Top 5 Antivirus Software Of 2024

Imagine, you’re taking a break at work to check your personal email and come across a mail with the subject “10 Cute Cat Photos”. You like cats (well, who doesn’t?) so you decide to open it and look at some cute cats. It redirects you to a link, which you click but – uh oh! Something’s wrong!

Your system has suddenly slowed down! You restart the browser and decide to get back to work. You open the presentation you’ve been working on but it asks you for a password. Strange! You hadn’t set one. It even asks you to contact an email ID to access your file!

Whoops, you’ve just been hit by ransomware!

Of course, the “cute cat photos” is an old example, so if you come across such an email, you’re probably going to avoid it. However, cyber-attacks have gotten a lot more complicated, especially with the availability of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. It has led to an increase in Business Email Compromise (BEC), which has become a major problem for businesses, along with a spike in ransomware attacks.

This is why businesses (and individuals) need Antivirus Software. It helps them detect and prevent malicious software that attempts to (or manages to) penetrate an endpoint device. Essentially, they act as gatekeepers that stop malicious software from causing data breaches, data leaks, infecting files, corrupting systems or other harmful actions.

If your enterprise needs such a tool, check out our list of the top 5 Antivirus Software of 2024!
 

Top 5 Antivirus Software Of 2024

Antivirus Software helps businesses prevent malicious software from causing harm to endpoint devices by identifying and stopping potential cyber threats such as viruses, worms, trojan horses, malware, adware, ransomware or others, to mitigate any harm they may cause.

So, let’s get into the list of the top 5 Antivirus Software for 2024 – listed in random order.
 

ESET Protect	ThreatDown By Malwarebytes	Webroot Business Endpoint Protection
Sophos Intercept X Endpoint	Symantec End-user Endpoint Security By Broadcom

 

Tool 1: ESET Protect

Founded in 1992, ESET is headquartered in Bratislava, Slovak Republic (Slovakia). The company has a workforce of over 1,800 employees spread across 23 office locations around the world, which include 12 regional technology centers. With 100+ million users worldwide, ESET was peer-recognized as a Customers’ Choice in the 2023 Gartner Peer Insights Voice of the Customer for Endpoint Protection Platforms report, with customer recommendation at 91%.


Coming onto our list as a new entrant this year, ESET Protect brings you comprehensive, robust, simple-to-use antivirus and endpoint protection software. It offers you full control and full visibility from a single and intuitive dashboard and can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. The platform comes with powerful machine learning (ML) capabilities blended with world-class human security researchers and experts.

The fascinating part? ESET Protect comes in 5 variants to protect your endpoint and business data and is based on your requirements and includes Protect Entry, Protect Advanced, Protect Complete, Protect Elite and Protect MDR. Moreover, ESET offers all-around protection for your entire business environment, encompassing endpoints, servers, mobiles, cloud applications, email platforms and more.

Feature Ratings:

Ease of Use: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Value For Money: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Startup Friendly: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Enterprise Friendly: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Customer Support: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
 

Tool 2: ThreatDown By Malwarebytes

In November 2023, Malwarebytes launched ThreatDown, a new brand that focuses on the company’s previous B2B and business software portfolio. Malwarebytes was founded in 2008 and has its headquarters in Santa Clara, USA, which also serves as the HQ for ThreatDown. Companies like Telx Computers, DICT, Drummond and Hooton Tech have also trusted Malwarebytes for their security. Moreover, they come with a workforce of over 1000 employees who are spread across 8 locations around the world. ThreatDown was recognized as a Leader in G2’s Fall 2023 report.


Retaining its place in this year’s list of top Antivirus Software is ThreatDown (previously listed as Malwarebytes). It offers you an easy-to-use, effective and powerful antivirus and endpoint security tool that helps you take care of cyber threats without interrupting your business operations. It offers four categories based on different business requirements, i.e., Core, Advanced, Elite and Ultimate. Across all plans, the platform brings Security Advisor, which visualizes and optimizes your security status within minutes, to give you instant security scores.

ThreatDown also brings you a cloud-hosted security platform, ThreatDown Nebula, which helps you with Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Endpoint Protection and Managed Detection and Response (MDR). Being a cloud-based platform, it also offers you anomaly detection and monitors suspicious activity. With ThreatDown Admin, your IT and security administrators can handle critical tasks even from their smartphones!

