McAfee Internet Security 2023 Review
If you have a large family you want to keep safe online or regularly use multiple devices, these are the best internet security suites we’ve thoroughly tested and reviewed.
The best internet security suites in 2023
The best internet security suites allow you to protect all of your Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones and Android devices from malware, phishing attacks and other online threats.
These premium software packages bundle in extra services you would normally have to purchase separately like a password manager, VPN, cloud backup software and identity theft protection. In fact, some even feature parental control software, webcam protection or two-way firewalls.
The best internet security suites act like a digital Swiss Army knife for protecting your online presence. However, you should be prepared to pay a lot more for a subscription as they can range anywhere from $130 to $350 a year. The upside though is that most of them allow you to protect up to 10 systems at once, making the per-device cost much more reasonable.
If you have a large family you want to keep safe online or regularly use multiple devices, these are the best internet security suites we’ve thoroughly tested and reviewed.
The quick list
Below you’ll find everything you need to know about the best internet security suites at a glance along with the features they include. Whether you want all of the extras or just the essentials, there’s something here for every budget.
1. Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus
Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus
Norton 360 Deluxe
Norton 360 Premium
The best internet security suite overall
Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus includes malware protection, a password manager, VPN, parental controls, cloud backup and even identity theft protection but at a steep price.
2. Bitdefender Premium Security
Bitdefender Premium Security – Monthly
Bitdefender Premium Security – Yearly
The best internet security suite for features
Bitdefender Premium Security includes malware protection, a password manager, a VPN, parental controls, a secure web browser and anti-theft software with an easy-to-use interface.
3. McAfee Total Protection Ultimate
The best internet security suite for value
McAfee Total Protection Ultimate includes malware protection, a password manager, a VPN, a firewall, parental controls and ransomware rollback. It can protect up to 10 devices and is a reasonably priced alternative to other top internet security suites. However, you don’t get webcam protection, a secure browser or backup software and neither the VPN nor the parental controls work on Mac.
4. Trend Micro Premium Security
Trend Micro Premium Security Suite
The best internet security suite for multiple platforms
Trend Micro includes malware protection, a password manager, a VPN, a secure browser, dark web monitoring and parental controls. The best part though, all of these work on Mac, PC, Android and iOS for up to 10 devices.
5. ESET Smart Security Premium
ESET Smart Security Premium
The best internet security suite for performance
ESET Smart Security Premium includes malware protection, a password manager, parental controls, anti-theft features and webcam protection but not a VPN. However, it has very little impact on system performance and you pay per device.
3. Kaspersky Total Security
The best internet security suite for protection
Kaspersky Total Security includes malware protection, a password manager, parental controls, backup software, anti-theft features, webcam protection and ransomware rollback but a limited VPN. It’s worth noting that Kaspersky is a Russian cybersecurity firm which has been banned by government agencies around the world. This means it is up to you to decide if it’s safe for your needs.
The best internet security suites you can buy today
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The best internet security suite overall
1. Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus
Everything but the kitchen sink, at a premium price
Our expert review:
Specifications
Anti-theft: No
Backup software: Yes
Firewall: Yes
Game mode: Yes
Hardened browser: No
Parental controls: Yes
Password manager: Yes
Ransomware rollback: No
Webcam protection: Yes
VPN: Unlimited
Today’s Best Deals
Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus
Norton 360 Deluxe
Norton 360 Premium
Reasons to buy
Excellent malware protection
Huge number of extra features
LifeLock identity protection
Reasons to avoid
Heavy slowdown during full scans
Parental controls, cloud storage don’t work on Macs
Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus includes just about every security feature you’ll need, including many that we normally review as stand-alone products.
Unlimited password manager? Check. Unlimited VPN? You. Parental controls, cloud backup, top-notch identity theft protection? All there.
Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus also has excellent protection against malware, its own firewall, dedicated webcam protection and it can even be installed on an unlimited number of devices.
So what’s the catch? The parental controls don’t work on Mac and neither does the cloud backup service. If you have more than one PC, you might fill up the 500GB of backup space after a year or two.
Then there’s the sticker shock. Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus costs $350 per year after the first year which is far more than other premium antivirus suites.
Still, buying the equivalents of Norton’s features and services from other companies costs at least $550 a year. If you absolutely need and can afford all of these extras, then Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus could be the perfect solution.
Best internet security suite for features
2. Bitdefender Premium Security
Unlimited VPN, but no identity-theft protection
Our expert review:
Specifications
Anti-theft: Yes
Backup software: No
Firewall: Yes
Game mode: Yes
Hardened browser: Yes
Parental controls: Yes
Password manager: Yes
Ransomware rollback: Yes
Webcam protection: Yes
VPN: Unlimited
Today’s Best Deals
Bitdefender Premium Security – Monthly
Bitdefender Premium Security – Yearly
Reasons to buy
Very good malware protection
Lots of useful extra features
Easy-to-use interface
Reasons to avoid
Heavy background system impact
Password manager only for Windows
What if you don’t want or need identity-theft protection or cloud-backup software, but still need an unlimited VPN? Bitdefender Premium Security, which costs $150 yearly for up to 10 devices, might be the answer.
