The Top 11 Antivirus Software For Small Businesses

ESET is known globally for their effective, lightweight cybersecurity solutions designed to protect organizations of all sizes against the most sophisticated known and zero-day threats. ESET Endpoint Security is their cloud-based endpoint protection solution, which offers multiple layers of defense technologies, automation and centralized management. It protects computers, mobile devices, file servers and virtual environments against malware and fileless attacks. ESET Endpoint Security is available as a standalone product and as a part of a wider cybersecurity bundle, which also includes file server security, disk encryption, a cloud sandbox and EDR.

ESET Endpoint Security combines machine learning technologies and crowdsourced threat intelligence to detect targeted malware, ransomware, and fileless attacks. It does this by monitoring and evaluating all executed apps for malicious content, based on their known behaviors. Its powerful intrusion detection capabilities mean that ESET’s solution has excellent detection rates before, during, and after execution. ESET Endpoint Security also offers protection that focuses on the web browser, preventing users from downloading malicious files and enabling admins to white- and blacklist URLs.

Administrators can manage all ESET endpoints, including mobiles, via one cloud-based unified management console. This, along with automatic updates, makes ESET’s solution easy to deploy and maintain, with no need for extra hardware.

ESET Endpoint Security is extremely lightweight, but performs as well as any solid anti-malware engine. It’s also a highly flexible solution: ESET Endpoint Security is compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android operating systems, with built-in mobile device management for iOS and AndroidOS. Additionally, the console is available in 21 languages, and ESET offers localized support in 38 languages. This makes their solution ideal for SMBs with a diverse workforce and device fleet, who are looking for powerful antivirus software that won’t slow their systems.

Avast is a global leader in anti-malware applications, holding the second-largest share of the market worldwide. Avast offers complete endpoint and network security solutions for SMBs. Their antivirus solution is 100% cloud-based, which makes it easy to manage from one integrated platform.

Avast’s innovative security engine uses machine learning alongside behavioral and signature-based detection to identify and quickly remediate malware threats. They collect intelligence from almost half a billion endpoints, crowdsourcing information about bigger threats before they become public knowledge in order to stay one step ahead of bad actors.

Avast Small Business Solutions are compatible with any desktop, laptop, or server. The solution is designed to protect businesses against viruses by sandboxing and testing suspicious content, and its powerful threat detection capabilities block the malware before execution. Avast’s antivirus software is easy to install, has strong threat detection capabilities and its interface is user-friendly and easy to manage. Avast also offer an Avast Small Office Protection Solution, a set-and-forget service that provides defense against phishing, ransomware, and advanced cyberattacks across all devices.

Avast Small Business Solutions offer three package options: Essential, Premium, and Ultimate Business Security. This lets businesses pick the right level of protection. All three tiers have the same antivirus and firewall protection. The Essentials tier is ideal for growing businesses that want a centrally managed endpoint solution. The Premium tier adds a VPN and USB protection solution ideal for small-to-midsized teams. The Ultimate tier includes everything from the previous packages, plus patch management.

Avast Premium Business Security is an ideal solution for small- to midsized teams and self-employed individuals looking for a strong antivirus software solution to cover desktop devices.

Datto is a leading global provider of cloud-based cybersecurity solutions, primarily for Managed Service Providers (MPSs). They are known best for their popular remote management and monitoring, backup and disaster recovery, and endpoint management solutions. Datto is used by over one million small and midsized businesses around the world. Datto was acquired by Kaseya in 2022.

Datto Antivirus is a next-generation endpoint protection solution that provides security against advanced threats. It uses AI, machine learning and Datto’s threat detection engine to identify and remediate against both known and unknown threats in real-time.

Datto’s admin dashboard enables teams to quickly identify risks and quarantine any infected systems. It also includes a global cloud threat intelligence dashboard showcasing known security incidents and risks. The platform is easy to deploy. It’s installed as an agent on each endpoint device. The agent is lightweight and designed to maximize system speed and performance.

There are several benefits for this platform: it’s very easy to use, very easy to manage, as well as reducing alerts and false positives. It also integrates alongside Datto’s wider endpoint management suite – including endpoint detection and response, unified endpoint management and endpoint backup. The EDR integration enhances endpoint protection with more extensive monitoring, automated response, and detailed threat analytics.

Overall, we recommend Datto’s next-gen antivirus solution as a strong option for MSPs and SMBs looking for an effective, easy-to-use antivirus solution.

