The Best Antivirus For PC Gaming: Bitdefender, Norton, Kaspersky

We’ve checked all the major antivirus for PC gaming out there, and put together this compendium outlining those we’d recommend for keeping your gaming PC protected. None are hugely expensive, and there are even some free options if you’re looking to save some dollar.

What to look for when choosing antivirus for PC gaming?

Choosing the best antivirus for PC gaming is not exactly easy if you don’t know what to look for. So here are some features that a perfect gaming antivirus should have:

Game mode or game boosters. While antivirus software is necessary to protect you and your device, it can also negatively affect your gaming experience. In this case, you want to get an antivirus that has a game mode. Such a feature is designed to optimize CPU and GPU performance when gaming, so the antivirus can still run in the background without affecting the gameplay.
Cloud-based scanning. If the whole antivirus suite is cloud-based, it means that it won’t use your CPU power for scans and other antivirus-related activities, leaving processing units available for the best gaming experience.
Device cleaning. Clearing cache and other files that just take up space helps with overall device performance. An antivirus that does this without prompting is worth considering.
In-game threat detection. In-game malware is no joke – there have been instances of malicious code, files, and links being distributed in various multiplayer servers. An antivirus that is able to detect and inform you about harmful data before it reaches your device is always nice to have.
Additional features. Any additional features like VPNs, cloud storage for your file, or a password manager just add to the best antivirus experience you could have.
Price. Antivirus suites are known to be pretty expensive, so look for a service which’s price won’t hurt your wallet that much.

The Best Antivirus For PC Gaming

Bitdefender Total Security

While there are plenty of capable antivirus apps on the market, the best antivirus for gaming should do its job without hindering your performance or being too intrusive in your day-to-day use. What makes Bitdefender so good is that, once it’s installed, it immediately goes into Autopilot mode. Autopilot makes all the security-related decisions for you based on your usage patterns, so you aren’t bombarded with alerts and notifications. Don’t worry, though; you still have plenty of control if you want it as well.

One of our favorite things about Bitdefender is it can scan for any active vulnerabilities: whether that’s out of date software, missing Windows Updates, or even woeful passwords, and it presents this in easy-to-read reports. It has its own VPN and improved parental controls if you have a kid who uses your PC. We rarely ever see antivirus programs go the extra mile as much as Bitdefender does.

Like most antivirus programs, the pricing structure for Bitdefender is based on how many years of coverage you want for five or 10 devices.

Norton 360 Deluxe

All of Norton’s antivirus products offer excellent malware protection, and the once-heavy system-performance load is much lighter. The number of extra features each program has varies, but the sweet spot in the lineup is Norton 360 Deluxe.

It includes a password manager that works on all major platforms, unlimited VPN service, dark-web personal-data monitoring, parental controls and up to 50GB of online storage space. Two other offerings, Norton 360 Premium and Norton 360 Platinum, give you more online storage and expand the antivirus and VPN coverage to 10 and 20 devices, respectively.

If you want full-on identity protection, Norton offers three bundles with varying degrees of LifeLock service and even more online storage. Their subscription prices run well into the triple digits, but still cost less than if you were to buy the identity protection, password manager, cloud-backup storage and antivirus software separately.

Kaspersky Total Security

Kaspersky’s Windows products have excellent malware-detection scores and a light-to-moderate system-performance impact, the two most important criteria in our rankings.

The entry-level program, Kaspersky Anti-Virus (starting at £12.49 UK/$29.99 US), has dedicated ransomware protection, a virtual keyboard and a convenient online account portal. But it’s beaten by Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, which has even more features.

Kaspersky Internet Security (£17.49 UK/$39.99 US) is our top choice among midrange packages. It has a secure browser, anti-theft protection for laptops, webcam protection and a limited-use VPN client that kicks in when you connect to an open Wi-Fi network. It also includes software for macOS, Android and iOS.

The premium antivirus suite, Kaspersky Total Security (£19.99 UK/$44.99 US), adds backup software, parental controls, file encryption, a file shredder and an unlimited password manager. We think it’s the best antivirus software you can buy today.

McAfee

McAfee Total Protection is a full-featured internet security suite with an advanced antivirus scanner, a secure firewall, and comprehensive parental controls. Its anti-malware engine performed really well in my standard series of tests, catching 100% of the malware files I placed on my gaming PC.

I also really like McAfee’s parental controls, which provide content filtering, device usage limits, and even device tracking for mobile users. I was able to set time limits on my test PC’s internet time and block specific apps (which can be really useful if your kids need internet access for school work, but you don’t want them to get distracted playing games).

McAfee’s secure firewall is also really good for gamers — it was able to detect a wide variety of network attacks during my testing, and I could also set rules that allowed the games on my device and friends on my network to connect online.

Avira

Avira is a secure, cloud-based antivirus with a good game booster. There’s also a really good free plan — but it doesn’t come with the game booster.

During my tests, Avira’s antivirus engine detected all of the malware files on my PC. And because it’s hosted in the cloud, it barely slowed down my system at all during scans.

I like Avira’s game booster — in my tests, it improved my CPU’s performance by closing background apps and optimizing network settings. But I still think Norton has a better gaming booster because it also allowed me to increase my graphical settings without suffering any framerate drops.

Avira’s free plan, Avira Free Security, doesn’t come with gamer-specific features, but it’s still one of the best free antivirus plans for PCs.

Firewall Choices

A typical personal firewall offers protection in two main areas. On the one hand, it monitors all network traffic to prevent inappropriate access from outside the network. On the other, it keeps a watchful eye on running applications to make sure they don’t misuse your network connection. The built-in Windows Firewall handles monitoring traffic but doesn’t include program control. A few security suites skip the firewall component, figuring Windows Firewall already does the most essential firewall tasks.

The last thing you want is a firewall that bombards you with incomprehensible queries about online activity. Should I let KiberViyna.exe connect with IP address 212.164.137.233 on port 8080? Incoming or outgoing? Allow or Block? Once, or always? Plastic or paper? Modern firewalls cut down on these queries by automatically configuring permissions for known programs. The very best also handle unknown programs by monitoring them closely for signs of improper network activity and other suspicious behaviors.

Does a gaming PC need antivirus?

The best antivirus for your gaming PC keeps you safe from anything that could put your rig in danger. You want your antivirus to lock out hackers and malware. It should also avoid pestering you about updates and interrupting your gaming unless it actually finds a threat it needs to deal wit.

Is antivirus worth it in 2021?

A: Yes, free antivirus is enough in most cases, but it’s not worth the security risk and privacy issues. You’re better off with Windows Defender than you are with Avast.

Is Kaspersky good for gaming?

Kaspersky — Most Extra Features for Gaming. Kaspersky has everything I expect to see in a premium antivirus suite for gamers — it has a good anti-malware scanner, an automatic game mode, and a variety of internet security protections.

Does Bitdefender slow down PC?

If you want antivirus software to not slow you down, these are the programs to buy (or avoid). Antivirus programs can slow your computer, sometimes by quite a lot.