Feature Ratings:

Ease of Use: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Value For Money: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Startup Friendly: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Enterprise Friendly: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Customer Support: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
 

Tool 3: Webroot Business Endpoint Protection

Webroot comes to you thanks to OpenText Corporation, which was founded in 1991. With over 14,000 employees spread across 60 offices across the world, the company is headquartered in Waterloo, Canada. Moreover, clients like Sedona Technologies, Augustine Consulting and Mytech Partners have enjoyed their experience working with OpenText. Having been named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Application Security Testing in 2023, OpenText has an impressive customer base which includes 98 Fortune 100 companies. Congratulations, OpenText!


Returning to the list, Webroot Business Endpoint Protection brings you advanced machine learning and cloud-based protection against multiple threat vectors including malicious files, scripts, exploits and URLs. In addition to remote management, it offers you precise monitoring, roll-back and auto-restoring capabilities. The platform offers superior protection across a range of operating systems, servers, VM (virtual machine) platforms and browsers. Along with superior efficacy against zero-day threats backed by predictive analytics, you get ultra-fast scans, data analysis from 95+ million sensors, minimal human intervention and more – all of which can be deployed in just 30 seconds!

Its amazing features mean that Webroot serves as a complete protection tool with a range of threat protection solutions, which include endpoint protection, DNS protection, Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and security awareness training. Furthermore, it even offers specialized email security solutions, which extend to email encryption, email threat protection, email continuity and email message privacy.

Feature Ratings:

Ease of Use: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Value For Money: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Startup Friendly: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Enterprise Friendly: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Customer Support: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
 

Tool 4: Sophos Intercept X Endpoint

Originally founded in 1985, Sophos was acquired by Thoma Bravo, one of the largest software investors in the world, in 2020 for $3.9 billion. While Sophos is headquartered in Abingdon, England, has a workforce of over 4,000 employees and around 30 office locations globally, Thoma Bravo has its headquarters in Chicago, USA and has over 200 employees in 5 offices around the world. Thoma Bravo has investments in 78 companies engaged in a variety of fields. Cheers to Sophos!


Let’s welcome the new entrant this year, Sophos Intercept X Endpoint, bringing you the industry's most sophisticated endpoint security solution. Don’t fret, it’s an easy-to-use platform that safeguards you from viruses, breaches, ransomware, data losses and more. The platform is capable of stopping advanced attacks before they cause harm to your systems. It brings in superior technology like artificial intelligence (AI), behavioral analysis, anti-ransomware, anti-exploitation and more to hunt, investigate, respond and stop threats.

Sophos Intercept X Endpoint brings in features such as ransomware protection through CryptoGuard, which stops new variants and never-before-seen ransomware across your network. This can also automatically roll back affected files. Its Anti-Exploitation solution adds over 60 proprietary, pre-configured and tuned exploit mitigations. Furthermore, adaptive attack protection is here to prevent “hands-on-keyboard" attackers from taking further actions, while its critical attack warning system keeps you always alert.

Feature Ratings:

Ease of Use: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Value For Money: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Startup Friendly: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Enterprise Friendly: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Customer Support: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
 

Tool 5: Symantec End-user Endpoint Security

Founded as Symantec Corporation in 1982, the company’s enterprise security software division was acquired by Broadcom Inc. for $10.7 billion in 2019. Although Broadcom was founded in 1991, it possesses 50+ years of experience, courtesy of numerous acquisition deals. Today, the company is headquartered in San Jose, USA and has around 20,000 employees spread across 30 countries and 70+ offices. With a plethora of awards, Broadcom won the AV-TEST Award 2022 for Symantec, making it the seventh time in eight years. Hip hip hurray, Symantec!


New to our list this year, Symantec End-user Endpoint Security brings you a complete, integrated and comprehensive endpoint security platform to help prevent viruses, malware, ransomware and other threats. It can be deployed on-premises, on the cloud or as a hybrid solution. The platform uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and other technologies to protect you on all traditional and mobile devices. It also comes with intelligent automation and AI-guided policy management!

Symantec End-user Endpoint Security protects you across all phases of an attack lifecycle. This is done by reducing your attack surface, exploiting advanced technology and other methods to prevent threats and maintain network integrity, preventing intrusions through network firewalls and leveraging machine learning, expert analysis and behavioral forensics to respond rapidly. The platform’s solutions also offer you endpoint management and server security solutions, so you can protect your entire enterprise ecosystem.

Feature Ratings:

Ease of Use: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Value For Money: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Startup Friendly: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Enterprise Friendly: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Customer Support: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
 

Winding It Up

Antivirus Software protects businesses from the harmful effects that can be caused due to viruses, worms or other threat vectors. The idea is to find them and stop malicious software that penetrates or even attempts to breach a business’s network or endpoint devices.

Every business has unique cybersecurity requirements and security policies, which is why you should ensure you pick a platform that suits your unique needs!