It’s fair to say there’s less risk of malware attacks on a Mac than a PC, but does that mean you can skip antivirus altogether?

For years, we’ve been told that Macs can’t get viruses. But no computer is immune from cyber attacks, so each year we test Mac antivirus software to their limits with hundreds of virus attacks including worms and ransomware to see how they fare. Read on to see your protection options.

Aug 22, 2019  While you may think you don't need antivirus protection on your Mac, it's more important than ever now that Apple has grown so popular. Even if you use a limited, free version of a program, you'll be doing yourself a favor. Protect your Mac from malware. MacOS has many features that help protect your Mac and your personal information from malicious software, or malware. One common way malware is distributed is by embedding it in a harmless-looking app. You can reduce this risk by using software only from reliable sources. The settings in Security & Privacy preferences allow you to specify the sources of software.

Browse all our antivirus software reviews, or skip straight to the best antivirus packages from our tough tests.

Built-in Mac security

There aren’t many viruses for Mac computers, which makes them hard to come by. Our lab tests Windows antivirus software with several thousand Windows-specific viruses each year, but tests only a few dozen on Mac computers. That isn’t to say that it’s impossible to catch a Mac virus, but the number of different strains is much smaller.

MacOS is secure by design. It requires a number of steps to allow a virus to run on your machine and needs you, the user, to intervene for any program – be it a virus or otherwise – to gain access to critical system files. In short, it’s actually quite tricky to get infected by Malware on an Mac.

Why you should still consider anitivirus for Mac

Even if you don’t let a piece of malware run, we have found that macOS’ built-in security scanning doesn’t reliably detect dormant viruses just sitting on the hard drive. If you never had any intention of running the viruses yourself, you could inadvertently share them with somebody you know who might not be so fortunate.

And there’s more to antivirus than simply protection from viruses. Almost all the security suites we test come with additional protection against phishing attacks, where websites pretend to be legit in order to steal your data. We have found that the very best Mac security suites will also bolster your phishing protection quite significantly, and perform better than the protection built into the Mac versions of Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Opera web browsers. For this reason, if you’re nervous about threats on the web, it would make sense to at least consider a Mac security suite.

Antivirus options for Apple Macs

While there’s no cheap way to get yourself a Mac, those who don’t fancy a yearly subscription to a security suite can rest easy in the knowledge that this year we tested three free options, one of which was good enough to be a Best Buy.

If you’re a Which? member, you can see the very best antivirus options on our best antivirus for Mac advice guide. And for everybody else, we’ve highlighted five options from the biggest brands.

Paid antivirus for Mac

Norton Security Deluxe

One of the biggest names in antivirus has a relatively inexpensive Mac option. What’s more, if you have Windows computers in your household you can mix and match the different device types under the same subscription. Subscribing gets you various other benefits, although some, such as the 50GB of cloud storage, is only available for Windows computers. See whether it’s worth paying for in our Norton Security Deluxe for Mac review.

Kaspersky Internet Security

Kaspersky’s security suite includes basic protection as well as tools specifically designed to protect your files from ransomware and a bolstered web browser for banking. Like Norton, you can mix and match a Kaspersky multi-device Internet Security subscription between Windows and Macs. See if it’s worth the cost in our full Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac review.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac

It comes with phishing protection and a VPN for keeping your web browsing safe from prying eyes, but can this AV production take on its big-brand rivals? It’s performed well in our tests in previous years, so read our full Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac review to find out.

Free antivirus for Mac

AVG Antivirus for Mac (free)

If you don’t want extra features and also don’t fancy shelling out for yet another digital subscription, AVG Free might be the option for you. There are no frills, but it should deliver when it comes to basic protection, adding that last layer of defence for when all else fails. See how it fared in our antivirus lab test by reading the full AVG Antivirus for Mac review.

Avast Free Antivirus for Mac (free)

Avast and AVG are owned by the same company, so they should perform similarly in our tests. Included in the installation is Avast’s free password manager, which might come in handy if you’ve yet to set one up for yourself. Read our full Avast Free Antivirus for Mac review to see whether it’s a good free choice.

How we test antivirus

Our antivirus test lab is riddled with threats. It has set up dozens of computers in 40 countries around the world to act as ‘honeypots’ for millions of viruses. These honeypots capture viruses that are fresh into the wild and may have only existed for days. This makes the task for the security software very challenging, because many of them rely upon huge databases of so-called virus ‘definitions’ to tell whether or not a file is harmful.