Norton is a global cybersecurity brand that operates under Gen Digital, the product of a 2022 merger between Avast and NortonLifeLock. It offers a variety of security packages that specialise in online privacy, identity and device security, and consumer solutions. Norton Small Business, with capacity to protect up to 20 devices, is their antivirus solution for SMBs. This solution is similar to Symantec’s previous SMB-focused solution, Endpoint Protection 14, but with EP14 discontinued, Norton Small Business picks up the slack. The solution is compatible with iOS and Android devices, as well as PCs and Macs.

Norton Small Business offers cloud-based setup and device management, which makes it quick to install without an additional tech support. This also allows for an admin to manage the software across a remote team. The software provides extensive security features, including technology to detect and eliminate malware, ransomware, and zero-day exploits. It detects and organizes malicious files according to their reputation and behavior, so that they can be blocked more quickly in the future. Norton Small Business also gives the user warnings before downloading potentially malicious files or clicking on suspicious links.

One of the most attractive features of this solution is that it’s easy to deploy the software onto new devices further down the line. This makes Norton Small Business a particularly good antivirus software for smaller businesses with plans to expand.

Bitdefender is a global leader in endpoint protection software, protecting over 500 million systems in 150 countries. Their GravityZone solutions are consistently ranked highly in independent security tests, providing effective protection for SMBs and large enterprises alike. GravityZone Small Business Security is Bitdefender’s antivirus software that is designed specifically for small businesses. Admins can use one cloud-based console to manage all workstations and servers, as well as track all security events.

GravityZone Small Business Security uses machine learning and AI to monitor networks and detect malware, ransomware, and zero-day exploits. As with some other solutions on this list, this data passes through the cloud. If an issue is detected on one system, all others are made aware of it. This results in a much faster response to new threats, allowing Bitdefender to protect against attacks before they’re executed. 

Bitdefender’s solution consistently has extremely high detection rates with very few false positives in third-party tests, so there’s no need to worry about safe files being blocked and quarantined by the software.

Bitdefender provides comprehensive protection against ransomware via its Ransomware Mitigation feature. The solution protects against both known and new ransomware variants by detecting any abnormal encryption events and blocking the process. After a ransomware attempt it can recover files from backup and restore them to their original location. Bitdefender also detects and prevents fileless malware at pre-execution.

The GravityZone dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of all protected endpoints and helps admins to monitor incidents and generate reports for senior management, including common threat techniques, and your company risk score.

GravityZone Small Business Security is a brilliant solution for small organizations looking for fast and effective endpoint security software. GravityZone is ideal for organizations looking to improve endpoint security with a module platform, with the ability to expand protection via add-ons, services and product upgrades.

AVG Technologies, a subsidiary of Avast, offers a line of antivirus software to protect desktops and mobile devices against malware attacks and privacy threats. Known for their personal protection solutions, AVG have extended their offering to provide protection to SMBs. Their Business Edition software is quick to install and deploy across multiple endpoints, and administrators can manage all security components remotely with the help of the AVG Cloud Management Console.

AVG Business secures your network with cloud-based real-time outbreak and AI detection, which protects against the newest known malware threats. This is combined with behavioural tests and sandboxing to detect and eliminate threats quickly. A firewall adds an extra layer of protection against online security threats, and AVG’s Linkscanner checks webpages before users open them, displaying the safety ranking for each page in their search engine results. Additionally, their recently added CyberCapture feature protects against malicious files by sending a copy of any unrecognized downloads to their Threat Lab for analysis.

On top of its network security features, AVG Business includes anti-spyware to protect devices from spy- and adware that track personal information. It also includes a file shredder, which securely deletes files to prevent unwanted recovery. This is especially useful for systems that hold sensitive data.

AVG Business is a powerful antivirus software that works automatically behind the scenes, without distracting users from their work. The solution also comes with free email and phone support and automatic updates. This, along with its remote management system, makes AVG Business a great solution for small business owners managing devices off-site.

Copenhagen-based Heimdal™’s offering to the antivirus solution table is their Next-Gen Endpoint Antivirus. It’s a robust product that is efficient in blocking and preventing both known and unknown threats – such as data injections, viruses, APTs, data leaks, and ransomware – as well as blocking spam and adverts. It’s easily scalable, though some users found a learning curve with initial implementation of the product. The solution’s configuration is highly customizable and the scanning and reporting functionality can be customized to function by the week, day, hour, or minute. Admins can navigate the product via a unified dashboard that provides a flexible and overarching view into the entire company network, complete with in-depth reporting capabilities.

