If you’re a Mac user, you probably love the sleek desktop experience and how easy it is to use and understand. Luckily, it’s not the most popular target for hackers, but antivirus software is still an important step in securing your Mac and protecting your personal and financial data from malware.
Finding the best antivirus software can be challenging. While subscription prices are affordable, your budget might already be tight. Thankfully, there are several good, free malware solutions for macOS. Here are our top picks for free antivirus software for Mac, each specially tailored to protect your Apple computer.
Bitdefender Virus Scanner
Built upon the company’s award-winning antivirus engine, Bitdefender Virus Scanner features a host of scan options, allowing users to quickly perform deep scans of the entire system or target specific locations. If granted, it even provides an option for scanning critical locations — such as launch agents and the entire system library — allowing users to bypass lengthier scans when pressed for time.
This antivirus software automatically updates with Bitdefender’s hourly malware definitions before scanning while providing a quick means for blacklisting specific locations from system scans. It attempts to disinfect and quarantine suspicious files, and though the feature is not unique to this software, it can also quickly search for malware within various archives and file types (PDF, PKG, ZIP, RAR, etc.).
From the home screen, users can choose four different scanning options, in addition to an Update button and a View Quarantine button. It’s all very easy to understand and use.
You can get it straight from the Mac App Store or download it from Bitdefender. Bitdefender’s subscription plans add stronger privacy and more robust security features.
Malwarebytes Free
Windows users have long turned to the Malwarebytes free version as a backup for always-on antivirus software. The Mac version started as an adware removal tool, but as of today, it’s also a full-fledged tool for protecting your machine against other forms of malware. Plus, it’s just as effective in MacOS as it is in Windows, a fact that’s aided by the team’s constant research on current threats. In fact, the company identified the first Mac malware threat in 2017.
Using the app couldn’t be easier. Just select Scan, and the software quickly alerts you to any malware infection — often when other antivirus software misses something. However, it’s not an always-on solution, so it’s more suited for performing deep scans and ridding yourself of particularly nasty Mac viruses.
While the free version only cleans a Mac that has already been infected, the paid version of Malwarebytes antivirus software offers live protection.
Avira Free Antivirus
Avira strikes a nice balance between ease of use and quick access to advanced utilities, ultimately rendering basic system scans just as simple to execute as those that are scheduled and file-specific. The software includes standard spyware and adware protection, along with the ability to intercept harmful websites and block tracking. If it finds an infected file or folder, it can repair or delete the problem. It can also scan USB devices for any potential dangers.
Avira’s full-featured interface uses a left-hand navigation bar for viewing the system’s status, scheduling tasks, and viewing past quarantine history, among other options. This antivirus will provide you with up-to-date information about threats. It’s resource-heavy but capable enough when looking for automation, scan history, and other advanced features.
One distinction between Avira and our other recommended choices is that it uses more system resources. Consider yourself warned, but there is a lengthy installation process as you’re starting; the updates also tend to eat up a lot of time as well. The slow-rolling installation and updating isn’t a huge problem considering the meager price and comprehensive antivirus tool, but it’s definitely an inconvenience.
If you need more than what the free tool provides, Avira Internet Security adds advanced ransomware protection, real-time alerts, and more for a single Mac at an affordable price.
Avast Security
Avast Security for Mac is one of the most popular security suites available, and it’s easy to see why. It’s effective and free for noncommercial use, providing on-demand tools for quickly performing full-system malware scans. It also sifts through specific email threads, attachments, and various web activities. It even offers drag-and-drop scanning for individual files and phishing protection, along with the ability to scan external drives and attached volumes.
The app’s interface is straightforward and self-explanatory. It features a navigational pane on the left that consists of five primary buttons and a real-time graph that aggregates shield activity and allows you to quickly check the overall stats of your Mac.
If privacy is particularly important, you may want to keep in mind reports from a few years ago that Avast collected and sold customer web-browsing data. And while Avast does admit to doing so, the company also maintains that it does not collect names, email addresses, or contact details. Users have the option to opt out of sharing their data.
If you want the Premium version, you need to pay for a subscription.
AVG
If you’re looking for a hands-off solution, AVG Antivirus for Mac is a solid option. AVG runs quietly in the background, offering live protection and schedule scans, as well as the option to manually scan your system or specific files if you’re concerned. AVG draws from a constantly updating database of known viruses and can even catch “zero-day” threats.
It offers both local and web-based protection, watching for malware downloads and malicious links, as well as email attachments that may contain nefarious software.
The user interface is intuitive, and though it pushes you toward some of AVG’s premium offerings, it gives you plenty of information to know how secure your system is.
The premium version requires a subscription offers added layers of protection, including guards against ransomware and phishing malware.
Do I need antivirus software on my Mac?
For many years, the PC reigned supreme with such a large share of the market that Mac computers were largely overlooked by hackers. Why create a virus that works on a small percentage of computers when you can target hundreds of millions of systems?
If your Mac, like most computers, holds personal and financial data that you can’t risk being compromised, a paid antivirus subscription might be worth the expense. To learn more, check out our article devoted to Mac malware threats, Apple’s built-in protection, and why you might need antivirus software for your Mac.
