Expect AirTag 2 this spring with these new features
AirTag 2 features (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Gurman: Foldable iPhone and ‘another new iPhone design’ coming in 2026
The iPhone 16e just launched, but Apple has four more iPhone models launching this fall—including the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air. But per Mark Gurman, 2026 may be even bigger for the iPhone thanks to two brand new designs in the works: a foldable and another mysterious new design. more…

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Apple could bring out second-gen AirTag by May or June
The second-generation AirTag refresh could be arriving within months, with a leaker claiming that the tracking tag may land by May at the earliest.Apple AirTag in a keyringAn update to the AirTag is expected to arrive at some point in 2025. If a leaker is to be believed, it could be arriving within a couple of months.According to a Monday posting to X by a leaker named Kosutami, Apple's "Next Generation of AirTag" will be arriving in May or June. The account doesn't offer any other AirTag-specific details other than the May or June timeframe. Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Steve Jobs Archive marks Apple co-founder's 70th birthday
On what would have been his 70th birthday, the late Steve Jobs has been remembered by the archive that bears his name.Steve Jobs — image credit: AppleSteve Jobs died in 2011 aged 56, but he is remembered annually by Apple CEO Tim Cook, and most recently also by the Steve Jobs Archive. Founded in 2022 by Cook, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Jony Ive, the archive has marked Jobs's 70th birthday with a short video of an internal Apple meeting.It's October 23, 2007, and the Steve Jobs Archive says that it is the origin of its repeated phrase about how important it is to "make something wonderful." Jobs is asked in the meeting about how Apple will keep its culture as it starts what would become enormous growth. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Gritty, new Apple TV+ series ‘Berlin ER’ tries to be as real as possible
Managing a chaotic emergency room in the toughest and most overcrowded hospital in Berlin is no small task for the young Dr. Parker… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Texas man's Apple Watch detects Afib, likely saving his life
The Apple Watch has yet again proven itself a worthwhile investment, prompting one Austin man to seek help when he wouldn't have otherwise.Apple Watch Afib alertLike many people, Mike Gomez had purchased an Apple Watch for its more obvious health features, such as tracking his workouts and calories burnt. What it wound up doing, instead, was saving his life.In January, Gomez's Apple Watch warned him that his heart rate was high. Shortly after, he received five other notifications warning him that he was in atrial fibrillation. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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New AirTag 2 leak reveals when to expect product launch
Apple launched its first product of the year last week—the iPhone 16e—but five more product launches are expected in the coming weeks and months. One such device is the long-awaited AirTag 2. Now, thanks to a new leak, we have a better idea than ever of when to expect it. more…

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New AirTag 2 leak reveals when to expect product launch
Apple launched its first product of the year last week—the iPhone 16e—but five more product launches are expected in the coming weeks and months. One such device is the long-awaited AirTag 2. Now, thanks to a new leak, we have a better idea than ever of when to expect it. more…

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New AirTag 2 leak reveals when to expect product launch
Apple launched its first product of the year last week—the iPhone 16e—but five more product launches are expected in the coming weeks and months. One such device is the long-awaited AirTag 2. Now, thanks to a new leak, we have a better idea than ever of when to expect it. more…

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Apple enables AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aid feature in the UK
Owners of AirPods Pro 2 in the United Kingdom can use the earbuds as hearing aids, with Apple bringing the feature live in the country a few months after the United States.The AirPods Pro 2 can be used as hearing aids - Image Credit: AppleIn the United States, users of the AirPods Pro 2 with hearing difficulties are able to use the earbuds as hearing aids in their own right. On Monday, Apple extended support for the feature to the United Kingdom.Introduced as a free update enabled on February 24, the Hearing Aid feature is a clinical-grade function that acts to a similar level as over-the-counter hearing aids. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple to invest more than half a trillion, add 20,000 jobs in America over the next four years
Apple on Monday announced its largest-ever spend commitment, with plans to spend and invest more than half a trillion dollars in America… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Apple to invest more than half a trillion dollars, add 20,000 jobs in America over the next four years
Apple on Monday announced its largest-ever spend commitment, with plans to spend and invest more than half a trillion dollars in America… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Meta community notes open to contributors, as Musk threatens to ‘fix’ them on X
Meta community notes are expected to launch within the next couple of months, after the social network announced it would be ending its own fact-checking program because facts are so 2015. You can now apply to be a contributor to these, signing up on one of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Meantime, X owner Elon Musk appears to be threatening the impartiality of his platform’s community notes, announcing plans to “fix” the feature … more…

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Leaked iPhone 17 CAD images reveal three different camera designs
Macworld There’s been much talk of camera modules in the iPhone rumorsphere lately: will the iPhone 17 handsets stick to the same rear design as the previous generation, or will they switch to either a thin horizontal bar or a giant band? A new leak gives us a little more clarity about the new iPhone generation arriving this fall. According to a set of CAD renders posted Sunday to X by the veteran leaker Majin Bu, there will be not one or two but three different camera module designs on show, which might explain the earlier confusion. The two Pro models will have their triple rear lenses embedded in a thick band that runs across the back of the phone, as predicted earlier this month by Jon Prosser. The standard iPhone 17, meanwhile, will stick with the same design as the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus: two lenses stacked vertically, in a small matching module. (That design, if you’ll recall, was a change from the diagonal arrangement on the iPhones 13 through 15.) But the last model in the set, the much-anticipated ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air, appears set to feature yet another design. Rumors predict that the 17 Air will have just one camera lens on the rear in order to reduce componentry and keep down the size and weight of the chassis. This single lens, according to the new renders (and corroborated by a possible prototype case leaked by the same source last month) will be contained within a slim horizontal bar. In other words, based on the latest information, all three of the theories in my opening paragraph are set to be correct. (It’s an easy job, this prediction lark.) You can also see a rectangle below the camera array on the Pro models that is expected to be made of aluminum, while the non-Pro models stick with glass across the back. For all the latest news and rumors about this fall’s new handsets, bookmark our regularly updated iPhone 17 megaguide. And if you don’t want to wait seven months for your next phone, take a look at our roundup of the best iPhone deals to pick up a bargain on the current range.