Heimdal™’s Next-Gen Endpoint Antivirus offers local file, signature, and registry scanning in real-time, providing actionable insights into device health and delivering code-based detection and remediation. The solution also uses behavioral analytics to scan for any potential changes in code post-delivery. Unknown or suspicious URLs are automatically blocked, with alerts sent to the IT team for further assessment and approval. Finally, with the sandboxing and backdoor inspection feature, all suspicious files are automatically executed in Heimdal™’s sandbox, where they can be run and examined without potential risk to the endpoint.

On top of its antivirus features, Heimdal™’s Next-Gen Endpoint Antivirus offers further protection through the built-in Mobile Device Management (MDM) functionality, which allows admins to oversee and monitor all mobile devices that are part of the network – regardless of where their users may be in the world. Admins can remotely wipe or lock compromised or stolen devices and use location data to find out where lost devices are.

Overall, Heimdal™’s antivirus solution offers intuitive and intelligent, robust yet flexible protection that can be tailored to a company’s specific needs without too much fuss on implementation and configuration. We would recommend it as a strong antivirus software for small- to medium-sized businesses.

Sophos offers an expansive suite of endpoint, mobile, network, email, cloud, and web security solutions. Sophos’ solutions work in real-time, using AI to predict evolving threats. They are cloud-based and cloud-managed, so that admins can oversee the protection of laptops, servers, and public cloud apps from one remote interface. Intercept X is Sophos’ market-leading endpoint protection solution. Previously, Sophos have targeted an majorly SMB audience, but Intercept X’s scalability means that they’re now also a recognized brand in the enterprise market.

Intercept X uses powerful artificial intelligence to detect known and unknown malware, ransomware, and other dangerous exploits and remove up to 99% of threats. It then synchronizes the protection across all connected devices so that, if a threat is found on one device, it’s blocked on all of them. Intercept X’s managed threat response analysts determine the potential impact of each threat and take action to neutralize them on your security team’s behalf, saving them precious time and resources. Finally, admins can manage all of their security tools, including firewall and email gateways, in the Sophos Central console.

The use of AI makes Intercept X smarter, but also more scalable so that SMBs can leverage the same powerful technology that larger businesses have access to. It works across all desktops, laptops, servers, tablets, and mobile devices, and is compatible with all major operating systems, so this solution really can be leveraged by anyone.

Trellix Endpoint Security (formerly McAfee Total Protection) is a comprehensive antivirus and anti-malware platform that allows IT teams to centrally manage and respond to endpoint threats. Trellix ENS proactively hunts endpoint threats and enables businesses to simplify their endpoint security workflows with automation to save IT resources and improve system operations for users.

Trellix ENS uses machine learning and behavioral analytics to detect and classify zero-day malware threats in near real time. The solution learns the behaviors of each threat that it detects, so it can more quickly identify future attacks that use similar techniques. The platform is very lightweight; it uses a common service layer and Trellix’s anti-malware core engine to reduce the amount of system resources that it needs to run. This allows users to work securely without impacting their productivity. From the central management console, IT admins can view insights into live attacks and indicators of compromise, which they can use to remediate attacks and prevent them spreading laterally through the network.

Trellix ENS works particularly well in tandem with Windows desktop and server systems, enabling admins to manage the Trellix platform, Windows Defender Antivirus policies, Windows Firewall settings, and Defender Exploit Guard all via one console. As such, we recommend Trellix Endpoint Security as a strong antivirus and anti-malware solution for mid-sized organizations, particularly those looking to secure a Windows device fleet.

Trend Micro offers a range of cybersecurity solutions that are founded on three principles: simplicity, safety and trust. With 30 years of experience, they are recognized as being a market leader in endpoint security. Trend Micro’s Worry-Free Business Security is a cloud-based “all-in-one” solution that provides endpoint, web, and email protection in one bundle. It’s compatible with desktops, laptops, and mobile devices.

Trend Micro’s Worry-Free Business Security leverages a combination of threat protection techniques to close security gaps. These include machine learning, behavioral analysis, application control, and good-file check. Because of this, it has a good detection rate of binary and scripted threats, strong anti-phishing capabilities, and exploit detection. However, the solution does miss some types of advanced cloaked attacks. Trend Micro’s Worry-Free Business Security’s automatic updates and 24/7 support make it easy to deploy and just as easy to run. There is very little that the security team have to maintain. Additionally, admins can manage the software online from a remote console.

However, it performs well in detecting known, yet still dangerous, phishing and scripted threats. Additionally, Trend Micro offer a wide range of security solutions, including email and web security, which can be stacked and implemented as an extremely effective security suite.