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Best Free Anti Virus app for iMac
- Thread starter mwellan
- Start date
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MacUser2
Senior Member
I too suffered severe problems with Avast yesterday. I was unable to complete a malware scan and Avast actually prevented me from using Safari or Firefox. The only way that I was able to get Safari to work again was to remove Avast using the Avast "uninstall" tool. I have not yet identified a replacement for Avast. Hopefully, Avast is aware of the problem and they will get a fix out next week.
robgendreau
Forum Pro
Avast not working? maybe a good thing: https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-cost-of-avasts-free-antivirus-companies-can-spy-on-your-clicks
As for products, I prefer the separate tools by Objective-See. But they are oriented more towards those that take a more hands-on approach. The free tier of Malwarebytes is nice, particular for malicious Safari stuff.
As for products, I prefer the separate tools by Objective-See. But they are oriented more towards those that take a more hands-on approach. The free tier of Malwarebytes is nice, particular for malicious Safari stuff.
MacUser2
Senior Member
When I looked at Objective-See, I saw this warning;
lightandaprayer
Veteran Member
What you see at that page is not a warning alerting the user to a malicious website.When I looked at Objective-See, I saw this warning;
When you clicked the "Malware" link visible at the top of your screenshot, you were taken to a webpage for downloading samples of malware and adware code for testing purposes.
If you carefully read the text in the red box, it warns users about the risks of using the linked files. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will find links to various malware education resources.
MacUser2
Senior Member
thank you
lightandaprayer
Veteran Member
Anti-malware utilities and personal VPN services are two kinds of important computer resources where I stay away from "free" options. . .
Many free VPN services have been found to resell user data to advertisers and others, in some cases including rather unsavory characters. That is exactly the opposite of what a bona fide VPN service should be doing with its client's personal data.
Free anti-malware utilities can also be "nagware" and I would tire of being pressured to upgrade to the "premium" version (even if the nagging is subtly part of the truncated user interface like Avast). More importantly, developing and maintaining anti-malware software requires substantial expertise and financial resources. If an anti-malware utility is providing a service that you find invaluable, then it is worth supporting by paying for a subscription.
The excellent utilities at Objective-See are ostensibly "free" but Objective-See developer Patrick Wardle spends considerable time and effort creating and updating them.
Fortunately, Patrick has a Patreon account where happy consumers of his work can sign-up for a monthly or one-time payment to support his ongoing work. The minimum monthly payment allowed is $1.
The workaround for doing a one-time payment is to set up a membership with the monthly payment totaling your intended contribution, then cancelling the membership after the first payment is made. It's a bit of a hassle but worth the time if you don't want to do a monthly plan.
From the Patreon website:
For now, the best way for a patron to subscribe to a creator with a one-time payment is to become a patron then simply cancel their membership after they have been successfully billed. You'll know when you have been billed because you'll receive an email confirmation stating your payment has successfully processed.
Many free VPN services have been found to resell user data to advertisers and others, in some cases including rather unsavory characters. That is exactly the opposite of what a bona fide VPN service should be doing with its client's personal data.
Free anti-malware utilities can also be "nagware" and I would tire of being pressured to upgrade to the "premium" version (even if the nagging is subtly part of the truncated user interface like Avast). More importantly, developing and maintaining anti-malware software requires substantial expertise and financial resources. If an anti-malware utility is providing a service that you find invaluable, then it is worth supporting by paying for a subscription.
The excellent utilities at Objective-See are ostensibly "free" but Objective-See developer Patrick Wardle spends considerable time and effort creating and updating them.
Fortunately, Patrick has a Patreon account where happy consumers of his work can sign-up for a monthly or one-time payment to support his ongoing work. The minimum monthly payment allowed is $1.
The workaround for doing a one-time payment is to set up a membership with the monthly payment totaling your intended contribution, then cancelling the membership after the first payment is made. It's a bit of a hassle but worth the time if you don't want to do a monthly plan.
From the Patreon website:
For now, the best way for a patron to subscribe to a creator with a one-time payment is to become a patron then simply cancel their membership after they have been successfully billed. You'll know when you have been billed because you'll receive an email confirmation stating your payment has successfully processed.
robgendreau
Forum Pro
Not exactly sure what you're saying there.
But Objective-See isn't for everyone; I'd not use their stuff unless one is a more advanced Mac user.
You really don't need any. Third party AV apps interfere with the Macs' own X-Protect system. All you need is Mac OS and just a little common sense.
Thanks for your suggestion.
Please elaborate on Mac's own X-Protect system and the common sense items to use.
Thanks!
jf_tea
Senior Member
As for common sense, the biggest source of problems is the web.
To be safer, you should stick to rules like these:
- update you web browser regularly -- if you only use Safari, let MacOS update Safari every time it wants to. If you also use Firefox or Chrome, update them frequently (or let them update themselves).
- always check the exact name of the web site in the address bar -- typos or misleading names are sources of problems, big problems.
- always be aware that a web page is a collection of programs : those slow web pages full of blinking ads and videos are complex scripts (programs) which are using the CPU of your computer to learn where you click, how long you look, how many seconds before you scroll, where you move the mouse, etc. The ads networks are spying on you to sell you ads and make you evetually click to buy something. You use the web and the web use you.
- Dedicate a specific computer or web browser to only access your financial institutions and government tax web sites, etc. Separate important web access needs from entertainment and news.
- Learn how to use "Private mode" and learn the web browser settings about privacy.
Maybe one can live without driving a car, but, we all have to use the web.