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It’s time to upgrade your iPhone 14 – the iPhone 16e is here for you
Macworld Apple has announced its latest ‘budget’ iPhone, replacing the ageing iPhone SE and the iPhone 14 with the brand new iPhone 16e. This boasts a design more like the iPhone 14 than the iPhone SE, and modern hardware that could prove tempting for those with an older model that are thinking of upgrading. We look at how this latest addition to the Apple catalogue compares to the iPhone 14 so see whether you should finally trade in that handset if your contract is winding down and if the iPhone 16e might be a suitable choice as a replacement. iPhone 16e vs iPhone 14: Design & Build While the iPhone 16e is quite a different looking device to the iPhone SE, there’s very little to differentiate it from the iPhone 14, which itself bears a strikingly familiar aesthetic to the iPhone 12 introduced back in October 2020. That means you get flat edges around the frame, an aluminium chassis with a glass back, all of which holds a 6.1-inch display replete with the old notch (no Dynamic Islands here).   Available in black or white, the iPhone 16e.Apple Dimensions are identical to the iPhone 14, at 146.7mm (5.78-inch) x 71.5mm (2.82-inch) x 7.8mm (0.31-inch); but the newer device has lost some of the weight, coming in at 167g which is 5g lighter than the iPhone 14. There are a few hints that this is an updated model though, as Apple has switched (due to EU laws) to USB-C for the charging port, while the iPhone 14 uses a Lightning connector. These are flanked by the same stereo speaker arrangements on either device. The 16e also replaces the mute switch on its older sibling with the Action button that was introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max (so is missing from the iPhone 15). This allows you to assign dedicated functions to the button (say, launching the camera or turning on a flashlight) to save you having to open a menu or app. Macwelt/Apple The most obvious difference is found on the rear, where the dual camera module on the iPhone 14 is replaced with a solitary lens on the 16e. Apple does state that this is a 2-in-1 Fusion camera, though, so the performance difference is not as stark as it my first appear. We’ll discuss the advantages of the Fusion camera in more detail below. Colors have been simplified to just Black or White on the 16e, whereas the iPhone 14 boasted six different hues when it launched, including (PRODUCT) RED, Starlight, Midnight, Yellow, Purple, and Blue. If you want fun colors you can, of course, just stick it in a case. See our round up of the best cases for the iPhone 16 series. Both devices come with IP68 water and dust resistance, so they should survive a quick dip or a trip to the beach. iPhone 16e vs iPhone 14: Display It seems that the panel in the new iPhone 16e is exactly the same as the one used on the iPhone 14. So, you get a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a Ceramic Shield front, 2532×1170 resolution (460ppi), 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, HDR, True Tone, Wide color (P3), and Haptic Touch. Illumination levels are also unsurprisingly the same at 800 nits maximum brightness (typical) or 1,200 nits of HDR peak brightness.   Foundry iPhone 16e vs iPhone 14: Processors and Storage One of the most significant upgrades Apple bestows upon the iPhone 16e is the processor. The new device comes equipped with an A18 chip, decked out with a 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine. That’s a big step up from the A15 Bionic in the iPhone 14, albeit with the one notable difference in that the A15 has a 5-core GPU (as does the A18 chip in the iPhone 16). The biggest benefit of this processor update is the fact that this processor means that the iPhone 16e can support the new Apple Intelligence features, unlike both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 (the latter on sale for $100 more, see: Why I can’t recommend the iPhone 15 to anyone). Apple Intelligence is Apple’s name for the AI powered features that include writing tools, image generation, ChatGPT integration, Siri improvements and more. There are likely to be even more Apple Intelligence features coming in iOS 19 later in 2025. With the new silicon being three generations on from the A15 Bionic, it’s safe to say that it should be more powerful and energy efficient. This does seem to be the case in terms of battery life, but we’ll get to that a little later. When we reviewed the iPhone 16 (with it’s A18 chip), we noticed performance improvements of around 30% over the A16 chip in the iPhone 15. So, even though the variant in the iPhone 16e lacks that additional GPU core, you should still see performance increases over the A15 Bionic in the iPhone 14. Storage options remain the same as on the iPhone 14, with choice of 128GB, 256GB or 512GB capacities. There is, thankfully, no 64GB version. There was a 64GB iPhone SE, which is the model that cost $429. The 128GB iPhone SE was $479 when it was discontinued, $499 at launch. iPhone 16e vs iPhone 14 :Cameras At first glance, the single lens on the iPhone 16e would seem to make it less impressive than the duel offering on the iPhone 14. But, it’s not quite that simple. The 14 does offer twin 12Mp sensors – a f/1.5 main and f/2.4 ultra wide – which can deliver 0.5x and 1x optical zooms, and also features sensor-shift optical stabilisation. This is a good range of options, with the ultra wide feature being helpful if you’re in a tight space and want to get more of your subject in focus. Apple The solitary lens in the 16e though is one of Apple’s Fusion cameras, as found on the iPhone 16, which acts as a 2-in-1. The 26mm, f/1.6 setup allows you to shoot in full 48Mp for images that contain four times the detail of those on the iPhone 14 main camera, but by cropping in and reducing the size to 12Mp you get a 52mm, f/1.6 2x telephoto zoom. So, if you want to get further away, the iPhone 14 is for you, if you want to beef things up and get closer – the iPhone 16e is the one you want. If you’re thinking of upgrading from an iPhone 14, then it would be well worth considering which camera you use the most, as it might not be an option on the newer model. Personally we find that the ultra-wide camera creates an unattractive perspective distortion at the edges of the image, where people look wider, so we prefer not to use it. For video, both devices are capable of 4K/60fps Dolby Vision video, along with Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Night mode Time-Lapse, QuickTake, and Audio Zoom, but the iPhone 14 also boasts the Cinematic mode that allows shallow depth of field (presumably due to the ultra wide camera) along with Action mode for incredible image stabilisation when you are recording video when moving (no doubt delivered by the sensor-shift tech). On the other hand, the iPhone 16e has Wind noise reduction and an Audio Mix features that can improve sound quality on recordings. So, if you’re into film-making on your iPhone, then the older model would seem to have the advantage here, at least in terms of visual features. The FaceTime front camera is almost the same in both, with the 16e variant capable of Smart HDR5 rather than the HDR4 maximum on the iPhone 14. But, the latter does have Cinematic mode, which the 16e does not, as well as focus control in Portrait mode. Otherwise, it’s as you were. iPhone 16e vs iPhone 14: Battery Life and Charging If you’ve had an iPhone 14 for a couple of years, the battery life may be starting to diminish. So, the appeal of a new cell could be significant. That’s before you consider one of the iPhone 16e’s arguably best features – better battery performance. Apple is selling the virtues of it’s new C1 5G modem, which is promised to use less power than the standard module in the iPhone 14. There’s also the improved efficiency of the A18 chip and iOS, plus it’s possible, but not confirmed, that the 16e comes with a higher capacity cell. Apple Whatever it is that’s going on under the hood, Apple states that the iPhone 16e can last for up to 26 hours of video playback. That’s a whopping 6 hours more than the iPhone 14, and that’s when that device was brand new. If you’re more of a music/podcast/audiobook fan, then the 10 additional hours of audio playback on offer from the iPhone 16e could be the thing that pushes you towards an instant upgrade. We’ll be testing the battery life in our review. Wired recharging is similar on both, with Fast Charge support meaning that you can get up to 50% of charge in 30 minutes (if you’re using a 20W charger or higher – which of course Apple doesn’t supply). One confusing choice is that while the older iPhone 14 supports MagSafe wireless charging, the much newer 16e doesn’t. Instead, you get Qi charging support. This seems very odd, as the company has spent the last few years establishing MagSafe as a great feature on iPhone, only to leave it off of its latest model. Anyway, if you have any MagSafe chargers or battery packs, you won’t be able to use them on the iPhone 16e. Here’s a breakdown of the comparative specs of both iPhones: iPhone 16eiPhone 14Display6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, 2532×1170‑pixel resolution at 460 ppi, 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, HDR, True Tone, Wide color (P3), Haptic Touch, 800 