A top antivirus is a vital security tool for any PC gamer, securing against malware, ransomware, spyware, viruses, phishing, identity theft and other online threats. It should also be light and non-intrusive, with minimal impact on gaming performance and keeping out annoying interruptions like scanning while you play pop-ups, massive updates and pop-ups that slow down your system.
A lot of antivirus programs provide extra features for gamers. For example a dedicated game boost which optimizes CPU performance and reduces background processes. Some have features that prevent hackers from accessing your personal data, and some even allow you to play anonymously with your friends using a VPN service.
Bitdefender is a top-performing antivirus for gamers. It boasts one of the best malware detection rates in tests, and cloud scanning that is low-impact and has no impact on performance (even when running full system scans). It also comes with useful system tune-up tools, including disk cleaners and duplicate deletion of files.
McAfee is another leading security program that has an advanced gaming feature that gives your games priority over resource-intensive background programs. It comes with the Game Boost engine and a range of other options that include parental controls updates, update scheduling, system scan planning and other. Its heuristics and machine learning are also among the best technology available.
Webroot Secure Anywhere can be installed in less than an hour. It is light and uses just 5MB of RAM when it is idle and less than 15 percent of your CPU when scanning. It is a top performer of malware detection as well as another feature that completely removes all tracetraces of your online activity.