Get a Security Suite for All-Around Protection

It's true that a good antivirus utility can protect your PC against Trojans, ransomware, adware, spyware, and every sort of malware, but why stop there? A full-blown security suite adds firewall protection, both fending off outside attack and monitoring network access by your programs. For those who need it, getting spam filtering as part of a suite can be beneficial. Likewise, parents will appreciate not having to spring for a separate parental control utility. And when these and other features integrate smoothly into a single suite, they have a lot less performance impact than a rowdy collection of separate security tools. If you only have antivirus, or if you have no security protection at all, read on; you'll learn how to choose the right suite. The top security vendors offer security suites that integrate a variety of features. Some stick to the basics, while others pile on tons of useful extras. Just read through PCMag's reviews of security suites and select one that has the features you need. I've reviewed 45 security suites and identified a collection of the best ones, of all types from simple entry-level suites to cross-platform multi-device extravaganzas. This article briefly mentions the many tests we use to evaluate security suites and determine which ones are best. If you want more details on the torture tests we perform on every product we review, please read the full explanation of how we test security software. Basic and Advanced Security Suites Most security vendors offer at least three levels of security products, a standalone antivirus utility, an entry-level security suite, and an advanced suite with additional features. Most entry-level suites include antivirus, firewall, antispam, parental control, and some sort of additional privacy protection such as protection against phishing sites, those frauds that try to steal your passwords. The advanced "mega-suite" typically adds a backup component and some form of system tune-up utility, and some also add password managers and other security extras. When a new product line comes out, I start by reviewing the antivirus. In my review of the entry-level suite, I summarize results from the antivirus review and dig deeper into the suite-specific features. And for a mega-suite review, I focus on the advanced features, referring back to the entry-level suite review for features shared by both. Your choice of a basic or advanced security suite depends entirely on what features matter to you. Symantec is an exception to this pattern. Previously the company offered various antivirus and suite products for PC, Mac, and Mobile. All the standalone Norton products you may remember were retired a couple years ago, rolled into Symantec Norton Security. However, Symantec recently brought back a standalone antivirus product, Norton AntiVirus Basic. One more thing: The suites we've rounded up here are aimed at protecting consumers, for the most part. You can definitely use any of them in a small business, but as your company grows you may need to switch to a SaaS endpoint protection system. This type of service lets an administrator monitor and manage security for all your company's computers. Fighting Malware, Adware, and Spyware Antivirus is the heart of a security suite; without an antivirus component, there's no suite. Naturally you want a suite whose antivirus is effective. When evaluating an antivirus, I look for high marks from the independent antivirus testing labs. The fact that the labs consider a product important enough to test is a vote of confidence in itself. The very best antivirus products get high ratings from many labs. I also perform my own hands-on testing. For one test I use a relatively static set of malware samples that's replaced once per year. I note how the antivirus reacts when I try to launch those samples and score it on how well it protects the test system. For another, I try to download very new malicious files from URLs no more than a few days old. Lab test results, my own test results, and other aspects like ease of use go into my antivirus rating. Firewall Choices A typical personal firewall offers protection in two main areas. On the one hand, it monitors all network traffic to prevent inappropriate access from outside the network. On the other, it keeps a watchful eye on running applications to make sure they don't misuse your network connection. The built-in Windows Firewall handles monitoring traffic, but doesn't include program control. A few security suites skip the firewall component, figuring that Windows Firewall already does the most essential firewall tasks. The last thing you want is a firewall that bombards you with incomprehensible queries about online activity. Should OhSnap32.exe be allowed to connect with 111.222.3.4 on port 8080? Allow or Block? Once, or always? Modern firewalls cut down the need for these queries by automatically configuring permissions for known programs. The very best ones also handle unknown programs by monitoring them closely for signs of improper network activity and other suspicious behaviors. Squelch Some Spam These days, most of us hardly ever see spam messages in our inboxes because your email provider filters them out. If you don't get this service from your provider, it can be hard to even find your valid mail amid all the offers of male enhancements, Russian brides, and quick-money schemes. If your provider doesn't squelch spam, it's smart to choose a suite that has spam filtering built in. Look for one that integrates with your email client. Client integration lets it divert spam into its own folder, and sometimes let you train the spam filter by flagging any spam messages that get through or, worse, valid messages that wound up in the spam pile. Get