There's a constant debate about whether Macs need antivirus software. But the answer is yes if you're still wondering whether you install an antivirus program on your Mac. Although Macs are less likely to become infected than PCs, it's important to stay on the safe side.
Avast Security is a great free option for any Mac user. It comes loaded with features that constantly work to block dangerous forms of ransomware, viruses, and malware that compromise your Mac's security.
Free Virus Software For Mac
Since Avast Security is completely free on its own, it withholds some extra features for the paid Premium plan, such as Wi-Fi intruder alerts and live ransomware shield support. Just be careful when you install the free plan. Avast will try to throw in some costly extra features during installation that you probably don't want.
Bitdefender Virus Scanner doesn't come with many bells and whistles, but it's still a viable option as a free antivirus program for Mac. This antivirus is especially great for scanning specific files or apps. It also allows you to omit files, making for a speedy scanning process. And if it finds a threat, Bitdefender will quarantine or remove it.
Bitdefender doesn't operate in the background, so you'll need to prompt the program to perform scans manually. Fortunately, virus signatures are automatically updated every hour to ensure you have the latest protection.
The only downside to Bitdefender is that it lacks the tools to protect your Mac online. For protection against dangerous websites or tricky phishing emails, you'll have to look into a more well-rounded antivirus software instead.
Even though Avira is free, it still has tons of valuable features. The real-time scanner can scan your entire computer or just specific files. If you want a more hands-off approach, you can even schedule the scanner to run at certain times.
By default, Sophos Home comes with a 30-day free trial for the premium version. You don't have to buy the premium version once the trial ends, but you'll lose some premium features you might've gotten used to. Either way, you can still get by with just the free plan.
Sophos Home also comes outfitted with parental controls that allow you to prevent your children from accessing certain websites. You can have up to three devices (both Mac or Windows) on the free plan, ensuring that everyone in your family has protection.
AVG's free protection is powerful enough to secure your Mac from malware and protect you when you're online. It can also prevent you from acquiring and passing on any PC or Android viruses. AVG automatically updates its virus database, so you'll always have the most effective security.
If you're looking for any parental controls or webcam blockers, the free version of AVG won't have it. It just offers scanning and detection features, which are good enough for basic security needs. Unfortunately, the full system scan does cause your computer to perform slowly, and you can expect it to take several minutes (or hours) to complete.
Comodo Antivirus offers an easy-to-use interface and free protection for your Mac. Checking a file or app for viruses is as simple as dragging and dropping it into Comodo. It comes with a quick scan that finishes in minutes and a total system scan that might take an hour or two to complete. The scheduler lets you pick and choose the times you want to perform scans, so your computer won't get bogged down at the wrong time.
Like some other antivirus software on this list, Comodo also stays up-to-date on the latest virus signatures to protect you from all types of malware. Just remember that Comodo doesn't automatically protect you online. You'll have to download the free Comodo Online Security browser extension if you want to block any dangerous websites.
Many Mac users think that their device is resistant to viruses. However, that's just not the case. Even if your Mac is less likely to contract a virus, especially if you download your Mac apps from safe websites and steer clear of bad security choices, it's still possible to pass malware to Windows and Android users.
So, using antivirus software on your Mac to prevent any security breaches is never a bad idea. And if you're looking to protect your PC as well, check out our list of the best antivirus software for Windows.
Yes! Legitimate antivirus software is far superior to going online without protection. But while free antivirus software for Mac is enough, paid antivirus solutions often include additional features that can provide even more benefits, options, and security protections. AVG Internet Security is one such paid solution that comes with premium features such as tools to block ransomware protection, and network scans.
Avira Free Antivirus for Mac provides lightweight cloud-based malware scanning, as well as more free features than any other brand on this list. These include real-time protection, intuitive system tuneup tools, a surprisingly good password manager, and even a VPN!
Avira also provides one of the best free password managers on the market, with unlimited password storage, biometric logins, and a built-in TOTP (time-based one-time password) authenticator.
