Best Antivirus For Mac 2018 For Privacy

Malware, Spyware, and Adware Protection

• Sophos Antivirus For Mac
• Best Antivirus Software For Mac 2018
• Best Free Antivirus For Macbook Pro
• Best Free Mac Antivirus 2018

Summer is winding down. Before you know it, kids will head off to school and come back with homework, notes from the teachers, and…malware? Quite possibly. You've protected your own PCs and laptops, but did you make sure to install antivirus protection on your child's laptop? If not, your kid could pick up more than a head cold at school. Viruses, Trojans, ransomware, or what-have-you, any kind of malware does well in a network populated by youths who aren't thinking about security. We've tested and rated more than 40 antivirus tools so you can pick the right one to protect you and your family from the evil side of the internet.

We call it antivirus, but in truth it's unlikely you'll get hit with an actual computer virus. Malware these days is about making money, and there's no easy way to cash in on spreading a virus. Ransomware and>field we've named four Editors' Choice products.

Some nonstandard commercial antivirus utilities proved effective enough to earn an excellent four-star rating alongside their more traditional counterparts. VoodooSoft VoodooShield bases its protection on suppressing all unknown programs while the computer is in a vulnerable state, such as when it's connected to the internet, and also acts to detect known malware. The Kure resets the computer to a known safe state on every reboot, thereby eliminating any malware. If you have malware, one of the ten products in the chart above should take care of the problem.

The Best Mac Antivirus Protection of 2018 Despite what you may have heard, your Apple computer is not immune to malware. We test the top contenders to identify those offering the best Mac. The Best Mac Antivirus Protection of 2018 Despite what you may have heard, your Apple computer is not immune to malware. We test the top contenders to identify those offering the best Mac.

Here at Top10BestAntivirus.com we have showcased some of the best free antivirus software for Mac to make it easier for you to find your perfect Mac protection. Use our comparison tools to help your fine the best free mac antivirus for your protection needs.

You may notice that one product in the chart earned just 3.5 stars. The chart had room for one more, and of the seven 3.5-star products, the labs only pay attention to F-Secure and G Data. F-Secure has the added fillip of costing the same for three licenses as most products charge for just one, so it made its way into the chart. The blurbs at the bottom of this article include every commercial antivirus that earned 3.5 stars or better.

These commercial products offer protection beyond the antivirus built into Windows 10; the best free antivirus utilities also offer more. However, Microsoft Windows Defender Security Center is looking better and better lately, with some very good scores from independent testing labs. The combination of good lab scores and a great score in our hands-on malware protection test was enough to bring it up to 3.5 stars.

Listen to the Labs

We take the results reported by independent antivirus testing labs very seriously. The simple fact that a particular vendor's product shows up in the results is a vote of confidence, of sorts. It means the lab considered the product significant, and the vendor felt the cost of testing was worthwhile. Of course, getting good scores in the tests is also important.

We follow four labs that regularly release detailed reports: SE Labs, AV-Test Institute, MRG-Effitas, and AV-Comparatives. We also note whether vendors have contracted with ICSA Labs and West Coast labs for certification. We've devised a system for aggregating their results to yield a rating from 0 to 10.

We Test Malware, Spyware, and Adware Defenses

We also subject every product to our own hands-on test of malware protection, in part to get a feeling for how the product works. Depending on how thoroughly the product prevents malware installation, it can earn up to 10 points for malware protection.

Our malware protection test necessarily uses the same set of samples for months. To check a product's handling of brand-new malware, we test each product using 100 extremely new malware-hosting URLs supplied by MRG-Effitas, noting what percentage of them it blocked. Products get equal credit for preventing all access to the malicious URL and for wiping out the malware during download.

Some products earn absolutely stellar ratings from the independent labs, yet don't fare as well in our hands-on tests. In such cases, we defer to the labs, as they bring significantly greater resources to their testing. Want to know more? You can dig in for a detailed description of how we test security software.

Multilayered Malware Protection

Antivirus products distinguish themselves by going beyond the basics of on-demand scanning and real-time malware protection. Some rate URLs that you visit or that show up in search results, using a red-yellow-green color-coding system. Some actively block processes on your system from connecting with known malware-hosting URLs or with fraudulent (phishing) pages.

Software has flaws, and sometimes those flaws affect your security. Prudent users keep Windows and all programs patched, fixing those flaws as soon as possible. The vulnerability scan offered by some antivirus products can verify that all necessary patches are present, and even apply any that are missing.

