For years, Macintosh owners felt smug with the statement that “Macs don’t get viruses.” Indeed, that was true for years but times have changed. Viruses and other malware (malevolent software) have appeared in recent years that will infect a Macintosh. Admittedly, these new threats are rarely seen. They don’t seem to spread as quickly and easily as the Windows malware. Nonetheless, Mac owners today can only claim, “Macs rarely get viruses.” Most Macintosh owners have never installed anti-virus software simply because they never saw a need for it.
In fact, that was a successful practice for a long time simply because most Macs never encountered a problem. New problems are appearing these days and I would suggest the prudent Macintosh owner now should install anti-virus and anti-malware software. Luckily, there are free anti-virus programs for Macs that have an excellent reputation for preventing problems. Tom’s Guide (to computers) is a well-known web site that often publishes side-by-side comparisons of hardware and software products for all sort of computer products.
The staff at Tom’s Guide recently published a comparison of the four available anti-virus programs for Macintosh. Two of the products are available free of charge while the other two each cost $39.99 US. After the side-by-side comparisons, the staff at Tom’s Guide picked one of the free products as the “Best Mac Antivirus Overall.” The winner is Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition.
I find it interesting that a free program beat out two $40 programs for the title of “best overall.” I have been using Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition on my desktop iMac for a couple of years and it appears to have run perfectly. I have no way of testing its effectiveness at preventing problems. All I can report is that I haven’t encountered any problems since running Sophos Antivirus for Mac. Then again, my MacBook Air laptop has been running without any anti-virus software and it hasn’t encountered a problem either.
Where previous versions of Sophos used an installer package, Sophos has now switched to using an application to install their antivirus. This switch was a problem for Mac admins who wanted to deploy Sophos Home Edition 9.x for personal use, as there was not an available installer package to simplify the task of deployment. Reddit being Reddit, there was no shortage of theories: Perhaps it was a spot of pen-testing by a red team. Or a sophisticated attempt to gain backdoor access to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi traffic.
So is that a good test? Probably not. I need to take the word of the folks at Tom’s Guide as to the effectiveness of any Macintosh anti-virus program.
Based on the recommendation of Tom’s Guide, I did install Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition on my MacBook Air laptop this morning. One difference I did note is that Sophos Antivirus for Mac doesn’t seem to slow the computer down appreciably, unlike many of the Windows anti-virus programs. I haven’t noticed any degradation in speed. Unlike some other free anti-virus programs for Windows, Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition allows for unlimited copies to be installed.
One popular Windows anti-virus program allows the user to install the program free of charge on one computer. If the owner has both a desktop and laptop system, he or she is supposed to pay for the second installation. There is no such restriction for Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition; the owner of multiple Macs may install the program on each and every Macintosh without legal restrictions. You can read the reviews of Macintosh anti-malware products on Tom’s Guide at. Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition may be found at. Windows users may want to look at Tom’s Guide to Windows anti-malware products at.
If you think you are safe just because you have a Mac, you are completely wrong. A Mac is just as vulnerable as Windows.
Using the right antivirus can keep you safe from various cyberattacks. So, here they are, some of the best antivirus this year for Mac. Intego Mac Internet Security X9 Intego Mac Internet Security X9 is so far our best choice to keep you safe while on the web.
![Sophos Sophos](http://i.imgur.com/S3bloy0.png)
Whatever you do and browse on the web, nothing can harm you. You can visit any site you want, from IGN Gaming, Huffington Post, or anything else without worrying about cyberattacks. The installation is very smooth, even though you can’t choose which kernel you want to install. A scan usually takes 30 minutes, which is quicker than most Mac antivirus. This antivirus also presents real-time and scheduled protection. Norton Security for Mac As one of the oldest security solution, Norton is still one of the best web protection for Mac you can get today.
We love Norton Security Standard for Mac because it is quick and easy to install. However, we should warn you that the installation itself includes third-party app: Safe Web and Identity Safe from Safari. So, please be careful during the installation. If you don’t need the third-party apps, just don’t install them. The app works flawlessly and doesn’t load your memory too much.
You can also enabled scheduled or real-time protection. Sophos Antivirus for Mac If you are looking for a reliable and free antivirus for Mac, you need Sophos Antivirus for Mac. Of course, there is still the Premium version, which you can enjoy for 30 days since after installation. The free version will grant you several important features, including real-time protection, parental protection, web protection, and remote management.
Compared to other antiviruses for Mac, Sophos Antivirus for Mac is very minimalist. You will see no application window. Instead, the app uses notification from the taskbar to help you commence every function. Avira Antivirus for Mac Avira Antivirus for Mac is very easy to install. However, the scanning process takes considerably longer time than other apps. It takes at least 30 minutes to complete a full scan. Once you completed a scan, a dialog box will appear containing the number of detected threats.
The bad news is, you don’t know where to find them. The good news is, you can use this app to scan malicious games and apps. It also offers parental control, scheduled can, friendly user interface, and removable device scan. Antivirus Zap for Mac Antivirus Zap for Mac is quite unique when compared to other antiviruses for Mac. You can get this app directly from the Mac App Store. Even though you have to pay $9.99 to get it, we saw a lot of good reviews left for this app. Thanks to the store availability, it doesn’t take long to install this app on your Mac.
![Sophos Sophos](/uploads/1/2/5/5/125500774/647075684.jpeg)
The scan is also very quick. Once a threat is detected, the app will show the list of detected threats and allow you to choose whether to quarantine or delete them.