A good antivirus program protects your computer against threats like spyware, viruses, worms, adware, keyloggers, rootkits, and cryptojackers. It will scan your device for dangerous files and, based on its settings, either deletes them or places them in a quarantine folder. It also blocks harmful websites and block your devices from connecting to dangerous Wi-Fi networks.

While many modern smartphones and tablets have built-in antivirus protection, these apps tend to not be as reliable as standalone cybersecurity suites. In this article, we’ve rounded up the top antivirus software that offers strong malware detection rates and a wide range of other security features, including anti-phishing tools such as a VPN disk optimization tool parental controls, and much more.

Viruses and Trojans

Viruses are the most well-known form of malware, can be spread from one computer or device to another by email attachments as well as infected websites. They can do everything from stealing passwords, financial information to destroy important files. The same is true for Trojans, but they can also create botnets that are used to send spam or launch attacks on other computers. Trojans can monitor users via keyboard combinations and keystrokes.

A reputable antivirus program will also block malicious websites that are created to collect credit card information and banking details from users who are not aware. It can also protect against ransomware, which encrypts your files and enslaves them unless you pay a fee to retrieve them. Some of the best anti-virus programs on this list come with the ability to block ransomware, by preventing your computer from downloading its code.

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