nits maximum brightness (typical) or 1,200 nits of HDR peak brightness6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, 2532×1170‑pixel resolution at 460 ppi, 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, HDR, True Tone, Wide color (P3), Haptic Touch, 800 nits maximum brightness (typical) or 1,200 nits of HDR peak brightnessChassisAluminium with glass backAluminium with glass backControlsAction button, Volume buttons, Power buttonRing/Silent switch, Volume buttons, Power buttonProcessorA18 chip (6-core CPU, 4-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine)A15 Bionic chip (6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine)Rear Cameras2‑in‑1 camera system (48MP Fusion)Dual-camera system (12MP Main, Ultra Wide)Apple IntelligenceYesNoVideo Recording4K Dolby Vision video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps4K Dolby Vision video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fpsFront CameraTrueDepth front cameraTrueDepth front cameraAuthenticationFace IDFace IDCellular5G Superfast 5G cellular5G and Gigabit LTEWater ResistanceWater resistant to a depth of 6 metres for up to 30 minutesWater resistant to a depth of 6 metres for up to 30 minutesBatteryUp to 26 hours video playbackUp to 20 hours video playbackConnectivityUSB-CLightningMagSafe/Wireless ChargingQi wireless charging up to 7.5WMagSafe and Qi wireless chargingOther FeaturesEmergency SOS via satellite, Crash DetectionEmergency SOS via satellite, Crash DetectionSIM CardDual SIM (two active eSIMs, or nano-SIM and eSIM)Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM)Available coloursBlack, WhiteBlue, Purple, Yellow, Midnight, Starlight and (PRODUCT)REDCapacity128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB128GB, 256GB, 512GBSize and Weight146.7mm (5.78-inch) x 71.5mm (2.82-inch) x 7.8mm (0.31-inch); 167g146.7mm (5.78-inch) x 71.5mm (2.82-inch) x 7.8mm (0.31-inch); 172g iPhone 16e vs iPhone 14: Software Apple does a good job of keeping older iPhones on the latest versions of iOS. With the iPhone X models able to upgrade to iOS 18, you can be pretty sure that the iPhone 14 will supported for a few years yet. That being said, older models don’t necessarily get the latest features, often due to hardware requirements. This is the case with Apple Intelligence, which needs the newer processors and at least 8GB of RAM to run the complex systems that allow features like Writing Tools, Genmoji, the upgraded Siri experience, email summaries, audio transcription, and the various camera upgrades. Apple The iPhone 16e meets these criteria, and that may be an important upgrade prompt if you want the latest software tools that Apple has to offer, and to be future proofed for the next few years of innovations. iPhone 16e vs iPhone 14: Price and Availability Perhaps the biggest surprise about the iPhone 16e (which, remember, was expected to be a replacement for the now retired iPhone SE that started at $429/£429 for 64GB, and $479/£479 for 129GB) is the price. Apple has leapt up from that affordable sum to a much heftier $599/£599 for it’s new entry level device. True, it’s still $200/£200 cheaper than the full-fat iPhone 16, but for those hoping to not get stung by one of the most profitable companies in the world in these difficult times, Cupertino doesn’t seem interested in helping you out. If you want more than the 128GB base storage amount, prepare to also be stung by Apple’s over-priced upgrade costs. Apple iPhone 16e Price When Reviewed: From $599 Best Prices Today: $599 at Apple Here’s how the various models stack up: iPhone 16e 128GB – $599/£599 iPhone 16e 256GB – $699/£699 iPhone 16e 512GB – $899/£899 Apple no longer offers the iPhone 14, so you’d need to look around for old stock that’s selling through or second-hand models if you want to buy your first (or second) instance of that model. See: Best iPhone 14 deals, get one while you still can. The iPhone 15 does remain in the Apple catalogue, starting at $699/£699, but although it boasts some better specs than the iPhone 16e, it doesn’t have the kit to run Apple Intelligence. So, if that factor is important to you then you’ll need to look at the iPhone 16 range or the Pro versions of the iPhone 15 range (although these are no longer on sale from Apple). See our comparison of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16s. Verdict: Should you upgrade from the iPhone 14 to the iPhone 16e? The iPhone 16e has some good things going for it. Apple Intelligence future proofs the device (at least for a while), and the extended battery life does look very appealing. There are some drawbacks though. It’s priced as a mid-range model now, but doesn’t include the basic things you’d expect of a model that expensive – MagSafe and at least two cameras for a start. If you’re coming from an old iPhone 14, and don’t have the extra cash to buy the iPhone 16, then it will definitely be a step up in performance and battery life, but we’re not convinced that it offers great value.

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Apple enables Find My in South Korea for iOS 18.4 developer beta
Months after announcing support for Find My in South Korea, Apple has seemingly enabled the feature in the country for beta testers, ahead of a wider release to the public.Find My on an iPhoneApple confirmed in a statement in September that it will introduce Find My to South Korea in the spring of 2025. Almost half a year later, the initiative seems to have signs of life.In details shared by @Rac00n_dev to Aaron Perris on X on Sunday, it appears that Apple has enabled Find My support in South Korea. The support is said to have gone live after the release of the first developer beta of iOS 18.4. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Intel’s Modular Concept: Why It’s Time To Rethink Laptop Design
Intel is pushing a modular concept that could make upgrading your laptop less expensive than buying a new one and substantially reduce e-waste. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

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Here’s the complete iPhone 17 line-up according to three high-profile leakers
While there have been some differences of opinion between leakers in the past, three high-profile ones have all endorsed the same CAD drawing of the complete iPhone 17 line-up. The drawing shows the three completely different camera layouts expected for the base iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Air, and the two iPhone 17 Pro models … more…

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Apple commits over $500 billion in new US manufacturing
With a new Texas factory and increased manufacturing support across the States, Apple has announced it will create 20,000 new American jobs as part of a four-year, $500 billion investment plan to include Apple Intelligence server farms.Inside Apple's R&D center in Austin, Texas — image credit: AppleFollowing Apple CEO Tim Cook's February 2025 meeting at the White House, Apple has confirmed President Trump's announcement of massive US investment."We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we're proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country's future," Cook said in a statement. "From doubling our Advanced Manufacturing Fund, to building advanced technology in Texas, we're thrilled to expand our support for American manufacturing." Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Best antivirus for Mac: 15 security apps you can trust
Macworld Many people think Macs don’t need antivirus, but they are not immune from viruses and malware – don’t wait until it’s too late to protect your Apple computer from threats. Our experts have tested multiple security suites, and in this article outline only the best Mac antivirus programs. These are the security apps they would install on their own Mac or MacBook. Not everyone knows how to check their Mac for viruses, but you don’t need to be a security expert to keep your Mac safe. Apple includes basic built-in antivirus protection in macOS, but a good Mac antivirus product adds an extra layer of protection, keeping your Mac safe from new and known malware, blocking ransomware, and protecting older systems from security vulnerabilities caused by outdated software. Check out our Best overall Mac Antivirus: Intego Mac Internet Security The most difficult decision for you is deciding which of the many Mac antivirus programs is going to do the best job of keeping you and your data safe, and which ultimately offers the best value. Our Macworld experts are here to help, and no-one is better placed to guide you on which antivirus to choose for your Mac than the leading authority on Mac products and products built for Mac (the clue is in our name). We thoroughly test all Mac antivirus products from a usability and functionality perspective and use a combination of our own testing data and AV Comparatives/AV-Test lab data to ascertain which is the most reliable and trustworthy security product for your Mac. Our top pick right now is Intego Mac Internet Security. But depending on the type and number of devices you want to protect, and your budget, you may prefer one of the other Mac antivirus programs in our list below. Some cover more than Macs, so you can also use them to protect your iPhone, iPad and other devices. You won’t find every Mac antivirus product we’ve tested