★ Our Ranking 1 out of 10 programs reviewed Our Verdict Intego is uniquely positioned as one of the only companies focusing solely on security for Macs since its founding in 1997. Intego’s latest Mac Premium Bundle X9 is an exceptional security software bundle that delivers everything you would expect from the Mac security experts. It is a full-featured Mac antivirus solution, and includes five different programs: VirusBarrier, NetBarrier, ContentBarrier, Personal Backup, and Mac Washing Machine. Intego’s Mac Premium Bundle is exactly as the name implies - a premium bundle of Internet security apps that each provide a different layer of protection. With antivirus to identify and stop malware, a two-way firewall to prevent suspicious applications from accessing your Mac, parental controls to filter inappropriate content and monitor your child’s online activity, a backup utility to backup essential files, and a Mac cleaner used to increase your Mac’s disc space and boost speed and efficiency, Mac Premium Bundle has all the bells and whistles expected from a robust security suite. It has everything we look for in the best antivirus for Mac.
Feature ● Antivirus ● Firewall ● Parental Controls ● Backup ● Mac Cleaner Pros Mac Premium Bundle X9 is an awesome security suite that comes bundled with the multiple applications: VirusBarrier, NetBarrier, ContentBarrier, Personal Backup, and Mac Washing Machine. Each application is designed to provide a different layer or layers of protection for your Mac: VirusBarrier Mac antivirus provides real-time scans and protection against security threats targeting Macs. Intego VirusBarrier scans files when accessed and will automatically check for antivirus updates to ensure your Mac is always protected against the latest Mac-based threats. It features anti-virus and anti-phishing protection to guard your computer from a wide range of Internet threats. NetBarrier Two-way firewall protects both incoming and outbound connections to and from your Mac for home and hotspot networks. What's cool about Intego NetBarrier is that it will automatically switch to the best level of firewall protection depending on the type of Wi-Fi network you connect your Mac to, and includes anti-spyware measures to keep your data and online activities safe. When using NetBarrier, you can even keep your Mac's built-in firewall turned on and simply use NetBarrier as your first line of defense.
(Your Mac's built-in firewall does not include two-way firewall protection.) ContentBarrier Parental control software to keep your family's digital world safe and appropriate. Intego ContentBarrier offers the most robust parental controls of any Mac antivirus software we've ever reviewed.
It will help parents keep kids' Internet experience appropriate by letting you block objectionable Internet sites, schedule Internet access time, and set up a specific list of sites that you approve of. Perhaps the best parental control feature in ContentBarrier is its anti-predator chat filtering, which prevents unwanted or inappropriate messages from being sent and received by instant messaging software; you can either allow all chats, block suspicious phrases with AntiPredator, or block all chats. Other interesting features include 'Recording,' which allows you to have snapshots of your child's computer screen periodically taken and even record keystrokes if desired; you can also opt not to record certain applications. ContentBarrier includes a wide range of advanced features too, including email content monitoring and filtering inappropriate email using AntiPredator, ability to block connections to game servers, block dangerous peer-to-peer sites, and more.
Mac Washing Machine is a Mac cleaner used to reduce disk space clutter and speed up your Mac. One of the niftiest features of Intego's Mac Washing Machine is its ability to seek out and help you remove duplicate files and other unneeded files, which ultimately frees up hard disk space to speed up the operating system. You can even use it to help you organize your Mac's Dock and desktop and create 'Smart Folders' for easier access to your most used files. Personal Backup is a utility that backs up your essential files to protect them in case of hard disk failure or other disasters. This backups software is designed to work with an external or portable hard drive where you can create bootable clones of all your important files, so you can boot from the backup and access your files.
If you've got multiple Macs, Personal Backup allows you to synchronize folders between your computers so that each device has the most current version of every file. Cons None noted. Malware Detection Rate In a March 2017 malware detection test conducted by, Intego Mac Premium Bundle X9 scored a perfect 100% detection rate.
