Many MacBook owners are accustomed to not paying attention to possible viruses on their computer, although the likelihood of this is quite high. Only a small portion of Macintosh computer users are really worried about the need for Mac antivirus because of the belief that hackers rarely pay attention to this operating system, looking towards the much more popular Windows. After all, a relatively small percentage of people use the MacBook for work and entertainment.
But this does not mean that the hacker threat spared Mac OS. From time to time, there are some problems with it, so you can not do without a relevant and effective antivirus. Not every antivirus for Mac can reliably and comprehensively protect against malware infection . It is necessary to approach the choice of defender based on the purpose for which the computer is used. You need to monitor the rating of antiviruses regularly.
BitDefender Antivirus
This antivirus is considered one of the most powerful, as it is able to easily detect and suppress all common attacks. This program uses proven security algorithms recognized by well-known companies Checkmark, ICSA Labs, TUV, Virus Bulletin and Checkvir.
Antivirus for Mac BitDefender is also used to detect and track the activity of spyware. It allows you to:
- Provide reliable protection for your computer from virus and spyware in real time.
- Block even unknown viruses using proactive detection technology.
- Automatically stop the work of remote administration tools (the so-called "rootkits");
- Update the virus database every hour through an Internet connection.
- Have minimal impact and practically do not load the operating system.
The most important feature of BitDefender Antivirus is the ability to protect the owner’s computer from phishing. It is as follows:
- Monitoring visited sites.
- Significant reduction in the risk of confidential information from the owner’s computer falling into the hands of fraudsters (passwords, details, bank card information, etc.).
This antivirus for Mac works according to the “installed and forgot” scheme that many users love. And the ability to automatically update when accessing the Internet rightly allows us to consider this program one of the best for protecting Mac OS.
Avast
The action of this antivirus program is aimed primarily at the search and neutralization of viruses that have already leaked to the computer. The search is carried out not only on the hard drive of the machine, but also in its memory, boot sectors and letters received by e-mail. In this case, suspicious scripts are blocked. The virus database is regularly updated and can be downloaded via the Internet.
Avast is intuitive, as it has a simple interface with support for various skins. The program is released as a free Mac antivirus (version of Home Edition for private use), and in a professional modification designed to protect computers of companies and enterprises (version of Professional Edition).
Kaspersky Internet Security
Kaspersky Anti-Virus is considered a comprehensive solution to the virus problem in the Mac operating system. It is able to protect your computer from all potential threats and guarantees the security of every operation that is performed on the Internet.
When creating this program, the latest technologies were used, which have proven their reliability and effectiveness in protecting against trojans, viruses, bots, etc. Even little-known virus programs that are recognized by their specific behavior in the operating system cannot hide from modern heuristic technologies.
Antivirus for Mac OS Kaspersky Internet Security has the following features:
- The constant availability of relevant malware databases that are regularly updated through the cloud service of Kaspersky Security Network.
- Advanced anti-phishing technology.
- The presence of a link module that provides the owner with the reputation data of each site. Information is displayed on a special indicator located near the link in the search engines of popular browsers.
- A virtual keyboard that allows the introduction of confidential data, which is especially important when conducting financial transactions via the Internet.
- The presence of a parental control module, with which you can set the time limits for accessing the Internet, make a list of sites that are undesirable for visiting, track and limit correspondence in social networks, and control file downloads.
- High performance with extremely low processor load, not exceeding 1% of its resources.
Dr.Web CureIt
This is perhaps the best antivirus for Mac, allowing without the installation of Dr.Web to quickly scan and effectively treat a computer. The program is updated twice an hour to the current version of the virus database.
With its help, you can identify and remove:
- mail and network worms;
- file viruses and trojans;
- polymorphic, incorporeal virus programs;
- stealth and macro viruses;
- viruses infecting MS Office documents;
- various spyware;
- dialer and password stealing programs;
- spyware, adware, and potentially harmful to the computer and the data of third-party software stored on it;
- hacking tools;
- joke programs and hatches;
- malicious scripts and other threatening codes.
VirusTotalUploader
This free antivirus for Mac is primarily designed to search and scan suspicious files for viruses and other malicious codes. With this program, a user can send a file that seems to him suspicious from his MacBook to a server on which he will be scanned by fifty different antivirus products. There is only a limit in file size - not more than 50 MB.
After scanning, the antivirus will provide the user with information about the number of viruses detected and will show a link to the VirusTotal website for a detailed review of the results of the scan.
Norton AntiVirus
This popular antivirus program has five degrees of protection through which it is possible to quickly and efficiently detect and neutralize spyware. The main purpose of Norton AntiVirus is to provide the MacBook owner with secure online browsing and sharing.
The main distinguishing features of the program include:
- The presence of the function of neutralizing potential threats, which allows you to identify and quickly remove hidden viruses, the most difficult to remove.
- The round-the-clock monitoring elements and the SONAR technology used monitor every suspicious computer operation and quickly identify all potential threats.
- Reliable protection against threats from networks without the slightest decrease in system performance.
- Scanning of received e-mail and incoming instant messages in search of suspicious attachments and links on third-party resources.
- Identification of safe files and full scanning of only unknown and suspicious ones, due to which there is a significant increase in system performance.
- Prevention of downloading potentially dangerous software and its elements to a computer without the knowledge of its owner.
- Implementation of reliable protection of identification and confidential user data.
- Checking the reputation of sites and determining the security of entering any personal data on them.
- Ensuring safe work in social networks, online stores and other sites.
- The ability to automatically update without the participation of the owner.
- The presence of a specialized cloud application for convenient control over the operation of the Norton Management antivirus.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011
The rating of antiviruses cannot be called complete without the presence in it of yet another brainchild of a Kaspersky Lab that can secure data as much as possible. Anti-Virus constantly checks files and mail attachments downloaded from the global network, which guarantees the neutralization of malicious programs before they can even get onto the MacBook.
Also, Kaspersky Anti-Virus conducts a deep scan of the system in order to search for and remove malicious files.
The program provides:
- protection against worms, trojan products and viruses;
- reliable protection against adware and spyware;
- thorough checking of files downloaded from the network, incoming mail, Internet traffic in real time;
- virus protection when working with instant messaging services;
- protection against keyloggers of any type;
- operational detection and blocking of rootkits;
- automatic update of the virus database.
ProtectMac AntiVirus
This Mac OS X antivirus is included in the rating due to the ability to find malicious codes and trojans not only on a computer, but also on network resources.
The program, as it were, "sits" in memory and vigilantly monitors all processes and operations carried out on the MacBook. If a virus infects a computer, it immediately blocks it, and the program notifies the user about it.
Zebra scanner
This is one of the best scanners that detects viruses. The program even detects trojans masquerading as music and graphic files, videos or folders. The extensions of files to be scanned can be manually set by the user.
Virex
This antivirus scans the hard drive for trojans, viruses and malicious codes, looks at each drive, in every folder and file. It is also possible to individually check any element that seems suspicious to the user. It is also possible to set the start time of the automatic check, at the end of which detailed information will be provided indicating the detected problems.
Using the above programs, you can be completely confident in the reliable protection of your MacBook. Which antivirus to choose for Mac depends on the characteristics of the device and the tasks that are assigned to it. Despite the low popularity of this operating system among hackers, protection is necessary for the effective use of the MacBook without the risk of infection and subsequent troubleshooting in service centers or on its own.