here, because not all of it makes the grade. We wouldn’t advise installing any program without first checking our antivirus software reviews. And while you will find some free options below, if value for money is your most important criteria you should also check out our best Mac antivirus deals. (For PCs, see our sister site PCWorld’s guide to the best Windows antivirus.) Best Mac Antivirus 2025: Reviewed and Ranked 1. Intego Mac Internet Security X9 – Best overall Mac antivirus Pros Built for Mac. Easy set up. Good performance. Cons Mac-specific (no Windows/Android protection). Price When Reviewed: From $24.99 for first year, usually $49.99 a year (1 Mac) Using our link First year, 1 Mac$24.99Mac Premium Bundle$29.99First year, 3 Macs$33.99See all plans & pricing at Intego Covers: macOS Intego’s Mac Internet Security X9 combines the company’s VirusBarrier and NetBarrier applications to provide both antiviral protection and network traffic filtering programs. There’s also an Intego Premium Bundle X9 that includes five apps: VirusBarrier and NetBarrier as well as Mac Washing Machine (a Mac cleaner), ContentBarrier (Parental controls) and Personal Backup (a bootable backup). Intego’s Internet Security costs $24.99/£20.99 for the first year. Intego’s Mac Premium Bundle costs $29.99/£23.99 for the first year. Use our link to get the deal: You can get Intego Mac Internet Security X9 and Mac Premium Bundle here. The Mac Internet Security X9 is easy to download, install, and configure. It checks for the latest viral definitions and sets up real-time scanning features and intuitive network monitoring, allowing users to see and work with both incoming and outgoing Internet connections on their Mac. While Mac Security X9 doesn’t offer every feature, it offers impressive configuration and customization to both its VirusBarrier and NetBarrier tools. VirusBarrier performs well in protecting users from viruses, while NetBarrier acts as a firewall that protects connections. The application allows users to create settings for home, work, or public connections, and allows or deny connections as needed. There are some issues to address, we’d like to see a running counter tracking the number of files processed in a VirusBarrier scan and we were disappointed that it allowed traffic to questionable websites linked to spam messages.  Mac Internet Security X9 doesn’t try to upsell users to Intego’s other suites and services. The tools in place are effective, work well, and make this utility worth considering. AV Comparatives, June 2024: 99% Mac Malware Protection, 93% Mac PUA Protection, 100% Windows Malware Detection. Read our full Intego Mac Internet Security X9 review 2. AVG Internet Security for Mac – Effective Mac antivirus Pros Caught an impressive number of questionable apps. Long trial. Easy to use. Cons Missed a fake Flash player. No indication that scans are happening. Price When Reviewed: $3.89 a month for 1 Mac ($46.68 for the first year, then $77.99 a year), or $4.99 a month for 10 devices ($59.88 for the first year, then $99.99 a year). First year, 1 Mac$46.68First year, 10 devices$59.8860 Day TrialFreeSee all plans & pricing at AVG Covers: macOS AVG Internet Security for Mac is easy to download from the AVG website, downloads and installs easily, and once permissions have been assigned to your entire hard drive, you’re good to go. Best of all, it is available as a 60-day trial period before billing begins. AVG Internet Security focuses on four directives: Computer Protection, Web & Email Protection, Hacks Attacks, and Payment Protection. The Smart Scan feature checks your virus definitions to make sure they’re up to date and scans for viruses and malware. A Ransomware Shield, Network Inspector, and Fake Website Shield features look things over to see where you stand in terms of your overall online presence and security. The set of whitelists and exceptions can be customized to hone in on files you want to scan and leave out areas you want to leave alone. A quick antiviral scan took a few minutes while a full scan of an entire NVME drive with 821GB of data on it took just over 5.5 hours to complete. Scans on external drives and specific folders are easy to set up and execute, the scheduling feature works well, the software can set up location configurations, and there are customization options for network security. Tests with malware and phishing-based websites went well. The software, combined with macOS’s Gatekeeper functionality, stopped the vast majority of sample malware installations, quarantining them quickly and preventing installation. The software also prevented questionable external code from being loaded on suspect websites and blocked phishing sites from loading. There are a few places for improvement with AVG Internet Security for Mac, but not many. During testing, the software allowed a fake version of Adobe Flash Player to be installed. If you do override the macOS Gatekeeper and AVG security features and install malware, AVG Internet Security does a good job of removing it. If there’s one thing I might change about the software, it’s the fact that the scheduled scan feature doesn’t readily display that the scan is taking place. AVG Internet Security for Mac catches an impressive amount of viral, phishing, and malware activity for a consumer package, and does its job well, all while wrapped in a bright, friendly user interface that’s easy to navigate. Granted, given the subscription pricing and packages, a VPN client wouldn’t be out of the question, and the price point for a single device moves into questionable territory, but the software still performs well, travels well with its location settings, and this is appreciated. Have a look at its 60-day trial to see what works, what doesn’t, and what might be right for you. You may also be interested in trying the free AVG AntiVirus for the Mac. Despite being free, AVG’s free AntiVirus covers all the bases: blocking viruses and malware from websites, downloads, and email attachments. AVG will scan applications and check every file and remove threats from your Mac. It auto updates so you shouldn’t miss out on protection from the latest threats. AV Test, December 2024: 100% AV Comparatives, AV Comparatives, June 2024: 100% Mac Malware Protection, 98% Mac PUA Protection, 100% Windows Malware Detection. Get AVG Internet Security or AVG AntiVirus for the Mac. Read our full AVG Internet Security for Mac review 3. Avast Premium Security – Best Mac antivirus for malware protection Pros Doesn’t impact performance. Caught problem test files. Cons Slow manual scanning. No option for single device license. Upselling. Price When Reviewed: From $50.28 for first year, usually $77.99 a year (1 Mac). First year, 1 Mac$50.28 (usually $77.99)First year, 10 devices$69.48 (usually $99.99) Covers: Mac, PC, iOS and Android There are four Mac antivirus products from Avast. The paid for Avast Premium Security and Avast One, and the free Avast Free Antivirus and Avast One Essential. Avast Free Antivirus is a free version of Avast Premium Security, while Avast One Essential offers additional features like ransomware protection, privacy protection, and data leak detection.  Avast Premium Security is a well-featured suite that protects your Mac from various threats, including browser script hacks, ransomware, and remote attack activity. It includes modules such as Virus Scans, Core Shields, Traffic Monitor, Network Inspector, Email Guardian, Ransomware Shield, and Quarantine, all easily accessible from the home screen. Virus scan options include Smart Scan, Deep Scan, Targeted Scan, or External Storage Scan. The Traffic Monitor shows data usage and bandwidth usage, while Network Inspector scans the network for safety and alerts users when unfamiliar devices join the network. Core Shields prevents fake websites from loading and triggering software. The main frustration with Avast Premium Security is its subscription-based model, but that tends to be standard these days. Some features are only available on the Avast Ultimate subscription tier. Those looking to save money can try the two free Antivirus for Mac solutions, Avast Free Antivirus and Avast One Essential. If you want just a virus scanner, we recommend Avast’s Free Antivirus, which is the free version of Avast Premium Security. Avast One offers some additional functions and a different interface, but and annoys with intensive advertising for paid functions. You can get Avast Premium Security for Mac here. Also consider Avast One, Avast Free Antivirus and Avast One Essential. AV Test, December 2024: 100% AV Comparatives, June 2024: Approved, 100% Mac Malware Protection, 98% Mac PUA Protection, 100% Windows Malware Detection. Read our full Avast Premium Security review 4. McAfee Total Protection Pros Good, customizable set of security tools. Background scanning feature is handy. Cons Laggy when initially launched. McAfee demands payment info to use trial. Price When Reviewed: Single: $29.99 (1 device) for first year, usually $89.99; Essential: $39.99 (5 devices) for first year, usually $119.99 a year 1 year, 1 device$29.991 year, 5 devices$39.99PCWorld Software Store$19.99 Covers: macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, ChromeOS McAfee Total Protection continues to be steadily updated and offers a good suite of anti-viral, anti-malware, identity