Platforms Covered Mac OS 10.8 or higher Cross-platform multi-device. ★ Our Ranking 2 out of 10 programs reviewed Our Verdict Norton Security Premium offers cloud based management for devices, users, subscription and billing. The product also includes a configurable firewall and scan options.
What really sets Norton Security Premium apart are robust parental control options accessible from anywhere. If your family needs extensive parental controls for multiple devices, this will be your product. This price does not include a cleaning utility or backup feature. Mostly known for Windows and not for OS X, Norton does offer security solutions for the Macintosh platform. We chose to review Norton Security Premium because it is their most comprehensive antivirus software for Mac. Feature. Antivirus.
Firewall. Parental Controls Pros Norton Security Premium includes a client app for use on the Mac, as well as a cloud-based web portal for account administrators to easily manage subscriptions, devices, family members, and settings preferences from any device so long as there is an Internet connection. What's great about its cloud web portal is you can secure multiple computers, including OS X and macOS, Windows, smartphones and tablets all with a single subscription, and manage protection for all your devices through the web portal. While there is limited ability to control antivirus or firewall settings from the web portal, what stands out most is the Family tab, Norton's version of parental controls for parents who wish to manage their children's online activities. With its robust parental controls features, you can manage your children's web access by content categories, by blacklist or whitelist, and lets parents allow, block, or monitor web activity. It even includes activity-reporting features to help busy parents stay informed of their children's online behavior.
Notifications parents can elect to receive include when a child visits blocked websites, creates new social media accounts, uses incorrect language, sends personal information, or installs an app to block Norton Family. Norton's antivirus for Mac offers protection against all types of malware: viruses, spyware, phishing, and other online threats, but sets itself apart from other antiviruses by including vulnerability protection.
Norton's client app can be used on your Mac once installed. Upon launching the security tab, you can know whether your computer is at risk from hackers and intrusion attempts by an alert. These issues can be fixed with a simple click of a button. Here it will address issues such as connection blocking and vulnerability protection. Norton's client app offers real-time malware protection which scans files in real time to protect you as you work, but also lets you run quick scans, full scans, or simple file scans to scan for threats in any file or folder you choose. In the Scans tab, it even gives the option to scan files in compressed archives. (Use of this feature simply weighs system resource use during scans vs.
Better security.) Norton Security Premium includes email protection and helps ensure that email or links actually came from a trusted source. Norton's advanced features are where you can dive into more particular settings to protect your Mac. Here you can enable or disable automatic scans (to scan files in real time), schedule scans, and update virus definitions. It also offers firewall protection. The Advanced tab lets you adjust settings for application blocking (to control which applications can access the Internet), connection blocking (to prevent unauthorized access to your Mac), vulnerability protection (to monitor your Internet connection for attempts to access your Mac and its information), location awareness (to specify different Connection Blocking settings for every network to which your portable Mac connects), and a Norton feature called DeepInsight™ (which blocks attackers that have been reported to Symantec).
Other cool Advanced features include File Guard, which guards specified files and prevents them from being opened or modified without permission. It also includes very detailed activity logs, providing details on connections into your Mac and out of your Mac. Cons No utility to optimize your Mac by cleaning the hard drive of unnecessary files. Backup utility option at extra cost.
This version of Norton Security Premium only runs on current and previous two versions of Mac OS X (10.10, 10.11, and 10.12). Malware Detection Rate In a December 2016 malware detection test conducted by AV-Test.org, Symantec Norton scored a 99.17% detection rate. Platforms Covered This version of Norton Security Premium runs on:. macOS 10.12 (Sierra). Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan).
Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) Multi-platform multi-device. ★ Our Ranking 3 out of 10 programs reviewed Our Verdict ESET Cyber Security Pro offers a simple to understand, well-designed interface and makes it an appropriate solution for savvy Mac users and people who understand security. It offers an extensive toolkit that allows insights into running processes, statistics, and log files as well as a cyber security training section for deeper insights. Feature. Antivirus.
