The Best Malware Removal Software in 2024

TotalAV is a highly reliable malware removal tool with excellent real-time malware protection. It can detect and remove malware like ransomware, Trojans, and viruses and uses its cloud network to swiftly scan your device for zero-day threats.

TotalAV proactively scans all downloads and checks executable files for viruses and malware every time you launch them. It also automatically quarantines malicious files. It has a user-friendly interface and is relatively light on system resources.

In testing with Virus Bulletin, it scored a 99.69% malware detection rate and had zero false alarms.

Additional tools include system clean-up and optimization utilities, online anti-phishing protection, and a browser cleaner. The advanced plans have a Virtual Private Network, ad blocker, password manager, and protection for 6 to 8 devices.

TotalAV’s starter plan costs $19/year and supports five devices. There’s no free trial, but TotalAV offers free on-demand malware scans and a 30-day money-back guarantee with all plans.

TotalAV is an excellent pick for users seeking comprehensive malware removal tools for multiple devices. Given its affordable pricing, it’s also great for users on a limited budget.

Norton offers multi-layered security to block malware infections. Its smart firewall monitors and blocks malware transmitted via incoming network traffic, and its intrusion prevention system then further analyzes permitted network traffic for malware.

Norton is highly effective in blocking and removing malware and has a perfect protection score in testing with AV-Test. As well as offering real-time protection to detect suspicious behavior, the software is constantly updated to ensure it can address emerging cyber threats.

A key Norton malware removal feature is its Virus Protection Promise. This is a 100% refund guarantee if the company’s experts cannot remove a virus from your device.

Plans also offer features like 2GB of cloud backups, a password manager, dark web monitoring, parental controls, and a VPN.

Norton’s basic plan starts at $29.99/year but only supports one device. For $39.99, you can get protection for three devices. The plans have a 30-day free trial and an impressive 60-day money-back guarantee.

Norton is ideal for users who require rigorous, multi-layered security and are willing to spend slightly more for premium protection.

Surfshark is an established VPN provider, but its malware protection offering is relatively nascent compared to its competitors. Nevertheless, it has a perfect grade for usability and a 100% malware detection rate with 0% false positives with Virus Bulletin’s testing.

Surfshark’s interface is neat and user-friendly. The real-time malware scanner is fast – but not as light on system resources as TotalAV – and it instantly scans files you download, install, or launch.

It doesn’t include a firewall, but its malware protection database updates every three hours to ensure it can tackle emerging malware, spyware, and viruses.

Surfshark’s additional privacy-enhancing tools include a VPN – one of the best, cheapest VPN services available – and ad and cookie blocker, which will further secure your connection and protect you from adware.

Surfshark One costs $36.32/year with a two-year subscription. Though the VPN has unlimited connections, the malware protection supports five devices. There’s no free trial for the malware protection tools, but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Surfshark is ideal for users looking for strong online privacy and security combined with efficient, user-friendly malware protection.

Intego is specifically designed to protect Macs from malware and viruses and has earned a 5.5/6 protection rating with AV-Test. In AV-Comparatives’ testing, meanwhile, it was rated as delivering 99.1% Mac malware protection. It’s often named as one of the best antiviruses for Macs.

Intego’s real-time malware scanner is fast and thorough, inspecting files as they’re created and accessed. Its automatic and scheduled scans are also highly proficient in finding and quarantining malicious code.

The Mac Intego interface is fresh, clean, and easy to navigate, and its two-way firewall does a good job of filtering suspicious traffic.

The Mac plans also include a duplicate file remover, personal backups, a VPN, and a content filtering tool. There’s also a limited Windows plan, but there’s no mobile support for iOS or Android – though you can scan an iPhone as an external drive.

Intego’s starter plan costs $37.50/year with a two-year subscription and supports one device. For $62.50/year (two-year subscription), you can extend protection to five devices.

There’s a free malware scan tool, and all plans have a 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Intego is best for Mac users looking for real-time protection and offers an intuitive, beginner-friendly interface and smart system-optimization tools to keep you safe.

Avast’s free, real-time malware scanner inspects files and apps, quarantines threats, and sends suspicious files for analysis in the cloud, checking every file you access. These features put Avast ahead of every other free offering on this list.

The free plan has a flawless 18/18 AV-Test score and a 99.97% online malware protection rate with AV-Comparatives.

In addition to free malware scanning, Avast provides ransomware protection, email and browser protection, and data breach alerts.

Upgrading to Avast’s premium Security plan unlocks an advanced firewall and shopping and webcam protection tools. Avast Ultimate is a more comprehensive plan that offers performance optimization tools, anti-tracking features, and a VPN – the last of which qualifies it as one of the best antiviruses with a VPN.

