A good antivirus is an essential security tool for every PC gamer, securing against malware and spyware, ransomware, viruses, phishing, identity theft, and other online threats. It also needs to be light and nimble, with minimal impact on gaming performance and keeping out annoying interruptions like scans while you are playing or playing, pop-ups and huge updates that slow down your system.
Many antivirus programs include extra features for gamers, like an exclusive game booster which reduces background processes and improves CPU performance. Certain antivirus programs have features that prevent hackers from accessing personal information. Others allow you to play with your friends in a secure manner using a VPN.
Bitdefender is the most reliable antivirus for gamers. It offers one of the highest malware detection rates, as well as cloud scanning that has a small impact on performance. It also offers useful tools to tune your system such as disk cleaners and duplicate file removal.
McAfee is another leading security product that comes with an advanced gaming feature that prioritises your games over resource-intensive background applications. It comes with a Game Boost Engine and a array of other useful options, such as parental controls, updating scheduling and system scanning plans, and much more. Its machine learning and heuristic technologies are also among the best in the field.
Webroot Secure Anywhere installs in less than one minute and is incredibly lightweight, consuming only 5MB of RAM when idle and less than 15% of your CPU when it’s performing scans. It’s got a high rate of malware detection as well as an additional feature that removes all tracetraces of your online activity.