Spyware comes in many forms, from hidden programs that log your every keystroke to Trojans that masquerade as valid programs while mining your personal data. Any antivirus should handle spyware, along with all other types of malware, but some include specialized components devoted to spyware protection.

You expect an antivirus to identify and eliminate bad programs, and to leave good programs alone. What about unknowns, programs it can't identify as good or bad? Behavior-based detection can, in theory, protect you against malware that's so new researchers have never encountered it. However, this isn't always an unmixed blessing. It's not uncommon for behavioral detection systems to flag many innocuous behaviors performed by legitimate programs.

Whitelisting is another approach to the problem of unknown programs. A whitelist-based security system only allows known good programs to run. Unknowns are banned. This mode doesn't suit all situations, but it can be useful. Sandboxing lets unknown programs run, but it isolates them from full access to your system, so they can't do permanent harm. These various added layers serve to enhance your protection against malware.

Firewalls, Ransomware Protection, and More

Firewalls and spam filtering aren't common antivirus features, but some of our top products include them as bonus features. In fact, some of these antivirus products are more feature-packed than certain products sold as security suites.

Among the other bonus features you'll find are secure browsers for financial transactions, secure deletion of sensitive files, wiping traces of computer and browsing history, credit monitoring, virtual keyboard to foil keyloggers, cross-platform protection, and more. You'll even find products that enhance their automatic malware protection with the expertise of human security technicians. And of course we've already mentioned sandboxing, vulnerability scanning, and application whitelisting.

We're seeing more and more antivirus products adding modules specifically designed for ransomware protection. Some work by preventing unauthorized changes to protected files. Others keep watch for suspicious behaviors that suggest malware. Some even aim to reverse the damage. Given the growth of this scourge, any added protection is beneficial.

Beyond Antivirus: VPN

Your antivirus utility works in the background to keep out any faint possibility of infestation by malware, but its abilities don't extend beyond the bounds of your computer. When you connect to the wild and wooly internet, you risk the possibility that your data could be compromised in transit. Sticking to HTTPS websites when possible can help, but for full protection of your data in transit you should install a virtual private network, or VPN. This component is important enough that we're starting to see it as a bonus feature in some antivirus tools.

What's the Best Malware Protection?

Which antivirus should you choose? You have a wealth of options. Kaspersky Anti-Virus and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus routinely take perfect or near-perfect scores from the independent antivirus testing labs. A single subscription for McAfee AntiVirus Plus lets you install protection on all of your Windows, Android, Mac OS, and iOS devices. And its unusual behavior-based detection technology means Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus is the tiniest antivirus around. We've named these four Editors' Choice for commercial antivirus, but they're not the only products worth consideration. Read the reviews of our top-rated products, and then make your own decision.

Note that we have reviewed many more antivirus utilities than we could include in the chart of top products. If your favorite software isn't listed there, chances are we did review it. The blurbs below include every product that managed 3.5 stars or better. All the utilities listed in this feature are Windows antivirus apps. If you're a macOS user, don't despair, however; PCMag has a separate roundup dedicated solely to the best Mac antivirus software.

Editors' Note: We are aware of the allegations of Kaspersky Labs' inappropriate ties to the Russian government. Until we see some actual proof of these allegations, we will treat them as unproven, and continue to recommend Kaspersky's security products as long as their performance continues to merit our endorsement.

Sophos Antivirus For Mac

Best Antivirus Protection Featured in This Roundup:

• Bitdefender Antivirus Plus Review

  
  MSRP: $39.99

  Pros: Outstanding scores in independent lab tests and our web protection tests. Multi-layered ransomware protection. Active Do Not Track. Password manager. Banking protection. Offers a virtual private network, or VPN. Many security-centered bonus features.

  Cons: Unlimited VPN access requires separate subscription. With all real-time protection disabled, ransomware-specific features missed one uncommon sample.

  Bottom Line: With outstanding antivirus test results and a collection of features that puts many security suites to shame, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is an excellent choice for protecting your PC.

  Read Review

• Kaspersky Anti-Virus Review

  
  MSRP: $59.99

  Pros: Perfect and near-perfect scores from four independent testing labs. Perfect score in our phishing protection test. Good scores in our malware-blocking and malicious URL blocking tests. Full-scale phone and live chat support.

  Cons: Bonus scans significantly overlap each other.

  Bottom Line: Kaspersky Anti-Virus sweeps the antivirus testing labs, with excellent scores across the board. It remains an antivirus Editors' Choice.

