Questions about antivirus software, answered

It depends on the device and who uses it. Windows and macOS both include protection that has improved considerably, and for a single careful user who applies updates promptly it is a defensible choice on its own. A shared household computer, a device used by someone who is not confident about what they click, or a household wanting one subscription across several platforms are the situations where a paid product earns its place. Nobody is legally required to buy one, and no site can tell you your device is currently at risk.

Malware is the general term for software running on your device against your interests, and a virus is one historical type of it. Antivirus products target malware directly. A scam is a person persuading you to send money or grant access, and no software prevents that — which is why the National Anti-Scam Centre runs Scamwatch as an education and reporting service rather than a technical one.

Amvix does not rank products and does not run tests, so it cannot answer that from its own work. Independent testing laboratories publish comparative detection results, and those are the right source — read them at the laboratory's own site, with attention to the test date and the product versions used, because results age quickly.

Not reliably. Higher tiers usually add scope rather than a better detection engine: more devices, more platforms, a password manager, a VPN, identity monitoring. The scanner is frequently the same one in the free tier. Work out which of the extras you would actually use before paying for the tier that includes them.

Macs can be affected by malware, and macOS includes its own protection. The argument for adding a third-party product on a Mac is usually about web filtering, covering several devices under one subscription, or having support to contact — rather than about the Mac being unprotected. The same reasoning applies as on Windows.

Not in the conventional sense, because Apple's sandbox prevents any app from scanning files or inspecting other apps. Security apps on iOS provide web filtering, breach alerts and VPN features instead. If those features are useful to you, the app is useful; it is not doing virus scanning, and any product suggesting otherwise on iOS is describing something the platform does not allow.

Android permits more, so security apps there can scan installed applications and storage and filter web traffic. The measures that matter most on Android remain free: keeping the system updated, installing from the official store, reviewing app permissions, and removing apps you no longer use. A phone that no longer receives manufacturer security updates is the one gap no app closes.

That depends entirely on the plan, and it is the first thing to confirm with any vendor. Device limits differ between plans, and some count phones against the same allowance as computers while others do not. For the product covered on this site, the listing we work from does not state a device limit, which is why it appears on our list of questions for the vendor.

Introductory pricing is standard across this category. The first term is discounted and the renewal is charged at the standard rate, which is disclosed in the subscription terms rather than on the banner. Checking the renewal price and date before purchasing, and putting the date in your own calendar, prevents the surprise.

Changing your mind does not engage the consumer guarantees under Australian Consumer Law, so a refund in that situation depends on the vendor's own policy and its stated window. Where the product genuinely does not do what was advertised, that is a different matter and the guarantees may apply. The ACCC's site describes how the distinction works.

No. Consumer guarantees under Australian Consumer Law apply automatically to goods and services supplied to consumers here, and cannot be excluded by a contract term. Software agreements are typically written for many jurisdictions at once, and a clause effective elsewhere may be ineffective in Australia.

Turn off automatic renewal in the vendor's account area, and confirm afterwards that the setting has changed. Cancelling a subscription and requesting a refund are separate actions; doing one does not do the other. Keep the confirmation in writing, because it is the record any later dispute relies on.

No. Web pages run inside a browser sandbox with no access to your file system and no ability to inspect what is installed, so a page cannot detect anything about your device. A page that appears to scan is running an animation. Close the tab, decline any offer to restore it, and check inside the security software already on the device if you want confirmation.

A genuine alert appears in the operating system's notification area or in the security application's own window, names a specific file and location, reports an action already taken, and contains no phone number. It can also be found again later in the product's own history, with the browser closed. An imitation exists only in a browser tab.

Hang up. No operating system vendor, telecommunications carrier or security company telephones individuals about device health, and no such reporting system exists. The purpose of the call is to have remote access software installed. If anything was installed, disconnect the device from the internet, remove the software, change passwords from a different device, contact your bank if payment details were shared, and report it to Scamwatch.

Yes. Links to Surfshark Antivirus on this site are affiliate links, and the vendor's programme pays Lerifin corporation s.r.o. a share of the sale when a reader subscribes after following one. Your price is unaffected. The affiliate disclosure page sets out the arrangement, including what it does and does not influence.

Because it has a commercial arrangement with one advertiser. Publishing a ranked comparison while being paid on one entry would produce a table nobody should trust, so the choice made here is to be narrow and to say so on every page where it matters.

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