Scanning Abilities: Like security guards, good antivirus software should perform regular scans of what it’s protecting.

To put your mind at ease, here are some of the most important features these programs can offer, as well as a little bit of information as to why they are so critical. The companies who develop them understand this, and generally try to make them easy to use. This type of software can be daunting to think about if you’re unfamiliar with it. In 2006, Apple was quick to respond to the first known virus for Mac OS X, with this commercial: If you look at the documented history of Mac malware, you’ll see examples of things like malicious links, codecs that “allow” you to watch a video, viruses attached to screensaver download files, viruses disguised as other programs, and so on. Old-school viruses depended on a more physical distribution medium, like a floppy drive, but now we have the Internet.īrowsers have fairly open access to your computer’s operating system through various permissions, so if viruses and other malware couldn’t get past your Mac’s admin password security checkpoint before, it is much easier for them to do so now by getting you to download something from your browser. What has changed, however, are viruses and malware, and how they’re distributed. Macs now are as vulnerable as they were back in the day. What to Look for in macOS Protection Softwareīest Overall: Bitdefender Antivirus for Macīest Budget Option: AVG Antivirus for Mac

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