Avast’s free plan supports a single device. The cheapest Avast One security plan costs $35.88/year, but the Premium Security plan is arguably better value at $49.99/year for one device or $69.99/year for ten. The top-tier plan is Avast One Gold, which extends protection to 30 devices for $131.88/year.

While there’s no free trial, you do get a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans.

Avast’s free tier is ideal for budget-focused users who want an effective malicious software removal tool at zero cost and don’t require multi-device support.

Trend Micro’s cloud-based AI capabilities can protect against evolving malware, secure online banking and shopping, and detect system anomalies with behavioral analysis.

Trend Micro blocks 250 million+ threats daily through its Smart Protection Network, which analyzes malicious behavior from millions of devices to identify new threats.

Its scans can detect and quarantine malicious files, and it automatically cancels file downloads if it detects malware. Even better, it does all of this without slowing down your system.

Alongside the virus scanner, anti-ransomware, and anti-phishing tools, the plans include dark web monitoring, a VPN, a password manager, and coverage of up to $1 million identity theft and fraud protection.

Trend Micro’s starter plan is $19.95/year for one device, while the Internet Security plan covers three devices for $39.95/year. All tiers have a 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Trend Micro is perfect for users looking for a smart, automated security system coupled with AI-powered machine learning to eradicate malware.

It’s also the cheapest malware removal solution on this list and is commonly cited as one of the best spyware removers around.

Like Trend Micro and AVG, ESET takes an AI-based, prevention-first approach, quickly catching emerging malware and providing real-time protection against ransomware, phishing, and zero-day threats.

ESET’s business plans are particularly strong. The provider offers robust endpoint safeguarding, and the software thoroughly scans devices, including servers, to identify and remove malware. In addition, its advanced business plans offer patch management and managed endpoint protection.

The product is also impressively flexible. The ESET dashboard has extensive customizability, which is ideal for experienced IT teams, and you can choose between on-premise or cloud-based deployments.

In testing with AV-Test, the provider has a perfect security grade and 100% protection against malware for both its consumer and business plans, underlining the quality of its anti-malware software.

ESET’s consumer plans start at $39.99/year, while the Small Business Security package is $179.99/year for five devices, scaling to 25 devices. There are 30-day trials for consumer and business plans, and a 30-day money-back guarantee is included with all plans.

ESET is ideal for small-to-medium businesses that require flexible deployment and business-wide malware removal software.

For more server options, check out our guide to the best antiviruses for servers.

AVG’s lightweight, free anti-malware tool includes six security layers to stop ransomware, viruses, and other malware threats. This security is further extended with AVG’s paid plans, and in AV-Comparatives’ tests, it demonstrated a 99.95% online protection rate.

AVG’s powerful ransomware decryption tool, which is available with the free plan, can unlock files encrypted by specific forms of ransomware, augmenting the software’s protection capabilities.

Automatic bug fixes and security updates ensure continuous malware protection, while the firewall monitors incoming traffic, preventing hackers from accessing your data, and the Email Shield blocks suspicious email attachments.

Higher-tier plans also include anti-tracking features, a VPN, and tools for optimizing device functionality.

AVG’s entry plan costs $46.68/year and protects one Windows PC. For $59.88/year, though, you can extend the software’s malware protection to ten devices.

There’s a 30-day free trial, and all plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

AVG is ideal for users seeking comprehensive free malware removal, while the paid AVG Internet Security plan is ideal for providing robust ransomware protection.

Comparing Avast and AVG Malware Remover Tools

Avast and AVG are highly regarded for their free solutions. Here’s how they compare.

First, the two cater to different target audiences. In addition to the real-time malware scanner, Avast offers an option to protect your online credentials and bank details while purchasing online.

On the other hand, AVG has a strong email shield and phishing protection feature included in their free plan.

However, the reason Avast is the best malware removal tool for free lies in its minimal impact on system performance while launching popular sites. AVG will slow down a user’s machine by 32%, while Avast consumes only 22% of the PC’s CPU.

Read our full Avast vs AVG comparison for further details and analysis.

Is Microsoft’s Malware Removal Tool Good?

Microsoft Defender can scan Windows PCs for viruses and malware and gets good results in testing. However, it can only protect one Windows device and won’t protect your smartphone or any other operating system.

While it provides malware scanning, it also doesn’t have any tools to specifically address ransomware, spyware, webcam hacking, or phishing attacks. In addition, it doesn’t provide any of the features needed for multi-layered security, such as a password manager, VPN, or identity theft protection tools.

Given this, while Microsoft Defender provides adequate malware scanning, it doesn’t match the comprehensive malware removal tools offered by the best providers.