protection, VPN, and scheduling tools. It is simple to use; once you’ve walked through the guided steps for assigning permissions to work behind the scenes you can just leave it to get on with its job. The software can perform a full scan of your hard drive as well as scan custom locations such as external volumes, and schedule scan times. You can control what Total Protection does when it finds suspect files, such as notifying you, quarantining them, or deleting the files. During our tests, it located and quarantined two suspected virus files I didn’t know about, thereby earning its keep. Other features include an ID Protection tool that compares your email address to known data and password breaches, a firewall, and a Secure VPN feature that lets you quickly set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN). McAfee’s Total Protection package extends up to five devices on one account, so it’s easy to add the app to other Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Android-based phones and tablets as needed. It’s worth noting that the Windows version offers features that you don’t get in the Mac app. We noted some occasional performance impacts as it ran in the background, but it was largely unobtrusive in its efforts. Our only other grumble is the lack of simplicity in ending the trial. You can get McAfee Total Protection here. Read our full McAfee Total Protection review 5. Norton 360 – Best value Mac antivirus Pros Easy-to-use & effective. Multiple device cover. Minimal performance impact Cons No backup on macOS. Didn’t spot threats in zip files. Price When Reviewed: Standard (3 devices): $39.99 for first year, usually $94.99 a year; Deluxe (5 devices): $49.99 for first year, usually $119.99 a year 1 year, 3 devices$39.991 year, 5 devices$49.991 year, 3 devices (Amazon)$17.99 Covers: macOS, Windows, iOS, Android Norton 360 provides protection in Mac OS X 10.10 or later, with a reduced price for the first year. The Standard package protects one device. For more devices (including Macs, iPhones or PCs), the Deluxe or Select package are required. Note that all prices increase significantly after the first year.  The software offers 110GB of cloud-based backup, a password manager, a basic VPN client, and Dark Web monitoring. Norton 360 is easy to download and install, and its add-on programs work fairly well. The VPN is basic but easy to configure your preferred country of origin and initiate a connection. The password manager is reliable and includes a downloadable recovery key. There is an admirable level of possible customization on the firewall, although technical knowledge is needed. Other utilities within Norton 360 for Mac include a Startup Manager module, File Cleanup module, and Dark Web protection module. With antiviral monitoring and scanning it’s easy to create white lists and exceptions as well as schedule scans, including of external volumes like USB thumb drives. However, the application still can’t perform scans on .zip files, I had to decompress the text drive of sample infections before it could see them.  In our tests, the software was successful in catching a good amount of viral activity, with 25 individual infections detected on a test drive after scanning it. However, Norton 360 for Mac missed the OSX.Proton malware. Extensions for web browsers and Norton Private Browser are included. These warn about spam and phishing-based websites, but still allowed us to travel to questionable websites from spam email links.  However, there are still bugs to sort out, such as a bug in the Cloud Backup were we were unable to successfully click the “Get Started with Backup” button and create an initial backup set for the cloud. It also failed to remove OSX.Proton malware. AV Test, December 2024: 100% You can get Norton 360 here. Read our full Norton 360 review 6. Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac Pros Doesn’t slow down your Mac. Effective real-time protection. Unobtrusive browsing protection. Cons No password manager. Very limited VPN. No identity protection. Price When Reviewed: $24.99 per year for 1 device (usually $39.99), $29.99 per year for 3 devices (usually $59.99) 1 year, 3 devices$29.99 (usually $59.99)1 year, 1 device$24.99 (usually $39.99) Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac covers: macOS, Bitdefender Total Security covers: macOS, Windows, iOS, Android Bitdefender is another maker of antivirus solutions that has a number of solutions for the Mac, including a free option. There’s Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, which offers basic protection for up to three Macs, Bitdefender Total Security, which protects up to five devices (macOS, iOS, Windows and Android), and Bitdefender’s free Virus Scanner for Mac, which we review here: Bitdefender’s free Virus Scanner Review. Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is easy to download, install, and assign full drive permissions. It offers a speedy Quick Scan mode that performs a quick overview and locate, quarantine, and remove viral candidates within a few minutes as well as a Full Scan mode which runs in the background so you can continue to work. External volumes such as USB flash drives can be scanned.  There isn’t much in the way of malware that gets by it. However, we found the application’s ability to locate and neutralize malware that was already on the system mixed – it missed four significant pieces of malware.  Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac offers anti-phishing protection in the form of web browser extensions for the Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox web browsers. These offered varying degrees of success. Under Safari, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac offered no prominent phishing protection, allowing us to visit questionable websites with no warning whatsoever. Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac offers an anti-tracker for web browsers and access to a VPN with basic functionality and a limit of 200MB a day. It encourages you to update to the full version, there are better VPNs for Mac out there. When we reviewed it Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac retailed at “50% off” which is $19.99/£14.99 a year for one Mac (then $39.99/£29.99 a year), but the deal prices change often. There is also a 30-day trial available.  There is also Bitdefender Total Security which includes Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac as well as coverage for iOS, Android and Windows. That software retails for $69.99/£44.99 a year for five devices (then $109.99/£74.99 a year) and offers a license that covers five devices, including Macs, Windows, Android and iOS with a 30-day trial available. AV Test, December 2024: 100% AV Comparatives, AV Comparatives, June 2024: 100% Mac Malware Protection, 99% Mac PUA Protection, 100% Windows Malware Detection. Read our full Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac review 7. Avira Prime Pros Easy to use. Full VPN. Won’t slow down your Mac. Cons No fine-tuning scan options. Price When Reviewed: From $59.99 for first year, then $109.99 a year. First year, 5 devices$59.992 years, 5 devices$204.99 Covers: macOS, Windows, iOS, Android Avira Prime, the paid version of Avira’s free antiviral software Avira Free Security (see our review), provides several tools for the user. Avira Prime is designed around several modules (Virus Scans, Protection Options, Quarantine, VPN, Passwords, Cookie Cleaner, Identity Assistant, Junk Cleaner, Uninstaller, and Startup Apps). Each module can be customized and configured as needed. The software installs cleanly and requests permission to fully access the hard drive, which is par for the course.  The Quick Scan can take less than 10 seconds, while a Full Scan took over six hours to look over 800+ gigabytes of files on a one terabyte SSD. The Custom Scan feature allows files and folders to be dropped in for quick scanning as well as external volumes to be scanned through as needed. There is a scheduler so you can program scans in advance. You can minimize Avira Prime and work with other applications as the scan continues which is lucky because the Full Scan took over six hours to complete. Avira Prime located and quarantined several minor worm files, but missed suspect files such as the Wave web browser, which has been implicated in assorted phishing scams. Cookie Cleaner module allows you to view and clean up cookie data, helpfully grouping cookies into different categories to make it easy to remove tracking and ads-based items in different browsers. Junk Cleaner reclaimed a decent 55GB of space when we tried it. There’s also an uninstaller manager for cleaning up deleted apps and managing those that start automatically.  Identity Assistant can track your email addresses, phone numbers, credit cards, bank accounts, physical addresses, driver’s license, and so on, to check for any illicit activity.  The included Password Manager is a combination of local system and browser extensions plus a web-based management console with its own master password. The password manager and junk files cleaner are included in both free and paid-for versions of Avira. Where Prime differs from the Free Security version is that you get full, use of the VPN service instead of a 500MB per month limit. The VPN can also block malicious website content. You can get Avira Prime here. Also consider Avira Free Security for Mac. Read our full Avira Free Security for Mac review. AV Test, December 2024: 99.5% Read our full Avira Prime review 8. Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac Pros High malware detection rate. Cons Wouldn’t detect some malware in our tests. Fewer extra features compared to less-expensive competitors. Price When Reviewed: $29.95 for first year, usually $39.95 a year (1 Mac) 1 year, 1 Mac$29.95 Covers: macOS Trend Micro Antivirus isn’t too challenging to use, but looks almost old-fashioned compared to many competitors. The range of functions seems quite limited compared to competitors such as Norton and Avast. For example, there is no anti-phishing function and no VPN application included in the package. There are five menu items: Overview, Web, Scans, Folder Shield, and Logs. Overview is the at-a-glance dashboard for Trend Micro Antivirus that shows that the various protections are active, the last time the app was updated and the last time a scan was run.  Trend Micro offers a smart scan, custom scan, and full scan. In our tests Trend Micro had no trouble detecting most threats; however, in a few cases, it didn’t detect all the malware contained in a folder until a scan had been run. Folder Shield is Trend Micro’s approach to ransomware protection. If an unknown program tries to change anything in certain folders, such as Documents, Music, Pictures, Movies, and Mobile Documents, Trend Micro will alert you.  Trend Micro’s web extension boasts a privacy scanner that is supposed to check your privacy settings on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  AV Test, March 2024: 100% Read our full Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac review 9. BitMedic Pro Antivirus Pros Fast, simple to use. One-time $10/£10 payment.  Good external drive scanning and scheduling tools. Cons Clunky user interface.  Buggy, occasional application crashes.  Price When Reviewed: $9.99 (single payment) One-time payment$9.99 Covers: macOS BitMedic Pro Antivirus is a good antiviral program, albeit with some shortcomings that need to be worked through, not least the fact that this hasn’t been updated since 2020. The program, which retails for $9.99/£9.99/CA$9.99 on the Mac App Store, features a nice complement of tools, including an Antivirus Scan module, an Adware Cleaner module, a Result Log, a Custom Scan module, a Browser Privacy module, and a System Settings module that allows you to schedule deep scans, customize system behaviors, and create a whitelist of files not to scan. Initial tests with the Antivirus Scan module’s quick scan and deep scan went well and BitMedic Pro Antivirus was able to find several phishing-based emails. The application crashed twice during testing though. Frustratingly, there was a lack of specific descriptions as to what the infected files were and their full location, even after a drop-down arrow was clicked. The inclusion of an Adware Cleaner module is a nice touch – it performs well, and runs quickly. The Browser Privacy module functions as a quick and easy way to clean up your history, auto logins, bookmarks, remove all extensions, and reset the preferences on your browser, but this is an all-or-nothing option and we’d prefer to disable or delete individual extensions. The $10/£10 price point with no subscription, is very appealing, but there are a few elements that let it down. Read our full BitMedic Pro Antivirus review 10. Sophos Home Premium for Mac Pros Reasonable protection. Reasonably priced for 10 devices. Cons Awkward web-based dashboard interface. Difficulties scanning an external or network volume. Price When Reviewed: $59.99 first year year, $99.99 for two years, and $139.99 for three years (10 devices) First year, 10 Devices$44.99 Covers: macOS Sophos Home Premium is a well-rounded anti-piracy/anti-malware suite, its core modules centering around antivirus protection, web protection, ransomeware protection, and malicious traffic detection.  The software is available for a good price to protect up to 10 devices. In the past Sophos offered a free version of its Home product with just the antivirus protection and website protection. That was discontinued in late 2021. There is a free 30 day trial. We had some issues installing and getting the software set up. Everything is controlled via the Menu Bar icon and a web-based dashboard and it’s not always clear it is running. Once you’ve signed in, it’s easy enough to customize and configure core elements such as actions that occur when malware is found, scan scheduling, and web filtering, and elements such as accessible scan logs and network file scanning. You can choose between quick scans and full scans, which can take several hours and cover the full extent of the hard drive. While the scan scheduling feature worked well, it only allows you to set schedule times set to every 30 minutes (11:00 AM, 11:30 AM, 12:00 PM, etc). Scanning an external volume such as a thumb drive or network volume feels is harder than it should. You can configure Web Filtering options to allow blocking for certain categories, such as adult content. The filters work reasonably well and it’s easy enough to create a whitelist to provide exceptions. There’s room for improvement. Although Sophos Home Premium functions well with macOS’s GateKeeper feature and caught and filtered a respectable amount of test malware, it allowed the AdWind malware and an infected copy of Adobe Flash Player to be installed. We had to use another utility to remove the AdWind malware.  Read our full Sophos Home Premium for Mac review 11. CleanMyMac Pros Easy to use and a nice interface Subscription or one-time purchase available Cons Left some adware and malware behind Price When Reviewed: $39.95/a year for 1 Mac, $119.95 for 1 Mac (one time purchase) First year, 1 device$39.95One time purchase$119.95 Covers: macOS The thing about CleanMyMac is that it is a Mac Cleaner and optimizer first and an antivirus second, but the fact that CleanMyMac’s antivirus protection is built into the suite of tools makes it worth assessing as an antivirus solution. The question is whether if you use CleanMyMac for it’s primary purpose, will it also protect you from malware? Looking at CleanMyMac as an antivirus tool, we found that the software offers a good level of customization, and it’s easy to choose between the three scan modes (Quick Scan, Balanced Scan, and Deep Scan), each of them offering quick performance as CleanMyMac scans your hard drive and external drives. It’s also easy to configure scan behaviors, such as whether or not to include external drives in your scans or target .DMG files, and whitelists can also be created to exclude specific volumes and folders from the scans. In our tests results were mixed though. The software teamed up well with macOS’ GateKeeper feature, stopping questionable software that hasn’t been signed as safe by Apple from being installed, but it was still possible to get a fair amount of malware past these systems and on to our Mac. The Quick Scan feature caught two elements from CrossRat and a threat in the form of the infamous AdWind malware. The Balanced Scan function was able to root out most of the Elite Keylogger malware. The Deep Scan feature found the remnants of the AdWind malware, but we had to dig that out with a third-party utility. CleanMyMac was able to catch some elements of malware as they were being opened for the first time, but there were questionable chunks of software that remained even after they’d purportedly been removed and the Mac had been rebooted. CleanMyMac also offered no tangible warning against visiting questionable websites and allowed us to click on every questionable link to be found in Gmail’s Spam folder without warning. The interface is excellent, and MacPaw makes good use of its potentially great MoonLock antiviral engine to catch a fair amount of viral activity, but it still left adware and malware behind. Read our full CleanMyMac review 12. Malwarebytes Premium Security Pros Friendly user interface. Impressive scan speed. Reliable malware removal. Cons Left some malware. Lack’s custom scan feature. Features from the Windows version not included. Price When Reviewed: Standard: $44.99 a year for one device; Plus (inc VPN): $59.99 a year; Total: $94.99 a year (usually $189.99) Standard$44.99Plus$59.99Total$94.99 Covers: macOS Malwarebytes Premium Security for Mac offers antiviral, VPN, and Real-Time Protection features and is available at $3.75/£2.50 a month for its Basic version, $5.00/£4.15 a month for its Security + VPN version, and $7.92/ £6.25 a Month (down from $15.83/£12.50 a month) for its Complete Protection version. There is also a free antivirus from Malwarebytes which we look at here: Malwarebytes Free Antivirus Review. Malwarebytes Premium builds on the free version of Malwarebytes, which is reasonably good at hunting down and removing some of the peskiest viruses and malware, but was thwart with bugs and crashes when we tested it. The paid-for version sports a bright, friendly user interface and a good array of features. It includes quick viral scans, functional scheduling for scans, decent customization elements including whitelist creation, a good VPN client, and Real-Time protection that keeps an eye on what’s attempting to be installed. The software performed well, offering speedy scans. Malwarebytes was able to quarantine and remove almost all the malware I installed, although it left elements behind such as the controversial Wave web browser, an incompatible version of MacSecurity, and a fake Adobe Album application. The VPN isn’t as customizable as a dedicated VPN client, but it performs well and gets the job done. See our review of the Malwarebytes VPN. There doesn’t seem to be a custom scan element that allows you to easily scan an external volume such as a thumb drive, and the Real-Time Protection feature doesn’t kick in and scan an external volume once it’s mounted, nor can you drag and drop a volume into Malwarebytes for it to scan – which you can do in the Windows version of Malwarebytes. Malwarebytes offers no warnings against questionable websites and links either.  