folder shield, to specifically protect certain folders, is a really nice touch. Everything is very easy to use making this a good option for those that either want it simple or are new to this type of software.

Either way protection is strong and the inclusion of a day free trial makes it a great way to try out this type of cover. Some cases of this offering false positives and being a little resource intensive have been reported but they weren't issues found in our testing experience. By this we mean it doesn't use many system resources. This means it won't slow down your machine noticeably so you can run scans in the background without any sacrifice required to what you're doing.

Protection is strong with a powerful antivirus that offers great malware cover, spyware stopping and removal of any threats that are found. It even scans programs in use so that it can find any attacks the instant they arise. While this is great for newbs, thanks to a simple interface, it also offers a depth of controls that make it useful for more seasoned security aficionados alike.

Webroot Secureanywhere may be at the bottom of the list but that's largely owing to its rather unique way of working. Unlike the others, this does all the thinking in the cloud, using an advanced AI brain. As such, threats are detected but only dealt with when that cloud brain decides it is a real threat. Then it can be removed and the system rolled back to adjust any changes the threat may have made. While this novel way of working means there is very little strain on your system, taking up less than 2MB compared to MB on most , it also makes it difficult to assess.

As such the results from testing are mixed with some very impressive scores but also a few discrepancies which can't go unnoticed.

All that said, the company is confident it works and will be liked and so offers an impressive day percent money-back guarantee. More than half of the programs we tested earned a malware protection score of 98 percent or higher.

In general, the applications had the most trouble with completely blocking malicious sites.