In order to protect personal and confidential data on your computer, it should have a virus scanner. Anyone who works with Windows 10 or Windows 11 enjoys the protection of Windows Defender.
As a test by our test center experts in cooperation with the specialists from AV-Comparatives shows, this is not necessarily the best choice when it comes to virus and malware monitors. Although Windows Defender scores “good” in the test, most other programs can achieve even better results. Microsoft Windows Defender only ranked 11th in the leaderboard and just missed the top 10.
Some free virus scanners also overtake the Microsoft program in the ranking and achieve a “very good” in the test. The reason: They perform significantly better in the categories of performance and protection rating.
You want it in a nutshell? Whether test winner or price tip – in the following table you will find our current recommendations. You can read the detailed test report with all the results here.
Note (March 15, 2022): The Federal Office for Information Security warns against using Kaspersky and recommends users to switch to alternatives. We have therefore removed Kaspersky from this table.
Free programs are also “very good”
In addition to the well-known paid programs, some free services also scored “very well” in our test.
Avast FreeAntivirus & AVG Free Antivirus
Avast’s free virus scanner is the best free virus scanner in the test. It ends up in 4th place in the list of the best, followed by the identical sister model, the AVG Free Antivirus. The only difference is the design of the interface. In what is probably the most important category of protection, both score “very good” (grade 1.2). It is equally important that the programs do not negatively affect performance. This is also not the case here and is also rated “very good” (grade 1.2). Points are only deducted in one category: some of the programs report a large number of false alarms. Nevertheless, Avast and AVG Free Antivirus still do “good” (grade 2.3).