Best Mac Antivirus Protection - 2021

 This might sound surprising or shocking but your Apple devices do not have a protective shield around them that can defend them from malware attacks. The advertisements and publicity that assures that a Mac device is immune from malware is total hogwash. The fact is that malwares that can infect Macs are totally present. Windows is more vulnerable to malware attacks, and coders take advantage of this fact by coding programs that can penetrate Mac devices’ invulnerability.

The review in this article will help you decide the best Mac Antivirus tools that come under budget and suit your requirements. If we talk about the price, most of the tools come under $40/year and provide a single license. If your budget is going south, then pick up ProtectWorks offers to protect multiple Mac devices for $29.95 without any subscription. And if you want to move one step ahead, then buy McAfee that offers protection to all your devices, including Macs, PCs, Android, and iOS devices, in a yearly subscription. Sophos Home premium is another reliable option that gives 10 Macs or PCs protection at $60/year.

Mac Exclusives

Mac OS Mojave assures advanced security and comes with many features like tracker blocking in Safari, a password manager, along with good command over AppleScript. Another option is Mac OS Catalina that offers more control over data-access, sends warnings regarding weak passwords, gives more control to anti-malware, etc. With Catalina, you won’t require an Antivirus utility.

Free Protection

Seeking the Mac Protection free at cost? Go for Avira Free Antivirus, AVG Antivirus, Avast Security, or Sophos Home Free for Mac totally free of charge. In fact, Sophos offers protection to three devices to either Mac or Windows. No doubt commercial products offer multiple features, but a free Antivirus is always an option if paid products seem unaffordable to you.

Lab Certifications

Professional guidance is a major deciding factor while purchasing any Antivirus tool. A reliable, independent lab gives you the information in an elaborate way by testing every aspect of the Antivirus. AV-Test Institute gives clean chit to the Mac Antivirus based on three criteria, which are protection, usability, and performance. The certification provided by AV-Test is highly authentic, and you can rely on the test results.

Ransomware Protection

Ransomware attacks have the ability to skip Antivirus protection. That is why security products must add features that come with the sole objective of defending against a ransomware attack. Various ransomware protection techniques include blocking unauthorized access, analyzing ransomware behavior, and recovering infected files. Among the top products, Bitdefender and Trend Micro provide a security component that restricts unauthorized modification in encrypted documents. With the Safe File feature of Bitdefender and Folder Shield of Trend Micro, you can secure your documents from unauthorized users on Mac. The more advanced protection comes with Sophos Home premium that includes Crypto Guard that analyzes the behavior of the ransomware and restricts its entry.

Spyware Protection

As the name suggests, Spyware acts as a spy and peeks into the private aspect of your life via digital mode. It can access your device either through the webcam or by keeping an eye on your keystrokes to catch your login credentials. Kaspersky is a safe haven for Windows with its Safe Money features. It secures the browser from external interference. It might not give the same security level to Mac devices, but it does assure safe URLs to take you to the secure sites. The onscreen keyboard of Kaspersky prevents the attempt of keyloggers to capture your passwords. You can even block the advertisers from keeping an eye on your online activities.

But if you want more advanced protection, then Sophos Home premium will be more apt with its webcam and microphone protection. Sophos sends you an instant notification if an unwanted program tries to access your device so you can prevent the attempt in due time. You can also White list a program to avoid the interfering pop-up every time while using your video chat tool.

Rewarding Features

Though there are tons of features that Antivirus tools offer on Windows, now one can’t accept Mac OS’s same behavior, but Norton Antivirus does offer some benefits like VPN with no bandwidth limits. A personal firewall blocks unauthorized traffic and manages network permission for different programs installed on your device.

If you are a busy parent with no time to check on your children, then Sophos or Trend Micro Antivirus can block the inappropriate website you don’t find suitable for your children. For more output, go for Kaspersky with spam filters, screen time limits, and app-control features.

Mac Protection

All the mentioned products are authentic and have earned the certification from an authorized testing lab. For basic Antivirus protection, each of the products is the up-to-the-mark. Some of them even stand out with their marvelous performance. For say, Bitdefender Antivirus has earned certification from two of the testing labs with a maximum score in each test result. Kaspersky has also bagged high scores and offers high-level security tools at the price which other competitors charge for basic Antivirus protection. Apart from these two, Norton 360 Deluxe offers features like a no-limit VPN. All three Mac Antivirus protections have won the Editor’s Choice awards.

There are several other products that could be the best for your Mac and would meet your requirements. Once you are done considering all the above factors, try installing a Mac VPN too. It could be a good idea considering that Antivirus protects your devices on a local level, but a VPN extends the protection to your online schedule. It safeguards both data security and online privacy.

