The main reason for the emergence of threats is downloading and installing programs from unreliable sources on the Internet. Thus, every user should activate antivirus software. In this article, we will discuss the best software alternatives for Mac.
Does Macbook need antivirus?
There is good reason to believe that Macs are less intense to viruses. Windows PCs account for about 90% of the market, making them a much more attractive target to scammers than Macs or other Apple devices.
In fact, Mac OS provides several powerful utilities that protect your computer right out of the box. When you download an application from the Internet, the system checks for its presence in the list of known malicious applications using XProtect. This process runs in the background, invisible to the user, does not require manual launch, and does not affect the computer’s performance. Another feature, Gatekeeper, prevents an application from running without the user’s permission if it is not digitally signed by Apple, that is, it is not marked as safe.
Nevertheless, antivirus software for Mac won’t be superfluous. But the user himself needs to carry out his responsibility. A fast and effective antivirus for Mac will preserve the integrity of the system, but it would be a mistake to consider it a panacea. Every computer owner should be critical, attentive and cautious. In no case should you install programs from unverified sources and perform actions on suspicious sites.
The best variants of antivirus software for Mac
The most used antivirus solutions for Mac comprise:
- Free antivirus Avast Security for Mac. This utility includes several levels of protection: antivirus, mail screen, analysis of network analysis, and web screen to protect against downloading infected files from the Internet. Avast for Mac offers 3 screen protectors, on-demand scanning, and a reputable WebRep web protection plug-in that is automatically installed in browsers. It protects against viruses and other malware, security on the Internet, blocking ransomware, detection of intruders on the network.
- Malwarebytes for Mac. It is a security utility designed to find and remove malware. The program boasts a variety of settings, deep scan mode and performance. Among the functions, there are: protecting your computer from malicious software, ransomware, suspicious sites, and files; checking the entire computer, individual files, folders, hard drive partitions; setting up an automatic scan schedule; managing malicious files in quarantine, etc.
- Norton Security for macOS. The utility provides comprehensive protection from viruses, malware, and dangerous sites, and also includes a firewall to protect against online threats. The antivirus module scans your Mac for malware and checks for all new files, including downloads from the Internet, email attachments, and removable media. Also, Norton protects against attacks using application and system vulnerabilities.
- Total Defense Anti-Virus for Mac. It is a comprehensive antivirus with real-time protection for the macOS operating system and Internet protection features. This utility uses ultra-fast system scans using multiple detection methods. Antivirus has virtually no effect on the operation of the operating system and does not reduce overall performance.
- AVG AntiVirus for Mac. Easy to use, has good anti-malware protection, includes a vulnerability scanner, it was able to stop 100% of threats on Mac computers and 95% on Windows computers. The quality of recognition of text files in Zip format in the process of unzipping them is impressive. Instead of waiting for each individual file to be downloaded, the program quarantines the entire folder.