These antivirus programs are compatible with Windows 11 according to AV Comparatives

AV Comparatives, a site known for its security tests, released a list of antivirus programs that it found to be compatible with Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system.

Microsoft will release Windows 11 on October 5, 2021, officially. New devices with the new operating system preinstalled will become available on that day and Windows 10 devices that meet the system requirements will get upgrade offers in a staged rollout.

Windows 11 includes Windows Defender,  a security component that has been improved significantly in recent years. Several third-party antivirus companies have called the integration of Windows Defender anti-competitive in the past. Microsoft claimed in 2019 that Windows Defender has a usage share of over 50%.

Windows 10 users who run third-party antivirus solutions on their devices may wonder whether their products can be run on Windows 11 as well.

AV Comparatives tested popular antivirus programs on a preview build of the Windows 11 operating system. The organization installed each solution on a clean system. The testers updated the database of the solution manually and restarted the device to make sure the software installed correctly and registered itself in Windows Security.

Several other tests were run to find out if the antivirus solutions were working correctly on the device. AV Comparatives shared the following requirements:

• Install successfully, without requiring specialist knowledge or workarounds
• Activate real-time protection without user intervention
  Integrate with Windows Security
• Successfully update malware signatures, either automatically or manually
• Warn if real-time protection is disabled, and allow the user to reactivate it easily
• Provide (at least) the same malware detection as on Windows 10
• Take appropriate action when malware is encountered, ensuring that the system is protected
• Have no obvious bugs or erroneous notifications
• Uninstall cleanly and remove its entry in Windows Security

AV Comparatives published the full list of solutions that it found compatible on its site:

• Avast Free Antivirus 21.7.2481
• AVG Free Antivirus 21.8.3202
• Avira Antivirus Pro 1.1.54.2291
• Bitdefender Internet Security 25.0.26.89
• ESET Internet Security 14.2.24.0
• G Data Total Security 25.5.11.316
• K7 Total Security 16.0.0556
• Kaspersky Internet Security 21.3.10.391
• Microsoft Defender Antivirus, as in Build 22454.1000 of Windows 11
• Malwarebytes Premium 4.4.6
• McAfee Total Protection 16.0
• Norton LifeLock Norton 360 22.21.8.62
• Panda Free Antivirus 21.00.00
• Total AV Total Security 5.15.69
• Total Defense Essential Antivirus 13.0.0.545
• Trend Micro Internet Security 17.0.1181
• VIPRE Advanced Security 11.0.6.22

AV Comparatives notes that none of the vendors of the listed solutions state that their products support Windows 11 officially. The company suggests that users on Windows 11 devices that were not upgraded from Windows 10 install a trial version of the antivirus solution they are interested in to make sure it is working correctly on the device.

Closing Words

Considering that Windows 10 and Windows 11 are very similar in many regards, it is clear that most software programs that work on Windows 10 devices will also work on Windows 11 devices. Third-party antivirus solution had their fair share of issues on Windows 10, especially during feature upgrades.

These antivirus programs are compatible with Windows 11 according to AV Comparatives