This might sound surprising or shocking but your Apple devices do not have a protective shield around them that can defend them from malware attacks. The advertisements and publicity that assures that a Mac device is immune from malware is total hogwash. The fact is that malwares that can infect Macs are totally present. Windows is more vulnerable to malware attacks, and coders take advantage of this fact by coding programs that can penetrate Mac devices’ invulnerability.

The review in this article will help you decide the best Mac Antivirus tools that come under budget and suit your requirements. If we talk about the price, most of the tools come under $40/year and provide a single license. If your budget is going south, then pick up ProtectWorks offers to protect multiple Mac devices for $29.95 without any subscription. And if you want to move one step ahead, then buy McAfee that offers protection to all your devices, including Macs, PCs, Android, and iOS devices, in a yearly subscription. Sophos Home premium is another reliable option that gives 10 Macs or PCs protection at $60/year.

Mac Exclusives

Mac OS Mojave assures advanced security and comes with many features like tracker blocking in Safari, a password manager, along with good command over AppleScript. Another option is Mac OS Catalina that offers more control over data-access, sends warnings regarding weak passwords, gives more control to anti-malware, etc. With Catalina, you won’t require an Antivirus utility.

Free Protection

Seeking the Mac Protection free at cost? Go for Avira Free Antivirus, AVG Antivirus, Avast Security, or Sophos Home Free for Mac totally free of charge. In fact, Sophos offers protection to three devices to either Mac or Windows. No doubt commercial products offer multiple features, but a free Antivirus is always an option if paid products seem unaffordable to you.

Lab Certifications

Professional guidance is a major deciding factor while purchasing any Antivirus tool. A reliable, independent lab gives you the information in an elaborate way by testing every aspect of the Antivirus. AV-Test Institute gives clean chit to the Mac Antivirus based on three criteria, which are protection, usability, and performance. The certification provided by AV-Test is highly authentic, and you can rely on the test results.

Ransomware Protection

Ransomware attacks have the ability to skip Antivirus protection. That is why security products must add features that come with the sole objective of defending against a ransomware attack. Various ransomware protection techniques include blocking unauthorized access, analyzing ransomware behavior, and recovering infected files. Among the top products, Bitdefender and Trend Micro provide a security component that restricts unauthorized modification in encrypted documents. With the Safe File feature of Bitdefender and Folder Shield of Trend Micro, you can secure your documents from unauthorized users on Mac. The more advanced protection comes with Sophos Home premium that includes Crypto Guard that analyzes the behavior of the ransomware and restricts its entry.

Spyware Protection

As the name suggests, Spyware acts as a spy and peeks into the private aspect of your life via digital mode. It can access your device either through the webcam or by keeping an eye on your keystrokes to catch your login credentials. Kaspersky is a safe haven for Windows with its Safe Money features. It secures the browser from external interference. It might not give the same security level to Mac devices, but it does assure safe URLs to take you to the secure sites. The onscreen keyboard of Kaspersky prevents the attempt of keyloggers to capture your passwords. You can even block the advertisers from keeping an eye on your online activities.

But if you want more advanced protection, then Sophos Home premium will be more apt with its webcam and microphone protection. Sophos sends you an instant notification if an unwanted program tries to access your device so you can prevent the attempt in due time. You can also White list a program to avoid the interfering pop-up every time while using your video chat tool.

Rewarding Features

Though there are tons of features that Antivirus tools offer on Windows, now one can’t accept Mac OS’s same behavior, but Norton Antivirus does offer some benefits like VPN with no bandwidth limits. A personal firewall blocks unauthorized traffic and manages network permission for different programs installed on your device.

If you are a busy parent with no time to check on your children, then Sophos or Trend Micro Antivirus can block the inappropriate website you don’t find suitable for your children. For more output, go for Kaspersky with spam filters, screen time limits, and app-control features.

Mac Protection

All the mentioned products are authentic and have earned the certification from an authorized testing lab. For basic Antivirus protection, each of the products is the up-to-the-mark. Some of them even stand out with their marvelous performance. For say, Bitdefender Antivirus has earned certification from two of the testing labs with a maximum score in each test result. Kaspersky has also bagged high scores and offers high-level security tools at the price which other competitors charge for basic Antivirus protection. Apart from these two, Norton 360 Deluxe offers features like a no-limit VPN. All three Mac Antivirus protections have won the Editor’s Choice awards.

There are several other products that could be the best for your Mac and would meet your requirements. Once you are done considering all the above factors, try installing a Mac VPN too. It could be a good idea considering that Antivirus protects your devices on a local level, but a VPN extends the protection to your online schedule. It safeguards both data security and online privacy.

Siri Smith is a Antivirus Software expert and has been working in the technical industry since 2005. As a technical expert, Jason has written technical, manuals blogs, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as Antivirus Software.

Sources :- Mac Antivirus Protection