- Best Security Software For Mac
- Virus Protection For Your Computer
- Virus Protection Apps On Mac
- Virus Protection For A Macbook Pro
Contrary to a popular belief, Macs are not 100% immune to viruses and malware. In addition to the in-built protection tools that your computer has, you should install a modern and powerful antivirus to ward off potential hazards.
The assumption that Macs can boast of bulletproof protection against viruses is long outdated. The vast majority of harmful programs are indeed designed for PCs — simply because these devices account for around 90% of the market. Nevertheless, that 10% that belong to Macs have recently turned into a hotbed for new digital threats. If you don’t have an antivirus on your computer or keep it disabled, you expose your confidential data, savings, and reputation to significant risks. In this article, you’ll find a detailed clarification of how you might contract malware and why an antivirus is a must-have for Macs.
- As always, our goal is to ensure that you end up investing in the best antivirus software for your Mac. Malware Protection Lab Certifications. Like anything important that you buy, you are likely to do a great deal of research prior to investing in it. This is especially true when looking for a car, appliance, computer, smartphone, and so on.
- With FileVault 2, your data is safe and secure — even if your Mac falls into the wrong hands. FileVault 2 encrypts the entire drive on your Mac, protecting your data with XTS-AES 128 encryption. And on Mac systems with an Apple T2 Security Chip, FileVault 2 keys are created and protected by the Secure Enclave for even more security.
Jun 11, 2020 Avast Premium Security comes well-equipped to defend your Mac, and its antivirus protection has impressed both the major independent testing labs – so that’s obviously a good start.
Why Macs Are Safer Than PCs
Apple devices feature a plethora of advanced tools for warding off threats:
- The brand notarizes safe apps so that you can be sure of their security from the onset
- If a piece of software is not labeled as harmless, the Gatekeeper won’t launch it unless you approve of it manually
- XProtect juxtaposes each downloaded item with its inventory of malware and detects dangerous files long before they might provoke any damage
- All dubious items are labeled with quarantine tags — you’ll notice it as soon as you try to launch the file
- Each app is allowed to function only within its sandbox, without affecting the rest of the software
All of these measures are embedded in each Mac. You don’t need to fine-tune them, and they don’t affect the productivity of the device when running in the background. However, they are not flawless and don’t make your device 100% immune to all possible hazards.
Not all dubious items are marked with flags. When you fetch music or movies from torrents, the system will most likely perceive them as safe even if they are not.
The XProtect inventory includes only 94 rules which is a tiny fraction of all the known threats. This tool is helpless against the freshest hazards that hackers create in bulks.
The newer generation of Macs is equipped with T2 security chips. macOS Catalina requires user’s permission before accessing external drives, iCloud Drive, desktop files, or documents. But still, sophisticated malware might pass itself away as a legit file, sneak inside the system and convince the Gatekeeper to launch it.
What’s more, the functionality of the antiviruses downloaded from the AppStore might be limited due to the above-mentioned sandbox approach. They won’t be able to inspect all the contents of your hard drive and eliminate the threats. Even if you grant them the maximum access to all the parts of the device, you won’t be able to fix this problem.
Which Threats You Can Contract and How
The two categories of malware that you are most likely to suffer from are potentially unwanted programs and adware. The trick is that you might willingly install them, providing your manual approval to launch these files. You might believe that you are installing a photo editor, a multimedia player, or even an antivirus — but this would be malware in disguise. You might consciously allow malware to sneak inside the system when fulfilling the following operations:
- Clicking on advertising banners
- Opening links from unknown recipients from your email and messengers
- Downloading files from third-party sites (not from AppStore or the sites of their official developers)
- Installing dubious browser extensions
You might fall prey to the so-called “dialogue fatigue”. This means, the Gatekeeper will be warning you against potential threats but you will be too lazy or tired and will disregard this signal.
Moreover, even the most seasoned e-commerce fans sometimes share their financial credentials with bogus shops that don’t actually sell anything but get hold of the gullible users’ bank card details.
Don’t trust the notifications that convince you to download the freshest version of the Adobe Flash Player. This is one of the most common malware traps: instead of downloading the player that you don’t really need you deliberately welcome a spying tracker into the system.
Another famous trap is fake virus notifications. You see a highly emotional pop-up telling you that your device is infected with a rare and powerful malware. Regular antiviruses allegedly can’t handle it, so you need to download a special one. The pop-up insists this is a pressing issue and gives you no time to think. You rapidly download the antivirus… which happens to be malware.
