Best Antivirus for Android, iPhone, Windows, and Mac

Peter Karanja
5 min readOct 9, 2020

Antivirus software is a must-have in this era of massive phishing scams, malware attacks, and hacks. However, the types of devices we use have increased. Therefore, you must also consider how well suited your Antivirus is to your specific device.

To help you out, here is a selection of the best antivirus options for various devices.

Best Antivirus for Android

Bitdefender Mobile Security stands out as a particularly useful android antivirus.

It offers excellent malware protection at a relatively affordable price. Besides, it includes many useful features.

Perhaps, the only downside is that the extra unlimited VPN option is quite expensive.

The software’s light performance impact is incredibly valuable for android devices. Since Android smartphones have far lower capacity than desktop computers, you certainly don’t want your Antivirus overloading your phone. The software is also clearly customized for android use, as seen in the Android Wear watch integration.

The available features provide a safe browsing experience too.

That’s made possible through a malicious-website blocker that works with many Android browsers. This is complemented by robust privacy-protection tools, including:

- an app lock

- a Wi-Fi scanner

- anti-theft features

- data-breach notifications

If you want to test it out before purchase, you can take advantage of the 14-day trial period. On the other hand, if you want a completely free version of the software, you can opt for the Bitdefender Antivirus Free for Android app. Take note that the free version only scans for malware.

So, how much does it cost?

Well, the $15 per year price tag is undoubtedly a great deal for such a feature-packed antivirus.

Best Antivirus for iPhones

If you have an iPhone, Avast Security & Privacy Antivirus is a great option.

Apart from offering a free tier, the software provides a range of features beyond anti-malware, including Wi-Fi security, a photo vault, and identity protection. Moreover, Avast has a proven track record of offering effective security and anti-malware solutions on desktop computers.

Now, you can enjoy the same degree of trust and security with the Avast app.

This software provides superb antivirus protection in real-time apart from scanning. It also blocks malicious websites, preventing intrusions. And the extra feature that scans your Wi-Fi network will send notifications if the network isn’t secure.

That’s not all…

This app checks that you’re using optimum privacy and secure settings on your iPhone.

Although the free tier is quite robust, you need to upgrade to the premium version to access additional options like:

- a photo vault to protect your images

- an online identity checker so your email and passwords don’t get shared online

It includes a VPN to encrypt connections online, even on unsecured networks, for privacy protection.

You can try out the premium version using the 14-day trial, and later pay $4.99 per month or $19.99 per year.

Best Antivirus for Windows

Norton 360 with LifeLock Select is an excellent antivirus for your Windows PC.

Norton Security — now called NortonLifeLock — has a long history of getting high marks from AV-Test, SE Labs, and AV Comparatives for virus and malware detection.

This product offers malware and virus protection not only for your computer, but also for your mobile devices.

It goes even further to provide 100GB of cloud backup.

You’ll get an extensive range of other features, including:

- safe-browsing tools

- a password manager

- VPN

- parental controls

- LifeLock fraud alert and identity theft protection

Having all these features in one product can make your life less complicated; plus, you can operate seamlessly and securely across multiple devices.

The Antivirus is well suited for the latest Windows 10 plus version, MacOS, Android, and iOS.

A five-device subscription at $150 per year provides coverage across your PCs, MacBook, iPhones, Android devices, and iPads.

Best Antivirus for Mac

For your Mac, Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac will provide a high level of security.

One key feature you can expect from this Antivirus is the best possible parental controls.

With this software, you’ll get perfect malware detection bundled with useful privacy tools such as a password manager. However, it tends to have a heavy system impact during scans.

So, how effective is it?

Well, the software achieves perfect malware-detection rates. It can even kill tracking cookies and protects your webcam. It can literally turn off the webcam on your MacBook, a feature that isn’t built into your device.

But what makes its parental controls so good?

Using parental controls, you can apply:

- content filters

- time limits

- monitoring of personal data

At US$23.99 per year, you can secure one Mac, with higher price ranges for more devices. Various features also require extra fees like $15 per year to unlock more than 15 entries to the password manager.

The VPN service only allows 300MB data per day, requiring a $30 per year fee for unlimited data.

Best Antivirus for Small Businesses

Understandably, businesses require a more robust antivirus product than personal devices.

Bitdefender Small Office Security offers such a high level of security.

If you want an antivirus that can stop malware before it even starts downloading, then Bitdefender is your best bet.

How is that possible?

It’s simply because Bitdefender recognizes more threats than other antivirus software. The software instantly scrubs threats away, eliminating the need to place them in quarantine.

Bitdefender Small Office Security provides a wide range of security tools that you’ll find in Bitdefender Total Security. That includes password management, online safe banking tools, and high-level ransomware protection.

Since it’s designed for small businesses, the Antivirus has additional security features, including:

- protections against data breaches, to secure client and employee information

- tightens down your company’s data, making it more challenging for hackers to hold you hostage using malware

- intuitive and easy to use even if you don’t have a dedicated IT manager

- works on all platforms and operating systems

However, since this is a basic antivirus program, it lacks a few functions like monitoring email messages for malware, or patch management to update Windows and other operating systems.

For such features, you can opt for Bitdefender’s cloud-based program, GravityZone, which can work on servers and offers several other security tools.

For $74.99 in the first year, you can secure 10 devices for your small business using Bitdefender Small Office Security.

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Peter Karanja

I am a Freelance Writer for hire specializing in helping B2B and B2C companies engage their audiences and make more sales. Reach me at https:/creativitypot.com