Decisions
Choosing antivirus software in Australia
A sequence of questions, in the order worth asking them. The first one is whether to buy anything at all, and for some readers the honest answer is no.
This page does not rank products. Paramount Works covers one product commercially and is in no position to present a ranking as independent; what it can do is set out the questions that decide the matter, so the answers can be checked against any product's own documentation. The about page explains that scope and its limits.
What is already on the device?
Current versions of Windows include Microsoft Defender Antivirus, switched on by default, updated through the ordinary update channel, with real-time protection, cloud lookup and behavioural components. It is not a trial and it does not expire. macOS ships with several layers of its own, including code signature checks and a malware removal component, none of which are presented to the user as a product. iOS and Android run applications in restricted sandboxes, with app review and platform-level scanning, which is why traditional file scanning on those platforms is limited in what it can even see.
The practical consequence is that a paid product is not a move from nothing to something. It is a move from one set of protections to another, and the case for paying rests on what it adds — more devices under one subscription, extra components such as a VPN or a password manager, a support line, or a preference for a vendor's approach — rather than on protection being absent without it. Any page implying that an unprotected device is the starting position is describing a machine that has not existed for a long time.
What are you actually protecting against?
The answer shapes everything that follows, and it is usually not what the advertising addresses.
Files and programs
Malicious downloads, infected installers, attachments. This is what a scanner addresses directly, and where the four detection mechanisms apply.
Deception
Phishing, fake support calls, investment and romance scams. Little of this becomes a file. Habits, account protections and knowing what current scams look like matter more.
Account compromise
Reused or leaked passwords. Answered by multi-factor authentication and distinct passwords, not by a scanner.
Loss of data
Ransomware, theft, a failed drive, a dropped phone. Answered by a current backup held separately from the device.
Where money is lost in Australia, deception is the larger channel. The National Anti-Scam Centre publishes reported scam data and current examples on Scamwatch, and reading it periodically is a defence no product provides.
Standalone, suite, or built-in?
| Consideration | Built into the operating system | Standalone antivirus | Security suite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Included | Annual subscription | Higher annual subscription |
| Core scanning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Extra components | Firewall; parental controls on some platforms | Typically few | Commonly VPN, password manager, backup allowance, identity monitoring |
| Covers other people's devices | Per device, by default | By seat count | Usually a larger seat count |
| Support | Platform support channels | Vendor support | Vendor support, sometimes extended |
| Main question to ask | Is anything missing for how this device is used? | What does this add over the built-in protection? | Would you otherwise pay separately for the extras? |
The suite question is genuinely a pricing question. A bundle that includes a VPN and a password manager you were already paying for separately may cost less than the separate subscriptions; the same bundle is poor value if the extras go unused. Counting what you already pay for before comparing is the step most often skipped.
How many devices, and which platforms?
Count the devices that would actually be covered — every phone, tablet, laptop and desktop in the household, including those belonging to people who will never think about this again. That number is the seat count to compare against, and it is the most common reason a subscription turns out to be the wrong size after purchase.
Then check that the platforms match. A product sold as covering Windows, macOS, Android and iOS rarely offers the same components on each: mobile editions are constrained by what the platform permits an application to do, and a feature list is generally written for the desktop edition. If a particular component is the reason for buying, confirm it exists on the platform you need it on, on the vendor's own specification page rather than in a summary.
What does it cost in the second year?
Introductory pricing is standard in this category, and the renewal price is usually higher and usually stated somewhere other than next to the first-year price. Before buying, find three figures: the first term's price, the renewal price, and the notice period or method for cancelling. All three are commonly in the subscription terms rather than on the product page.
Under the Australian Consumer Law, consumer guarantees apply to software bought in Australia, and they cannot be excluded by a vendor's terms. What that means in practice — and what it does not mean, since simply changing your mind is not covered — is set out on licences and subscriptions, with the ACCC's own guidance linked there.
What does the product send to the vendor?
Security software is, by function, software that inspects everything on a device and communicates with its vendor about what it finds. Cloud lookup makes that explicit. The question is not whether data is sent but what, how long it is kept, and whether it is used for anything besides detection.
That is answered in the vendor's privacy policy, not in its feature list. For a reader in Australia the relevant framework is the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, explained by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, which also handles complaints about the handling of personal information.
The checklist
- Confirm what protection the device already has, and whether it is switched on.
- Count the devices to be covered, then compare that number to the seat count.
- Check each platform separately for the components you are buying the product for.
- Find the renewal price, not only the first-year price.
- Find how to cancel, before subscribing rather than after.
- Read the privacy policy for what is sent to the vendor and where it goes.
- Decide whether bundled extras replace something you already pay for.
- Check any test results directly on the testing laboratory's own site, with their date.
- Set up a backup, whatever you decide about software.
The product covered on this site
Norton AntiVirus Plus is the product Paramount Works has a commercial arrangement with, and the reason this site exists in its present form. What the affiliate listing states about it is short: the antivirus category, and coverage across mobile devices, desktop computers and tablets. It does not state seat counts, renewal terms, Australian pricing or which components appear on which platform — precisely the six checks above. Those answers are on the vendor's own site, which is where the checklist should be run.
Visit the Norton AntiVirus Plus website
This is an advertising link. CleanSmov spol. s.r.o. receives a commission from the vendor's affiliate programme if you subscribe after following it; your price is unaffected. Our product notes set out what is and is not stated about this product.
Questions we are asked
There is no legal requirement to buy security software in Australia. Current versions of Windows and macOS include protection that is switched on by default, and mobile operating systems restrict what applications can do. A paid product adds coverage across more devices and extra components such as a VPN or password manager, so the decision is about what it adds rather than about starting from no protection at all.
Two products with real-time scanning active can interfere with each other, each inspecting the other's activity, which causes slowdowns and duplicated alerts. Most third-party products switch off the built-in Windows protection during installation for this reason. On-demand scanners that run only when started are a different case and generally coexist without trouble.
Mobile operating systems run applications in sandboxes that limit what any one application can reach, including a security application, so mobile editions generally provide web filtering, link checking and device location rather than the file scanning found on a desktop. Installing only from the official store, keeping the system updated and reviewing app permissions do more on these platforms than a scanner can.
A detection rate means little without the false positive rate measured alongside it, because tuning a scanner to catch more threats also causes it to flag more clean files. Check the figure on the testing laboratory's own site, confirm the date, and confirm that the edition tested is the edition being sold.
A web page cannot scan a device. A page or pop-up claiming to have found infections is an advertisement or a scam, and the same is true of an unsolicited telephone call about a virus on your computer. Close the page, do not ring the number shown, and report the example to Scamwatch.
For the mechanisms behind these answers, see how antivirus detection works; for anything about billing, renewal or refunds, see licences and subscriptions.