I'm sure you can google as well as I can. X-Protect is the Macs own security system it makes it quite difficult for you to acquire malware - unless you fail to exercise common sense.
So what does that mean: downloading apps from sources other than the App Store or the maker's own website. Quite a lot of folks who download from sites like Softpedia find that they get a little extra along with the legitimate app they want. This is a common source of adware, for instance. Or installing pirated software, that has had some malicious code added into it. Stick to installing apps from the App Store or the developer's own website, don't install pirated software and you're already 99% of the way to a safe Mac.
So what does that mean: downloading apps from sources other than the App Store or the maker's own website. Quite a lot of folks who download from sites like Softpedia find that they get a little extra along with the legitimate app they want. This is a common source of adware, for instance. Or installing pirated software, that has had some malicious code added into it. Stick to installing apps from the App Store or the developer's own website, don't install pirated software and you're already 99% of the way to a safe Mac.
The Ghost of Caravaggio
Senior Member
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There is no such thing as a "best anti-virus app"for OS-X.
Maximum cyber security only requires:
--
"The belief that ‘randomness’ is some kind of real property existing in Nature is a form of the mind projection fallacy which says, in effect, ‘I don’t know the detailed causes – therefore – Nature does not know them."
E.T Jaynes, Probability Theory: The Logic of Science
Maximum cyber security only requires:
- understand and use procedures and tools that come with OS X (this takes a bit of time and effort)
- updating OS-X and apps on a regular basis
- avoid using torrent or other untrustworthy sources for Appa and browser extensions
- be aware of and avoid social engineering pitfalls (which have nothing to do with the operating system or apps)
--
"The belief that ‘randomness’ is some kind of real property existing in Nature is a form of the mind projection fallacy which says, in effect, ‘I don’t know the detailed causes – therefore – Nature does not know them."
E.T Jaynes, Probability Theory: The Logic of Science
lightandaprayer
Veteran Member
I think that the most important thing to remember is that no anti-malware program can be guaranteed to be 100% effective. That includes the excellent protections that Apple has been developing in recent years. . . There have been various instances where Macs have been found to be vulnerable to different kinds of attacks. (Examples can be found in the UK MacWorld article linked below.)
I personally do not use commercial anti-malware software. I do use certain utilities from Objective-See that are designed to prevent or greatly limit the damage from certain kinds of malware. These utilities look for certain components and processes common to malware, ransomware,etc. so that previously unknown threats can be mitigated. Some of the Apple failures occurred because the malware was unknown prior to the attack.
Again, these utilities should not be considered to be foolproof (their developer Patrick Wardle points this out when explaining how they work). They are simply another layer of anti-malware protection which increase the likelihood of preventing a successful attack.
Which brings me to data backups. Ransomware can be a disaster if you don't have secure local and/or Cloud backups. That means that your backups should not be always connected to your Mac where ransomware can find them and encrypt them. That includes Time Machine, where many people leave an external drive always mounted so that Time Machine can do automatic backups as often as every hour. There are a variety of ways to make sure that at least one up-to-date backup is not vulnerable to ransomware. (I maintain 3 such "quarantined" local and Cloud-based backups.)
Here are 3 sources for information about the built-in protections on Macs. (Keep in mind that the level of protection depends on both the operating system and Mac hardware in use.)
Apple Platform Security Spring 2020
Apple Platform Security Downloadable PDF
Can Macs Get Viruses & Do Macs Need Antivirus Software?
(The one major gripe I have with the UK Edition MacWorld article is regarding using public WiFi. There is no information about using a personal VPN service to mitigate the possible dangers associated with unprotected wireless and wire networks. FWIW, I have selected IVPN in part because it meets the customer security and corporate open-door policies Brian Krebs talks about in the linked article.)
The following articles discuss the pros and cons of using commercial anti-malware software. I'm providing them as a source of background information.
You Don’t Need to Buy Antivirus Software
Antivirus is Dead: Long Live Antivirus!
Regarding the claim that anti-malware software interferes with the built-in Mac protections, I have not been able to find any evidence of it nor have I personally experienced it when testing various commercial anti-malware programs and the Objective-See utilities. Because of how the Objective-See software works, I see no reason why it would cause any problems with Apple's anti-malware protections.
If the person making this claim has any links to reputable reports to backup his claim, let's see them. It would be helpful to know about such problems.
Some anti-malware software can slow-down a Mac and interfere with benign computing processes. In the worst situations anti-malware software can cause enough disruptions that the user would do well to try another program. This is one reason why I like the Objective-See utilities. They require minimal computing resources. And in my long experience using them, I have found that they do not interfere with the normal operation of my Macs, up to and including my 2018 Mac Mini with a T2 chip running Mojave.
Last edited:
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Andy Hewitt
Senior Member
I’m with you with the Objective-C stuff, it’s pretty well integrated and designed not to interfere with the rest of the system. You may need to do some interaction if you use the network blocking tools, but that eases as you work with it.
Overall though, I have always found background AV apps usually do cause untold problems, either causing poorer performance generally, or even causing individual app issues/crashes.
if you need anything, run MalWareBytes or Bitdefender manually periodically, and install some of the Objective-C stuff as you prefer.
Another approach is prevention, rather than eradication. See if your ISP applies any filtering, many in the UK do now. Or setup to use an external DNS server, such as OpenDNS, where you can set up an account and manage the filtering as preferred. Many of these system offer some level of AV protection before you even download anything.
But as mentioned, the MacOS has its own protection built in, so keeping up to date, and using some common sense can be all you need.
--
Andy H
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