Firewall. Parental Controls Pros ESET Cyber Security Pro is a multi-layered antivirus for Mac, offered as an all-in-one security suite that includes a personal firewall and parental controls. It can protect all of your home computers with cross-platform protection that helps block ransomware attempts, keeps malware from spreading between your Mac and Windows computers, and even secures your removable media. In addition to basic Mac antivirus protection, ESET also offers anti-spyware and anti-phishing modules to guard against attempts to steal your personal information.
ESET's antivirus for Mac includes real-time file system protection. You can also run a computer scan in three modes: smart scan (quick scan), in-depth scan (full computer scan), and context menu scan. Running a scan will tell you whether any threats were found, the number of scanned objects, number of infected objects, and the number of cleaned objects if threats were discovered. Additional antivirus setup features include managing the firewall, web and email settings, and parental control. Here you can enable or disable certain security features to the level of your liking, though for the strongest protection these features are enabled by default. Additional options included with ESET Cyber Security Pro are located in the Tools sidebar where you can view things such as log files and threat statistics and even add, restore or delete quarantined files. What's also interesting is ESET's 'Running processes' feature, which allows you to view reputation information of the things running on your system.
Cyber Security Pro still supports back to OS 10.6 so those older operating systems can still utilize the product. Cons No backup software to ensure your data can be recovered or restored after a system crash or other catastrophic issues.
No Mac cleaning software to optimize your Mac, remove duplicate files, or otherwise speed up your hard drive by removing unnecessary clutter. Malware Detection Rate In a July 2016 malware detection test conducted by av-comparatives.org, ESET Cyber Security Pro scored a perfect 100% detection rate. Platforms Covered This version of ESET Cyber Security Pro runs on:. Mac OS 10.13 (High Sierra).
Mac OS 10.12 (Sierra). Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan). Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite). Mac OS X 10.9.x (Mavericks). Mac OS X 10.8.x (Mountain Lion). Mac OS X 10.7.x (Lion).
Mac OS X 10.6.x (Snow Leopard). ★ Our Ranking 4 out of 10 programs reviewed Our Verdict Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is a straightforward, simple to use cloud-based application that offers excellent malware protection.
Designed with novice Mac users in mind, it's a set it and forget it antivirus solution that allows very little settings customization once installed. Where it lacks in additional features to protect data from corruption, as well as lacking a utility to optimize the computer's hard disk, the software will offer peace of mind with automatic malware definition updates and the ability to manage computers from the cloud, from anywhere with an Internet connection. Designed to run in tune with OS X, Bitdefender's low priority scanning ensures little to no impact on system performance.
Even when running malware scans, you will barely know it's there, protecting you in the background. Because Bitdefender connects to cloud-based technologies, all the heavy computing is done in the cloud, so there's no drag on system resources during malware library updates. Feature. Antivirus.
Parental Controls Pros Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac connects to Bitdefender's cloud-based technologies for easy management and instant virus updates to detect and block the latest threats. You can remotely manage security for all of your registered devices when you log in to 'Bitdefender Central' (cloud-based dashboard) from anywhere, using any browser.
There's very little to be confused about when using Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac. Bitdefender's Autopilot™ feature is automatically turned on upon installation, and while turned on it applies an optimal security configuration and makes all security-related decisions for you, so you won't see any pop-ups or alerts, and will not have to configure any settings. Malware definitions are instantly updated to the latest versions for the best protection possible. However, if your Mac is already infected with malware, you will need to run a manual scan to locate and quarantine the file. Bitdefender's Autopilot™ feature provides real-time protection against Mac and PC malware. With Autopilot turned on, the software will automatically and continuously monitor changes to your Mac's files and system.
Bitdefender offers web protection for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers. You can install the TrafficLight extensions to be safe when browsing the web. The TrafficLight extension watches your web traffic and blocks any malicious content. Bitdefender's Parental Advisor feature gives parents insight into their child's digital life. Once a child profile is set up, it notifies a parent via email when certain events occur on a child's device, such as attempts to visit blocked websites, use blocked apps, or even if they receive an SMS from blocked content. Their child's interests, time spent online, sites visited, and social behavior are just a few insights parents can gain about their child's online behavior with Bitdefender's Parental Advisor.
