We’ve tested 16 of the best Mac antivirus software to protect your MacBook or other Apple computer from viruses and malware.
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 means to infect users on other platforms, it’s still possible to fall victim to ransomware, or password theft.
Accordingly, good antivirus for Mac 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.
As to the question of which Mac antivirus software you should choose, our current top pick is Intego Mac Internet Security. However, you will find several other recommendations below that may suit you better, depending upon the type and number of devices that need protection and also how much you want to pay.
Our top contenders in our best Mac antivirus round up 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.
1. Intego Mac Internet Security X9
Pros
- Two-way firewall
- Good performance
Cons
- Mac-specific (no Windows / Android protection)
Intego’s Mac Internet Security X9 suite is a pair of utilities designed to help you keep your Mac safe and running smoothly. These are VirusBarrier and NetBarrier, which catch and kill malware threats plus spot potential intrusion attempts from outside as well as outgoing attempts from rogue software.
The Mac Premium Bundle X9 adds three more sets of capabilities to these: the backup prowess of Personal Backup (a good ‘belt’ addition to your Time Machine ‘braces’), the useful cleaning, tidying, and general speed optimizing tricks of Mac Washing Machine, and finally the multi-user safe surfing intelligence of ContentBarrier.
Sure, that last one is not something everyone needs, but it’s great for parents. Whichever one of these software suites you choose, you can be sure they offer some of the best protection available for your Mac.
2. Clario Antivirus 1.5 for Mac
Pros
- Reasonably priced
- Comprehensive and user-friendly security in a single package
- Step-by-step setup and help easily available
Cons
- The software can sometimes be slow when open
Clario 1.5 for the Mac is much more than an antivirus package, it packs a healthy amount of security into one package, including real-time and on-demand malware scanning, ad blocking and website trackers, a VPN, and data breach monitoring to alert you if your email is caught and potentially exposed in a cyberattack. There’s also 24/7 live support.
Payment is by subscription, and currently, Clario has 54% off the usual $107.88 / £107.88 a year, so you can pay $50.00 / £50.00 a year (billed at $4.17 / £4.17 a month). The three devices included in the plan can include a combination of Macs and iOS or Android devices. There’s also a 7-day free trial.
Set up is quick and painless with a wizard that takes you through the configuration of all the key features while allowing you to evaluate the different options and determine which ones you want to enable. Once installed you can access information about the security of your Mac and monitor the status of your online accounts and personal data. The VPN will kick in if Clario detects you using an unprotected network. And from the Dashboard, you can trigger a quick virus scan, which is actually quite thorough.
We did encounter some issues with performance, with the program sometimes running slow before we were fully set up, but once we were fully configured everything ran smoothly.
Whether you’re a novice or an advanced user, Clario is an effective and supportive security program.
3. AVG AntiVirus for Mac
Pros
- Capable basic protection for a free product
- Quick and easy installation
- Clean and helpful dashboard
Cons
- Occasional prompts to convince you to upgrade to the paid version
- Lacks the ransomware, phishing, and fake website protection built into the paid product
AVG Antivirus for the Mac is one of a handful of free antivirus for Mac programs. As such it is basic, but its effective at protecting you from viruses, spyware, and malware.
Despite being free, AVG covers all the bases: blocking viruses and malware from websites, downloads, and email attachments. AVG will scan applications and check every file and remove threats from your Mac. It auto updates so you shouldn’t miss out on protection from the latest threats.
Though it lacks the advanced features of paid antivirus products, it handles the core tasks cleanly and seamlessly. However, if you need to resolve any advanced issues you will need to pay to upgrade to the full version of the software, which is about $2/£2 per month for a one-year subscription. There is a 60-day free trial though, which could be enough for your purposes.
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