In recent years, Avast has gained some name recognition as a simple, innovative security offering for Windows and a litany of other platforms.
Unlike some of its other iterations, though, the Mac version of Avast costs money, and as such it has to withstand the scrutiny of being compared to other commercial security programs.
Does Avast hold up amid the fierce competition, or should it walk the plank?
The Basics
Avast Mac Edition works on Intel or PowerPC-based machines. It currently supports Mac OS X Tiger (version 10.4.x) and Leopard (version 10.5.x). There is currently no version available for Snow Leopard. Avast requires 128 MB of RAM and 50 MB of hard disk space, making it positively tiny in comparison to other antivirus programs. It’s priced at $39.95 US for a one-year license, with significant volume discounts available.
Avast Mac Edition doesn’t pretend to be anything more than a simple antivirus program, and it doesn’t opt for the sort of broad range of features that you’ll find in other Mac security packages like Norton Internet Security or Intego Internet Security Barrier. It scans for Mac and Windows-based viruses and malware.
The Pros
Compared to just about every other antivirus program, Avast for Mac is extremely economical from a system resources standpoint. It’s designed in such a way as to put as little stress on your hard disk as possible, which is nice because hard disk space has a very important role in terms of overall performance in Mac hardware.
Avast has some pretty nice features, like its integration with Mail. Avast will work to flag messages within Mail itself when infected attachments are identified. Although Snow Leopard isn’t supported, Avast runs on possibly the widest variety of machines of any security program for Mac, thanks to its modest system requirements.
The Cons
While there are some nice things about it in theory, Avast Mac Edition verges on being a completely broken piece of software. First of all, it has a counterintuitive interface, which makes even the basic process of scanning difficult. There are a number of other strange design decisions at play, as well. You have to press Command + H in order to minimize it, which wouldn’t occur to many people, especially because the normal minimize function appears to be present, but doesn’t work.
Every time Avast is opened, it will automatically open Mail as well, which can be irritating. There’s no apparent way to deactivate this “feature” either. In terms of overall performance, Avast Mac Edition is horrendous. Although it will safely identify threats, it takes a very long time to scan in comparison to other antivirus programs.
Avast is also a buggy piece of software. It suffers from regular hiccups and various types of bugs. Installation is difficult, and finally, once you’ve had enough (which probably won’t take long), you’ll find that it can be a chore even to get Avast completely removed from your Mac.
The Verdict
A botched effort, Avast can’t be recommended to anyone. It’s vastly inferior even to free offerings like ClamXav and iAntiVirus. On the positive side, Avast for Mac does have potential, and Avast’s Windows version is very good, so it’s possible that some good will come of it if the developers decide to stick with the Mac platform.
Related posts:
- Norton AntiVirus Mac Review: Internet Security AV Software for Macintosh
- ClamXav: Free Mac Antivirus Software Review
- Kaspersky Mac Antivirus Review – Kaspersky for Mac OS X
- Intego VirusBarrier X6 Review – Mac Antivirus Software
- VirusBarrier vs. ClamXav Review: You Decide
