- Pros
Certified by one independent testing lab. Speedy full scan. Excellent phishing protection for Chrome and Firefox. Network security scanner. Password manager. Website rating. Active Do Not Track. Free.
- Cons
Poor phishing protection in Safari. Password manager includes only basic features.
- Bottom Line
Avast Security (for Mac) delivers effective malware protection along with unusual bonus features. Phishing protection only works well in Chrome and Firefox, but this free utility is still worth a look.
For years, Mac users basked in the mystique of virus-free computing. It wasn't true, alas, and as time goes on we see more and more Mac-specific malware attacks. The situation may not be nearly as bad as for Window or Android, but prudence still dictates that you install antivirus protection on your Macs as well. Avast Security offers Macs protection against malware along with advanced features including a password manager and a network security scanner, all for a cost of exactly nothing.
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Compare Malwarebytes vs. Avast Comparing Malwarebytes and Avast, you can actually see which IT Management Software product is the more suitable alternative. This guarantees that your company can get the most productive and efficient application. In 2014 AV-TEST tested 7 different cleaning tools (along with 10 antivirus solutions) Malwarebytes was the only tool that was capable of completely removing and restoring the system. It was concluded by AV-TEST to be the best tool for removing malware from infected computers. Avast Security and Avast Security Pro are the two Avast plans that are compatible with Mac platform. The former is a freeware that, much like Avast Free Antivirus for Windows, comes with basic anti-malware security, web and email shields, and a WiFi security scanner (checks your network and connected devices for vulnerabilities).
Installation went quickly, though I did find I had to separately activate the password manager and the Online Security browser extension from the Tools page. You'll also find Avast's SecureLine VPN on that page, but it's not free like the others. When you click to activate, you get a choice of signing up for $2.99 per month or starting a 30-day trial.
The product's spacious main window features a large status indicator centered in an otherwise-empty white region, with a menu down the left side. It's a very different appearance from Avast Free Antivirus on Windows, which uses pops of purple and green on a dark gray background.
Pricing and OS Support
Malwarebytes Vs Avast – Which Is Better? Bill Gordon Jan 19. Multi Platform – you can use this software on a PC, Mac, or Android device. If you are comparing the paid versions it seems Avast is neck and neck with Malwarebytes. Avast Internet Security Pros And Cons. Stop hounding this forum for your own personal Malwarebytes 3.0 vs Avast Free AV comparison. You continue to argue: ' I believe I need Malwarebytes 3.0 Premium + a classical antivirus.' Give it a rest.
Like Bitdefender and Kaspersky, Avast supports macOS versions back to 10.9 Mavericks. If you have an antique Mac that for some reason can't even run Mavericks, consider ESET Cyber Security (for Mac),
Like Sophos and Avira, Avast offers full antivirus protection for free. Avast Security Pro (for Mac) costs $59.99 per year for one license or $69.99 for three. The Pro edition adds ransomware protection and real-time notification when new devices connect to your network. The free edition is strictly for non-commercial use; in a business setting, you must pay up.
Good Malware Protection Scores
When reviewing
It took years to develop my hands-on tools and tests for Windows. Most of them don't carry over to the macOS platform. Hence lab results become extremely important for my Mac antivirus reviews. Two of the labs I follow, AV-Test Institute and AV-Comparatives, test Mac antivirus, and Avast participates with one of them.
Experts at AV-Comparatives test Mac antivirus products using the latest macOS malware. They also evaluate each product's ability to detect Windows malware. Why? While a Trojan written for Windows wouldn't run on a Mac, the Mac could serve as a carrier.
Avast managed 99.9 percent protection against Mac malware. That's very good—better than most. However, Bitdefender and Kaspersky exhibited 100 percent protection. In the Windows malware test, Avast detected 100 percent of the samples. Most competing products also took 100 percent. However, Webroot only caught 75 percent, and Intego Mac Internet Security X9 got just 18 percent. Like most tested products, Avast received certification from AV-Comparatives for Mac antivirus protection.
