Best Antivirus Software for 2013

1.  Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013

If you’re looking for strong and easy antivirus software, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus stands at the ready. Offering effective security, simple usability, effective resource usage and an enticing price point, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is the best antivirus software and our TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award winner. It is a top-tier antivirus software solution with superior protection and performance whether you’re an advanced user looking to control the whole process manually or an average user who simply wants a set-and-forget solution. This antivirus software provides protection and peace of mind without taxing your PC performance or paycheck.
Installation is quick and includes step-by-step instructions. The process includes a pre-installation scan and doesn’t require a reboot before you’re up and running. The user interface is elegant and minimalistic. You can drag and drop modules to perform actions directly from the main window. The application uses a feature called Autopilot to make security-related decisions without prompting you for responses. There is nothing to configure, no alerts and no pop-ups. If you choose to make any manual changes to the security settings, Autopilot shuts itself off in the same way that your car's cruise control cancels itself if you tap the brakes.

2. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013

Kaspersky Anti-Virus is one of the best antivirus software solutions available. Winner of the TopTenREVIEWS Silver Award, Kaspersky Anti-Virus protects your computer against bots, worms, Trojans, rootkits, spyware and viruses. It also detects new threats and prevents them from infiltrating your system.
The product includes three licenses. Installation doesn't require a restart. An included bootable recovery disk can rescue your computer by detecting and removing malware without booting the compromised OS. If you aren't able to download the software because of a malware infection, you have the option to download a specialized tool to preemptively scan your PC and remove the threat to accommodate a clean install.
The Kaspersky interface is effectively organized. You can set your preferences and let the software protect your computer without constantly monitoring it. Scans and updates happen automatically by default. The software includes real-time security as you surf the web, communicate via email or IM, and download, access and open files. In the event of an infection or potential threat, the software immediately lets you know and provides quick access to identify and fix the problem.

3. Norton AntiVirus 2013

Norton AntiVirus is effective antivirus software from Symantec. It protects against viruses, worms, bots and spyware. Norton AntiVirus is easy to install and use. It scans quickly. And you can get free customer support every day at any hour. Extensive testing by AV-Test labs in Germany reveals that Norton Antivirus competes at the head of the class in terms of its ease of use, ability to protect against malware and ability to disinfect machines that are already infected. It wins the TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award.

4. F-Secure Anti-Virus 2013

F-Secure Anti-Virus is among the best antivirus software programs. It is streamlined, fast and effective. With advanced protection technology and additional integrated security features, F-Secure protects against viruses, spyware, worms and Trojans. F-Secure can also locate and eliminate rootkits. This antivirus software also protects against viruses spread through emails, cookies or malware that attempts to infiltrate the PC registry.
AV-Test out of Germany places F-Secure among the leaders when it comes to performance. F-Secure is also among the handful of antivirus software products to win an Advanced A+ rating from AV Comparatives. The Virus Bulletin found F-Secure right on par with most of the best antivirus software competitors.
Taking F-Secure Anti-Virus from start to scanning is straightforward. The installer automatically removes any other antivirus software you have installed (as they interfere with each other). The software is a fairly resource-conscious program and protects without sacrificing resources.
Anti-Virus from F-Secure accommodates simple navigation and makes it easy to schedule specific scans or adjust settings. The main dashboard features quick access to the essentials (scan, update, statistics) and is visually striking. Most of the time you won’t even have F-Secure open since the updates and scans run automatically. The easy-to-understand icon in the lower-right taskbar will help you comprehend the status of your security. F-Secure uses a protection network, DeepGuard 2.0, that collects new threats in the cloud and pushes out updates to the entire user community.
F-Secure Anti-Virus uses heuristics, proactive protection against zero-hour threats that go undetected by the current virus signatures. All files accessed or opened on your computer are scanned by F-Secure’s on-access scanning. But you can always perform a manual scan. If you want to scan a specific file or folder, simply right-click on it and scan it immediately. F-Secure can scan compressed files and files on removable drives.
You can configure the software to clean the files (if possible) automatically, or they will be placed in the quarantine. The quarantine is where potentially dangerous files are kept where they can’t cause damage until you decide what action (restore, delete) to take. Updates are scheduled by default with F-Secure to renew (if needed) every two hours, completely automatically and in the background.
F-Secure Anti-Virus has a number of useful resources available online for additional product support. You can contact technical support 24/7 by phone, email live chat. Online they feature several help articles and a knowledgebase. Direct in-product help is in the form of a user manual.

5.  G Data AntiVirus 2013

Scope of Protection: Antivirus and antispyware protection are combined with web protection. The software protects from any number of threats (online or off), including phishing scams, dialers, adware, malicious scripts, Trojans, rootkits and worms. The software also incorporates advanced protection from malware spread through email or IM. The software goes as far as scanning outbound email for viruses and other malware, so you won’t accidentally pass along a threat to your friends or coworkers.
Effectiveness: G Data uses two distinct virus scanners. It performs well with third-party testers. AV Comparatives found the software to be in tip-top shape. While the software wasn’t the fastest, the 10.6MB/sec scanning speed was more than adequate, and G Data came away with the highest total detection rate: an almost perfect score of 99 percent.
Virus Bulletin also found this antivirus solution to be more than adequate, and certified the software with the VB 100%.
It is certainly one of the most thorough and effective at detecting and removing viruses and malware.
Ease of Installation: While you can simply install the software and forget about it, additional setup is pretty quick and will help you schedule scans and customize settings.
G Data AntiVirus uses two scanning engines, but certainly doesn’t take twice as long as other security software. In fact, the program is actually fairly fast and resource efficient. While it’s not the most efficient with your system resources, it certainly is better than most antivirus software (and shouldn’t cause any system heartburn).
Ease of Use: G Data’s antivirus software is simple to use. Advanced users or the overly cautious type should have no problem manually using the program and monitoring performance. More importantly, beginners and users who just need the software to work without much intervention will also have no trouble simply letting G Data run in the background.
The interface brings most of the functions right to the front, easily accessible on the main dashboard. The main screen hosts a quick security status overview, and if there are any problems, you can fix them with one click.
Features: G Data AntiVirus comes with all the essential tools to keep your computer safe. And while it doesn’t have some of the additional features that add convenience (silent gamer mode, password protected settings or laptop battery mode), the software has a healthy dose of extra features.
One feature that can’t be overstated is the unique integration of two separate scanning engines. Running an antivirus scan using both engines increases efficacy, and won’t considerably slow you down. And while there is plenty of overlap with two scanning engines, the virus signature database is the heart of any security software.
Another impressive feature is the self-learning fingerprinting and whitelisting. Basically, the software is able to automatically analyze files and determine if they pose a threat (or will in the future).
Updates: Especially good for the set-and-forget user, updates are performed automatically and in the background. Both virus signature definitions and actual program updates will run automatically or can be updated manually.
Regular updates are performed hourly and are small enough that they won’t affect regular computer use. If you’re using G Data at work, you can easily set up the software to update with your proxy server.
Help & Support: G Data AntiVirus has the typical in-program help files and traditional help (searchable support section and online support form). They also have an emergency phone line for immediate assistance.