- Bitdefender has many features that recommend this antivirus suite to many users, but this comparison guide saw AVG as the winner in the battle between Bitdefender vs AVG. This is because of the comprehensive security features AVG has, along with the attractive package bundled up in a price friendly price point.
- Bitdefender and Avast both make you pay more for a firewall, either as a part of Avast Pro Antivirus ($49.99 per year) or with Bitdefender Internet Security (starting at $44.99 per year).
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and Avast Free Antivirus are two popular antivirus suites that offer a lot of special features, but how do they stack up in a one-on-one showdown?
Avast vs Bitdefender — Offered Products & Pricing Structure Avast Products As we said, Avast security products are available for various platforms such as Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone or iPad.
At first glance, many customers will choose Avast because it's free, but that doesn't take into account each product’s malware-detection skills and system-performance impact. To figure out which antivirus solution might be best for you, we've evaluated these factors using our own in-house testing and experiences, as well as tests done by independent labs.
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus | Avast! Free Antivirus | |
Price | $23.99 Bitdefender | $Free Avast.com |
Zero-Day Malware Detection (Windows 10) | 100 percent | 99.4 percent |
Widespread Malware Detection (Windows 10) | 100 percent | 99.9 percent |
Online Malware Detection (Windows 7) | 99.9 percent | 99.6 percent |
False Positives | 0 | 13 |
System Impact | Lighter on Macs than PCs. | Lighter on PCs than Macs. |
Special Features | Password manager, network security scanner, secure web browser, game mode, virtual keyboard, file shredder | Password manager, network security scanner, secure web browser, game mode, |
After six rounds of comparison, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus (starting at $39.99 per year) comes out with the win, thanks to its multiple perfect malware-detection scores, low system impact and ease of use. Ark survival evolved mac os x download.
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PC Protection
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and Avast Free Antivirus both detect and stop most malware preying on PCs, but the former edges past the latter.
In evaluations conducted by the Austrian testing lab AV-Comparatives from July to November of 2016, Bitdefender blocked an average of 99.9 percent of online malware, while Avast nipped at Bitdefender’s heels with a rate of 99.6 percent. Best personal finance app mac os. Avast registered 13 false positives -- benign programs or files mistakenly flagged as malware -- while Bitdefender registered none.
Windows 10 realtek ethernet device controller driver. A similar pattern showed up in evaluations done during the same period by the German lab AV-TEST, which measured how well Bitdefender and Avast performed at detecting both known widespread malware and unknown “zero-day” malware. In both fields, Bitdefender excelled by small margins.
(Note: Both labs’ tests were conducted using Bitdefender Internet Security instead of Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. But as both use the same malware-detection engine, they would have earned the same scores.)
Bitdefender stopped 100 percent of both kinds of malware for Windows 10 and Windows 7. It dipped below perfection in only one round of Windows 8.1 tests, catching 98.7 percent of zero-day malware and 99.9 percent of widespread malware in December 2016. (It got them all in November.)
On Windows 10, Avast blocked all the zero-day malware in one round, but fell below that otherwise, stopping 98.8 percent of zero-day attacks in the previous round. It detected 99.9 percent of widespread malware in September 2016 and 99.8 percent in October. On Windows 8.1, Avast stopped 100 percent of zero-day malware in both rounds, while catching 99.8 percent of widespread malware in November and 99.7 percent in December.
Avast got its worst score on Windows 7, catching 97.5 percent of zero-day malware in August but 100 percent in July. Avast's Windows 7 widespread-malware scores were better, at 99.9 percent in July and 99.8 percent in August.
Winner: Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. With zero false positives and the best detection, Bitdefender takes this round.
Mac Protection
When it comes to protecting Macs, your choice is a lot easier. AV-TEST's December 2016 test showed that Bitdefender detected 100 percent of malware attacking macOS Sierra, while Avast caught only 96.8 percent.
Winner: Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. When it comes to antivirus protection, what matters isn’t how much gets stopped, but how much gets through.
MORE: Best Antivirus Software for Mac - Tom's Guide
Ease of Use and Installation
Avast Free Antivirus and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus both make it easy to see messages saying that your system is safe, but they differ in the presentation. Bitdefender's home screen gives prominent placement to a toggle switch to enable Autopilot mode, which keeps a vigilant eye scanning your files. Avast places a 'Run Smart Scan' button in the middle of its home screen.
Bitdefender’s Quick-Scan button is also on its home page, but it’s jumbled among a bunch of other buttons and icons
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The installation processes for both programs are mostly the same, with one big difference: Avast will try to install the Google Toolbar into your default web browser and change your browser home page to Google. To avoid this, you'll need to uncheck two small boxes at the bottom left corner of the first Avast installation screen.
Winner: Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. Avast needs to get its mitts off your default settings.
Special Features
Since you're actually paying for Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, it makes sense that it comes with features beyond superb malware detection. But you might be surprised how many freebies come with Avast's free offering.
Try it for free avast mac shows white screen. The PC versions of Avast Free Antivirus and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus each offer a password manager, a network security scanner, a secured web browser for banking and shopping, a rescue-disk option for severely infected machines (drive not included) and a game mode to keep from interrupting your frag count.
While we expect to see at least some of those features on a paid offering, they're a pleasant surprise in the Avast Free Antivirus package. In fact, the only features that Bitdefender Antivirus Plus can lord over Avast Free Antivirus are a virtual keyboard (for those worried about keylogging malware) and a file shredder.
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![Avast Versus Bit Defender For Mac Avast Versus Bit Defender For Mac](/uploads/1/3/3/2/133271858/833532648.jpg)
Bitdefender and Avast both make you pay more for a firewall, either as a part of Avast Pro Antivirus ($49.99 per year) or with Bitdefender Internet Security (starting at $44.99 per year). At that price, Bitdefender throws in parental controls for keeping a child out of places where he or she shouldn't be looking, while Avast doesn't offer such options at any price.
Over on the Mac, neither Bitdefender Antivirus For Mac nor Avast Free Mac Security offer much in the way of special features.
Winner: Tie. Bitdefender gives you a file shredder and virtual keyboard, but Avast offers a lot of goodies for free.
System Impact
Neither Bitdefender nor Avast will slow down your system much, but it might depend on the platform you use. When we tested both suites on an ASUS X555LA laptop running Windows 10, the Avast system exhibited a very light system impact, whereas the Bitdefender package created just a little more of a slowdown in performance.
Bit Defender For Mac Free Download
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In testing on a MacBook Pro, the reverse was true: While both Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac and Avast Free Mac Security had a small impact on performance, the system running Bitdefender ran slightly faster.
Winner: Tie. Avast secure me for mac. Avast caused less system drag on PCs, but Bitdefender evens the score on Macs.
Pricing
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus starts at a relatively low $39.99 per year for one PC, but Avast Free Antivirus is, well, free. For many buyers, that's going to be a first-round knockout. But since these products aren't quite the same, we can't stop there. Ultimately, it’s about what you’re getting for the money.
Winner: Avast! Free Antivirus. No price can beat free.
Verdict
While it offers a surprising amount of features for being a free product, Avast Free Antivirus trails behind Bitdefender Antivirus Plus in malware detection, which is what really counts.
The lack of a price tag on Avast Free Antivirus makes it an alluring choice for budget-minded consumers, and, yes, it is better than nothing (or Windows Defender). But Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is the better choice for anyone looking to batten down the hatches with antivirus protection.
Best Mac AntivirusKaspersky Internet Security for Mac
Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac's top-shelf malware detection and barely there system impact make it the best antivirus solution.
Best Free Mac AntivirusAvast Free Mac Security
Avast Free Mac Security's malware-squashing proficiency, negligible performance impact and included password manager make it the best free option. Git bash for mac. https://skyeywhich504.weebly.com/blog/download-game-brother-in-arms-3-mod-apk-versi-terbaru.
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac offers top-shelf malware detection and protects files from ransomware.
After evaluating eight free and paid antivirus products, we've chosen Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac ($40 per year) as the best antivirus for Mac. It had a nearly invisible impact on system performance, and it caught all malware.
Bitdefender For Mac
Avast Free Mac Security is our favorite free option, as it provided nearly perfect malware protection and an easy-to-use interface with an imperceptible performance hit.
You do need an antivirus program on your Mac. Recent years have seen more Mac malware and adware than ever before, from Trojans to targeted attacks, supply-chain attacks like the XcodeGhost attack and even encrypting ransomware.
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Latest Security Alerts and Threats
— Google pushed out an emergency patch for its Chrome browser for Windows, macOS and Linux after a vulnerability was found that could let a malicious website take over a computer. ADVICE: Copy and paste 'chrome://settings/help' into your Chrome address bar to make sure your browser is updated to version 76.0.3809.132.
