You also get an advanced firewall which is powerful, highly customizable, and still very easy to use.
Its easy to set up so that it can accommodate hosting servers for games likePalworld.
Of course, if you do host your own servers, youll open yourself up to more threats.
Norton360 Deluxeis another excellent option for gaming.
I didnt experience any false positives and was able to run mods without any issues.
It also has tons of extras like great family protections, dark web monitoring, and a VPN.
All of Nortons plans come with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Its effective without going overboard.
Bitdefenders scanner also uses its proprietary Photon technology to speed up scans.
It operates in the cloud and adapts to your PCs specific configuration.
Bitdefender also includes an automatic gaming profile.
You also get microphone and webcam protections.
It detects whenever an program attempts to use your camera or microphone.
I occasionally review it to ensure no ones eavesdropping on me.
Theres a highly customizable firewall, too, to protect you from web-based threats.
Like the scanner, its quite lightweight.
Bitdefender provides lightweight antivirus protection that wont slow down a gaming computer.
All of Bitdefenders plans are feature-rich, affordable, and backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
TotalAV is a lightweight antivirus with near-perfect malware detection ratings and an excellent system tune-up suite.
Im also a big fan of TotalAVs fast VPN, which is comparable to some standalone VPN apps.
TotalAV offers a 30-day money-back guarantee with all of its plans.
It didnt take up excess resources or flag mods as malware during my tests, either.
McAfees family plans also come with comprehensive parental controls.
The controls provide content filtering, unit usage limits, and even unit tracking for mobile users.
But unlikeNorton, McAfee doesnt have a gaming mode or a game booster.
Only the family plans come with parental controls.
McAfeeTotal Protectionhas excellent extra features, including parental controls and a firewall.
McAfee is really reasonably priced, and theres a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans.
Malwarebytes offers a low-impact anti-malware program with good malware detection rates and affordable pricing.
During my tests, Malwarebytes detected 95% of my test malware and blocked nearly all phishing websites.
All of Malwarebytess plans include a generous 60-day money-back guarantee.
You also get some pretty good Windows optimization tools in the form of PC Cleanup.
PC Cleanup is available as a standalone purchase and comes bundled with theCompleteandPremiumplans.
I noticed a moderate improvement in performance thanks to the way gaming mode reallocates resources.
Whats more, it didnt flag any of myBaldurs Gate 3mods as viruses, which is a plus.
Panda has several plans to choose from, and theyre all affordable.
you’ve got the option to try out Panda with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
I considered several factors including what gamers need in an antivirus.
Cybercriminals can target gamers in several ways.
If you use mods,an antivirus is crucial.
Even without mods, fake or exploited games are a danger, especially older games.
Firewalls are also key.
Connecting to game servers can expose your online grid to malware.
While every PC has a firewall, a premium one offers better protection when hosting or playing on servers.
Antiviruses for gaming arent just for security.
Not all gaming antiviruses have these features, so choose carefully.
Whats the best antivirus for PC gaming?
Norton360 for Gamersis the best antivirus for gaming.
Will an antivirus affect my gaming performance?
The best security suitesactually improved my gaming performance, and they can improve yours, too.
One reason is that premium antiviruses remove malware that could be slowing your system, like cryptojackers and botnets.
If you have malware, removing it will likely boost your performance.
Even without malware, antiviruses can help in other ways.
Many come with optimization tools to free up space or improve your computers performance.
Some, likeNorton, can also manage your RAM better, which is crucial for gaming.
However, antivirus scans use resources that could slow down your gaming.
Cloud-based scanners, like Bitdefender, are less resource-heavy than others.
Firewalls can also slightly increase ping, but this is rare if you choose the right antivirus.
Annoying notifications are another issue for gamers.
Pop-ups during gameplay can cause a performance drop or even crash your game.
Can I just turn off my antivirus while my games are open?
And some antiviruses likeNorton360 for Gamerseven provide specialized game boosters that actually improve your PC performance during gameplay.
Are all gaming modes in antivirus software the same?
No, not really.
Is there a free antivirus that offers a gaming mode?
No, I wasnt able to find a good free antivirus with a gaming mode.
Is Microsoft Defender enough to protect me while gaming?
Quick Overview of My Top Recommendations:
