Business Choice Awards 2021: Security Software and Suites

Whether you're in the office, in the field, or like so many of us right now, in the home—the devices you use for work need protection. Otherwise you leave a barn door-sized access point for bad actors. Just ask any company floored by a ransomware attack.

In years past, we've asked our readers to rate the security software brands they use, from antivirus to endpoint protection. This year we did the same, but also isolated the best security suite providers. With a suite, users get everything from a VPN and a firewall to, yes, ransomware mitigation. And the brands our readers recommend for work are similar to those they prefer for at-home computing.

Security Software and Suites for Work 2021

Two years ago, the award for overall security software was shared by Malwarebytes and Bitdefender; last year Webroot swooped in for the win. Now as we head into 2021, there is only one winner again and it's a resurgent Malwarebytes.

Much like Webroot last year, Malwarebytes leads on most measures. The exception is device performance while running the security software. Malwarebytes has an excellent 8.8 out of 10, but even that is behind Bitdefender, Sophos, and Webroot. On trustworthiness, Malwarebyte's stellar 9.2 is also slightly behind Webroot's amazing 9.4.

But Malwarebytes is either tied or top of the line in everything else, from overall satisfaction (the most important number in our lineup, at 9.3), to ease of use (9.5) to reliability (tied with Bitdefender at 9.3) and likelihood to give a recommendation to a colleague (also tied, at 9.1). We didn't get enough responses on all the little security suite options like firewall, VPN, ransomware, phishing, etc. for Malwarebytes, indicating most people are probably using its barebones and excellent antivirus tool alone.

You won't be disappointed if you invest in Bitdefender, Sophos, and Webroot. The companies all post numbers more than worthy of an award had the competition not been so fierce. Standouts include a 9.3 each for ease of use, setup, and performance for Webroot; Bitdefender's excellent 9.6 ransomware detection, plus 9.4 for its malware fighting and firewall; and Sophos' 9.4 for setup and 9.3 for reliability (tying with Malwarebytes and Bitdefender).

This year we asked people if the product they were rating was also a security suite. That shut out a few companies instantly—AVG, Malwarebytes, Webroot, and others—because we need to have a minimum number of responses to include them. Bitdefender made the cut; its overall satisfaction number went up for just suites, to a 9.2, and it scored exceptionally well across the board.

Sophos also enjoyed excellent results, including slightly beating out the winner when it came to ease of use and setup. It also wasn't far behind on most other measures, usually about two-fifths of a point at most, with the exception of the recommendation to colleagues, where Bitdefender's 9.2 was a full point of head of Sophos' 8.2. A suite from either company is bound to make your work PC feel safer.

For more, read The Best Hosted Endpoint Protection and Security Software for 2021The Best Hosted Endpoint Protection and Security Software for 2021.

Full Results

The PCMag Business Choice 2021 survey for Antivirus Software & Security Suites was in the field from November 2 to November 23, 2020. For more information on how our surveys are conducted, read the survey methodology.

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About Our Expert

Eric Griffith

Senior Editor, Features

My Experience

I've been writing about computers, the internet, and technology professionally since 1992, more than half of that time with PCMag. I arrived at the end of the print era of PC Magazine as a senior writer. I served for a time as managing editor of business coverage before settling back into the features team for the last decade and a half. I write features on all tech topics, plus I handle several special projects, including the Readers' Choice and Business Choice surveys and yearly coverage of the Best ISPs and Best Gaming ISPs, Best Products of the Year, and Best Brands (plus the Best Brands for Tech Support, Longevity, and Reliability).

I started in tech publishing right out of college, writing and editing stories about hardware and development tools. I migrated to software and hardware coverage for families, and I spent several years exclusively writing about the then-burgeoning technology called Wi-Fi. I was on the founding staff of several magazines, including Windows Sources, FamilyPC, and Access Internet Magazine. All of which are now defunct, and it's not my fault. I have freelanced for publications as diverse as Sony Style, Playboy.com, and Flux. I got my degree at Ithaca College in, of all things, television/radio. But I minored in writing so I'd have a future.

In my long-lost free time, I wrote some novels, a couple of which are not just on my hard drive: BETA TEST ("an unusually lighthearted apocalyptic tale," according to Publishers' Weekly) and a YA book called KALI: THE GHOSTING OF SEPULCHER BAY. Go get them on Kindle.

I work from my home in Ithaca, NY, and did it long before pandemics made it cool.

The Technology I Use

My first computer was a Laser 128, an Apple II-compatible clone with an integrated keyboard, matched with an eye-straining monochrome green monitor. I used it to type papers in college for other people for money...until I discovered the Mac SE in the college computer room. That changed my life. My first cellphone was a Samsung Uproar—the silver one with the built-in MP3 player from the Napster days (the pre-iPod era).

I use an iPhone 15 Pro hourly and an iPad Air infrequently (but I'm always in the market for a cheap Android tablet). I have a PlayStation 5 just to play Spider-Man, and several Windows machines, including a work-issued Lenovo ThinkPad. I talk to Alexa and Siri all day long. I do the majority of my computing on a 15-inch LG Gram laptop attached to a Thunderbolt hub to run a multi-monitor setup—I overdid it on the power needed to simply work from home.

I'm most at home in Microsoft Word after decades of writing there. More and more, I turn to services like Google Docs, using tools like Grammarly. I use Google's Chrome browser due to an addiction to several extensions I think I can't live without, but probably could. I use Excel extensively on data-intensive stories, but for chart creation, we've switched over entirely to using Infogram for interactive features that are hard to find elsewhere. I do a lot of graphics work for my stories, but limit myself to the free and amazing Paint.NET software to edit images.

I'm a firm evangelist for using the cloud for backup and syncing of files; I'm primarily using Dropbox, which has never failed me, but I also have redundant setups on Microsoft OneDrive, plus extra picture backups on Amazon Photos and iCloud. Why take chances? For entertainment, mine is a streaming-only household—my kid has never seen network TV and barely been exposed to commercials, thanks to Roku and Amazon Music. The house is peppered with smart speakers from Amazon for instant gratification and control of smart home devices like multiple Wyze cameras and Nest Protect smoke detectors. I've got accounts on all the major social networks, to my horror. I have a robot vacuum for each floor of the house. I want a 3D printer, but not sure what I'd use it for.

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