— Apple patched a security hole that let you -- or a malicious website -- jailbreak an iPhone and install any kind of app, including potential malware. (This is not among the flaws that let several websites infect any iPhone.) ADVICE: Make sure your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch is updated to iOS 12.4.1.
— Spammers have been sending emails to inject scam or malicious messages in regular people's Google Calendar pages. ADVICE: Follow our instructions to stop phony Google Calendar notifications from happening to you.
How We Tested
To find the best antivirus for Mac desktops and laptops, we evaluate ease of use, interface and performance impact, we installed each AV program on the same Late 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina Display running macOS 10.12 Sierra. It was powered by a 2.6-GHz Intel Core i7 processor and had 8GB of RAM and 70GB of data stored on a 512GB SSD.
We conducted our own tests in July and August 2017 based on how much each antivirus product affected our laptop's performance. To do this, we used our custom OpenOffice benchmark, which matches 20,000 names and addresses in a spreadsheet. We measured how long it took to run a quick scan and a full scan while the laptop crunched numbers in the background.
We assessed how easy each program was to use and the number of useful extra features it offered (including free add-on software). To gauge how effective each package was at stopping malware, we used the results of evaluations conducted in May 2017 by AV-TEST, a well-regarded independent product-testing lab in Germany, and results from other tests conducted in July 2017 by AV-Comparatives, a similarly well-respected firm in Austria.
Best Mac Antivirus
Bitdefender Antivirus For Mac Free
Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac
Reasons to Buy
Minimal system impact
Reasons to Avoid
Kaspersky Internet Security is the best antivirus for Macs because it offers both the lowest system impact and some of the best malware-detection rates recorded. It even provides extra security features, including parental controls and options to lock down your webcam and stop websites from tracking your browsing activity. If you're willing to pay to protect your Mac from malware, Kaspersky Internet Security is the best option available.
Best Free Mac Antivirus
Avast Free Mac Security
Reasons to Buy
Excellent malware protection
Password manager included
Reasons to Avoid
Avast Free Mac Security caught 99.9 percent of all malware, packs in a password manager, barely leaves a smudge on system impact and doesn't charge a dime. If only it caught 100 percent of malware, as Kaspersky did.
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac
Reasons to Buy
Ransomware protection
Parental controls
Reasons to Avoid
$38.99
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is one of only a few solutions we tested that offers perfect malware detection. Further, its modern, streamlined interface places on-demand scans front and center. Bitdefender has dropped from first place, though, because its system-impact scores don't match the flawless marks posted by Kaspersky.
Norton 360 Deluxe
Reasons to Buy
Reasons to Avoid
Noticeable system impact
Norton 360 Deluxe may offer excellent protection, but it charges more (after the first year) than its competitors do, without offering as many perks. Norton AntiVirus Plus offers similar protection for a single Mac, but with fewer perks. Still, both have always-on-call customer support.
AVG Antivirus for Mac
Reasons to Buy
Free
Reasons to Avoid
Comparatively high background impact
AVG Antivirus for Mac
If you're looking for the best antivirus for Mac without having to pay, AVG AntiVirus for Mac is not too shabby, with its 99.9 percent detection rate and easy-to-use design. Unfortunately, other free competitors provide extras (Sophos with parental controls, Avast's password manager) that AVG does not.
Best for Families
Sophos Home
Reasons to Buy
Remote manageability
Low system impact
Reasons to Avoid
With Sophos Home for Mac's simple interface and low system-performance impact, you'll barely realize the program is shielding you until you need it. Anyone with young children at home will find Sophos' parental controls useful, as they allow for remote scans and checks, and let you block sites by category. Sophos even keeps a log of when users try to reach banned pages. This program's major drawback, though, is its lackluster malware-detection rate.
Avira Free Antivirus for Mac
Reasons to Buy
Solid malware protection
Reasons to Avoid
Once our favorite, Avira Free Antivirus for Mac is no longer the best antivirus for Mac. That's because it is a hair shy of perfection in its malware detection, and fell behind in system-performance testing, earning some of the higher performance impacts recorded.
McAfee Antivirus Plus
Reasons to Buy
Familiar user interface
Reasons to Avoid
Unproven detection rates
McAfee® AntiVirus Plus
While McAfee's unlimited licenses mean you can support a whole family of Macs (and PCs and Android devices, too), this program's lack of special features (for a paid version) make it hard to recommend. Further, we don't have malware-detection testing scores for McAfee, so its protection powers are unproven.