Premium Security combines Bitdefender’s very good malware detection and easy-to-use interface with a huge assortment of extra features. These include a few that Norton doesn’t have, such as ransomware rollbacks, a super-secure web browser for online banking, anti-theft software for laptops and a file shredder.
Bitdefender Premium Security also has parental controls for all four major platforms, but its unlimited password manager and dedicated webcam and microphone protections work only on Windows.
Best internet security suite for value
3. McAfee Total Protection Ultimate
Most of what you get with Norton for less
Our expert review:
Specifications
Anti-theft: No
Backup software: No
Firewall: Yes
Game mode: Yes
Hardened browser: No
Parental controls: Yes
Password manager: Yes
Ransomware rollback: Yes
Webcam protection: No
Today’s Best Deals
Reasons to buy
Protects at least 10 devices
Password manager, unlimited VPN, identity-theft protection
Very good malware protection
Reasons to avoid
Heavy performance hit during scans
VPN, parental controls don’t work on Mac
Norton isn’t the only antivirus maker with an identity-theft-protection service. McAfee Total Protection Ultimate includes similar coverage for $160 per year, less than half of what Norton costs.
You’ll get the benefits of McAfee’s Identity Theft Protection Plus plan, which costs $175 per year as a stand-alone and includes credit monitoring and up to $1 million in insurance coverage.
The package also includes McAfee’s protection against malware, the True Key password manager, Safe Kids parental controls, file encryption, file shredding, a firewall and unlimited VPN service for up to five devices. Like many McAfee antivirus subscriptions, Total Protection Ultimate nominally protects up to 10 devices but in practice is unlimited.
The downsides are that neither the VPN nor the parental controls work on Macs, and that there’s no webcam protection, hardened browser or backup software. But if you want all-encompassing protection at a bargain rate, you could do a lot worse than McAfee.
Best internet security suite for multiple platforms
4. Trend Micro Premium Security
A reasonable alternate
Our expert review:
Specifications
Backup software: No
Firewall: No
Game mode: Yes
Hardened browser: Yes
Parental controls: Yes
Password manager: Yes
Webcam protection: No
Virtual keyboard: No
Today’s Best Deals
Trend Micro Premium Security Suite
Reasons to buy
Very good malware protection
Secure browser, password manager
Dark Web scans
Reasons to avoid
Heavy performance hit during scans
False positives on some tests
Like McAfee Total Protection Premium, Trend Micro Premium Security ($130 per year for up to 10 devices) does without backup software or cloud storage, but it includes a password manager, unlimited VPN service and parental controls, all of which work on Mac, PC, Android and iOS.
There’s also what Trend Micro calls “ID Protection,” which actually just monitors the dark web for your data and can be accessed only through mobile apps.
On the antivirus side, Trend Micro does very well in lab tests of malware detection and also provides ransomware rollbacks, a file shredder, file encryption and a system optimizer. Trend Micro’s malware engine has a remarkably small impact on Windows system performance when running in the background, but can eat up a fair amount of resources during full scans.
Best internet security suite for performance
5. ESET Smart Security Premium
Few extra features, but excellent otherwise
Our expert review:
Specifications
Anti-theft: Yes
Backup software: No
Firewall: Yes
Game mode: Yes
Hardened browser: Yes
Parental controls: Yes
Password manager: Yes
Ransomware rollback: No
Webcam protection: Yes
Virtual keyboard: No
Today’s Best Deals
ESET Smart Security Premium
Reasons to buy
Very good protection
Remarkably little system-performance impact
File encryption, hardened browser, webcam protection
Reasons to avoid
Not many extra features
ESET is one of the biggest names in antivirus protection in Europe, and while its top-end Smart Security Premium suite doesn’t pack in VPN service, backup software or identity protection, it’s still remarkably light, fast and efficient.
ESET Smart Security Premium does have a password manager, parental controls, anti-theft protections for laptops, dedicated webcam protection, a dedicated secure browser and even home-network-management software.
It even includes bare-bones antivirus software for Linux machines, and its Windows malware-detection engine does very well in lab tests. The only downside is that the parental controls don’t work on iOS.
One bonus: With ESET, you don’t pay more than you have to. Most antivirus brands tier premium subscriptions at five, 10 and sometimes 15 devices. ESET bucks the trend, starting at $60 per year for one device and adding $10 for each additional device.