Arguments in Favor of an Antivirus
Let’s start with the most widespread argument against antiviruses. Some Mac owners think that such apps might have a detrimental effect on the device’s productivity. This might have been true years ago but hardly anymore. Modern antiviruses are relatively lightweight and highly efficient. Of course, we are talking about the top products and not random ones from unknown manufacturers. Also, the memory, disk speed, and processing power of the latest generation of Macs can successfully cope with some extra workload.
The best thing about modern antiviruses is their versatility. In addition to protecting your device from malware, they offer a much broader functionality, such as:
- Boost your Mac’s productivity by freeing its disk space. They identify junk items and duplicate files and safely eliminate them, leaving the useful contents intact.
- Help you uninstall unnecessary apps quickly and safely. You won’t even need to manually empty the trash bin.
- Disable advertising banners on websites and prevent diverse sites from spying on you. You won’t share a bite of your private data with online shops or social media outlets.
- Help you retrieve your computer in case it gets stolen. First, you will be able to remotely lock your Mac through a mobile app. Second, its web camera will take a portrait of the thief so that you can share it with the police.
- Plenty of other useful functions.
DepositPhotos – antivirus
Ask most Mac users about antivirus for Mac and they’ll tell you that macOS doesn’t get viruses and so there’s no need to worry about it. Sadly, that’s not quite true. While there’s been no serious outbreak or epidemic of Mac viruses in the wild, macOS has been hit by malware quite a few times. Just recently Meltdown and Spectre malware exploited flaws in Intel chips and affected Macs.
Macro Virus is the new Mac-specific threat that was discovered in 2020. This virus gets on your Mac through an infected Word document.
While malware and viruses aren’t the same thing, the steps taken to combat them are similar enough that we’re going to use both terms interchangeably. And the best security software for Mac should deal with both categories equally well.
Technically, a virus is a bit of code that infects your system and can cause all sorts of havoc. Malware is a much wider term used to describe anything malicious that finds its way onto your Mac from apps you download think they were something else and which steal data, to code that arrives on your Mac because you clicked on a link on a website and which shows you adverts or threatens to hack your computer if you don’t pay up.
How do I know if my Mac has a virus?
Viruses display a number of different symptoms, depending on the kind of malware they are. It could be that your Mac starts behaving strangely and displaying odd things on screen. Or you may see a message telling you that your Mac is infected and that you should call a premium rate number to get rid of it. If you see that, don’t call the number.
Here are a few signs that your Mac has a virus:
- Your Mac suddenly starts running very slowly or applications lag much more than they usually do.
- You see adverts pop up on your Mac randomly.
- Websites you visit show strange adverts that are unconnected with anything you’ve browsed or searched for.
- You find a piece of software, like, say a browser toolbar that you didn’t install.
- Websites that don’t normally show adverts have banners on them.
If your Mac displays one or more of these symptoms, it doesn’t necessarily mean it has a virus or has been infected with malware. It’s a sign that it might do, however. And it’s well worth getting to the root of the problem. You can do that by installing an antivirus program and using it to scan your Mac. It will alert you if it detects any any known viruses or malware.
What do I do if my Mac gets a virus?
We’ve covered that in detail in a separate article here. In summary, here’s what you should and shouldn’t do.
Don’t google your symptoms and then download whatever comes at the top of the search listings. One common host for malware is fake antivirus software, and often the websites that house these apps are optimized for the very symptoms they cause. So instead of downloading a solution, you make the problem worse. If you want to scan your Mac for malware, try using CleanMyMac X. It can detect thousands of threats, including adware, worms, spyware, ransomware, and more.
It comes with an malware monitor that works in real-time. If some dubious app attempts to get into your Launch Agents, you'll see an alert and instructions on what to do next. Here's the screenshot of CleanMyMac X detecting a bunch of viruses on a MacBook:
How can I protect my Mac from viruses?
The obvious answer is to do a research and install some trusted Mac security software. Our latest research on best antivirus for Mac may be a good starting point.
1. Clear your browser cache
If the malware has come from a website you downloaded, you don’t want any traces of the site or and files it’s deposited left on your Mac. You can quickly and easily clear the browser cache for Safari and Chrome using CleanMyMac. Unlike many independent antiviruses this program is notarized by Apple, so check it out.
Tip: CleanMyMac can also remove extensions for those two browsers — extensions are sometimes infected and if you get a virus it may have come from one of those.
2. Make sure your Mac’s firewall is switched on
- Go to System Preferences and click on the Security & Privacy pane.
- Choose the Firewall tab.
- If the green light next to the word Firewall is showing, your firewall is on. If it’s not, click Turn On Firewall.
