People often have a lot of questions for me when they find out I'm a security editor, and one of the most frequent is "what kind of antivirus/security solution should I use?" And, since my household is in need of an antivirus software right now, I thought I'd explain what I'm likely to go with, and why.
In our house right now, we’ve got three computers, two tablets, and three smartphones to cover at the moment, with Windows, Android, iOS, and a Chromebook thrown in there.
That’s a fair amount to juggle, and while I'm a security editor with over two decades of experience working for technology publications, my partner… isn’t. So I need something that’s going to work both for someone who is pretty tech savvy and for someone who is decidedly not.
I haven't personally tested any antivirus software, but I've edited our reviews and I'm not unfamiliar with the in's and out's of how our testing procedures work. I looked at our best antivirus software buying guide and some of our reviews, as well as some other online references to think about what would meet our needs best and in the end, I think McAfee + Premium is what will work for us.
Unlimited devices
One of the best reasons to pick McAfee+ Premium over other antivirus programs is that the package covers unlimited devices, which means that the eight devices I currently need to cover for my household – and any we buy in the future are all covered. Even after the first initial year, that means I'm paying roughly $19/year per device, which isn’t unreasonable.
Features
Another reason I like McAfee as a choice for my household is both the variety of features, and the features themselves. McAfee + Premium includes two features that every antivirus package should include: a VPN and a password manager. A VPN helps protect our online activities, and the password manager is a must because I know my partner has a tendency to use some insecure password practices otherwise.
We’ve both been caught up in at least a few data breaches, so the identity monitoring is a nice feature to have included. Ditto the personal data cleanup. As a security editor, I'm usually pretty savvy when it comes to current social media and text scams; however, my partner nearly fell for that toll road scam earlier this year, so having that as a feature is appreciated.
Other features I like having included are the file shredder, the feature to identify malicious websites with color coding, and the social media settings that identify where accounts could be better locked down for privacy purposes.
Performance and protection
In independent testing, McAfee scored 99.96% in March 2025 AV-Comparatives testing and a 6 out of 6 in AV Tests Jan-Feb 2025 report, which is great overall; however, there were also 15 false positives reported in the AV-Comparatives testin,g which is pretty high.
Overall, I can deal with some false positives for a good antivirus performance as well as fast and reliable software. I also liked the multiple scan options, and that there was a full scan mode for every last file.
Interface
Lastly, the fact that the interface is clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate is a bonus both because I like a nicely designed interface and because my partner is easily frustrated by a bad one and will quickly give up on it, which means I'll have to spend time sorting it out.
Overall
Given that there’s also a 24/7 chat and tech support line, there’s a lot that McAfee offers here that serves my household when it comes to antivirus solutions. While there are probably other features I would use if they were offered, there are no features missing here, and I'm still getting all the protection I need for the devices I have. Most importantly, this is a software that can serve my needs as someone with advanced standards while still being functional for someone who wants entry-level involvement.
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