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac offers anti-phishing protection that scans the webpages you browse and warns you when you come across fraudulent attempts. It also blocks and removes intrusive adware programs picked up from the Internet, as well as malicious hijacker programs, unwanted toolbars and other browser add-ons installed with or without your consent. Cons No backup software to ensure your data can be recovered or restored after a system crash or other catastrophic issues.
No Mac cleaning software to optimize your Mac, remove duplicate files, or otherwise speed up your hard drive by removing unnecessary clutter. No firewall to protect your data while connected to Wi-Fi hotspots, such as a local cafe or university. This lack of network protection means your incoming and outgoing data connections are unprotected, and unused open ports remain accessible, which can put your computer at risk from spyware or other malicious applications and potential hackers.
Malware Detection Rate In a December 2016 malware detection test by av-test.org, Bitdefender scored a perfect 100% detection rate. Platforms Covered This version of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac runs on:. Mac OS 10.13 (High Sierra). MacOS 10.12 (Sierra).
Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan). Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite).
Mac OS X 10.9.5 (Mavericks) Its TrafficLight browser extension is available for Safari, Firefox and Google Chrome. Multi-platform multi-device. ★ Our Ranking 5 out of 10 programs reviewed Our Verdict Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac offers a crisp, modern design that makes important antivirus features and information easy to work with. With this program, Mac users will easily find their way around and utilize helpful features that provide basic security. At this price point you get basic security but this product misses other protection offered via firewall, a Mac cleaner and data backup.
Feature. Antivirus. Parental Controls Pros Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac packs a powerful punch with privacy protection features, money and identity protection. It also offers the parental controls to keep your family safe against computer threats. This solution detects viruses, worms, Trojans and malicious tools, and offers options to detect adware, auto-dialers, and other applications. Kaspersky's Mac antivirus software delivers real-time antivirus protection. By default it regularly checks for updates and automatically downloads and installs updates in the background to keep your system guarded against Mac threats.
Kaspersky's Mac antivirus software offers four protection settings:. General antivirus protection: Basic Mac antivirus. File antivirus protection: Ability to disinfect or delete malicious software automatically. Web antivirus protection: Allows you to block dangerous web traffic automatically. Network Attack Blocker: Option to automatically block IP addresses if dangerous network activity is detected from them. Security preferences inside the Mac antivirus software include options to enhance security when using your web browsers. Kaspersky supports Safari, Chrome, and Firefox on the Mac platform.
A nifty security feature you can get is Kaspersky's Onscreen Keyboard extension, which offers a safe way to enter passwords and sensitive information when browsing the web. Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac also includes 'Safe Money' technology designed to protect your money and credentials when you're banking or shopping online. This feature is used by downloading Kaspersky's 'Secure URL' advisor browser extension.
Once installed and enabled, Safe Money protects you when you visit known online payment systems and banking websites by verifying the website identity from Kaspersky's database. Kaspersky calls its database list the 'Kaspersky Security Network,' an infrastructure of online services that speeds up reaction to recent threats and reduces the risk of false-positive detections. You can also add your own websites to the Safe Money protection list to enable protection on them. Kaspersky's browser extensions are free, but not installed by default. You must manually install them to your preferred browser. Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac has good reporting capabilities in addition to its vast number of security features.
Within the Reports tab, you can enable logging of non-critical events in addition to error reporting and other logs. Furthermore, the antivirus for Mac includes parental control features, which allow controlling and monitoring of actions of different users on the Internet (such as your children). This feature is not enabled by default, but can easily be enabled. When Kaspersky's Parental Control is enabled, there are four primary things parents can control: Web Control: Controls the website visits and file downloads. Time Control: Controls time spent online. Personal Data: Controls sharing of personal data.