Having one certification is good; having two is better. Bitdefender, Kaspersky, and Sophos are among the products that received certifications from both labs for Mac malware protection.
Scan Choices
Avast offers several scans to improve your Mac's security. A full scan on the Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch that I use for testing took 14.5 minutes, just a hair over Intego's 14 minutes, and quicker than the 18 minutes required by Avira. The average for recent products is 24 minutes, so Avast proved quite speedy. Norton is the current speed champ, completing a full scan in 10 minutes.
There's a separate scan for removable volumes, though you can configure the full scan to include them. I scanned a thumb drive containing my Windows malware collection and found that it quarantined 85 percent of them. For comparison, Avira detected 82 percent of these, while Sophos Home (for Mac) wiped out every single one.
There's no predefined quick scan, which makes sense given the speed of the full scan. The custom scan settings confused me, though. As with the full scan, you can add file locations to exclude from scanning, and configure it to scan Time Machine backups. But the full scan's settings include those
You can schedule a daily, weekly, or monthly scan if desired. Settings for a scheduled scan include two additional choices. You can set it to skip scanning if your device is running on batteries, and you can have it wake from sleep if necessary, to perform its scheduled scan. Avira Free Antivirus for Mac not only offers scheduled scanning, it defaults to a weekly scan with no effort on your part. Sophos skips scheduled scanning, relying instead on real-time protection.
Network Security Scan
The final scan choice doesn't look for malware. Rather, it collects information about all the devices on your network and flags any security problems. On my own network, the scan finished in just under three minutes.
The scanner correctly reported that my main router has an open port that could theoretically become a point of attack. It's true that the port is open, as my ISP uses it to run remote diagnostics when necessary. But that function requires a key that only the ISP has.
More interestingly, it found serious problems with a network storage device (fortunately, one that I'm not currently using). Not only does this device have numerous open ports, it's vulnerable to a buffer overrun attack. Avast advised updating the firmware; I just unplugged it.
The report also serves as a list of everything that's connected to your network, identifying each by name and type. It's similar to the output of Bitdefender Home Scanner. With both products, I found devices with names like unknown6542990b6483—not much help! Bitdefender includes an option to edit the name and type, and it remembers your edits in subsequent scans. I'd like to see that ability in Avast.
Excellent Phishing Protection in Chrome and Firefox
In the Windows realm, one thing that differentiates Avast's premium product is better protection against phishing sites, those fraudulent sites that imitate secure sites and try to steal your login credentials. The free Windows edition scored very poorly, while the premium edition did an extremely good job. Based on initial round of testing, the Mac product's phishing protection, both free and Pro, seemed to match that of the free Windows product, meaning it's not very good.
I learned later that Avast's phishing protection is not fully functional in Safari. The developers are working on making it completely browser-independent. In the meantime, they advise using Chrome or Firefox. Norton was also having problems during my original test, so I tossed those results and started fresh.
My phishing protection test uses URLs reported as fraudulent, but not yet verified. Typically, these are only a few hours old. That's
I simultaneously launch each URL in Safari on the Mac and in a browser protected by long-time antiphishing champ Symantec Norton Security Premium. I also launch each in Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer, relying on the browser's built-in protection. If any of the five browsers throw an error message, I discard the URL. A true phishing fraud masquerades as a secure site and tries to capture your login credentials. Any URL that doesn't match that profile also gets junked.
I've written a Windows-based tool that handles launching URLs and capturing results. On the Mac, I copy and paste each URL into Safari and manually record the result. When I have enough data, I dump the five reports into Excel for comparison.
The malefactors that perpetrate these phishing frauds are clever. They're always devising new techniques to get past security software. That being the case, I report results not as hard figures but as the difference between the product under test and the others.
Tested using Safari's incomplete phishing protection, Avast's detection rate lagged Norton's by 32 percent, and Norton itself was having a bad day. All three browsers soundly drubbed Avast. When I retested using Chrome, Avast tied with Norton and beat the detection rates of the three browsers. That's impressive. Of the Mac security products I've tested, only Bitdefender did better, beating Norton by 5 percentage points.