- Click on Firewall Options and check the Enable Stealth Mode box.
3. Use a VPN
Keeping your firewall on will help protect your Mac, but it won’t keep out every piece of malware. If you regularly use your Mac on a public Wi-Fi network, you should consider using a VPN tool. By connecting your Mac to a VPN, you create a secure tunnel between your Mac and websites you visit, and your data is encrypted. If the Wi-Fi network is compromised, your data and your Mac will be safe.
4. Don’t click the link
Email messages are a very common distribution medium for malware. Never click a link in an email unless you’re certain you know who the message is from. Phishing, as it’s called, can catch anyone out if you’re not vigilant. We’ve all had emails that look legitimate and that ask us to click a link to access a form or read an important message. Don’t do it. The easiest strategy and the best malware removal for Mac is simply being vigilant.
5. Trust in Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper is a built-in security layer of the macOS itself. It's no replacement for antimalware software, but it has a couple of very helpful tools that protect your Mac. One is Quarantine. If you’ve ever downloaded an application from the internet, you’ll have seen it in action. It pops up a dialog box telling you that you’ve downloaded it and where it’s come from — assuming it’s been digitally signed by its developer. Apps that don’t have a signature, supplied by Apple, don’t even get that far. You must then click to approve the app before it can be opened. Don’t ignore this box when you see it. Check the app you’ve downloaded is the one you expected to download, before you agree to open it.
6. Xprotect yourself
![Virus protection for your mac download Virus protection for your mac download](/uploads/1/2/9/3/129370720/178786748.png)
The other macOS tool is Xprotect — it scans files you’ve downloaded when you open them and looks for known malware. If it finds anything, it will warn you. If you see it, follow its instructions.
7. Avoid known offenders
Both Flash and Java have been used in the past to spread viruses — usually by hackers who create fake installers that pretend to be updates and lure you into downloading them. But outdated versions of Flash (the MacDownloader malware used a fake Flash update as a host) and Java can leave your Mac vulnerable to malware. The safest approach is to avoid installing them altogether. There’s very little reason, now that most of the web uses HTML 5 video, to have Flash installed on your Mac.
8. Keep your browser up to date
Safari updates are installed with macOS updates, while other browsers like Firefox and Chrome will alert you when your browser is out of date and a newer version is available. Don’t ignore the warnings. Update your browser immediately. Often, these updates will include security features designed to keep you safe from malware.
9. Backup your Mac regularly
If you backup your Mac you can restore from that backup in the event that a virus causes real damage to your system. And if you use Time Machine, you can boot your Mac into the recovery partition and restore from a snapshot that was taken just before your Mac became infected. That makes it very easy to get back up and running again.
10. Secure personal data
Best Security Software For Mac
You could use macOS’ FileVault to encrypt every file on your Mac. But it consumes resources and hits your Mac’s performance. For most of us, it’s overkill. But you should make sure that all sensitive or personal data stored on your Mac is encrypted. One way to do that is to use a password manager. As well as passwords, most of these apps allow to encrypt and safely store credit card details, bank accounts, and text notes. You should also use secure, difficult to guess passwords for everything, from your Mac user account to your Wi-Fi network.
Virus Protection For Your Computer
As you can see, the best virus protection for a Mac is to be alert, and to use common sense. If you notice your Mac behaving strangely, take action immediately, even if it’s only launching Activity Monitor to find out why your Mac is running slowly.
Apple virus protection in macOS, in the form of Gatekeeper and Xprotect will help, but they won’t stop every possible piece of malware. You need to be vigilant, backup your Mac regularly and minimize the risk by removing Flash and Java.
Virus Protection Apps On Mac
The chances of your Mac becoming infected with a virus are slim. By employing the advice here, you can reduce that risk even further.
11. Antivirus software
Virus Protection For A Macbook Pro
What to look for in antivirus software? Antivirus software is a juicy market that attracts many newcomers. That’s why you should look into software with a reputable name and at least some years of credibility behind it. So, don’t fall for fancy names. And don’t install more than two antivirus programs because antiviruses often conflict with each other. What else to consider:
Reputable brand: Malwarebytes, CleanMyMac X
Apple notarization: Legit apps are notarized with Apple
Real-time protection
Regular updates: Because new viruses appear every day
We hope this article gave you some valuable insights. Our MacPaw team is on the watch for the latest Mac security updates, so stay tuned.
Apple notarization: Legit apps are notarized with Apple
Real-time protection
Regular updates: Because new viruses appear every day
We hope this article gave you some valuable insights. Our MacPaw team is on the watch for the latest Mac security updates, so stay tuned.