Read our full Malwarebytes Premium Security review 13. ClamXAV Pros Effective antivirus protection. Cons Annual subscription for basic malware protection with no other features. Price When Reviewed: From $29.95 a year, 3 Macs 1 Year, 3 Macs$29.951 Year, 9 Macs$59.95 Covers: macOS Installing ClamXAV from the ClamXAV website is quick and easy. The installation file is automatically downloaded. After the initial setup, where you need to grant permission to access the Downloads folder and modify security settings, you are all set. You can run a manual scan from the main screen, but there are several other options. A quick scan checks system files and other areas on your Mac, you can select just your hard drive to run a scan on all folders and files on the disk, and dragging and dropping a single folder or file onto the scanning pane checks it for malware. You can also select an external drive or connected USB stick for scanning. There’s also a real-time scanning component–Sentry–that is always on guard. It is possible to schedule any type of scan to run on specific days and times. By default, any malicious files are automatically quarantined, but you can decide whether or not to quarantine infected files. You can open the quarantine folder to see what files were caught. ClamXAV proved effective at detecting and stopping test malware files, but there’s nothing more to the program beyond the basic antivirus scanning and options. ClamXAV is certainly effective at virus scanning, but that’s a capability found in many free and equally effective security products for the Mac. AV Test, September 2023: 100% Read our full ClamXav review 14. F-Secure Total for Mac Pros Includes virus protection, secure browsing, ID monitoring, a VPN, and a password vault in one package. Effective and flexible VPN. Cons Missing quick virus scan and a scheduled scan. Lacks features of the Windows version. No notification for malware infections. Price When Reviewed: From $69.99 a year (1 device) 1 Year, 1 Device$69.991 Year, 3 Devices$79.991 Year, 5 Devices$84.99 Covers: macOS F-Secure Total for Mac is a simple-to-use security software suite that works on macOS, iOS, Windows and Android devices and protects your data from a wide range of threats. It includes several useful features, but lacks certain key options, especially in virus scanning. The program is $69.99/£59.99 a year for one device, which is steep, but there’s a free 30-day trial that requires no credit card and even gives you free technical support if you need it. Clicking the Scan button runs a full virus scan that checks your entire system, while clicking the link for Viruses & Threats takes you to another screen where you can scan just specific folders. But there are no options to run a quick scan or even to schedule a scan, unlike the Windows version which includes a quick scan. It provides real-time virus and spyware scanning to automatically block malware, and ‘DeepGuard’ monitors applications for any changes indicative of a malware infection. You can set up ID monitoring to check your email address for data breaches among your online accounts. The VPN is another defense and includes tracking protection to prevent advertisers from monitoring your online activity and a kill switch to quickly cut off all internet traffic. F-Secure offers a password vault that creates and stores secure logins for all your accounts. The password vault requires an extension that supports Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Safari isn’t yet supported. Unfortunately, F-Secure doesn’t let you review blocked or deleted malicious files, and no setting allows you to quarantine files instead of removing them. F-Secure’s Safe (which was the old name for F-Secure Internet Security) was tested by AV-Test in June 2023 and scored 5 out of 6 for protection, 5.5 out of 6 for performance and 6 for usability. AV Test, December 2024: 100% Read our full F-Secure Total review 15. Eset Home Security Pros Good level of antiviral and real-time protection. Excellent customization and preference options. Cons Extremely slow drive scan. Didn’t include the promised password manager or encryption features. Mac App Store purchase option doesn’t work. Price When Reviewed: Essential: $49.99 a year for one device; Premium: $59.99 a year for one device 1 year, 1 Mac (Premium) $59.992 year, 1 device (Premium)$101.98 (usually $199.99) 1 year, 1 Mac (Essential)$49.99 Covers: macOS, Windows and Android ESET Home Security (available in Essential, Premium and Ultimate configurations) is developed by Slovakian software company ESET. The suite will protect your Macs (as well as PCs, and other smartphones and tablets, but unfortunately not iOS). We tested ESET Home Security Premium, which offers extensive antiviral and malware protection, and Real-time File System Protection, as well as a password manager, an encryption tool – although it turned out the latter two were missing from the version we reviewed, which appears to be an error. The software can be downloaded from ESET’s website. There is a 30-day trial available with only an email address and no credit or debit card needed. ESET Home can also be found on the U.S. version of the Mac App Store, but the download doesn’t actually work. ESET Home Security Premium retails at different price points given the number of devices it’s installed on and the number of years you subscribe for. It’s usually $59.99/£44.99 for one device for one year, scaling up from there, but there are discounts from time to time which can be seen on the ESET website. The application allows for changes such as blacklists and whitelists to be created, different levels of detection and sensitivity, access to the logs and proxy servers, reactions as to new volumes being mounted, and an impressive level of customization. Scheduled scans can be set up easily, and it’s fairly simple to designate which areas of a local or cloud-based drive will be scanned and when. In our tests ESET’s initial scan was able to locate and quarantine 18 suspect files without incident. However, issues within the software included: extremely long scan times ranging from seven to more than 24 hours to look over an internal solid-state drive, the scheduler feature failing to activate a scan, a lack of a progress bar or elapsed time readout during a scan, the software’s uninstall feature failing to install multiple times, and our copy of the ESET Home Security Premium software arriving without the advertised password manager or encryption features. While ESET Home Security Premium completes its primary task of antiviral and malware prevention, several bugs and omissions need to be fixed. Read our full Eset Home Security review Best Free Mac Antivirus Looking for a free antivirus for Mac? Here are our top recommendations that we have reviewed: Avast Security for Mac (read our review) – offers a free option alongside the Premium plan. Get it here. Avira Free Antivirus for Mac (read our review) – is free and also includes a VPN. Get it here. AVG Antivirus For Mac (read our review) – free version offers basic features. Get it here. Bitdefender Virus Scanner for Mac (read our review) – is free to use. Get it here. Intego VirusBarrier Scanner (read our review) – free virus scanner. Get it here. Malwarebytes Antivirus for Mac (read our review) – has a free version as well as a paid version. Get it here. Best Mac Antivirus: Specs Comparison DeveloperProduct nameUSB scanRansomware protectionAdware preventionAnti phishing  protectionEmail protectionFirewallVPNiOS versionParental ControlsSupportTrialPriceIntegoInternet Security X9YYNYNYNYYY7 days$49.99/£49.99 / ye ($24.99/£20.99 /yr deal)AVGAntiVirus for MacNNNNYNNYNN60 daysFree (Paid for version is $2.49 per month for one year / $2.39 a month for two-years / $2.29 a month for three-years)Norton 360 DeluxeYYYYYYYYYY30 days$39.99/£34.99/yrMcAfeeTotal Protection YYYYYYYYYY30 days$34.99/£34.99/yrAvast Premium SecurityYYNYYYYYNY60 days$44.99/£39.99/yrBitdefenderTotal Security YYNYYYYYYY30 days$39.97/£34.99/yrEset Cyber Security Pro YYNYYYNNYY30 days$49.95/£39.95/yrTrend MicroAntivirus for MacNYYYYYYYYY30 days$39.99/£49.95Avira PrimeYYYYNYYYYY30 days$99.99/£85.99 Best Mac Antivirus: Buying Advice FAQ 1. Do Macs need antivirus software? Plenty of Mac users will tell you that Apple computers are inherently secure and don’t require protection. We’d argue that they are wrong, or at very least overconfident. Macs are generally more secure than their Windows brethren because macOS is a Unix-based operating system, which means it is sandboxed. This