Fortunately, there are many fantastic anti-malware platforms designed to give your Mac a booster shot against the latest viruses, adware, and ransomware,. Many of them are made by the same companies that produce the solutions. The best free antivirus for Mac Avast Security for Mac Avast Security for Mac is one of the most popular security suites available, and it’s easy to see why.

Avast uses real-time detection that runs in the background. Avast, like other antivirus apps that continually run in the background, can have an impact on your Mac's performance. Avast, however, gives you the option of using its real-time detection, or a scheduling system that can have less impact on your Mac's performance. Download the Avast Security for Mac setup file by clicking the button below and save it to a familiar location on your Mac. Original pacman download for mac. Download Avast Security for Mac Double-click the downloaded setup file avast_security_online.dmg and select Avast Security.

It’s effective and free for non-commercial use, providing on-demand tools for quickly performing full-system malware scans, as well as sifting through specific email threads, attachments, and various web activities like web pages, downloads, and JavaScripts. Furthermore, it offers drag-and-drop scanning for individual files and phishing protection, along with the ability to scan external drives and attached volumes for potential infections. You can also initiate scans for connected devices like external hard drives. The application’s interface is straightforward and self-explanatory, and features a navigational pane on the left that consists of five primary buttons and a real-time graph that aggregates shield activity and allows users to quickly check the overall stats of their computer. The free version also offers to install two other programs during installation: Avast Internet Security ($30 per year) and Avast SecureLine VPN ($60 per year). Neither are necessary for detecting and removing malware, however, so pay attention during installation if you don’t want them. Download it: The rest Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac Windows users have long turned to Malwarebytes’ free version, affectionately known as MBAM, as a backup for always-on malware software.

The Mac Malwarebytes version started as an adware removal tool, but as of today, it’s also a full-fledged tool for protecting your machine against other forms of malware. Plus, it’s just as effective in MacOS as it is in Windows, a fact that’s aided by the Malwarebytes team’s constant research on current threats — the company identified the in 2017. Using the program couldn’t be easier. Just launch it, hit scan, and the software will quickly let you know if you’re infected with any Mac-specific malware — oftentimes. Like the Windows iteration of the free version, though, this is not an always-on solution and is thus more suited for performing deep scans and ridding yourself of particularly pernicious MacOS.

There are scheduling and proactive blocks, but these features expire after two weeks if you are using the free version. To get live protection you’d need to pay for the premium version, which starts at $40 for a year. Download it: Sophos Antivirus Mac Home Edition Straddling the line somewhere between necessity and excess, Sophos offers all the basic utilities you’ve come to expect from quality antivirus software, and a whole lot more. It has custom, on-demand, and scheduled scans for specified files, folders, and drives, along with additional tools for deleting and quarantining any software Sophos deems a potential threat. The software even incorporates real-time protection features that will quarantine unknown files that are exhibiting suspicious behavior.