Macs may be a far less tempting target for malware and viruses, but they’re not immune from attack. Even if you don’t care about adware or being used as a means to infect users on other platforms, it’s still possible to fall victim to ransomware, password theft, or stolen iPhone backups.
Though Sophos does offer a good free version of its software, Avast Free Mac Security edges it out as the best free antivirus software for macOS. In security lab tests, Avast detected 99.9 percent. 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.
Before jumping into what Avast Passwords is capable of, it’s important to note that this password manager is available in two versions: a standalone program for Mac and a Windows version that only exists as part of a built-in feature for Avast Antivirus. Dec 18, 2013 Re: Avast for Mac does not allow Firefox and Safari to connect to internet « Reply #22 on: August 31, 2013, 11:17:18 AM » Just got up and booted up. If you are having an immediate problem with ads popping up see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide and The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Tool. Open Safari, select Preferences from the Safari menu. Click on Extensions icon in the toolbar. Online Security browser extension. This extension is available for Chrome and Firefox, but apparently not for Safari as far as I can tell. Online Security extension is installed automatically in both Chrome and Firefox when avast! Free Antivirus for Mac is installed. The new SafePrice option, shown at right in Firefox, is enabled by default.
Accordingly, good antivirus software will protect your Mac on all of these fronts. It’ll catch malware that’s still spreading or in circulation; block ransomware; protect older systems with out-of-date software from security vulnerabilities; prevent your Mac from acting as a carrier for malware aimed at other operating systems; and keep infected files off of any virtual machines you’re running.
Antivirus for Mac cheat sheet
Our quick-hit recommendations:
- Best paid antivirus for Mac:Sophos Home Premium for Mac[sophos.com]
- Best free antivirus for Mac:Avast Free Mac Security[avast.com]
Many antivirus suites provide a decent level of protection, but a few rise above all others by providing the very best in performance. Our top contenders 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.
Updated 08/15/19: Added our review of Avira Free Antivirus, a worthy free option that’s easy to use and effective.
Looking for Windows antivirus recommendations? You can read about the best antivirus suites for PC on our sister site, PCWorld.
Best overall antivirus software
Sophos Home Premium has the most extensive and up-to-date approach to fighting malware at an unbeatable price.
Sophos Home Premium has it all: Effective malware protection, ransomware monitoring, protection against potentially-unwanted-apps, and additional features that often require separately licensed software. Its cloud-based configuration and generous licensing (up to 10 Macs and PCs) also make it easy to shield friends and family from threats, no matter where they live. (Full details available in our review.)
Best free antivirus software
Though Sophos does offer a good free version of its software, Avast Free Mac Security edges it out as the best free antivirus software for macOS. In security lab tests, Avast detected 99.9 percent of macOS malware, and 100 percent of Windows malware. However, if you want more advanced protection (like ransomware detection), you’ll need to upgrade to paid software.
What to look for in antivirus software
By our reckoning, antivirus software should be able to neutralize a threat before it can begin wreaking havoc. That means preventing the download, installation, or execution of malicious software.
Since you can encounter threats by visiting compromised or malicious websites, receiving virus-laden attachments, or accessing USB drives with malware, good AV software should scan on a continuous basis unless you configure it otherwise. And ideally, files identified as malicious should be quarantined into a special storage area managed by the AV software, with the option to automatically delete files known to be malware or repair normal documents that also carry devious payloads.
Great AV suites also will monitor the filesystem for certain kinds of changes. Ransomware—which is malware that will rapidly encrypt user files like documents and mailboxes and then delete the originals—has become a huge moneymaker on other platforms. As a prime opportunity for attackers, it’s the greatest danger Mac users likely face as a category.
Detecting this pattern and halting it before any files are unavailable should be possible without an anti-malware system knowing the specific innards of a ransomware virus. Sophos, our top pick, includes this feature in the Home Premium version of its 2018 update. Other vendors, like Avast and Trend Micro Antivirus, offer an alternative feature that allows you to whitelist programs allowed to manipulate files in specific directories. So if this particular type of attack becomes rapidly popular, you’ll be protected.
Good antivirus software should also use minimal computational resources. That’s especially the case these days—AV monitoring hasn’t become much more complicated than when it first became available, and faster, multi-core CPUs can easily handle the demands of running AV software in the background without disturbing your active work.
Beyond these primary features, an easy-to-navigate interface and extra features are worth factoring into your decision. Some AV software are full-fledged suites that offer additional options like backup service for essential files, a password manager, parental controls, anti-tracking and privacy modes or options, a more advanced firewall, and the blocking of Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs).
How we test
Each software package is evaluated creating a clean installation of macOS Mojave, cloning it for each AV product, and then booting separately into each one to install a different package. This was to ensure that previous app installations didn’t interfere with new ones—sometimes AV software treats other AV software as an infection.
In addition to visiting malicious websites, downloading known malicious software, and even running said malware, we also reference the most recent reports from two labs that regularly cover macOS malware: AV Comparatives and AV-TEST. These laboratories test AV software against sets of known malware as well as products that are grouped as potentially unwanted applications (like adware).
The latter doesn’t damage or expose your computer or its files but may consume power and CPU cycles. Because the testing effectively looks at a combination of virus databases and behavior, they remain good gauges even after many months. When an antivirus software package lacks a rating from a known security research lab, we do more extensive testing with real malware.
Does Windows Run On Mac
Finally, while we gave props for a lot of different features and behaviors, we marked products down if they lacked any or all of the following:
- A nearly perfect score on macOS malware detection
- Ransomware monitoring
- Native browser plug-in or system-level Web proxy
- A high score on Windows malware detection
Privacy concerns
Using an anti-virus product, especially any that includes tools to also improve your online privacy, may lull you into believing you’re safe from personal and private information leaking out. That’s not quite the case. While there’s no reason to panic, you should consider a few reasonable issues.