While phishing is browser-agnostic, phishing protection is not. Bitdefender beat Norton by 5 percentage points, but its Windows cousin more than doubled that gap. Even Symantec Norton Security Deluxe (for Mac) didn't detect many frauds that its Windows edition caught.
Site Rating and Do Not Track
Like McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac), Avira, Trend Micro, and several others, Avast marks up results in popular search engines with green for safe, red for dangerous, and gray for unknown. You can click to vote a page up or down. Simple!
Clicking the Online Safety toolbar button displays the status
Digging into the settings for Online Safety reveals a hidden gem: SiteCorrect. If you mistype a site name, this feature offers to change to the correct name. You can even set it to automatically make the fix, with no prompt. However, in testing, I couldn't tease it into action. I tried pyapal.com, pcmga.com, whitehous.gov, wallmart.com, and many others, with no reaction from SiteCorrect.
Basic Password Manager
Like Avast's Windows antivirus, this product includes
There's no limit on the number of devices, and you can sync your passwords between them all, macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. Avast doesn't keep your passwords in the cloud. Rather, it uses your Avast account to authorize syncing data that's stored locally on your devices.
Once you've enabled syncing on a device, that device becomes an authenticator for adding more devices. The new device displays a numeric code, and the existing device gets a notification with the same code. If the numbers match, just click to approve. What if you lose all your devices? On installation, Avast sends an email with a recovery link; don't lose that email!
On each of your devices, you create a master password to protect the local password stash. The master passwords need not be the same, but who'd want the confusion of making them different? Avast offers advice on creating a strong password, with a color-coded line representing the strength of what you've typed. It's not easy to get all the way to green, but Avast doesn't require it. In fact, it accepted 'Password' as a master password.
Avast offers browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. When you log in to a site, the extension offers to save your credentials. If you come back to the site, it fills your saved credentials. Clicking the key icon in one of the fields brings up a menu showing all the credentials you've saved. And it handles two-page logins like what Google uses.
Avast doesn't use the typical menu of logins attached to its toolbar button. Rather, you click the button and launch the main application. Unlike the Windows edition, this is a separate app, not integrated with the main antivirus. Its main window is seriously tall and skinny, like something you'd find on a smartphone, and you have only limited control over its size. Clicking an item opens its details, with a link to open the site itself.
You can also use the password manager to sync and share secure notes between your devices. These are simple, unformatted text snippets, suitable for saving such things as locker combinations and non-digital passwords.
The left-rail menu offers simple icons to manage passwords and secure notes, and one to bring up the password generator. By default, it generates 18-character passwords using all character types. You can set the length anywhere from four to 30 characters using a slider.
Avast analyzes the strength of your master password when you first create it, but not when you update it. Avast Pro Antivirus on Windows can analyze your passwords, flagging any weak or duplicate ones. The free Windows edition used to include this feature, but it was recently enhanced and redefined as a Pro-only feature.
This password manager handles all the basic tasks and no more. Fancy features like secure sharing, two-factor authentication, and password inheritance aren't here. But you do get it along with the antivirus, at no charge, so if it does enough for you, go ahead and use it.
Worth a Look
AV-Comparatives certified Avast Security as an effective Mac antivirus. Impressively, it offers a network scanner and password manager, features often reserved for full security suites. On the other hand, the password manager handles basic functions only—nothing advanced. And while Avast earned great stores in my hands-on antiphishing test, that function currently works well in Chrome and Firefox, but not Safari. But the pros outweigh the cons. If you're looking for free Mac antivirus protection, give it a try, along with Sophos and Avira, and see which you like best.
For truly top-notch Mac security, you'll need to lay out some cash. Our Editors' Choice products in this realm are Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac and Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac. Both received certification from two labs. Both scored well in our hands-on antiphishing test. Bitdefender's AutoPilot mode means you can set it and forget it. And Kaspersky goes above and beyond feature-wise, with full-scale parental control, protection against webcam peeping, a network attack blocker, and more.