  Read Review

• Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus Review

  
  MSRP: $39.99

  Pros: Perfect score in our malware protection test. Very good antiphishing score. Ransomware protection. Light on system resources. Fast scan, tiny size. Advanced features.

  Cons: Limited lab test results due to unusual detection techniques. Missed one unique hand-modified ransomware sample in testing.

  Bottom Line: Tiny, speedy Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus keeps a light touch on your system's resources. It aces our hands-on malware protection test, and can even roll back ransomware activity.

  Read Review

• McAfee AntiVirus Plus Review

  
  MSRP: $59.99

  Pros: Protection for every Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS device in your household. Good scores in hands-on tests. Perfect score in antiphishing test. Includes new ransomware protection and PC Boost, plus many bonus features.

  Cons: Ransom Guard missed one hand-modified ransomware sample. PC Boost web speedup works only in Chrome. Mac edition less feature-rich than Windows or Android. Still fewer features for iOS.

  Bottom Line: A single subscription for McAfee AntiVirus Plus lets you protect every Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS device in your household. It's quite a deal, and the current edition adds some new and useful features.

  Read Review

• ESET NOD32 Antivirus Review

  
  MSRP: $39.99

  Pros: Very good scores from independent testing labs. Good scores in our hands-on tests. HIPS component blocks exploits. UEFI scanner finds malware in firmware. Comprehensive device control.

  Cons: So-so phishing protection score. Device control too complex for most users.

  Bottom Line: ESET NOD32 Antivirus gets good scores in lab tests and our own tests, and its collection of security components goes far beyond antivirus basics.

  Read Review

• Symantec Norton AntiVirus Plus Review

  
  MSRP: $59.99

  Pros: Excellent scores in independent lab tests and in our own tests. Includes online backup, spam filter, password manager, and other bonus features.

  Cons: First full scan unusually slow. Expensive. No multi-license pricing.

  Bottom Line: Symantec Norton AntiVirus Plus gets impressive scores in independent lab tests and our own hands-on tests, but it's expensive and doesn't offer volume pricing. If you want Norton protection, you're better off with one of Symantec's suite products.

  Read Review

• The Kure Review

  
  MSRP: $19.99

  Pros: On reboot, restores your PC to a clean, malware-free state. Exempts personal folders from being wiped. Ransomware recovery proved effective in testing. Live-chat tech support built in.

  Cons: Malware can act freely until eliminated by reboot. Doesn't offer 24-hour tech support.

  Bottom Line: When your PC has The Kure installed, you can wipe out malware just by rebooting. Your own documents aren't affected, and it even has the ability to reverse the effects of encrypting ransomware.

  Read Review

• Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security Review

  
  MSRP: $39.95

  Pros: Excellent scores in our antiphishing and malicious URL blocking tests. Many good scores from antivirus labs. Multi-layered ransomware protection. New Pay Guard protects online transactions. Many bonus features.

  Cons: Poor score in our hands-on malware protection test. Slow full scan. Ransomware protection uneven. Banking protection doesn't kick in automatically. Spam filter works only with Outlook. No multi-device licensing.

  Bottom Line: In addition to effective malware protection, Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security offers layered protection against ransomware, a firewall booster, protection for online banking, and more.

  Read Review

• VoodooSoft VoodooShield Review

  
  MSRP: $19.99

  Pros: Prevents non-whitelisted programs from launching when computer is at risk. New machine-learning tool flags malware. Checks blocked files against 57 antivirus scanners. Free edition for consumers.

  Cons: Could possibly whitelist malware running prior to installation. Flagged some legitimate programs as suspicious, some as malicious.

  Bottom Line: VoodooShield takes a whitelist approach to antivirus protection, but without getting in the user's way. A new machine-learning component brings it closer to the abilities of a standalone antivirus.

  Read Review

• Cylance Smart Antivirus Review

  
  MSRP: $29.00

  Pros: Easy installation, no configuration. Good scores in our tests.

  Cons: Not included in regular independent lab tests. No protection against fraudulent or malicious URLs. Lacks additional protection layers found in many competitors.

  Bottom Line: Commissioned lab tests and our own tests show that the machine-learning detection engine in Cylance Smart Antivirus really can identify malware, but it lacks the full range of protection features found in many competitors.

  Read Review

• Emsisoft Anti-Malware Review

  
  MSRP: $29.95

  Pros: Very good independent lab scores. Excellent score in our malware protection test. Behavioral detection successfully blocked ransomware. Surfing protection is browser-independent. Inexpensive.