is like having a series of fire doors: even if malware gains access to your Mac, it is unable to spread to other areas of the machine. But while they are more difficult to exploit than Windows PCs, it is not impossible. The Silver Sparrow malware was detected on Macs powered by the M1 processor and infected hundreds of thousands of Macs. And it’s just one example – there have been many more since. You can about this topic in our article do Macs need antivirus? More general advice can be found in our Mac security tips; and those who have been hit by a malware attack should see how to remove a virus from a Mac. 2. What features should I look for in Mac antivirus? All Mac antivirus software packages find viruses using both on-demand- and always-on protection. The former examines individual files either during scheduled scans or when you decide to run one. This can take a long time, especially if you have a lot of files, and some antivirus products will hog your Mac’s processor power to prioritize the scan, so it’s worth selecting a convenient time. Always-on malware protection protects you when a scan is not currently active. If malware arrives – perhaps via an email or a downloaded file – your antivirus software should detect and quarantine it. Quarantining a file involves moving it to a safe folder, allowing you to decide what to do with it. You’ll typically receive a notification of the discovered malware, but some Mac antivirus products can be more informative than others in these notifications (something we keep in mind in our testing). The effectiveness of this on-demand and always-on virus protection is absolutely the most important thing when it comes to choosing Mac antivirus, but additional features may also affect your choice. Many Mac security suites now include ransomware protection. Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts your files and demands a fee to decrypt them. An anti-ransomware feature will typically block any app from writing to a user’s home folders, such as Documents or Photos, unless that app has been whitelisted. Some apps, such as Microsoft Word, are pre-approved, and you can whitelist any that you trust. Web protection via browser plugins or extensions is also a common component and aims to stop you (or your children) from visiting infected websites or handing over personal information when you shouldn’t. Different vendors offer different add-ons, and it is certainly a case of you get what you pay for: free products will have fewer bells and whistles, but the most comprehensive Mac security suites will include password managers, parental controls, cloud storage and more. The underlying antimalware engine will usually be the same for all security products from a particular company, so you can save money if you don’t need all those extra features. 3. Should my Mac antivirus include a VPN? One of the add-ons you might find with Mac security products, although also commonly sold separately, is Mac VPN (virtual private network). For many users, these are of interest because they can mask your location and allow you to view things (like streaming series) that are otherwise off-limits in your location. But they also have a very real benefit for security, protecting your internet connection by encrypting it, which is especially useful when using public Wi-Fi networks. In this day and age we should all be using VPNs and, while we’d recommend buying a dedicated Mac VPN product, one built into your antivirus software is better than nothing – just be prepared to be nagged to upgrade to the full product. 4. What is the best value Mac antivirus? Value is perceived differently by all users: for some the best value Mac antivirus is the free one, and for others, it is the one that is affordable but includes the most useful add-ons. We prefer to consider value in terms of which is the best all-round offering, rather than the budget deal. That said, there are ways you can save money even on the more expensive products. Bear in mind that all antivirus for Mac apps are sold as yearly subscriptions, and often the first year has a hefty discount. When that first year is up, there’s nothing stopping you switching to another product and benefiting from that discount again. Alternatively, opt for a three- or even five-year subscription to save even more money – and why not: it’s not like viruses are going to disappear in the meantime and you won’t need it. Some of the best Mac antivirus products can also cater to your other devices – and not just iPads and iPhones, but also Windows and Android devices. If you have multiple devices in your household, this can present a huge saving. Take a look at our recommendations of the Best Mac Antivirus deals, which includes the cheapest options. 5. How to spot fake Mac antivirus software? Because many of us are waking up to the idea that malware is a threat to the Mac, malware writers have made it their business to play on that fear. There have been cases of malware writers disguising their viruses as antivirus apps – two notable examples are Mac Auto Fixer and MacDefender. It’s important to always read reviews on reputable sites such as Macworld before installing any software on your Mac or MacBook. At the same time, don’t believe everything you read. MacKeeper is a great example of an antivirus program that has got a bad rap, but it’s worked hard to repair its reputation. It has gained Apple Notarization, which means the software has been checked by Apple for malicious components, and the company has garnering certification from various bodies to prove it isn’t a PUP (potentially unwanted program), including an AV-Test certificate. That said, we haven’t recommended it here, and that’s simply because we feel that there are better options available. If you have already installed MacKeeper and wish to try one of our alternative recommendations, we explain How to uninstall MacKeeper. 6. What can’t Mac antivirus protect from? Using a Mac antivirus product, especially one that includes tools to improve your online privacy, may lull you into believing you’re completely safe from personal and private information leaking out and that you no longer need to keep your wits about you. That’s not quite the case. While there’s no reason to panic, you should still practice caution – and there are a few more issues you should consider when using Mac antivirus, too. First, an antivirus for Mac product may upload the complete text of files flagged to the cloud, where it can be analyzed by separate tools hosted there. This practice is normal and sensible: some malware can detect when a running process may examine it, and will then engage in subterfuge. Antivirus software makers also can access their massive databases to examine files with characteristics that trigger their algorithms – certain elements that match known malware. As a result, security researchers discover new viruses, worms, Trojans horses, and the like. However, helping the greater good means you’ll have to be comfortable with trusting a third-party with your file contents. Where appropriate, we noted privacy policy issues in individual reviews. Second, this software may also rely partly or entirely on cloud-based checks of URLs, malware, and the like. Accordingly, an antivirus package might upload every URL you visit, metadata about files, signatures of files, information about your computer’s hardware, a list of running or installed applications, and more. Companies vary on their disclosure of such policies, and may not let you opt out of this kind of sharing. We note issues in each review as appropriate. Third, antivirus software makers also get a sense of what behavior is happening on your computer that’s being monitored or blocked, and may use that information for their own purposes. In some cases, you can opt out of this information gathering. 7. How we test Mac antivirus software Each software package is evaluated by creating a clean installation of macOS, cloning it for each antivirus product, and then booting separately into each one to install a different package. This is to ensure that previous app installations don’t interfere with new ones – sometimes antivirus software treats other antivirus software as an infection. In addition to visiting malicious websites, downloading known malicious software, and even running said malware on our Mac, we also reference the most recent reports from two labs that regularly cover macOS malware: AV Comparatives and AV-TEST. These laboratories test antivirus software against sets of known malware as well as products that are grouped as potentially unwanted applications (like adware). The latter doesn’t damage or expose your computer or its files but may consume power and CPU cycles. Because the testing effectively looks at a combination of virus databases and behavior, they remain good gauges even after many months. When an antivirus for Mac software package lacks a rating from a known security research lab, we do more extensive testing with real malware. Finally, while we gave props for a lot of different features and behaviors, we mark down products if they lack any or all of the following: A nearly perfect score on macOS malware detection Ransomware monitoring Native browser plug-in or system-level Web proxy A high score on Windows malware detection

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