It’s fair to say there’s less risk of malware attacks on a Mac than a PC, but does that mean you can skip antivirus altogether?
For years, we’ve been told that Macs can’t get viruses. But no computer is immune from cyber attacks, so each year we test Mac antivirus software to their limits with hundreds of virus attacks including worms and ransomware to see how they fare. Read on to see your protection options.
Download FREE antivirus and malware protection. Tune up your PC, Mac and Android devices for peak performance. Surf safely and privately, wherever you are. AVG AntiVirus 19.6: 100: 91.7: 100 › Avira Antivirus Pro 4.0: 100: 100: 100 › Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac 8.1: 100: 100: 100 › Canimaan Software ClamXAV 3.0: 100: 100: 100 › F-Secure SAFE 17.7: 100: 100: 100 › Kaspersky Internet Security 20.0: 100: 100: 100 › Norton Norton Security 8.5: 100: 100: 100 › Trend Micro Antivirus 10.0: 100: 100: 100 ›.
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is a paid-for antivirus product that includes ransomware protection. It has a very well-designed interface and excellent user manual, and is suited to home users and small offices. CrowdStrike Falcon Prevent for Mac is part of an endpoint protection package for enterprise networks.
This Mac antivirus program is a group of individual programs specifically designed for Mac computers. It includes VirusBarrier, NetBarrier, ContentBarrier, WashingMachine, and Personal Backup, and the VirusBarrier program is the primary antivirus software. It recognized 98%. Mac anti-virus testing, part 2 Published January 28th, 2013 at 1:50 PM EST, modified January 31st, 2013 at 10:03 AM EST There are almost as many anti-virus programs for the Mac as there are families of malware, and a constant question among Mac users is whether to use one and, if so, which one to use.
Browse all our antivirus software reviews, or skip straight to the best antivirus packages from our tough tests.
Built-in Mac security
There aren’t many viruses for Mac computers, which makes them hard to come by. Our lab tests Windows antivirus software with several thousand Windows-specific viruses each year, but tests only a few dozen on Mac computers. That isn’t to say that it’s impossible to catch a Mac virus, but the number of different strains is much smaller.
MacOS is secure by design. It requires a number of steps to allow a virus to run on your machine and needs you, the user, to intervene for any program – be it a virus or otherwise – to gain access to critical system files. In short, it’s actually quite tricky to get infected by Malware on an Mac.
Why you should still consider anitivirus for Mac
Even if you don’t let a piece of malware run, we have found that macOS’ built-in security scanning doesn’t reliably detect dormant viruses just sitting on the hard drive. If you never had any intention of running the viruses yourself, you could inadvertently share them with somebody you know who might not be so fortunate.
And there’s more to antivirus than simply protection from viruses. Almost all the security suites we test come with additional protection against phishing attacks, where websites pretend to be legit in order to steal your data. We have found that the very best Mac security suites will also bolster your phishing protection quite significantly, and perform better than the protection built into the Mac versions of Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Opera web browsers. For this reason, if you’re nervous about threats on the web, it would make sense to at least consider a Mac security suite.
Antivirus options for Apple Macs
While there’s no cheap way to get yourself a Mac, those who don’t fancy a yearly subscription to a security suite can rest easy in the knowledge that this year we tested three free options, one of which was good enough to be a Best Buy.
If you’re a Which? member, you can see the very best antivirus options on our best antivirus for Mac advice guide. And for everybody else, we’ve highlighted five options from the biggest brands.
Paid antivirus for Mac
Norton Security Deluxe
One of the biggest names in antivirus has a relatively inexpensive Mac option. What’s more, if you have Windows computers in your household you can mix and match the different device types under the same subscription. Subscribing gets you various other benefits, although some, such as the 50GB of cloud storage, is only available for Windows computers. See whether it’s worth paying for in our Norton Security Deluxe for Mac review.
Kaspersky Internet Security
Kaspersky’s security suite includes basic protection as well as tools specifically designed to protect your files from ransomware and a bolstered web browser for banking. Like Norton, you can mix and match a Kaspersky multi-device Internet Security subscription between Windows and Macs. See if it’s worth the cost in our full Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac review.