  Cons: Dismal score in our phishing protection test. Few scores from independent labs. Behavioral detection failed against ransomware launched at startup.

  Bottom Line: Emsisoft Anti-Malware effectively handles the basic tasks of malware protection, including ransomware. Its few lab test results are good, as are its scores on our in-house malware protection tests, though it tanked on our antiphishing test.

  Read Review

• F-Secure Anti-Virus Review

  
  MSRP: $39.99

  Pros: Good scores in independent lab tests and our tests. Behavior-based DeepGuard detects brand-new malware, including ransomware. Advanced network protection. Streamlined, simple interface. Inexpensive.

  Cons: Ransomware protection failed against one real-world sample in testing. No antiphishing component.

  Bottom Line: F-Secure Anti-Virus's advanced network protection and DeepGuard behavior-based detection system make it a powerful malware fighter, but its ransomware protection missed one sample in our testing.

  Read Review

• G Data Antivirus Review

  
  MSRP: $39.95

  Pros: Excellent score in our hands-on malware protection test. Protects against banking Trojans, keyloggers, ransomware, and exploits. Includes spam filter.

  Cons: So-so scores in our malicious URL blocking and phishing protection tests. Very slow full scan.

  Bottom Line: G Data Antivirus gets decent marks from the independent testing labs, and it includes components designed to fight ransomware and other specific malware types. However, it gets mixed scores in our hands-on tests.

  Read Review

• Malwarebytes Premium Review

  
  MSRP: $39.99

  Pros: Includes exploit protection, ransomware protection, behavior-based detection. Can work in conjunction with traditional antivirus. Works well with Windows Defender.

  Cons: Advanced protection systems are difficult to test. Scores poorly in tests designed for traditional antivirus.

  Bottom Line: Malwarebytes Premium has so many advanced protection layers that the company deems it an antivirus replacement. However, we still advise using it in conjunction with a dedicated antivirus utility.

  Read Review

• Sophos Home Premium Review

  
  MSRP: $60.00

  Pros: Good scores in our hands-on tests. Protects against ransomware, keyloggers, and exploits. Remote management for up to 10 PCs or Macs. Inexpensive.

  Cons: No test results from independent labs. Advanced features require uncommon tech expertise. Parental control and webcam protection limited.

  Bottom Line: Sophos Home Premium expands on basic antivirus with protection technology forged in the company's Enterprise-level products, but doesn't have lab results to verify its efficacy.

  Read Review

Macs may be a far less tempting target for malware and viruses, but they’re not immune from attack. Even if you don’t care about adware or being used as a means to infect users on other platforms, it’s still possible to fall victim to ransomware, password theft, or stolen iPhone backups.

Accordingly, good antivirus software will protect your Mac on all of these fronts. It’ll catch malware that’s still spreading or in circulation; block ransomware; protect older systems with out-of-date software from security vulnerabilities; prevent your Mac from acting as a carrier for malware aimed at other operating systems; and keep infected files off of any virtual machines you’re running.

Antivirus for Mac cheat sheet

Our quick-hit recommendations:

• Best paid antivirus for Mac:Sophos Home Premium for Mac[sophos.com]
• Best free antivirus for Mac:Avast Free Mac Security[avast.com]

Many antivirus suites provide a decent level of protection, but a few rise above all others by providing the very best in performance. Our top contenders dominate by posting perfect (or virtually near perfect) scores from security research labs, passing our own malware detection tests with flying colors, offering well-designed interfaces, and even throwing in extra features like a firewall or password manager.

Updated 08/15/19: Added our review of Avira Free Antivirus, a worthy free option that’s easy to use and effective.

Looking for Windows antivirus recommendations? You can read about the best antivirus suites for PC on our sister site, PCWorld.

Best overall antivirus software

on Sophos

Sophos Home Premium has the most extensive and up-to-date approach to fighting malware at an unbeatable price.

Sophos Home Premium has it all: Effective malware protection, ransomware monitoring, protection against potentially-unwanted-apps, and additional features that often require separately licensed software. Its cloud-based configuration and generous licensing (up to 10 Macs and PCs) also make it easy to shield friends and family from threats, no matter where they live. (Full details available in our review.)

Best Antivirus Software For Mac 2018

Best free antivirus software

Though Sophos does offer a good free version of its software, Avast Free Mac Security edges it out as the best free antivirus software for macOS. In security lab tests, Avast detected 99.9 percent of macOS malware, and 100 percent of Windows malware. However, if you want more advanced protection (like ransomware detection), you’ll need to upgrade to paid software.

