Lesson 4 of 7
Comparing the kinds of antivirus option
This lesson compares kinds of protection rather than ranking brands. Once you know which kind suits you, choosing a particular product becomes a matter of reading the details carefully, and we show you which details to read.
Paid link on this page. Further down, this lesson names Norton AntiVirus Plus and links to its vendor's website. That link is a paid affiliate link: if you buy through it, the affiliate network acting for the vendor pays our publisher a commission, and your price does not change. It is the only product on this site we have a commercial arrangement with. See the affiliate disclosure for the full details.
The four broad kinds
Almost every option you will come across fits into one of four groups. The table summarises them; the sections after it explain each in more depth.
| Kind | What it usually is | Typical strengths | Typical trade-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built into the device | The protection supplied with the operating system, such as Microsoft Defender Antivirus on Windows or XProtect on macOS | No extra cost, updated with the system, designed to fit it | Few extras; support is mostly self-help |
| Free third-party product | A separate antivirus program offered at no charge, often alongside a paid version | No cost; may add a different interface or features | Upgrade prompts; some products show advertising; check the privacy policy |
| Paid antivirus | A subscription product focused mainly on malware protection, sometimes for a single device | Direct vendor support; some extra features | Ongoing cost; automatic renewal is common |
| Security suite | A subscription bundle that adds tools such as a password manager, VPN or parental controls | Several tools in one place, one bill | Higher cost; you may already have some of the tools |
The table describes typical patterns, not every product. A particular product may differ, so treat its own website and terms as the authority on what it includes.
Built-in protection
You looked at this in lesson two. Its main appeal is that it is already there, maintained by the same company as the operating system and updated through the same channel. If you are happy with self-help support and do not need extras, it is a perfectly reasonable place to stay.
Questions to ask
- Is it switched on, and is the device still receiving updates?
- Are you comfortable finding answers on the maker's support pages yourself?
Free third-party products
Several security companies offer a free antivirus program. These can be a sensible choice, especially on an older Windows computer where you want a familiar interface. The important thing is to understand how the free product is paid for.
| Points in favour | Points to check |
|---|---|
| No subscription to manage or cancel | How often the product asks you to upgrade, and whether those prompts are easy to dismiss |
| Can be removed at any time with no account to close | Whether the product shows advertising or bundles other software during installation |
| May share detection technology with the same company's paid products; the vendor's description will say | What the privacy policy says about data collected and shared |
Paid antivirus products
Paid antivirus products are usually sold as subscriptions, often for a set number of devices. In return you typically get direct support from the vendor, and sometimes features that free or built-in tools lack. Because they are subscriptions, the terms around renewal and cancellation matter as much as the features. Lesson seven covers those.
Questions to ask of any paid product
- Which devices and operating systems does it support? Check the vendor's system requirements against the list you made in lesson three.
- How many devices does one subscription cover?
- What does it cost after the first term? Introductory prices are common. The renewal price is the one you will pay for longer.
- Does it renew automatically, and how do you turn that off?
- What does the vendor's privacy policy say?
- What support is offered, how, and at what hours? Consider the time difference if the support team is overseas.
Security suites
A suite combines antivirus with other tools. The value of a suite depends entirely on whether you would use those tools. A VPN you never switch on, or a password manager that duplicates the one in your browser, adds cost without adding protection. On the other hand, if you were planning to pay for a password manager and parental controls separately, a suite may be simpler to manage.
An easy test
For each extra tool in a suite, ask: "Would I install this on its own, if it were sold separately?" Count only the ones where the answer is yes.
Where independent test results come from
Because we do not test products ourselves, we do not publish scores. Independent organisations do test antivirus products regularly and publish their methods alongside their results. Two widely cited ones are AV-TEST, based in Germany, and AV-Comparatives, based in Austria. If you want to compare detection and performance, their published reports are a better source than any summary of them, including ours.
When reading a test report, look at the date, the operating system tested and the version of the product. Results for one version on Windows do not necessarily tell you about a different version on a Mac.
A paid product this site links to
Norton AntiVirus Plus is a paid antivirus product. It falls into the "paid antivirus" row of the table above. It is the product this site has an affiliate arrangement with, which is why it is named here and other paid products are not.
We have deliberately not listed its features, the devices it supports, its price or its renewal terms. The only information we have from the affiliate network is a short listing that identifies it as an antivirus product, and repeating claims we cannot check would not be fair to you. Before deciding, read the vendor's own description and terms, and run them through the six questions in the section on paid products above.
If you have reached the point of comparing paid products, you can read the vendor's own description of this one.
Visit the Norton AntiVirus Plus websiteThis is a paid affiliate link. Our publisher earns a commission if you buy after following it; your price stays the same. Opens in a new tab.
Being named here is not a ranking or an endorsement. We have no evidence on which to say it is better or worse than built-in protection or any other product, and we do not claim to.
Making the comparison yourself
To compare two specific products, a short table on paper works well. Use the same rows for each product: devices covered, operating systems supported, first-term price in NZD, renewal price in NZD, automatic renewal and how to cancel, support channels, extras included, and what the privacy policy says about data collection. Fill it in only from the vendors' own websites and terms, and note the date you checked. Prices and features change, and a dated note helps you see whether your information is still current when the renewal comes round.
Once the table is filled in, compare it with the list of needs you made in lesson three, not with each other. The question is not which product has the most features, but which one covers what you need at a renewal price you are comfortable with. If none of them does better than the built-in protection for your purposes, that is a perfectly valid result.