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac
It comes with phishing protection and a VPN for keeping your web browsing safe from prying eyes, but can this AV production take on its big-brand rivals? It’s performed well in our tests in previous years, so read our full Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac review to find out.
Free antivirus for Mac
AVG Antivirus for Mac (free)
If you don’t want extra features and also don’t fancy shelling out for yet another digital subscription, AVG Free might be the option for you. There are no frills, but it should deliver when it comes to basic protection, adding that last layer of defence for when all else fails. See how it fared in our antivirus lab test by reading the full AVG Antivirus for Mac review.
Avast Free Antivirus for Mac (free)
Avast and AVG are owned by the same company, so they should perform similarly in our tests. Included in the installation is Avast’s free password manager, which might come in handy if you’ve yet to set one up for yourself. Read our full Avast Free Antivirus for Mac review to see whether it’s a good free choice.
How we test antivirus
Our antivirus test lab is riddled with threats. It has set up dozens of computers in 40 countries around the world to act as ‘honeypots’ for millions of viruses. These honeypots capture viruses that are fresh into the wild and may have only existed for days. This makes the task for the security software very challenging, because many of them rely upon huge databases of so-called virus ‘definitions’ to tell whether or not a file is harmful.
Grabbing new threats means they will also have to rely on their own intuition – rather than simply checking a database – using more advanced techniques to decide if there’s a threat. We also use a mix of scenarios on both Windows and macOS, including viruses stored on USB sticks, and even malicious real-world phishing webpages designed to steal your data. Only the most secure software can fend off all these types of attacks effectively.
Malware can be more of a concern if you’re using an old phone. Read our guide on mobile phone security for more.
The laboratory experts at AV-TEST examined 12 MacOS solutions for home users and business users in terms of their protection, performance and usability. Many of the packages demonstrated their quality and reliability.
Protection for MacOS12 packages for home and business users put to the test.
The Mac world is more and more in the focus of malware authors. In June 2018, newly-recorded malware for MacOS has already been tallied at 37,000 samples – and thus approaching the entire 2017 level of 43,000 samples. While this represents fewer cases than in the Windows world, the number is in fact 100 times higher than Mac experts predicted even a few years ago.
8 products for home users, 4 solutions for business users
Among the 12 tested security solutions for Mac OS High Sierra are 8 for consumers and 4 for corporate users.
Solutions for home users:
- Avast Security
- Avira Antivirus Pro
- Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac
- F-Secure Safe
- Intego VirusBarrier
- Kaspersky Internet Security
- Symantec Norton Security
- Trend Micro Antivirus
Solutions for business users:
- Bitdefender Endpoint Security for Mac
- McAfee Endpoint Security for Mac
- SentinelOne Next Generation Endpoint Security
- Sophos Central Endpoint
Home and business users have a wide variety of excellent and certified protection software to choose from
' tabindex='0'>Protection for MacOSHome and business users have a wide variety of excellent and certified protection software to choose from
8 out of 12 protection solutions examined detected all malware samples without exception
' tabindex='0'>Protection for MacOS – the detection rates
8 out of 12 protection solutions examined detected all malware samples without exception
Flashback was so successful, new variants of it are constantly cropping up
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TOP 5 malware for MacOSFlashback was so successful, new variants of it are constantly cropping up
By the end of 2018, the number of new malware will more than double compared to 2017
' tabindex='0'>MacOS malware developmentBy the end of 2018, the number of new malware will more than double compared to 2017
2
Protection for MacOS – the detection rates
4
MacOS malware development
All security packages were examined on identical iMacs running MacOS High Sierra 10.13.3. The products were evaluated in terms of their protection, performance and usability. In each category, the laboratory awards a maximum of 6 points. Thus, the top score is 18 points. The products for consumer users from Bitdefender, Intego, Symantec and Trend Micro achieved this score. In the category of corporate solutions, the products from Bitdefender, McAfee and SentinelOne attained the best result.
Top detection for most solutions
In the test, each solution was required to detect, block or delete more than 500 of the very latest attackers. In the case of the products for home users, 6 out of 8 packages tested detected 100 percent of the malware samples. Only Avira and F-Secure had minor detection problems.
