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The most visible antivirus apps in Italy, October 2026

October 2026 · 15 questions asked from Italy in Italian 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

Malwarebytes

1/4engines put it in their top three

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

Brands

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
1 Microsoft Defender US New entry 46 , range 26–70
46
  • : score 46 · #1
 32% 21% None First reading
2 Bitdefender RO New entry 34 , range 25–68
34
  • : score 34 · #2
 28% 19% None First reading
3 Kaspersky RU New entry 33 , range 6–52
33
  • : score 33 · #3
 19% 1% None First reading
4 Norton US New entry 28 , range 20–58
28
  • : score 28 · #4
 21% 11% None First reading
5 Malwarebytes US New entry 28 , range 6–53
28
  • : score 28 · #5
 12% 7% None First reading
6 Avast CZ New entry 22 , range 5–52
22
  • : score 22 · #6
 13% 5% None First reading
7 AVG CZ New entry 18 , range 4–50
18
  • : score 18 · #7
 10% 4% None First reading
8 ESET SK New entry 11 , range 3–50
11
  • : score 11 · #8
 8% 4% None First reading
9 Sophos GB New entry 10 , range 0–75
10
  • : score 10 · #9
 2% 2% None First reading
10 McAfee US New entry 8 , range 2–48
8
  • : score 8 · #10
 7% 2% 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 bobsbusiness.co.uk Reference 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
2Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.
3 internetmatters.org Reference 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
4Withheld. Run a full Snapshot to see it.

The questions, and who wins each

QuestionLanguageWins it
Quale antivirus dovrei usare per proteggere il mio portatile Windows dai malware? Italian Bitdefender and Microsoft Defender, tied
Quale antivirus può proteggere i telefoni e i computer di tutta la famiglia? Italian Bitdefender and Norton, tied
Cosa posso usare per proteggere il mio Mac da virus e ransomware? Italian Bitdefender and Malwarebytes, tied
Quale antivirus protegge il mio telefono Android dalle app dannose? Italian Avast
Come posso evitare che il malware infetti il mio portatile? Italian Microsoft Defender
Come posso proteggere la mia famiglia dai link di phishing e dai download non sicuri? Italian Bitdefender
Come posso rimuovere un virus ed evitare che ritorni? Italian Microsoft Defender
Come faccio a capire se uno spyware sta monitorando il mio telefono? Italian Malwarebytes
La sicurezza integrata nel dispositivo è sufficiente o dovrei installare un antivirus? Italian Microsoft Defender
È meglio usare un’unica app di sicurezza per telefono e computer o app separate? Italian Microsoft Defender

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