First, an antivirus product may upload the complete text of files flagged to the cloud, where it can be analyzed by separate tools hosted there. This practice is normal and sensible: Some malware can detect when a running process may examine it, and will then engage in subterfuge. Antivirus software makers also can access their massive databases to examine files with characteristics that trigger their algorithms—certain elements that match known malware. As a result, security researchers discover new viruses, worms, Trojans horses, and the like.
However, helping the greater good means you’ll have to be comfortable with trusting a third-party with your file contents. Where appropriate, we noted privacy policy issues in individual reviews.
Second, this software may also rely partly or entirely on cloud-based checks of URLs, malware, and the like. Accordingly, an AV package might upload every URL you visit, metadata about files, signatures of files, information about your computer’s hardware, a list of running or installed applications, and more. Companies vary on their disclosure of such policies, and may not let you opt out of this kind of sharing. We note issues in each review as available.
Third, anti-virus software makers also get a sense of what behavior is happening on your computer that’s being monitored or blocked, and may use that information for their own purposes. In some cases, you can opt out of this information gathering.
All of our antivirus for Mac reviews
Avast
If you have specific requirements or just wish to see other options, below is a list of all the antivirus software we’ve reviewed. We’ll keep evaluating new and refreshed software on a regular basis, so be sure to come back to see what else we’ve put through the ringer.
Besides the World’s most popular antivirus for Windows, Avast is offering a comprehensive antivirus for Apple Mac OS X (Macintosh). The product is called Avast Free Mac Security 2018 (version 11) and same as the Windows version it’s completely for free. It doesn’t even require the registration, so you can just download, install and use it without any hassle.
While some Mac users are still questioning the need for the antivirus/security software on OS X, we definitely recommend have Avast installed as the number of hacker attacks on Mac users is rising rapidly.
Avast for Mac Key Features & Benefits
- Award-winning antivirus engine with 100% detection rate (according to the independent test by AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives)
- Real-time protection with 3 layers (File System Shield, Mail Shield, Web Shield)
- Automatic streaming updates of the virus definitions
- Excellent performance – very low on system resources
- Simple and intuitive user interface
- Completely for free – no registration required
Avast for Mac Free Download & Installation
Avast for Mac is unfortunately not available on iTunes or App Store. But you can simply download Avast Free Mac Security using the link below:
From the Official Avast Servers
After you finish the download you can proceed with the installation. The installation process is really easy and doesn’t require any technical skills:
- Close the Safari browser, locate the setup file called ‘avast_free_mac_security.dmg‘ and run it
- Confirm the Avast License Agreement by clicking on ‘Agree‘
- You can customize the installation by clicking on ‘Customize’, click on ‘Install’ to start the installation
- If prompted enter the administrator name and password
- Once the installation is complete, you should get the confirmation screen
Please note it’s heavily recommended to uninstall any other antivirus/security software from your Mac before installing Avast.
Avast Security Pro for Mac – Is it worthy to pay extra?
Besides the free version of Mac antivirus, there is also a premium one called Avast Security Pro for Mac. The pro version offers two extra features
- Wi-Fi Alerts – This feature will immediately notify you if someone connects to your Wi-Fi network. This helps you to keep hackers/neighbors out of your network.
- Ransomware Shield – Ransomware shields keep your personal data from being encrypted without your permission.
For these, you need to pay for the premium version which costs $59.99 per year. Is it worthy? We would say yes as ransomware on Mac is on the rise and Avast offers solid protection against it.
Avast for Mac User & Experts Reviews – What others are saying?
Avast Free Mac Security is also really popular among the users and technical experts. It is by far the most downloaded Mac antivirus/security on Download.com with more than 4.5 million downloads! While other competitors don’t have even half a million (Sophos 247k, Avira 80k, Norton 30k, Kaspersky 12k, McAfee 11k, Eset 9k).
Avast Free Mac Security is the most downloaded antivirus for Mac with more than 4.5 million downloads
Also, the user reviews on Download.com are very positive. Avast Free Mac Security 2018 has 4.5 stars (out of 5) from 1,641users.
Avast for Mac is doing really well also in the independent tests. It has been certified with 100% detection rate by the German laboratory AV-TEST. Same results were measured also by the Austrian laboratory AV-Comparatives.
According to Tom’s Guide, Avast Free Mac Security was better in detecting viruses than the other paid solutions: ‘it was better at malware detection than all three of the paid antivirus solutions we reviewed‘.
Avast for Mac System Requirements – Will it run on your Mac?
Minimum system requirements are quite easy to comply and really nothing special. Avast Free Mac Security will run even on the older MacBooks (Air/Pro) and iMacs:
- OS X Version: Apple Mac running macOS 10.9 (Mavericks) or newer
- Processor: Intel-based Mac computer with 64-bit processor
- Memory: 128 MB RAM or above (1 GB RAM or higher preferred)
- Free space: 500 MB minimum hard disk free space
Avast for Mac Uninstall – How to remove it from your Mac?
If you decide to uninstall Avast Free Mac Security from your Mac, there is nothing special you would need to do compared to any other Mac application. To remove it simply follow the instructions below:
- Close Safari browser and open Avast by going to ‘Finder’ » ‘Applications’ and double-click on the Avast orange icon
- Open ‘Avast Mac Security‘ in the menu bar at the top-left, select ‘Uninstall Avast‘ and confirm (you may need to log in as an administrator)
- Wait and the uninstall process to finish and Avast Free Mac Security is completely removed
Unfortunately, there is no removal tool or uninstall utility for Mac. Avast Uninstall Utility (AvastClear) is available only for Windows.