Antivirus protects against malware by detecting and blocking malicious software. VPNs protect your network traffic by encrypting data between your device and the internet. The two technologies address fundamentally different threat vectors. For most users, both are necessary. However, a VPN does not replace antivirus. Antivirus does not replace a VPN. The ideal security stack combines both: a premium suite like Norton 360 or Bitdefender Premium with bundled VPN, supplemented by a dedicated premium VPN like ExpressVPN. Our guide includes threat-model-specific recommendations: high-risk journalists need both plus Tor; casual home users can rely on Windows Defender plus basic VPN.