Cybercriminals are always tweaking their methods, so you need a complete antivirus program to protect yourself from the most recent threats. A good antivirus program can find, identify and remove viruses such as trojan horses, worms and spyware. Some antivirus programs come with additional security options like virtual risk of cyberattacks or leaks personal networks as well as parental and password management controls and protection against phishing.

Antivirus software must also protect your computer from keyloggers and rootkits that secretly track all the data that you type into your keyboard such as passwords and credit cards numbers. It should also guard against ransomware which can hijack your computer and hold files hostage until you pay a ransom.

The best antivirus software has a high rate of detection of malware known to be infected, and it consistently scores high in independent labs for testing. A well-designed security suite comes with additional safety features such as a detection system based on heuristics that searches for the kinds of behavior that viruses are known to exhibit. It should also come with a firewall, and some programs have a sandboxing function that allows you to run potentially harmful programs in a virtual setting where they won’t cause any harm.

A reliable antivirus program updates frequently, usually once or twice a day. It should also work with a wide range of devices, from PCs and Macs to smartphones and smart homes. The price of antivirus programs varies and some offer low beginning rates. Some offer annual or monthly subscriptions and others charge per device. The price of an antivirus program needs to be evident in the number and type of devices it shields, how frequent updates are and how simple it is to use and what other security features it offers.