So if you’ve got just four devices to protect, you’d pay $90 per year with ESET Smart Security Premium while most other brands on this page would charge you much more.
Best internet security suite for protection
6. Kaspersky Total Security
Limited VPN, but excellent protection at a fair price
Our expert review:
Specifications
Anti-theft: Yes
Backup software: Yes
Firewall: Yes
Game mode: Yes
Hardened browser: Yes
Parental controls: Yes
Password manager: Yes
Ransomware rollback: Yes
Webcam protection: Yes
VPN: Limited upsell
Today’s Best Deals
Reasons to buy
Unbeaten malware protection
Stalkerware protection
Password manager, parental controls
Reasons to avoid
Limited VPN usage
Microphone protection difficult to enable
If you can live without an unlimited VPN, then your best bet might be Kaspersky Total Security, which covers 5 devices for $100 per year or 10 devices for $150 per year.
Kaspersky has the best record on beating malware in third-party lab tests, hands-down. Its password manager works across all four major platforms, and its parental controls (also fully cross-platform) are second only to Norton’s.
Like Bitdefender, Kaspersky offers anti-theft features for laptops, ransomware rollbacks and a secure browser mode for online banking, but Kaspersky’s browser works on Macs as well as on Windows. It also offers file encryption and unique protection against “stalkerware” used by jealous partners.
However, while Kaspersky offers backup software, like Norton, it doesn’t provide online storage for those backups, but instead sends you to your own Dropbox account.
The VPN service comes with only 300MB of service per day, but its unlimited VPN service costs just $30 per year, a fraction of what many stand-alone VPNs cost. If you’ve got five or fewer devices to protect, you can get both Kaspersky Total Security and Kaspersky’s unlimited VPN for $105 annually, less than the cost of Bitdefender Premium Security.
How to choose the best internet security suite for you
So do you really need all of these extra features with your antivirus software? Well, it’s hard to argue against the benefits of using a password manager. Beyond that though, you’ll need to consider your own personal circumstances.
If you have young kids or teenagers at home, then you might want parental control software to keep tabs on what your children are doing online or to track the physical location of their phones.
Meanwhile, if you’re a person of means, then investing in identity theft protection might be wise. At the same time, if you travel a lot, you’ll want to use a VPN while in hotel rooms and airport lounges.
To get a better idea of the standalone services these premium internet security suites compete with, check out our guides on the best identity theft protection, best cloud backup services, best parental-control apps and best password managers.
Internet security suites may seem expensive but they’re still far cheaper than purchasing all of these extra services à la carte. Instead, you just have to decide which ones you really need.
How we test the best internet security suites
Our evaluations are based on the interface, performance, protection and extra features that each internet security suite offers. Was the interface intuitive and user-friendly? How much did malware scans slow down system performance? How well did the program detect and remove malware? Does the program offer other useful tools or features?
Most of our tests were performed on a Lenovo ThinkPad T470 with a 2.5GHz Core i5-7200U processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage containing 43.3GB of files.
In order to assess a program’s impact on system performance on both Windows and macOS, we used our own custom tests which measure how long the device’s processor takes to match 20,000 names and addresses on a spreadsheet. The longer it took the laptop to finish each test, the heavier the performance impact.
As for malware detection scores, we used results from three independent testing labs: AV-TEST in Germany, AV-Comparatives in Austria and SE Labs in England. Each lab puts the products from all of the major antivirus brands through stress tests which involve thousands of pieces of malware including hundreds of new samples since unknown malware is more difficult to detect.
For more information, check out our how we test antivirus software and apps guide as well as our more general how we test page for Tom’s Guide.
McAfee Internet Security 2023 Review
Every year, the quality of antivirus programs in the market changes. McAfee was once the top antivirus brand alongside Norton Security. As of 2023 McAfee is still one of the best Antivirus tools on the market. Even though there is much competition, McAfee is able to provide a high-quality antivirus protection and customer support as of 2023. Check out the ratings and reviews then ask yourself if it’s worth the money.
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McAfee Antivirus
4.4
from $34.99
McAfee is already installed as a trial version on most of the PC’s out there. Usually after 3 months, a fee-based registration becomes necessary. This has several advantages and reasons for choosing McAfee. On one hand, the PC is secured free of charge against viruses. But is that enough time for users to test the virus scanner? All tests show that McAfee is still one of the strongest and safest antivirus security software on the market. We thoroughly tested the antivirus software in April 2023 .