Social Networks: Controls use of social networks. Cons No backups software to ensure your data can be recovered or restored after a system crash or other catastrophic issues. No Mac cleaning software to optimize your Mac, remove duplicate files, or otherwise speed up your hard drive by removing unnecessary clutter. No firewall to protect your data while connected to Wi-Fi hotspots such as a local cafe or university. This lack of network protection means your incoming and outgoing data connections are unprotected, and unused open ports remain accessible, which can put your computer at risk from spyware or other malicious applications and potential hackers. Malware Detection Rate In a July 2016 malware detection test conducted by av-comparatives.org, Kaspersky scored a perfect 100% detection rate.
Platforms Covered This version of Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac runs on:. MacOS 10.12 (Sierra). Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan).
Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite). Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks). ★ Our Ranking 6 out of 10 programs reviewed Our Verdict We find this to be a really good Mac utility product, but without any independent malware tests and with some other important security features missing, we can not recommend this for users who want strong utility/cleaning features.
Feature. Antivirus. Mac Cleaner Pros MacKeeper, developed by Kromtech, is a full-featured Mac antivirus and offers quite a few tools not seen in other security software. Its Internet Security features are built to make the web a safer place by blocking all threats and vulnerabilities automatically. MacKeeper's primary antivirus features include real-time scanning for malware and other Mac threats, a real-time Safe Browsing feature to help you surf the Internet safely - blocking malicious websites automatically - and giving you the ability to manually create lists of potentially dangerous websites that will also be auto-blocked.
(Likewise, you can create lists of your most trusted websites that won't be blocked.) The Safe Browsing feature is compatible with Safari, Firefox and Chrome web browsers. The antivirus and Safe Browsing features in MacKeeper provide protection against identity theft, spyware, malware, and other online threats. MacKeeper is sure to please users with all the bells and whistles desired in comprehensive Mac antivirus software. MacKeeper also includes Anti-Theft technology, which lets you track and lock your missing Mac with a 'Track My Mac' app (or by logging into your Kromtech account), in case of theft or should you misplace your machine.
While Apple already offers its users with a 'Find My Mac' feature to locate lost or stolen devices, MacKeeper takes things a step further with a feature called 'iSight,' used to take a snapshot of a thief if someone steals your computer. If all else fails, you can use the screen locker options to lock or unlock your Mac remotely by using your iPhone.
When you use the Anti-Theft feature, it will generate a detailed report about the location of your Mac, include an iSight snapshot, and log the IP location of your computer. MacKeeper's Advanced Tools are aplenty - it offers all the bells and whistles not found in most other antivirus solutions for Mac, beginning with the Memory Cleaner. MacKeeper's Memory Cleaner tool cleans and optimizes your Mac's memory, which is where all the data of current sessions is stored on your Mac. However, even if you close applications, your computer still stores the apps or files you used for quick access should you reopen them. Over time, this can cause an overload of RAM (remote access memory) and can affect your Mac.
Memory Cleaner is designed to clean these files from your computer to help optimize it. Additional optimization tools include a Duplicates Finder to help find and remove duplicate files.
Duplicate Finder is designed to detect file copies that take up space on your hard drive, and if found, it groups such identical files (even if they were renamed), so you can remove any unnecessary ones. MacKeeeper even provides users with a Smart Uninstaller to ensure you completely delete applications, widgets, preference panes and plugins no longer needed or wanted. Normally, to remove files you simply drag an application to the Trash. However, its preferences, caches, and logs still remain on your hard drive. With this feature, you can safely remove these items without manually searching for them buried in your machine.
Have you accidentally removed files from your Mac? With MacKeeper's Files Recovery option, you can recover your lost files by scanning your hard drive for files that can still be recovered.
