With the popularity of PCs now waning in developed countries, and a growing number of consumers unwilling to pay for protection, the future of paid antivirus software now looks bleak. The brands that survive the likely shakeout will need to carve out niches in new markets such as mobile and smartphone protection, or by selling more advanced encryption and online backup security. Some might follow McAfee's fate, and be bought by larger companies that see security and antivirus protection as strategic rather than profitable in its own right.

Founded in 2002, OPSWAT makes its money selling a range of malware testing tools and SDKs of the sort that would be used by security vendors in software development. It also offers to consumers, including the App remover utility to fully de-install antivirus software, and Filterbit, an online tool that scans suspicious files.