For those looking for the best free antivirus for Mac, this is the best option. The free version offers antivirus protection, scheduled scans, home network scan and protection of web, mail and files. As for the paid version (49.99 per year), it has a Wi-Fi inspector and ransomware shield together with the features the free Avast version has.

• Kevin Purdy We set out to do a standard Wirecutter guide to the best antivirus app, so we spent months researching products, reading reports from independent testing labs and institutions, and consulting experts on safe computing. And after all that, we learned that most people should neither pay for a traditional antivirus suite, such as McAfee, Norton, or Kaspersky, nor use free programs like Avira, Avast, or AVG. Outlook for mac 2016 could not synchronize record error -19703. The “best antivirus” for most people to buy, it turns out, is not a traditional antivirus package. Information security experts told us that the built-in is good-enough antivirus for most Windows PC owners, and that both Mac and Windows users should consider using, an anti-malware program that augments both operating systems’ built-in protections. These options provide reliable protection without slowing your computer significantly, installing unwanted add-ons, or harassing you about upgrades. Is not an all-in-one option for protecting your system against exploits, malware, and other bad stuff. But information security experts repeatedly recommended it as a useful anti-malware layer, one of multiple layers of security you need for your devices, coupled with good habits.

Relying on any one app to protect your system, data, and privacy is a bad bet, especially when almost every security app—including Malwarebytes and Windows Defender—. You should have good virus and malware protection, yes, but you also need secure passwords, two-factor logins, data encryption, and smart privacy tools added to your browser. Check out our guide to setting up those layers.

Sign up for Wirecutter's Newsletter Subscribe Feel free to opt out or at any time. Opt out or at any time. Why you should trust us As writers and editors for Wirecutter, we have combined decades of experience with different and, and their inherent vulnerabilities. We spent dozens of hours for this guide reading results from independent labs like and, features at many publications such as and, and white papers and releases by institutions and groups like,,. We also read up on the viruses, ransomware, spyware, and other malware of recent years to learn what threats try to get onto most people’s computers today.

Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald If you use Windows 10, you already have a robust antivirus and anti-malware app——installed and enabled by default. The AV-Test Institute’s independent testing gave Windows Defender the best possible rating in protection, and a nearly perfect rating in performance. All the experts we spoke to recommended that most people stick to Defender as their antivirus app on Windows. “Defender, coupled with Malwarebytes (real time protection) is good 'enough' for most,” said Bill McKinley of The New York Times (parent company of Wirecutter).