What to look for in antivirus software

By our reckoning, antivirus software should be able to neutralize a threat before it can begin wreaking havoc. That means preventing the download, installation, or execution of malicious software.

Since you can encounter threats by visiting compromised or malicious websites, receiving virus-laden attachments, or accessing USB drives with malware, good AV software should scan on a continuous basis unless you configure it otherwise. And ideally, files identified as malicious should be quarantined into a special storage area managed by the AV software, with the option to automatically delete files known to be malware or repair normal documents that also carry devious payloads.

Great AV suites also will monitor the filesystem for certain kinds of changes. Ransomware—which is malware that will rapidly encrypt user files like documents and mailboxes and then delete the originals—has become a huge moneymaker on other platforms. As a prime opportunity for attackers, it’s the greatest danger Mac users likely face as a category.

Detecting this pattern and halting it before any files are unavailable should be possible without an anti-malware system knowing the specific innards of a ransomware virus. Sophos, our top pick, includes this feature in the Home Premium version of its 2018 update. Other vendors, like Avast and Trend Micro Antivirus, offer an alternative feature that allows you to whitelist programs allowed to manipulate files in specific directories. So if this particular type of attack becomes rapidly popular, you’ll be protected.

Good antivirus software should also use minimal computational resources. That’s especially the case these days—AV monitoring hasn’t become much more complicated than when it first became available, and faster, multi-core CPUs can easily handle the demands of running AV software in the background without disturbing your active work.

Beyond these primary features, an easy-to-navigate interface and extra features are worth factoring into your decision. Some AV software are full-fledged suites that offer additional options like backup service for essential files, a password manager, parental controls, anti-tracking and privacy modes or options, a more advanced firewall, and the blocking of Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs).

How we test

Best Free Antivirus For Macbook Pro

Each software package is evaluated creating a clean installation of macOS Mojave, cloning it for each AV product, and then booting separately into each one to install a different package. This was to ensure that previous app installations didn’t interfere with new ones—sometimes AV software treats other AV software as an infection.

In addition to visiting malicious websites, downloading known malicious software, and even running said malware, we also reference the most recent reports from two labs that regularly cover macOS malware: AV Comparatives and AV-TEST. These laboratories test AV software against sets of known malware as well as products that are grouped as potentially unwanted applications (like adware).

The latter doesn’t damage or expose your computer or its files but may consume power and CPU cycles. Because the testing effectively looks at a combination of virus databases and behavior, they remain good gauges even after many months. When an antivirus software package lacks a rating from a known security research lab, we do more extensive testing with real malware.

Finally, while we gave props for a lot of different features and behaviors, we marked products down if they lacked any or all of the following:

• A nearly perfect score on macOS malware detection
• Ransomware monitoring
• Native browser plug-in or system-level Web proxy
• A high score on Windows malware detection

Privacy concerns

Using an anti-virus product, especially any that includes tools to also improve your online privacy, may lull you into believing you’re safe from personal and private information leaking out. That’s not quite the case. While there’s no reason to panic, you should consider a few reasonable issues.

First, an antivirus product may upload the complete text of files flagged to the cloud, where it can be analyzed by separate tools hosted there. This practice is normal and sensible: Some malware can detect when a running process may examine it, and will then engage in subterfuge. Antivirus software makers also can access their massive databases to examine files with characteristics that trigger their algorithms—certain elements that match known malware. As a result, security researchers discover new viruses, worms, Trojans horses, and the like.

However, helping the greater good means you’ll have to be comfortable with trusting a third-party with your file contents. Where appropriate, we noted privacy policy issues in individual reviews.

Second, this software may also rely partly or entirely on cloud-based checks of URLs, malware, and the like. Accordingly, an AV package might upload every URL you visit, metadata about files, signatures of files, information about your computer’s hardware, a list of running or installed applications, and more. Companies vary on their disclosure of such policies, and may not let you opt out of this kind of sharing. We note issues in each review as available.

Third, anti-virus software makers also get a sense of what behavior is happening on your computer that’s being monitored or blocked, and may use that information for their own purposes. In some cases, you can opt out of this information gathering.

Best Free Mac Antivirus 2018

All of our antivirus for Mac reviews

If you have specific requirements or just wish to see other options, below is a list of all the antivirus software we’ve reviewed. We’ll keep evaluating new and refreshed software on a regular basis, so be sure to come back to see what else we’ve put through the ringer.