When the scan is finished, you can use Quick Look to preview all found files and recover those you need with just one click. This feature supports the recovery of documents, video, music, photos, raw photos, and archives, in addition to files for HFS, HFS+, FAT and NTFS. You can even restore files from USB drives, SD cards and external hard drives. Another benefit to your Mac security is MacKeeper's Data Encryptor feature. This feature allows you to encrypt your files with AES-128/256 encryption, designed to make your personal data 'invisible' on the hard drive. It uses two levels of passwords to ensure the data cannot be retrieved through the Finder or Terminal - the first one for the Data Encryptor page and the second one for each file.
This feature is simple to use and adds an extra layer of security to protect your Mac and your data. With numerous other features included in MacKeeper - such as a Files Finder, ability to boost your login time by customizing your Login Items, Fast Cleanup options to remove junk files, and a Backup utility to create duplicate copies of your files - this software is jam packed with most everything you need to protect your Mac. Because there is a lot in MacKeeper, which can confuse some customers, Kromtech makes using its Mac antivirus incredibly easy too, with video tutorials in each section of the application to help guide new users. Unique Features: Also unique to MacKeeper is its 'Geek on Demand' feature, which gets users in touch with a support representative who can help with any immediate issues you might have related to your Mac. When launched, it opens a support chat within the software where you can get technical assistance from one of MacKeeper's agents within 48 hours. Cons Not easily uninstalled from Macs.
When we were researching this we found a lot of complaints on various forums about the difficulties uninstalling MacKeeper - our experience was no different. Others have also described MacKeeper as 'adware,' due to skeptical marketing campaigns. No firewall to protect your data while connected to Wi-Fi hotspots, such as a local cafe or university. This lack of network protection means your incoming and outgoing data connections are unprotected, and unused open ports remain accessible, which can put your computer at risk from spyware or other malicious applications and potential hackers. MacKeeper does not have any type of parental controls for parents who share devices with their children and want to protect their devices and manage what their children can access or see online.
Malware Detection Rate It's unclear how well MacKeeper performs at actually protecting Macs from malware and other Mac-specific threats. MacKeeper did not participate in malware detection tests performed by av-test.org or av-comparatives.org. Platforms Covered This version of MacKeeper runs on:. macOS 10.12 (Sierra). Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan).
Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite). Mac OS X 10.9.x (Mavericks).
Mac OS X 10.8.x (Mountain Lion). Mac OS X 10.7.x (Lion). Mac OS X 10.6.x (Snow Leopard). ★ Our Ranking 7 out of 10 programs reviewed Our Verdict McAfee is the most expensive product based on the features it provides.
For a program that provides basic antivirus protection, along with features already included with Apple's Safari web browser, the value of this product per seat for its price is limited. Easy to install and use, McAfee Internet Security for Mac has many of the important features expected from antivirus software, with information that's easy to find and help protect your Mac. Feature. Antivirus Pros McAfee Internet Security for Mac offers comprehensive protection against hackers, identity theft, phishing scams and malware, and protects you from dangerous websites, among other Mac threats. McAfee's antivirus for Mac protects against harmful programs that monitor, collect, and sell your personal information. When you first launch McAfee software, you'll find the features are easy to navigate and information is largely easy to understand.
One of the interesting features is the McAfee SiteAdvisor, which can be downloaded as a free Safari extension, and will indicate website safety ratings before you click on links. It also recognizes phishing sites and blocks them.
With McAfee Internet Security for Mac, its identity protection, anti-phishing and SiteAdvisor software all help keep you safe during financial transactions so you can shop, bank, and trade online more securely. One of McAfee's unique features is the ability to securely save sensitive information for use in AutoFill web forms, such as info from your Contacts card, usernames and passwords, credit cards, and other information.
While this feature is also available in Safari itself or can be saved in your Mac OS Keychain, it's nice to know McAfee is looking out for your identify information. Cons No firewall to protect your data while connected to Wi-Fi hotspots, such as a local cafe or university. No backup software to ensure your data can be recovered or restored after a system crash or other catastrophic issues. No Mac cleaning software to optimize your Mac, remove duplicate files, or otherwise speed up your hard drive by removing unnecessary clutter.