With respect to solutions for business users, Bitdefender and Sophos managed to achieve the 100 percent mark. The endpoint packages McAfee and SentinelOne followed close behind with 99.8 and 99 percent detection.
In everyday scenarios, many protection packages run in mixed networks and exchange data with Windows. That is why the laboratory tested the detection of Windows malware samples in a non-rated supplemental test. Among the consumer packages from Bitdefender, Kaspersky Lab and Trend Micro, the rate was nearly 100 percent. Regarding corporate solutions, the packages from Bitdefender, McAfee and Sophos reached similar high results.
In a second non-rated supplemental test, it was determined how well the solutions detected so-called 'potentially unwanted applications' – or PUA for short. While these programs do not cause any damage, they do exhibit peculiar behavior. This includes tools with lots of advertising, ambiguous messages or even strange privacy statements. Some manufacturers see no direct threat in PUA, which is why they also do not classify them as dangerous. Among the packages for home users, Avast, Avira, Bitdefender, Kaspersky Lab, Symantec and Trend Micro detected over 2,500 PUA 95 to 99 percent.
Concerning solutions for corporate users, Bitdefender, McAfee and Sophos unmasked PUA at 90 to 99 percent.
Going easy on client PCs
A security solution constantly has to work in the background, monitoring processes and scanning files. Most solutions perform their work without slowing down MacOS – but not all. In the test category of performance, the lab examined how heavily each individual package affects the speed of the system. For the measurements on a reference system, numerous applications were launched and operations performed. In addition, files were copied locally and into the network. All the times required for the routines were written down and served as parameters for comparison. Afterwards, all the respective steps were repeated with active security solutions.
For consumers, the security packages from Bitdefender, Intego, Symantec and Trend Micro put their best foot forward and received a maximum 6 points as a result. Kaspersky Lab still managed to achieve an excellent 5.5 points. Avira and F-Secure slightly slowed down the system and only achieved 5 points. Avast slowed down MacOS too heavily: only 4 points.
For corporate products, the solutions from Bitdefender, McAfee and SentinelOne demonstrated that their effects on system performance are hardly measurable: 6 points. Only the package from Sophos caused a dip in performance in the client, which led to a reduction to 5 points.
Protected the Mac in the test in all categories without errors – this earned the maximum 18 points
' tabindex='0'>Bitdefender AntivirusProtected the Mac in the test in all categories without errors – this earned the maximum 18 points
The package for home users worked without a glitch – 18 points
' tabindex='0'>Intego VirusBarrierThe package for home users worked without a glitch – 18 points
The client-server solution excelled in the test with the highest achievable point score
' tabindex='0'>McAfee Endpoint SecurityThe client-server solution excelled in the test with the highest achievable point score
In the test, the business solution reached a top score with 18 points
Bitdefender Antivirus For Mac
' tabindex='0'>SentinelOne Next Generation Endpoint SecurityIn the test, the business solution reached a top score with 18 points
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Intego VirusBarrier
4
SentinelOne Next Generation Endpoint Security
High degree of reliability, no false alarms
If protection packages overreact, a normal application program can be quickly labelled as a threat. False alarms like these are unsettling to consumers and possibly lead to downtime costs in companies. That is why the lab examined the following: dozens of applications were installed under each installed security solution. In addition, over 4,000 benign programs had to be scanned in the false positive test.
Intego Antivirus For Mac
Hats off to the results: All security programs – for home and business users – performed their routines without one single false alarm. Thus, the lab consistently awarded the maximum 6 points.
Well-armed in case of emergencies
More and more Mac users are opting to stay on the safe side and using security software for MacOS. The current statistics on malware growth also recommend this.
Consumers have a wide selection of excellent security software. A total of 4 programs reached the maximum point score of 18. They are from Bitdefender, Intego, Symantec and Trend Micro. Following close behind is the package from Kaspersky Lab, which also comes recommended with 17.5 points.
Antivirus Test For Covid 19
Yet also among the endpoint solutions for companies, 3 products, from Bitdefender, McAfee and SentinelOne, earned the maximum point score. Sophos affected performance slightly in the test on the client PC and had a point taken off as a result. Nonetheless, it still earned an excellent 17 points.