Product Overview:
- McAfee Total Protection 2023
- McAfee Internet Security 2023
- McAfee AntiVirus Plus 2023
Operating Systems:
- Mac
- Windows 10
- Windows 8
- Windows 8.1
- Windows 7
- Android
- Mac OS X
McAfee Internet Security Customer Support
4/5
4 out of 5
Horrible customer support‘ is a statement you will find often when reading customer’s reactions to McAfee in 2022. Fortunately due to lots of restructuring, that’s one thing McAfee was able to solve in 2023. Back in the days, before McAfee went through a company restructuring, when users had issues with McAfee, it wasn’t unusual for the support to ask you to call the Microsoft or Apple support instead — basically trying to avoid the problem.
That has changed significantly in 2023 since McAfee improved their support.
In 2022 — a year before McAfee had increasingly improved their support issues, Digitalwelt didn’t want to rely on hearsay, and contacted McAfee. Back then, McAfee support would not respond to any of our emails. It seems that in a year ago in 2022 there was no real support when it came to McAfee — and users would be on their own for the most part. Some users from 2015-2022 also reported that they wanted their money back, but since McAfee’s support wasn’t responding, they couldn’t get anybody responsible on the line that could actually pay their money back.
Back in 2022 we urged users to not buy McAfee Internet Security 2022 from the McAfee’s corporate website, but to go to Amazon.com instead. Since Amazon has fabulous customer support, you would have no issues at all if anything goes wrong and you want your money back.
But that all changed in 2023 and McAfee’s fabulous support is back. However McAfee is still experiencing bad reviews from the time they had issues. That’s why lots of reviews you will find in the internet refer to the old habits of McAfee. Be aware that these reviews do not reflect the support of 2023 and most likely the years to come.
McAfee deserves a second chance in 2023.
If you can get McAfee to install correctly and don’t have to touch base with McAfee customer support, McAfee is still a good product and provides average antivirus protection. In this case, continue reading. It is one of the most reliable antivirus protections you can get For alternatives however, you might want to check our reviews of the Avast Pro Antivirus 2023, and Avira Antivirus Pro 2023.
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McAfee Antivirus
4.4
from $34.99
McAfee Internet Security Virus Coverage
5/5
5 out of 5
An important feature that sophisticated antivirus software should possess is the ability to detect viruses and malware even without having them in their virus detection library. New viruses are constantly coming into the market that aren’t necessarily detected by antivirus software. An intelligent virus detection program ensures that it also detects suspicious processes on the computer which try to sneak into sensitive areas. One of the best-known tests in this area is the so-called EICAR virus test (European Institute for Computer Anti-Virus Research) by the Belgian scientist Eddy Willems. The virus test is so demanding that most antivirus programs fail. In addition, there are always cases that event highly developed and renowned antivirus software pass or fail depending on the year the test is done.
In the meantime many sources report that McAfee is able to stop many of the trojans that are around. All we can say for the Version 2023 is that McAfee seems to have solved many of their internal organizational issues they had in the past and were able to provide oe of the the best virus protections as of 2023. We hope that that McAfee will also be able to continue this good work in 2024. Without hesitation, we can recommend McAfee as your standard antivirus provider in 2023 when it comes to virus protection.
McAfee Internet Security User Ratings
4/5
4 out of 5
We evaluated reviews from forums and review portals thanks to Social Listening Tools and made the results available to you. While McAfee is slightly less known than Norton Security and has fewer reviews, some are positive, some are negative. At Amazon, the software scores 4.0 stars, which is good but not great. Unfortunately, as already discussed, this resembles past reviews which are not accurate anymore.
In addition, in forums, blogs and social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, reviews before 2023 are also mostly negative, everything after 2023 is extremely positive . Let’s stick to some of the reviews you will find over and over:
“Additional portfolio, and great protection”
In addition to the mediocre protection against viruses, McAfee has an additional feature for protection. This feature, which is part of the McAfee Total Protection 2023 product, tries to protect data on devices from unauthorized access. This is how it works: You can create up to 5 users on the PC, each with password only access their own data. This allows multiple members to access the PC where everyone can save their own individual data. Other add-on features that McAfee offers are functionalities such as remote access to smartphones in case the phone is lost or stolen. With just a few clicks, the user can access the smartphone from their PC, delete data, lock the SIM card or just call the phone.
It seems that McAfee has not only made up for their lack of customer support 2022 and before, but are now providing additional innovative features.
“Visually pleasing and clear”
Comparing McAfee Total Protection 2023 and McAfee Antivirus Plus 2023 with other antivirus software on the market, menu management and usability is actually still great. In recent years many other antivirus programs often produced cryptic messages on the computer screen. Computer experts and technology enthusiasts may be familiar with very complex messages. However, the average consumer does not always have the understanding or even the time to deal with such messages. Comparing competitors, McAfee puts emphasis on simplicity and friendly user guidance with their 2023 version of the antivirus program. Also, the quick and easy installation and subsequent fast registration is praised in many forums and blogs.