These days, more and more Mac users are paying close attention to the issue of virus protection. The threat from viruses and malware for Mac is increasing as the Mac platform continues to become more popular and widely adopted among individuals and businesses alike.
Even though this is a relatively new issue for Mac users, there are already numerous antivirus programs available for Mac OS X and most of them are more than adequate for the basic purpose of keeping harmful files away from your machine.
However, there’s much more to antivirus than simply detecting malicious files.
There are significant differences between these programs in terms of performance and efficiency in terms of CPU usage, as well as ease and use and breadth of features. Depending on your tendencies as a user, the kinds of things you use your Mac for, and the environment in which you use it, you’ll likely find that certain antivirus packages suit your needs better than others.
Commercial Antivirus Software for Mac
The three leaders among commercial antivirus programs for Mac are Norton Internet Security, Intego VirusBarrier X6, and McAfee VirusScan.
Norton Internet Security for Mac sets the standard among Mac-based security packages. It offers the best in protection and efficient performance, as it operates quietly and safely in the background without hogging resources. Norton Internet Security is also very easy to use, even for relative novices, despite its comprehensiveness. Norton is the closest thing out there to a sure bet in antivirus for Mac. The only drawback is that it costs $79.99 US for a one-year license.
Intego VirusBarrier X6 is the most popular Mac-only antivirus program. It provides comprehensive protection against viruses and other malware including spyware. VirusBarrier does have a slightly unusual interface that might take some getting used to for new users. It performs well and won’t interfere with your normal computing activities. Overall, VirusBarrier is a step down from Norton, but it may represent a better value for most casual users at $49.95 US for two licenses.
McAfee VirusScan for Mac is really only a realistic option for business users, as you’re required to buy a minimum of 3 licenses for a total of $109.65 US. McAfee is one of the easiest antivirus programs to use, and its ePolicy Orchestrator feature is possibly the best multi-user antivirus management tool on the Mac platform.
Free Antivirus Software for Mac
Two of the best and most widely used freeware antivirus applications for Mac are iAntiVirus and ClamXav.
iAntiVirus from PC Tools is free for individual users, although business users are required to pay for a license. It’s the best of the free antivirus programs in terms of CPU usage and overall user friendliness. However, iAntiVirus detects only Mac-based viruses. This means that you can still pick up files that are harmful to Windows and potentially pass them on to Windows users.
ClamXav deals with both Mac and Windows-based threats. It’s probably the best of the free antivirus programs for Mac in terms of total protection. However, it’s not the easiest to use, and it can take a very, very long time to perform scans. So, if you want to go with a free antivirus program, if you want the most secure experience, go with ClamXav; if you want a smoother experience, go with iAntiVirus.
Related posts:
- ClamXav: Free Mac Antivirus Software Review
- iAntiVirus Review: Free Mac Antivirus Software
- VirusBarrier vs. iAntiVirus: Which is Better? Mac Security Comparison
- iAntiVirus vs. McAfee: Mac Security Software Comparison
- iAntiVirus vs. Norton Internet Security: Mac Antivirus Software Comparison