Avira is the best 100% free antivirus for Macs. It provides lightweight real-time malware scanning, good anti-phishing protection, an excellent free password manager, and a decent VPN. The malware scanner blocked every malware file in my testing, and the web protections blocked both phishing sites and annoying ads. Upgrading to Avira Prime adds a VPN with no limitations, additional password manager features, and coverage for up to 5 devices.
But paid antivirus software provides better malware scanning, network protections, web protections, and helpful extras like parental controls, VPNs for online privacy, and disk cleanup tools to keep your device running smoothly. Intego is a Mac-only internet security suite that contains a ton of excellent features to keep you (and your family) safe online.
It depends. Many companies lure users with promises of amazing features, and then put all of those features behind a paywall in the actual app (unfortunately, even some of my favorite antiviruses, like TotalAV, are guilty of this kind of upselling).
Macs get attacked by cybercriminals trying to encrypt or steal your personal data. Or they might try to use your system as part of a botnet to attack other computers globally. Our Mac OS antivirus software offers the best Mac virus removal and protects your system. Scan your system at the push of a button and repair folders with just one click. Our Apple virus scan software is free. Download it now for your Mac with macOS 10.13 (Sierra) and later versions! For additional features get our Free Security Suite, including free Antivirus for Mac, free Phantom VPN to secure and anonymize your online surfing, Avira Browser Safety (on Firefox) to block ads and browser trackers. For premium antivirus protection, discover the benefits of our Antivirus Pro for Mac now.
In addition, you can use the free Avira Browser Safety add-on to ensure that PUAs, such as annoying adware, do not get onto your Mac in the first place. Avira Browser Protection helps you detect PUAs like adware hidden in software downloads and offers you a safe download alternative. In addition, you can also block harmful ads and websites, unsafe and phishing websites, online tracking, and prevent browser hijacking.
Avira Free Antivirus for Mac not only helps you better protect your device from malware such as viruses, Trojans, spyware, and ransomware but also includes many other security, online privacy, and optimization features alongside virus protection. Thanks to the integrated VPN, you can enjoy bank-grade security to surf anonymously and encrypt your traffic even on unsecured public Wi-Fi hotspots. The password manager helps you create strong passwords for your user accounts, while the junk cleaner rids your Mac of junk data and duplicate files. The Avira Browser Safety add-on helps you block harmful ads and websites, unsafe and phishing websites, online tracking, and prevent browser hijacking. All these features mean Avira solutions are the perfect complement to the security features built into macOS, providing additional layers of protection.
The technically sophisticated runtime protections in macOS work at the very core of your Mac to keep your system safe from malware. This starts with state-of-the-art antivirus software built in to block and remove malware. Technologies like XD (execute disable), ASLR (address space layout randomization), and SIP (system integrity protection) make it difficult for malware to do harm, and they ensure that processes with root permission cannot change critical system files.
As to the question of which Mac antivirus software you should choose, our current top pick is Intego Mac Internet Security. However, you will find several other recommendations below that may suit you better, depending upon the type and number of devices that need protection and also how much you want to pay.
Our top contenders in our best Mac antivirus round up dominate by posting perfect (or virtually near perfect) scores from security research labs, passing our own malware detection tests with flying colors, offering well-designed interfaces, and even throwing in extra features like a firewall or password manager.
Set up is quick and painless with a wizard that takes you through configuration of all the key features while allowing you to evaluate the different options and determine which ones you want to enable. Once installed you can access information about the security of your Mac and monitor the status of your online accounts and personal data. The VPN will kick in if Clario detects you using an unprotected network. And from the Dashboard you can trigger a quick virus scan, which is actually quite thorough.
Though it lacks the advanced features of paid antivirus products, it handles the core tasks cleanly and seamlessly. However, if you need to resolve any advanced issues you will need to pay to upgrade to the full version of the software, which is about $2/2 per month for a one-year subscription. There is a 60-day free trial though, which could be enough for your purposes. 2ff7e9595c
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