Bottom Line: Avast Security (for Mac) delivers effective malware protection along with unusual bonus features. Phishing protection only works well in Chrome and Firefox, but this free utility is still worth a look.
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Last Updated on
If you’re like most people, you’ve experienced the throes of contracting a virus on your computer. The instant you realize that you caught the latest bug, virus, malware, ransomware, or other variety, you probably went into panic mode and felt a fearsome rush of adrenaline.
That feeling is awful because you start to wonder whether someone has stolen your identity or personal files, such as personal photos or work data.
The next step isn’t always easy, either. You wonder which antivirus solution you should use, or whether or not it’s worth it to run down to your local PC repair shop, which charges exorbitant fees without a guarantee of virus removal.
If you’ve been in this situation, then you understand the value of anti-virus software. The good news is that by and large, the vast majority of viruses and exploits are completely avoidable.
To be fair, there will always be a newly minted and highly sophisticated virus that can slip through the cracks and infect your system. After all, there’s no such thing as an infallible computing system. But this is the exception and not the rule.
As long as you’re diligent about personal data security, you can easily circumvent the pain and anxiety that a virus induces. But which provider should you choose? Is one better than another? How far can you stretch your dollar to get the best deal?
I aim to help you answer those questions by comparing two of the industry’s leading providers: Hitman Pro and Malwarebytes. Understand that the antivirus and antimalware industry has tens, perhaps hundreds of competitors.
However, some self-proclaimed antivirus applications are really just another attempt by hackers to get you to download a file that contains a virus. If you’ve received ads from sketchy third-party services that you’ve never heard of, I’d advise against downloading their solution…even if it is free.
Avast For Mac Review
There are only a handful of competent and trustworthy providers that can offer you real protection, and Hitman Pro and Malwarebytes are among the best. So, let’s start picking these two providers apart to help you reach an informed decision, starting with their respective pricing models.
Pricing
Before we dig into the details of the paid subscriptions, be aware that both providers have a free trial that allows you to test out the software before making a commitment. While the free trials aren’t really appropriate for long-term use, I always advocate the use of a free trial over nothing at all.
Too many folks get viruses because they failed to use anti-virus programs, so remember than some protection is better than no protection at all.
For reference, the following outlines the pricing model of Hitamn Pro:
- 1 PC 1 Year: $24.95 (check here for the latest price & discounts)
- 1 PC 3 Years: $49.95 (check here for the latest price & discounts)
- 3 PCs 1 Year: $37.95 (check here for the latest price & discounts)
- 3 PCs 3 Years: $74.90 (check here for the latest price & discounts)
- Free trial: 30 days
Alternatively, note that the paid version of Malwarebytes costs $39.99 (check here for the latest price & discounts). However, it isn’t a lifetime license. Instead, that price only covers a one year subscription.
As you can see, Hitman Pro has a lot more payment options, though they aren’t as granular as I would like. Still, if you only need to secure a single PC, Hitman Pro is cheaper than the standard Malwarebytes subscription.
Malwarebytes Features
Even though Malwarebytes has a free trial, it is rather limited in features and the vast majority of features only last for two weeks (14 days). The free version comes with very basic and limited antivirus protection, though it does help identify, detect, and remove malware and spyware from your computer.
In addition, it has anti-rootkit features to help eliminate invisible background processes that can take over your host system. All other features (mentioned later) expire after the 14-day window has elapsed.
Also, note that both the trial and paid versions only run on Windows. However, it comes in a variety of languages including the following: Bulgarian, Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish.
If you’re English isn’t that good, chances are you’re covered since it supports a wide range of the most popular languages. Computer jargon and virus lingo are cryptic enough, and the last thing anyone needs is an additional layer of language barriers. Moving on, note that the paid version doesn’t have features that expire after 14 days.
Those features are as follows:
- Real-time protection – the software can actually detect active processes and monitor them for suspicious activity. If it finds any abnormalities, it can quarantine the process and throw a warning, which prevents viruses from infecting your computer in the first place.
- Anti-exploit – helps patch vulnerabilities in your operating system to make your computer impervious to a long list of up-to-date attacks and exploits.
