All antivirus software is not created equal. Like any other category of consumer goods, it has its good, its bad and its mediocre. The choices are broad and wide. Software offerings from around the globe grace the reviews of antivirus software at TopTenReviews, but in your efforts to decide which best antivirus software to buy, remember that it really comes down to just two factors: user-friendliness and effectiveness.

Top antivirus software should be easy enough for a computer user to both use and install. The software should effectively seek out and identify virus threats, as well as clean or isolate infected files. There should be understandable reporting available for each scan and plenty of help support available, so you can be well-informed of the software’s activities and capabilities. Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS uses to evaluate antivirus software.