Announcing the Top Rated Antivirus Software for 2019

Today, we awarded the 2019 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Antivirus Software. Top Rated awards showcase today’s top-of-the-line  Antivirus products based solely on user feedback and satisfaction scores. These awards make the voice of the market the primary decider into the industry’s best products.

Top Rated awards are the most trusted in the industry because they are never influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s size, popularity, or status as a TrustRadius customer.

Here are the winners:

Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes provides IT professionals with a fast, low-footprint anti-malware solution. It scans for ransomware, spyware, and rootkit technology, and can quarantine or remove the threats it uncovers.Malwarebytes also blocks scam websites and prevents apps or web browsers from being infected. A large majority (85%) of Malwarebytes users on TrustRadius are from small or midsize businesses. Its users consistently praise Malwarebytes’ silent yet comprehensive scan, which is easily deployed and can be run in tandem with other antivirus software. Users also give high praise to Malwarebytes antivirus capabilities as well.

“I use Malwarebytes on my work laptop and personal workstation computers. We use Malwarebytes in both Windows and Mac environments. We trust Malwarebytes to protect our computers from any malicious websites and ransomware attacks in real-time. I know it protects my computers beyond what any anti-virus software used to do. It keeps us safely operating without any fear of attacks.”

– Jeff Henkel | Owner | Accounting Firm

Webroot SecureAnywhere

Webroot SecureAnywhere is an antivirus solution primarily used across SMBs which is known for its easy deployment, very low footprint, and fast malware scan. Despite low resource consumption, SecureAnywhere provides antivirus and multi-vector attack protection (e.g. phishing, URL filtering, etc), as well as a rollback feature to restore endpoints to their pre-infected state. Most TrustRadius users of SecureAnywhere are presently working in small businesses (52%) and praise the product’s low impact on computing performance as well as a reportedly high detection rate for its malware scan, with few false positives.

“We are currently using Webroot SecureAnywhere for Business across 19 company locations. At the time, we were needing to address the footprint of the installation size, as well as manageability from a central location (preferably without the need to elect a server to install back-end software). For this scenario, Webroot met all demands with the smallest installation package in the industry, as well as cloud-based centralized management. While comparing Webroot with competitors, my findings were better overall detection with less false-positives.”

– Jeremy Stewart | Director of Information Technology | Hospital & Healthcare Company

Sophos Intercept X

Sophos Intercept X provides users with automated malware removal, as well as malware scanning, unwanted or malicious application blocking, and protection against suspicious network traffic via a client firewall. Intercept X also protects against infected peripherals (e.g. USB drives) and provides anti-ransomware. Upgrading to Intercept X Advanced with EDR (endpoint detection and remediation) provides advanced threat capabilities attractive to enterprises. TrustRadius users, who are primarily from midsize businesses (53%) praise the ease of supporting a distributed workforce, and mobile endpoints, as well as its integration with the full Sophos security stack.

“[Sophos] is deployed across our endpoints and other resources to provide antimalware protection, monitor our web resources and emails in real time and to protect us against ransomware attacks. After being a victim of ransomware attack, we switched to Sophos endpoint protection and it has been able to provide complete protection against ransomware and malware attacks over the years, thus providing peace of mind for us.”

– Frank Williams | Senior Software Engineer | Computer Software Company

Norton Internet Security

Norton is the antivirus division from security software specialist Symantec. Norton’s antivirus warns users against risky apps and protects them against suspicious content while blocking infected websites and downloads. Norton’s antivirus also monitors the Dark Web for stolen personal info, provides a smart firewall to block malicious network traffic, and includes cloud backup to protect files. Norton’s reviewers on TrustRadius come from companies of all sizes. They appreciate Norton’s low profile, user-friendliness, and general compatibility with many types of devices and web browsers.

“If you need a nice clean, no nonsense Antivirus this one is it. The malware protection is excellent. The detection rates are solid. It scans pretty fast. The firewall is great and simple to set up and use. The browser protection is also really good. If you don’t mind the (very) slight impact it can have on older systems when it comes to speed, then I can absolutely recommend it.”

– Verified User | Manager in Human Resources | Restaurants Company

Congratulations to the winners of the Top Rated Antivirus Software Award!

What is Antivirus Software?

Antivirus software is used to protect computers and other internet devices against cyber attacks, and is typically deployed on company devices and managed by IT administrators. The software scans files and directories for malware including viruses, spyware, trojans, worms, rootkits and other malware. The antivirus program can isolate via quarantine or sandboxing any malicious program it finds and ultimately provide for its safe and complete removal through guided or automated remediation.

Leading antivirus packages include core virus scan capability and additional features including stopping inbound malicious traffic via a client-side firewall, and scam or compromised URL detection and other means of severing browser hijacking techniques (e.g. adware, ransomware, phishing). Antivirus vendors also now include failsafes in case an attack is partially or fully successful. One common failsafe is to simply backup and restore files to a previously uninfected state from cloud storage included with the antivirus software package. Many antivirus software packages also now include identity security features such as credential and password storage and protection, identity compromise detection services (e.g. Dark Web scanning), and payment data protection.

Since cyber threats are constantly evolving, antivirus software must be frequently updated. This is one important criteria for buyers to consider when looking for a new antivirus software solution.

Top Rated Criteria

Products included in the 2019 Top Rated Antivirus Software list must have been in the top tier of their category TrustMap as of July 1st, 2019. To qualify for the Antivirus Software Top Rated Award, products must have at least 10 reviews written within the past year, a TRScore of at least 7.5 out of 10, and must receive at least 1.5% of the traffic in their category.  Every reviewer is verified and every review is vetted before publication. Products are plotted on the TrustMap based on end-user data, including users’ likelihood to recommend scores as well as buyer research patterns. To learn more about TrustMaps and Top Rated methodology, check out this page.