No parental controls to keep your kids safe while they surf online. Malware Detection Rate McAfee did not participate in the June 2016 malware detection test. In a July 2016 malware detection test conducted by av-comparatives.org, McAfee Internet Security for Mac scored a perfect 100% detection rate. Platforms Covered This version of McAfee Antivirus for Mac runs on:. macOS 10.12 (Sierra).
Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan). Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite).
Mac OS X 10.9.x (Mavericks). Mac OS X 10.8.x (Mountain Lion). ★ Our Ranking 8 out of 10 programs reviewed Our Verdict Many of the features offered in Trend Micro for Mac may be helpful for the basic user who may not know where to find certain settings that already exist in the Mac or browser such as default browser and cookie blocking. It also offers basic security against malware and ransomware, has a real-time scanning, category blocking for parental controls, and social media security settings to protect your privacy. Feature.
Antivirus. Parental Controls Pros Trend Micro antivirus for Mac offers real-time antivirus protection from Mac-based threats, dangerous websites and identity thieves. It protects your Mac against unsafe websites and malicious software, and also prevents the spread of malware infection to other computers. A unique feature within Trend Micro is that it includes social media security features that protect your privacy on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This feature, called Privacy Scanner, is installed with the Trend Micro browser extension, which installs the Trend Micro Toolbar and checks your privacy when you share information on social media accounts. It protects against viruses by identifying and blocking dangerous links on websites and in social networks, emails, and instant messages. It will also identify privacy settings on social media sites that may expose your sensitive information and lead to identity theft.
Trend Micro antivirus also includes parental controls for Mac that enable parents to block unwanted websites by address or category to help keep kids from opening websites inappropriate for children. The Parental Control feature also lets parents control desktop application access and restrict online access for your kids, protecting them from inappropriate websites. Cons No backup software to ensure your data can be recovered or restored after a system crash or other catastrophic issues. No Mac cleaning software to optimize your Mac, remove duplicate files, or otherwise speed up your hard drive by removing unnecessary clutter. Malware Detection Rate Trend Micro did not participate in av-comparatives.org malware detections tests in 2016. Platforms Covered This version of Trend Micro for Mac runs on:. Mac OS 10.13 (High Sierra).
Mac OS 10.12 (Sierra). Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan). Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) Other requirements (for the browser extension toolbar): Apple Safari 8.0 or higher Mozilla Firefox (the newest version and the most recent previous version of Mozilla Firefox) Google Chrome (the newest version and the most recent version of Google Chrome). ★ Our Ranking 9 out of 10 programs reviewed Our Verdict Avast Free Mac Security is a bare bones antivirus security program and is fairly simple to use. Mac users will surely like the informative and persistent malware alerts if your machine gets infected. For a free Mac antivirus product, Avast's value can be seen in its high rate of malware detection. With a 99.17% detection rate in June 2016, you'll certainly find the virus protection needed to keep your Mac safe against malware.
On the flip side, additional security tools like its VPN solution are not actually 'free,' although you do get a 7-day trial. Performance degradation issues can also become burdensome, while the lack of additional security features, such as a firewall and backup utility, can mean your Mac will not have layered defenses. Antivirus is one layer of security that Avast covers for free, but Avast Free Mac Security lacks the additional layers of protection needed to defend your Mac in today's highly complex threat landscape. Feature.
Antivirus Pros Avast Free Mac Security is Avast's free Mac antivirus solution designed to secure machines against Mac-specific threats. Upon installation, Avast downloads its latest virus definitions so your machine is protected on first launch of the application. Avast Mac Security offers some interesting tools to boost Internet security allowing users to activate a few different security enhancing features including: Security browser plugin called 'Avast Online Security' which protects you from phishing sites and provides you with access to Avast's website reputation system. When activated, this plugin will also automatically redirect you to a legitimate site when you mistype a URL. The Avast SecureLine VPN increases your privacy via a secure way to access the Internet.