- Anti-ransomware – helps prevent ransomware from taking over your computer and holding your data hostage.
- Malicious website protection – actively monitors (but doesn’t record) online activity to prevent websites from running malicious scripts and other forms of web-based attacks.
- Hyper-scan mode – only scans for active threats to decrease impact on system performance and speed up the amount of time it takes to complete the scan.
Reviews
“The easiest way to protect your computer from most of the malware is to use this application.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is user-friendly program with nice and simple design. Its impact on your system performance is minimal, though it enables real-time protection by monitoring all the applications’ and files’ behavior.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware works good because it uses signature-based malware, adware, ransomware detection and cloud-based information collection.” Rza Aliev, Quora
“Yes, there is no doubt that Malwarebytes is one of the most surprising anti-malware software as compared to other anti-malware and yes it is safe to use on multiple OS such as Android, Windows, Mac.
Malwarebytes Anti Malware For Mac
There are two versions of malwarbytes available (Free & Premium) to use. In free version you can avail manual scanning option for auto scanning and other good features (active protection, planned scanning & memory scanning option) you need to upgrade for the premium version.” Michael Justin, Quora
Hitman Pro Features
Like Malwarebytes, Hitman Pro offers a free trial and supports a smattering of language options apart from English as follows: English (default), Deutsch (German), Español (Spanish), Français (French), Italiano (Italian), Nederlands (Dutch), Polski (Polish), PortuguêsBrasileiro (Portuguese Brazil), Russian (Russian), Türkçe (Turkish), Dansk (Danish), Svenska (Swedish), Chinese (Chinese Simplified), Korean (Korean), Arabic (Arabic), Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian).
Also, it only supports Windows systems dating as far back as Windows XP. So if you’re a Mac or Linux user, you’ll need to look for an alternative to these two providers to secure your system.
Malwarebytes For Mac Review
The interface is extremely basic and user-friendly and was designed to make the virus scanning and malware removal process as simple and painless as possible. After you fire up the software, there’s a single “Next” button to click to start a scan.
It doesn’t seem to have as many features as Malwarebytes, and its main focus is running a simple yet powerful scan. After it has found threats, it ranks them by a level of severity and allows you to delete, ignore, or quarantine the suspicious files. It does come in both 32 and 64-bit versions and is delivered via the cloud.
But past malware detection and removal and manual scans, there’s not a lot of other features – which could be a good thing, depending on the type of user you are. Malwarebytes is simple enough to use, but the Hitman Pro interface is even more minimalistic and easy to use.
I wouldn’t say either provider has a cluttered interface, but Hitman Pro makes things simple by containing all the settings in a menu accessed with a single click. Other than that, all you need to do to complete a scan is hit the “Next” button.
FAQ
How can I remove a Miner from my PC?
“If you think your machine is infected with a crypto mining malware, download the free version of Malwarebytes and run a scan.
Regardless of scan results, get another superb program for free called HitmanPro and scan your PC again.
By running those two powerful anti-malware programs, you will most likely eradicate any crypto miners present on your computer.
P.S. HitmanPro is free to use to get rid of malware from your PC for the period of 30 days after removing the first threat from your PC.
N.B. The free version of Malwarebytes and HitmanPro are on demand scanners, so you can safely use both of them alongside your existing antivirus product.” Robert Smitins, Quora
Conclusion
This is a really tough call because both of these pieces of software are brilliant. In the end, however, I have to go with Malwarebytes, because it is perhaps the best free utility to remove a virus. Though the free trial isn’t appropriate for long-term protection, it can really help you out of a bind if you suspect that your system has become infected.
On the other hand, Hitman Pro has extremely attractive pricing and long-term subscription options that offer better savings. I really doubt that even someone who is technologically illiterate would have a problem with using either service. But if you’re intimidated by information technology and computers in general, Hitman Pro might be slightly easier to use.
I’d put my trust in Malwarebytes, but you’re free to disagree. If you’re still not sure, I encourage you to download Malwarebytes’ free trial to see what potential viruses may be lurking in the background of your computer.
Further read,