Although it was once virtually unheard of, spyware is an increasingly common and serious problem for Mac users. With that in mind, MacScan seeks to provide a dedicated line of defence against spyware. This is a commercial application from SecureMac, which is otherwise known for its Mac security news website. With free options available, though not to mention other commercial options at around the same price is something like MacScan powerful and useful enough to be worth paying for?
The Basics
MacScan 2.7 runs on Leopard (Mac OS X version 10.5 and up) and Snow Leopard (10.6 and up). Its $29.99 US price (with discounts for multiple licenses) includes technical support. MacScan works with any type of processor. In addition to spyware applications and exploits, it deals with tracking cookies, and can be used to delete browser histories and caches. It does not, however, protect specifically against other types of malware, including viruses, Trojans, or phishing attacks.
The Pros
Although limited in scope, MacScan does have most of the features you’d expect from an application of this nature, including varying scan detail levels (Quick, Full, and Custom), scan scheduling support, and an automatic update option. New spyware definitions are made available regularly, or at least as regularly as new spyware for Macs is identified.
If you use multiple browsers, you can delete the histories and caches for all of them directly from MacScan, which may be a useful feature for machines with several different regular users. At the very least, MacScan provides the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you won’t have to worry about spyware getting on your Mac and monitoring your activities.
The Cons
The easiest complaint to make about MacScan is its narrow focus. It only deals with Mac-based spyware, and nothing else. There’s certainly nothing wrong with a niche program that does its job well. At the same time, it’s worth noting that other security programs for Mac deal with viruses, various other types of malware, and malicious files that target other platforms, in addition to Mac-based spyware. From MacScan’s perspective, the worst thing about all of this is that its competitors seem to deal with spyware just as well as MacScan does.
The Verdict
Do you need a dedicated spyware blocker for your Mac? If you have any other security software, then the answer is a resounding ìno.î There’s no doubt that MacScan does an adequate job of keeping away Mac-based spyware, and this is all it intends to do. However, as evidenced by the MacScan website itself, there just isn’t that much spyware out there currently that targets Macs, and there’s no reason to believe that the other security software developers can’t keep up with it at the moment. This means that, until the situation changes significantly, there really isn’t any good reason to pay $30 for MacScan when there are more comprehensive packages, that offer a greater overall performance and ease of use, for the same price or less.
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