Grabbing new threats means they will also have to rely on their own intuition – rather than simply checking a database – using more advanced techniques to decide if there’s a threat. We also use a mix of scenarios on both Windows and macOS, including viruses stored on USB sticks, and even malicious real-world phishing webpages designed to steal your data. Only the most secure software can fend off all these types of attacks effectively.

Malware can be more of a concern if you’re using an old phone. Read our guide on mobile phone security for more.

June 19, 2020 | By admin

In today’s digital world, malware and cyber attacks have become ubiquitous. Gone are the days when there was only a handful of malicious programs such as viruses. Nowadays, new and powerful malware variants such as the ransomware, spyware, keyloggers, and various new forms of malware have become more of a problem for individuals and businesses alike.

Real-time detection of unknown and malicious files, and protecting your computer from such harmful viruses and other malware programs becomes a necessity in today’s always-connected world.

Keeping that in mind, Microsoft has released Windows Defender with the release of Windows 8. Windows Defender is an anti-malware program that is built right into the Windows OS- meaning lower consumption of CPU resources and adequate protection against malware.

Moreover, Microsoft also updates its Windows Defender utility frequently with new data definitions (virus signatures) to keep the latest and more potent threats at bay.

So, does Windows 10 Need Antivirus? The answer is yes and no. With Windows 10, users don’t have to worry about installing antivirus software. And unlike the older Windows 7, they won’t always be reminded to install an antivirus program for protecting their system.

However, with the rapidly evolving malware threats, software and hardware vulnerabilities, does sticking with the built-in Windows Defender tool as your primary Antivirus program enough to protect your computer from malware and cyber attacks? Let’s find out.

Do You Need Security Software For Macbook Pro

Is Antivirus software necessary with Windows 10?

If some malicious files infiltrate your computer and you can’t get rid of them, Windows Defender will take care of them. You can also run the Windows Defender tool from a from a USB drive, even when you are not connected to the internet. This should find those harder-to-kill malware programs.

Windows Defender is more than a baseline defense, it’s a good tool, and there’s no reason not to use it. You can also use Windows Defender alongside other Antivirus software.

Windows 10 Antivirus (Windows Defender), is an integrated anti-virus and anti-malware solution that is just as good as any other antivirus software (and probably more comfortable to use for the novice). Plus, there are no bundled toolbars or annoying popups that prompt you to buy the pro or premium version.

Windows 10 Antivirus provides the same level of protection against malware as any other Antivirus for Windows 10 provides. If you’re using Windows 10 computer with up-to-date software, you can rely on Windows Defender best virus removal tool built in that won’t hog your CPU resources and will keep an eye on processes and tasks in the background.

But, in today’s world of ever-changing cyber threats, adding an extra layer of protection can be beneficial. The Internet has become a part of our everyday lives, along with it, it also brings in a number of threats. Hence, it is highly essential for you to protect your computer from malware threats.

Though Windows 10 comes with built-in antivirus and anti-malware tool (Windows Defender), it might not be able to protect your web browsing activities and malicious links. You might accidentally click on a malicious link that downloads malware or adware onto your computer. So, it is important to install antivirus software that offers web protection or internet protection.

Security For Mac Computers

Try Comodo Antivirus which provides multi-layered security in a user-friendly interface. It combines the Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS), Defense+ and Auto Sandbox technology to contain even the potent malware.

Unlike all other Antivirus products that use “Default Allow” security posture, Comodo Antivirus uses “Default Deny” security posture. “Default Allow” used in all other AV products allows unknown files (malware) into your computer, i.e., if a new malware which is not updated in the antivirus’ database, then the antivirus simply allows that malware to run on your computer.

With Comodo Antivirus, unknown files and malware are made to run on a container (virtual environment) until a verdict comes from Valkyrie (unknown files analysis system).

Here are the best Result Windows 10 Antivirus in 2020 (Updated Today)

1. Comodo Antivirus
2. Avira Antivirus
3. Avast Antivirus
4. Kaspersky Antivirus
5. Panda Antivirus

Download Windows 10 Antivirus

Do I Need Security Software For Macbook Air

Download Comodo Antivirus for Windows 10 today and protect your Windows 10 computer from all types of malware and cyber attacks. It protects your Windows 10 computer, files as well as your online activities from malicious threats.

Do I Need Security Software For My Mac

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