Although macOS has traditionally been considered a much more secure system and less susceptible to attacks, it is important to emphasize that the growth that malware has had in macOS is more than notorious and important, to the point that it might be advisable to use an antivirus to Mac
Is it necessary to have an antivirus for Mac? If you want to know our opinion and what good options you have in the market, keep reading.
Is antivirus software necessary on Mac?
Even if you don’t believe the answer, I would say no, but it is something recommended to have. Although the Mac is a solid Unix-based system, its increasing market share makes it an interesting target for cybercriminals.
According to the CVE Details vulnerability report, in 2021 around 610 vulnerabilities were reported in macOS and if we focus on the data extracted by Malwarebytes, there is a 35% increase in the incidence of cyber attacks on Macs.
Before getting involved in installing an antivirus, it is important to keep in mind that the best protection against attackers is common sense itself: most of the security problems do not go hand in hand with the malware itself, such as the door has been opened by doing something that is not rightsuch as installing software from dubious sources or opening unsafe email attachments.
How can I use a Mac safely?
In addition to using a Mac antivirus, if you want to be a safe user, you should at least follow these five tips to ensure you meet minimum security standards.
- keep your updated software: Keeping the operating system, programs and applications up to date is essential to protect against known vulnerabilities.
- Use strong and unique passwords: Create complex passwords that contain a combination of letters, numbers and symbols, avoiding easy or generic passwords such as “Password123”. It could also be interesting to use a Password Manager for more security.
- Be wary of suspicious emails and links: Do not click on links or download attachments from unsolicited or suspicious emails, as you could be the victim of a well-staged phishing scam.
- Use reliable security solutions: Install and keep updated an antivirus program and a firewall on your device, always from reputable companies and sources.
- Back up regularly: to be able to recover your information in case of a worm infection, or a hijacking of the information using ransomware.
What antivirus for Mac are recommended?
Malwarebytes for Mac
malwarebytes is a well-known security program and offers a free version that scans and removes malware from your Mac. It also has a premium version with additional real-time protection features, but as a basic security layer the freeware version does the job very well.
The operation of the free version is very simple: basically it is responsible for scanning for viruses, adware, spyware and the like on demand, that is, only when we ask you to scan.
Its high detection rate makes it an ideal tool to disinfect our Mac in case we believe that it has been attacked by a virus, but really Malwarebytes for Mac could be considered more of a complementary tool to other security programs and should not be considered as a stand-alone antivirus solutionso we advise you to use it more as a complement unless you purchase the Premium version.
Avast Security for Mac
Avast is another reliable antivirus that provides protection against malware, ransomware, and other threats. It offers a free version and a Premium version with advanced security features.
If we focus on the free option, we have to say that it is much more complete than Malwarebytes: in addition to offering us comprehensive protection against the most common malware, it uses a real-time protection engine that monitors our Mac for attacks, automatically blocking suspicious files and applications.
The Premium version offers some more advanced functions such as a secure encryption system for payments made onlineto guarantee that identity theft cannot be done, as well as having access to a larger and faster database than for free users.
If what you are looking for is a safe, valid and free option, Avast is an excellent antivirus for Mac.
Bitdefender Antivirus
Bitdefender is a popular option that offers strong protection against malware, adware, and ransomware, but this is already a fully paid option.
If we want to start investing in cybersecurity, Bitdefender offers us everything we can ask for from modern antivirus software: advanced protection against viruses and ransomware, the ability to block adware on our computer, a VPN included with a daily traffic of 200 Mb to browse anonymously, protection for web browsing in real time and as a differentiating point, a high integration with Time Machine in order to protect our backup copies.
The good thing about Bitdefender is that it is not an expensive solution: for less than 20 euros per year we will have a solid defense of our team, being the Winning Mac Antivirus Solution in the infection protection category by AV TEST, as well as the lightest solution with the least impact on computer performance.
Norton 360 for Mac
This antivirus will sound familiar to many people who were present in the Internet boom of the year 2000, since at that time it was the most popular and complete security solution on the market. norton 360 is a comprehensive security suite that protects against malware, ransomware, phishing, and other threats.
In addition to these more basic features, it offers others that may be interesting such as a smart firewall that is self-managed In order to block potential threats from connecting to our Mac, the identity and privacy protectionwhich help safeguard your personal information online or a parental control mechanism to prevent the little ones from misusing our equipment behind our backs.
Although it is a more expensive solution than Bitdefender, we cannot say that it is an expensive solution either: for less than 30 euros Norton 360 offers us a solid antivirus protection for Mac that would protect our equipment.
With this we would end our small article on antivirus for Mac. In addition to implementing one of these solutions, from SoydeMac we advise you to always maintain a vigilant mentality and use common sense when browsing the Internet and downloading programs: there is no better way to defend against an attack than prevent it, without a doubt.