Early Access to Top Brand Name Tech up to 50% off Join the PCMag Tech Deals list delivered straight to your inbox Unlock the deals now Phishing and Privacy Protection The best antivirus in the world can't help you if a fraudulent website tricks you into giving away your security credentials. Phishing sites masquerade as bank sites, auction sites, even online game sites. When you enter your username and password, though, your account is instantly compromised. Some clever ones will even pass along your credentials to the real site, to avoid raising suspicions. Steering users away from phishing sites definitely helps protect privacy, but that's not the only way suites can keep your private information out of the wrong hands. Some offer specific protection for user-defined sensitive data, credit cards, bank accounts, that sort of thing. Any attempt to transmit sensitive data from your computer sets of an alarm. Some contract with third-party vendors to offer credit protection. And some supply a hardened browser that lets you do online banking in an environment isolated from other processes. What About Parental Control? I don't penalize a suite for omitting parental control. Not everyone has kids, and not every parent feels comfortable about controlling and monitoring their children's computer use. However, if parental control is present, it has to work. Blocking inappropriate websites and controlling how much time the child spends on the Internet (or on the computer) are the core components of a parental control system. Some suites add advanced features like instant message monitoring, limiting games based on ESRB ratings, and tracking the child's social networking activity. Others can't even manage the basics successfully. Don't Bog Me Down One big reason to use a security suite rather than a collection of individual utilities is that the integrated suite can do its tasks using fewer processes and a smaller chunk of your system's resources. Or at least, that's what ought to happen. Few modern suites have an appreciable effect on performance. For a hands-on measure of just what effect installing a particular suite has, I time three common system actions with and without the suite installed, averaging many runs of each test. One test measures system boot time, another moves and copies a large collection of files between drives, and a third zips and unzips that same file collection repeatedly. Suites with the very lightest touch have almost no effect on the time required. Backup and Tune-Up Utilities In a sense, having a backup of all your files is the ultimate security. Even if ransomware destroys your data, you can still restore from backup. Some vendors reserve backup for their mega-suite offering, while others include it in the entry-level suite. Read my reviews carefully, as backup capabilities vary wildly. At the low end, some vendors give you nothing you couldn't get for free from Mozy, IDrive, or another online backup service. At the high end you might get 25GB of online storage hosted by the vendor, along with the ability to make local backups. Tuning up your system performance has no direct connection with security, unless it serves to counteract the security suite's performance drag. However, tune-up components often include privacy-related features such as clearing traces of browsing history, wiping out temporary files, and deleting lists of recently used documents. For a dedicated system-cleaning app, read our roundup of the Best Tune-Up Utilities. What's Not Here? I've evaluated 45 security suites, including entry-level suites, feature-packed mega-suites, and suites that extend protection across multiple different platforms. The products listed in the chart at the top of this article have all received at least four stars; those with 3.5 or fewer stars don't appear. In some cases, two products from the same vendor appear in the chart. For example, Bitdefender Internet Security is an Editors' Choice for entry-level suite, and Bitdefender Total Security earned the same honor as a security mega-suite. There are a couple of four-star suites that just didn't make the cut for the chart, given that there are other, very similar products from the same company already in it. Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus is quite good, but it doesn't have all the features of Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Complete. Likewise, Trend Micro Maximum Security beat out the less-feature-rich Trend Micro Internet Security for a spot on the chart. To see those and all the other suites we've reviewed, check out our security suites page, or scroll through the product blurbs at the bottom of this page. What's the Best Security Suite? The chart at top details ten security suites that we definitely recommend, including multi-device suites, mega-suites, and entry-level suites. If you're looking for a suite that covers the basics without getting in the way, Bitdefender Internet Security and Kaspersky Internet Security are our Editors' Choice winners. In the mega-suite range, Editors' Choice goes to Bitdefender Total Security and Kaspersky Total Security, with more features than you can imagine. Symantec Norton Security Premium protects up to 10 devices, and McAfee LiveSafe doesn't put any limit on the number of devices—these two are our Editors' Choice products for cross-platform multi-device security suite. With a powerful, integrated suite protecting your devices, you can stay protected without worrying about balancing security against performance. Featured Security Suite Reviews: Bitdefender Internet Security 2017 Bitdefender Internet Security 2017 Review Editors' Choice $59.99 MSRP $39.99 at Bitdefender Bitdefender Internet Security 2017 packs every feature you expect in a security suite, along with a wealth of bonus features. An updated user interface revitalizes this excellent suite. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Bitdefender Total Security 2017 Bitdefender Total Security 2017 Review Editors' Choice $89.99 MSRP $44.99 at Bitdefender Bitdefender Total Security 2017 offers a cornucopia of security features for Windows, with plenty of bonus features. You also get award-winning Android security and antivirus for Mac. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Kaspersky Internet Security (2017) Kaspersky Internet Security (2017) Review Editors' Choice $79.99 MSRP $54.99 at Kaspersky With best-ever ratings from independent testing labs and a huge range of security-centric features, Kaspersky Internet Security is one of our top picks for keeping your PC and devices safe. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Symantec Norton Security Premium (2017) Symantec Norton Security Premium (2017) Review Editors' Choice $89.99 MSRP $49.49 at Norton - 1 year plan In addition to a raft of top-notch suite features, Symantec Norton Security Premium comes with 25GB of online storage and a top-tier parental control system. Furthermore, you can install it on up to 10 Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS devices. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Kaspersky Total Security (2017) Kaspersky Total Security (2017) Review Editors' Choice $89.99 MSRP $59.99 at Kaspersky To the impressive feature list of Kaspersky's entry-level suite, Total Security adds password management, excellent parental control, file encryption, secure deletion, and more. It's a top choice for security mega-suites. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› McAfee LiveSafe (2017) McAfee LiveSafe (2017) Review Editors' Choice $89.99 MSRP $44.99 at McAfee In addition to protecting all your Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, McAfee LiveSafe offers a unique encrypted cloud storage system. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Symantec Norton Security Deluxe (2017) Symantec Norton Security Deluxe (2017) Review $79.99 MSRP $39.99 at Norton - 1 year plan Symantec Norton Security Deluxe offers award-winning antivirus and a tough, self-sufficient firewall, without dragging down system performance. It can protect up to five Windows, Android, macOS, or iOS devices. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› McAfee Total Protection (2017) McAfee Total Protection (2017) Review $89.99 MSRP $44.99 at McAfee To the feature set of McAfee's entry-level suite, Total Protection adds file encryption and four additional licenses for the True Key password manager. Best of all, you can install it on every device in your household. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Trend Micro Internet Security (2017) Trend Micro Internet Security (2017) Review $59.95 MSRP $39.95 at Trend Micro Though it lacks an integrated firewall, Trend Micro Internet Security (2017) includes antivirus, antispam, and parental control, along with loads of bonus features that actively help to ensure your PC's security. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Trend Micro Maximum Security (2017) Trend Micro Maximum Security (2017) Review $89.95 MSRP $44.95 at Trend Micro Your Trend Micro Maximum Security lets you protect up to five Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS devices, but it's best on Windows and Android. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Complete Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Complete Review $79.99 MSRP $29.99 at Webroot Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Complete includes a powerful, unusual antivirus, 25GB of hosted online backup, and a system optimization system, yet has a light touch on system resources. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus (2016) Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus (2016) Review $49.99 MSRP $29.99 at Webroot Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus adds Android support and a password manager to an already-excellent antivirus app. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Avast Internet Security 2017 Avast Internet Security 2017 Review $49.99 MSRP $49.99 at AVAST Software Avast Internet Security 2017 includes an antivirus, a robust firewall, a simple spam filter, and a wealth of bonus features. Depending upon your needs, though, a less expensive Avast product could be more cost effective. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Check Point ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2017 Check Point ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2017 Review $89.95 MSRP $44.95 at ZoneAlarm Check Point's ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2017 adds a wealth of security components to its core powerful firewall. Beyond the firewall, though, most of this suite's significant features are licensed from other vendors. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› F-Secure Internet Security (2017) F-Secure Internet Security (2017) Review $49.99 MSRP The antivirus components of F-Secure Internet Security scored high in our testing, aided by the suite-specific Browsing Protection features. However, the rest of its components don't make up a top-notch suite. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› G Data Total Security 2017 G Data Total Security 2017 Review $69.95 MSRP $49.95 at Amazon G Data Total Security 2017 adds significant bonus features that are well worth the price bump from the company's entry-level suite. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› McAfee Internet Security (2017) McAfee Internet Security (2017) Review $79.99 MSRP $39.99 at McAfee Upgrading from McAfee AntiVirus Plus to McAfee Internet Security gets you a clever password manager along with parental control and spam filtering that you may not need. You're better off sticking with the antivirus or choosing an Editors' Choice suite. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Panda Global Protection (2017) Panda Global Protection (2017) Review $49.99 MSRP $34.99 at Panda Security Panda Global Protection boasts the wealth of features you'd expect in a security mega-suite, but it doesn't match quality of the top competitors, and its pricing is confusing. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Panda Gold Protection (2017) Panda Gold Protection (2017) Review $94.99 MSRP $47.49 at Panda Security Panda Gold Protection enhances an uneven security suite with a slick backup and sync system, along with VIP support for all your tech woes. But it's seriously pricey. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Panda Protection Advanced Panda Protection Advanced Review $34.99 MSRP $3.99 at Panda Security Panda Protection Advanced offers unlimited installations on your Windows and Android devices. It's by far the least expensive cross-platform suite, but other vendors offer more consistent protection. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Panda Protection Complete Panda Protection Complete Review $74.99 MSRP $6.99 at Panda Security A subscription to Panda Protection Complete lets you install security on all of your Windows and Android devices. It's a good deal, but competing products score better in testing and cover more device types. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Avast Premier 2017 Avast Premier 2017 Review $69.99 MSRP $55.99 at AVAST Software Upgrading from Avast's very good security suite to Avast Premier 2017 gets you a comprehensive secure deletion utility and automation for its software updater component. You'll have to decide if that's worth the significant added cost. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› AVG Internet Security - Unlimited (2017) AVG Internet Security - Unlimited (2017) Review $69.99 MSRP $51.99 at AVG Technologies As the name implies, AVG Internet Security - Unlimited lets you install protection on an unlimited number of Windows, macOS, and Android devices. However, other cross-platform multi-device suites do the job better. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› BullGuard Internet Security (2017) BullGuard Internet Security (2017) Review $59.95 MSRP $29.98 at BullGuard BullGuard Internet Security includes all the features you'd expect in a suite, plus a backup system and a comprehensive collection of tune-up utilities. Its many features aren't consistently effective, however. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› BullGuard Premium Protection (2017) BullGuard Premium Protection (2017) Review $99.95 MSRP $39.98 at BullGuard On top of a full roster of security features, BullGuard Premium Protection adds identity protection and Facebook activity tracking. It actually costs less than BullGuard's entry-level suite, but Facebook tracking wasn't working when we tested it. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Comodo Internet Security Complete 10 Comodo Internet Security Complete 10 Review $89.99 MSRP Comodo Internet Security Complete 10 offers online backup, automatic VPN, and instant access to GeekBuddy remote tech support. However, we ran into problems with all three features, and the antivirus had issues in testing. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› ESET Internet Security 10 ESET Internet Security 10 Review $59.99 MSRP $59.99 at ESET North America Antivirus is the best part of ESET Internet Security 10, but other components include an old-school firewall and parental control that's limited to content filtering. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› ESET Multi-Device Security 10 ESET Multi-Device Security 10 Review $84.99 MSRP $84.99 at ESET North America ESET Multi-Device Security 10 lets you protect Windows, Mac, and Android devices, but not iOS. It's better on Android than on Windows, and Mac protection lags behind both. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› ESET Smart Security Premium 10 ESET Smart Security Premium 10 Review $79.99 MSRP $79.99 at ESET North America ESET Smart Security Premium 10 includes everything you'd expect in a suite, plus file encryption, anti-theft, and a full-featured password manager. However, its unusual pricing makes it quite expensive for a multi-PC household. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› F-Secure Safe (2017) F-Secure Safe (2017) Review $49.99 MSRP $39.99 at F-Secure A subscription to F-Secure Safe lets you install protection on your Windows, Android, macOS, or iOS devices. However, other cross-platform multi-device security apps offer better security at lower prices. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› G Data Internet Security 2017 G Data Internet Security 2017 Review $54.95 MSRP $39.95 at Amazon G Data Internet Security has all the components you expect in a suite, and even adds backup. However, component quality varies from very good to very poor. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› K7 Ultimate Security Gold 15 K7 Ultimate Security Gold 15 Review $59.99 MSRP K7 Ultimate Security Gold 15 has improved over its previous version in some areas, but the quality of its components still varies quite a bit. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ›› Panda Internet Security (2017) Panda Internet Security (2017) Review $49.99 MSRP $24.99 at Panda Security Panda Internet Security includes the features you'd expect in a security suite, plus extras like ransomware protection. It didn't do well in our testing, however, and Panda itself offers more affordable competing products. Read the full review Get Up To 50% Off Suites ››