Everyone knows that mac systems are very secure as the system is based on Unix. The security of the systems seems even more secured when compared to another widely used Windows system. Surprisingly, even all this security doesn’t guarantee that your system is completely secured from any outer threats like any email, attachments, or sketchy site you might accidentally land on. With the increasing user base, the number of programs capable of being a major threat to your mac has increased. Just imagine a situation of buying a mac to see it being crippled by someone unknown threat. That is where the antivirus software comes in; they provide additional security to an already secured system even from the very rarely seen threats. We have listed Best Antivirus for Mac that are available in the market.
An Antivirus Imperative For Mac?
No doubt, saying that antivirus is essential. It is as wrong as saying that it is not important at all. It all boils down to how you use your system. If you practice all the safety measures necessary and stay away from online stuff that might pose a security threat to your system, you might not need an antivirus. Still, there are certain things that you might not see coming, and hence the best thing to do is to be prepared for the worst.
Does The Antivirus Affect Your System’s Performance?
It is a general belief among many users that antiviruses have adverse effects on the system’s performance. But an experiment by AV-Test proved that this was not really true and found that there was no quantifiable performance drop when using products from suppliers like ClamXav, MacKeeper, Kaspersky or Norton. Although, an extra system load of two per cent was noticed when tested with Sophos and TrendMicro and rose to around four per cent when tested with Bitdefender and ESET.
What Features Do You Need From An Antivirus?
Any antivirus comes with a wide range of features, all of which are important to provide all-around protection for your precious data and system. Some of the essential features that you need to look for when getting an antivirus are a firewall, safe browsing security, real-time virus scanner and adware protection.
The best Antivirus for Your Mac
- Bitdefender Antivirus for mac (4.5/5)
Advantages –
Ransomware protection
Unnoticeable impact on performance
Perfect Malware detection
User friendly Interface
Drawbacks –
Automatically installs VPN Client, but costs extra
2. Kaspersky Internet Security for mac (4.0/5)
- Advantages –
Useful Privacy tools
Perfect Malware detection
Great Parental Control
- Drawbacks –
VPN and password manager are teasers
Impacts system performance Heavily
3. Norton 360 Deluxe (4.0/5)
- Advantages –
Unlimited VPN and password manager
Perfect Malware detection
Minimal impact on performance
- Drawbacks –
Parental controls Don’t work on mac Comparatively expensive
Cloud Storage doesn’t work on mac
4. Avast Free mac security (3.5/5)
- Advantages –
Unlimited password manager
Scan email attachments for threats
No impact on performance
- Drawbacks –
Have to pay for extra features
Have flaws with Malware protection
5. Intego Mac Internet Security X9 (3.5/5)
- Advantages –
Fast scans
Flawless malware protection
Perfect legacy MacOS support
- Drawbacks –
Disjointed user interface
Limited Features
6. Sophos Home Premium (3.0/5)
- Advantages –
Parental website filters
Ransomware Protection
Cover 10 Systems
- Drawbacks –
Major performance impact
Untested malware detection
7. McAfee Antivirus Plus (3.0/5)
- Advantages –
Covers 10 devices
Low passive system impact
- Drawbacks –
Confusing interface
Slows down system during full scans
Unproven detection rates
8. Malwarebytes for Mac Premium (2.5/5)
- Advantages –
User friendly design
Low performance impact
Extremely fast scans
- Drawbacks –
Untested malware detection
No special features
So, here was the list of some popular and best-seller Antivirus for Mac. To buy the one that suits you, you can check them out here. However, as virus is harmful for your laptops, hackers are harmful for your phones. In order to save yourself from any hackers, you should keep your phone software updated and secured from any cyber threats. Read how you can keep your iphone updated and safe.
How to Avoid Becoming a Fake Antivirus Victim
- Download Mac updates as quickly as they become available to ensure that you are protected from the most recent threats.
- Never download or click on something from a source you don’t recognize.
- When searching the web, use a safe search tool, such as McAfee SiteAdvisor®, which tells you whether or not a site is safe to click on right in the search results.
- Install security software like McAfee® Internet Security for Mac to keep your computer safe.