When activated, this plugin will protect what you do online and hide it from others, block others from seeing your identity, and help you get past country-specific restrictions. (Available in a 7-day trial.) Avast SecureLine VPN for iOS, which secures your iPhone and iPad connection and protects your communications and data. (Available in a 7-day trial.) Avast Mac Security provides several options to scan your computer for Mac-specific viruses. You can perform a full system scan, scan any mounted removable volumes, perform a custom scan of any selected folders or files, or perform a home network security scan.
Cons No firewall to protect your data while connected to Wi-Fi hotspots, such as a local cafe or university. No backup software to ensure your data can be recovered or restored after a system crash or other catastrophic issues. No Mac cleaning software to optimize your Mac, remove duplicate files, or otherwise speed up your hard drive by removing unnecessary clutter. No parental controls to keep your kids safe while they surf online. Malware Detection Rate In a July 2016 malware detection test conducted by av-comparatives.org, Avast Free Mac Security scored a perfect 99.17% detection rate. Platforms Covered This version of Avast Free Mac Security runs on:. macOS 10.12 (Sierra).
Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan). Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite). ★ Our Ranking 10 out of 10 programs reviewed Our Verdict F-Secure SAFE offers some basic security for Mac although it is not highly customizable. Features such as backup and mac cleaner are missing, and included features such as firewall and parental controls are limited. Also, detection rates are not clear as since F-Secure SAFE no longer participates in independent reviews.
Feature. Antivirus. Firewall.
Parental Controls Pros F-Secure SAFE is a multi-platform Internet security solution for PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets. It includes virus protection to keep your devices safe from viruses, trojans, and spyware, in addition to firewall software and parental controls. F-Secure offers a cloud dashboard that integrates all antivirus features into one user interface. It also comes with a simple client app allowing you to tinker with the antivirus and web protection features: F-Secure's antivirus for Mac provides real-time scanning that automatically scans all files and applications. If malware is found, it will remove the harmful files from your computer by moving them to the trash. Other features include browsing and banking protection, which ensure your security and privacy by keeping you away from web pages that spread malicious content or collect personal information.
Furthermore, F-Secure SAFE will alert you when you enter a safe banking site and secure the connection to the site, keeping your sensitive information and your money safe. No matter what device you use to connect to the Internet, once you're online your computer is at risk from the many threats targeting vulnerable machines. F-Secure's antivirus for Mac includes network protection, a fancy name for firewall software, which runs silently in the background and keeps checking the safety of any network you connect to verifying if the network configuration is safe. It protects you whether you are at home or using a public Wi-Fi hotspot. F-Secure SAFE also includes parental controls to help you look after your family when they go online. With F-Secure SAFE, you can set boundaries to protect your children from inappropriate content and block access to web sites based on the site content - whether it be adult, violence, shopping, gambling, social media, and more. The parental controls block restricted content for your kids and allow you to manage their screen time by setting limits for using their devices.
What's unique about F-Secure SAFE compared to other antivirus for Mac products is the finder functionality. Once you log in to your account in 'My F-Secure,' you can see where your managed devices are. On Android, you can even lock a lost device or delete all your information to prevent other people from accessing your personal files such as photos and emails. Another nifty feature in F-Secure is a 'Game Mode' so you can play games without the antivirus software slowing down your computer. Game Mode ensures you get consistent performance without having to turn off the security features.
Cons No backup utility to protect data in case of corruption or other disasters. No Mac Cleaner to optimize system performance. Firewall cannot be customized - it can only be enabled or disabled. No quick scan to easily scan your Mac for viruses and malware. When malware is discovered, infected files are moved to trash and not immediately terminated.
Instead, the user must manually empty the trash in order to remove infected files permanently. Malware Detection Rate In a December 2016 malware detection test by av-test.org, F-Secure scored just over a 60% detection rate. Platforms Covered This version of F-Secure SAFE for Mac runs on:. macOS 10.12 (Sierra). Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan). Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite).
Mac OS X 10.9.x (Mavericks) SAFE can be installed on computers, smartphones, and tablets on the Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android platforms that meet the minimum requirements.