Heralded
Start free trial
Heralded

The most visible antivirus apps in France, October 2026

October 2026 · 15 questions asked from France in French and English · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 60 answers read

AI: how the engines answer the board's questions; Search: Google's top 10 for the questions' demand keywords; All: both combined. How the Heralded Score works.

Where engines disagree most

Avast

1/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on Gemini, not on Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT

Brands

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
1 Bitdefender RO New entry 57 , range 25–70
57
  • : score 57 · #1
 30% 24% None First reading
2 Microsoft Defender US New entry 52 , range 22–61
52
  • : score 52 · #2
 25% 16% None First reading
3 Norton US New entry 41 , range 21–60
41
  • : score 41 · #3
 24% 13% None First reading
4 Avast CZ New entry 37 , range 7–53
37
  • : score 37 · #4
 16% 6% None First reading
5 Malwarebytes US New entry 33 , range 6–52
33
  • : score 33 · #5
 13% 7% None First reading
6 Kaspersky RU New entry 27 , range 4–50
27
  • : score 27 · #6
 14% 3% None First reading
7 F-Secure FI New entry 27 , range 0–75
27
  • : score 27 · #7
 4% 1% None First reading
8 ESET SK New entry 24 , range 3–50
24
  • : score 24 · #8
 9% 6% None First reading
9 Avira DE New entry 24 , range 0–74
24
  • : score 24 · #9
 3% 1% None First reading
10 Trend Micro JP New entry 17 , range 0–74
17
  • : score 17 · #10
 2% 0% None First reading

“=” marks brands whose score ranges overlap, so the test cannot separate them. Every brand named in at least three answers is ranked. By engine has one dot per engine (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode), darker the more often it names the brand.

This month's moves

First reading. No comparable previous month yet.

Biggest risers

No clear rise.

Biggest fallers

No clear fall.

Drop-outs

No drop-outs.

Most cited sources

Rank Source Type Cited in Engines Pages cited Brands its pages mention
1 allaboutcookies.org Reference 3.3% 1 of 4 2 Not read
2Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.

The questions, and who wins each

QuestionLanguageWins it
Do I need antivirus protection if I only download apps from official stores? English Microsoft Defender
What can I use instead of relying on my laptop’s built-in security? English Bitdefender
How can I replace separate security apps with one app for all my devices? English Bitdefender and Norton, tied
I work remotely and need to protect my laptop when using public Wi-Fi. English No brand recommended
I have children who use shared devices and need to block unsafe downloads. English No brand recommended

Each engine's top three

Method

For the AI side, each month Heralded asks every engine the same buyer questions, twice each, and reads every answer. An answer counts 0 for a brand it leaves out, 50 for a brand it names and 100 for a brand it recommends, and the Heralded Score is built from those. A brand named in at least three answers gets a score and a place.

How the leaderboards are measured