We found it to be excellent in defending against malware during our Bitdefender review, albeit with very slight caveats when it came to the exact way of dealing with some test ransomware threats. Of course, being affordable wouldn’t mean anything if Bitdefender was at all shaky with respect to the core malware protection it delivers, but that isn’t the case. Today's top 3 best antivirus software plans But considering some of the best antivirus providers out there cost less than $10 / £10 / AU$20 per year, we’d always recommend playing it safe and paying for protection. If it's free antivirus that you're after, we have some top recommendations for you, too (as well as some top business packages). Thankfully, 2021's best antivirus software combines watertight protection, extra features to keep you safe from scams, and are an absolute doddle to install and use. We're not trying to scare you and, since you’ve come to this page, you probably already have a fair idea why virus protection is such an essential tool. And then there are outright scammers, too. Threats come in many forms, but malware, ransomware and Trojans are generally designed to either steal your data or do enough damage to your system that you'll pay a high price to reverse the effects. The way that viruses behave and their end goal has changed over the years, but generally the purpose is to rob you of your money.
