The Mac universe is a victim of many preconceived ideas. Indeed, many users think that macOS is being ignored by cybercriminals who prefer to focus on Windows users. If this was partly true in the past, it is no longer the case today. Currently, macOS is also undergoing its share of attacks and the system may be a victim of malware or ransomware. In this context, antivirus software for Mac is a matter of course. In addition, these software products have continued to improve in recent years to the point that they often offer much more than just antivirus software. We have decided to test them and offer you a comparison of the best antivirus products for Mac.
macOS offers, natively, very useful security tools. For example, simply enable FileVault to encrypt your data and prevent anyone from accessing it if you lose your Mac. In addition, macOS blocks the execution of applications from unidentified developers through its Gatekeeper protection. While these options are useful, they are easy to circumvent and, once these barriers are crossed, there is not much left to defend you. That’s why we believe that an antivirus offers a very good additional layer of protection on a daily basis.
The need for antivirus software will depend on the user’s profile. Someone who is mainly involved in office automation and only visits a handful of websites is less likely to be infected than someone who visits suspicious streaming sites and downloads programs from dubious sources. An antivirus for Mac is good, but the user must also have good reflexes.
It should be noted that the world of Mac antivirus software is evolving quite slowly. Unlike PC antivirus software, there is no real schedule and publishers do not make annual releases. This is why Mac antivirus software very rarely has a vintage.
Many antivirus editors offer a Mac version. Among the large list at our disposal, we decided to focus on the publishers we thought were the most important: Bitdefender, G DATA and ESET which are already references in the field of Windows, Avast and Avira paid products in the universe of free antivirus and Intego which is the only publisher of this comparison to offer only products for Mac.
In addition to pure performance, we will also focus on the additional features offered to give us an opinion on the relevance and effectiveness of these security suites.
We tested the various antivirus software on a 2012 Mac Mini (Intel Core i5 processor running at 2.5 GHz, with a 500GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM). Our device had the most up-to-date version of macOS at the time of each test (macOS 10.14 Mojave or macOS 10.15 Catalina).
| Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac | Intego Mac Premium Bundle X9 | Avira Free Antivirus 2019 | Avast Security | G DATA Antivirus for Mac 2020 | ESET Cyber Security Edition 2020 | Panda Antivirus for Mac |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Read the test | Read the test | Read the test | Read the test | Read the test | Read the test | Read the test |
Our Comparison Chart of 7 Antiviruses for MAC
Writer
Micaël RIBEIRO
When I'm not behind my screen looking for the latest software from Microsoft or Google, I'm a memory hunter in Final Fantasy Record Keeper. I've been moving away from Android to the Apple side for a few years now with my trusty iPhone 8 Plus. I'm also Frichti-vore.
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