Contrary to popular belief, MacOS is still susceptible to malware. Luckily, finding the best free antivirus for Mac isn't all that difficult, and there are a number of great solutions to pick from. 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. If you just search for the word “Mac cleaner” on any search engine, you will find hundreds if not thousands of options. Each of these claims to be the best but that cannot be true; there can only be one best Mac cleaner.
First things first: yes, your Mac needs virus protection. While malware that targets Macs isn't nearly as common as malware that goes after Windows, it does exist and is a growing problem.
Viruses specifically may not yet be the major concern for the Mac but there are many different kinds of malware to worry about: things like trojans, adware, ransomware, spyware, and lots of other dangerous wares so keeping your computer protected is smart.
Our advice? If you're not using an antimalware program for Mac yet, it's time! Below you'll find the 4 best ones we've found, any of which will keep your Mac safe from these growing threats.
If you're here because your Mac is already infected with some form of malware, try using a friend's Mac to create an emergency Mac OS boot device and then use that to download and install one of these antivirus apps to detect and remove the suspected malware.
Not on a Mac? Check out our updated best free Windows antivirus software and best free Android antivirus apps lists.
Avast Free Mac Security
What We Like
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Detects several types of malware.
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Blocks your computer from sending and receiving viruses in emails.
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Able to minimize its impact on system resources.
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Includes other security tools.
What We Don't Like
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Some features only work in the pro edition.
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Might take a while to install.
Avast Free Mac Security uses a traditional signature-based method to scan files on your Mac for known malware, Trojans, and viruses. Avast can root out rootkits and other methods that a hacker uses to gain control and is able to pry open compressed files to scan their content.
Beside malware designed for the Mac, Avast also looks for PC malware to help keep cross-platform infections from occurring. You don’t want to be the person sending off infected email attachments to your PC friends.
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.
- Scheduled scans allow you to set the time for Avast for Mac to run its routine scans for the presence of malware. Moving the scheduled time to when it will least impact your workload is a big plus.
- File shield can check all of the files on your Mac for nefarious content. Files can also be checked by file type or location on your Mac.
- Web shield blocks unsafe websites from loading or downloads from those sites from occurring.
- Mail shield prevents dangerous email attachments from downloading or from being executed.
- Local network scan makes sure your home network and all connected devices are free from vulnerabilities that hackers could make use of to steal personal data.
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.
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac
What We Like
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Easy to set up and forget about.
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Finds malware automatically.
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Includes lots of really great features.
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Has a lightweight footprint.
What We Don't Like
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The free version is limited in several important ways.
Bitdefender offers two security apps for the Mac a free Virus Scanner for Mac and the paid Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac. Both use the same Bitdefender engine for finding and removing malware, but Virus Scanner for Mac uses a manual approach to scanning your Mac, while Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is loaded with features to make the process simple and, if you want to, as automatic as possible to ensure you are never the victim of a malware attack.
In fact, the Autopilot feature works so well that you can just about turn it on and forget about it, knowing that your Mac is protected from current and future threats from malware as well as ransomware, which is on the upswing in the hacking world.
- Time Machine Protection monitors your Time Machine backups and prevents ransomware attacks that may try to encrypt or remove your backups.
- Safe File allows you to specify folders that will be continuously monitored, preventing unauthorized apps from making changes to these folders.
- Adware removal can free your Mac from annoying ads, unwanted browser add-ons, and browser toolbars that may be added without your consent.
- Traffic Light browser extension works with Safari, Chrome, and Firefox to add advance phishing detection to your browser and warn you of dangerous websites.
Bitdefender makes use of traditional signature-based detection system as well as behavioral-pattern recognition. To help keep its database of devious malware types up to date, Bitdefender uses a cloud-based data collection system that stores the most recently detected Mac malware, adware, and ransomware information, allowing all Bitdefender users to have the latest updated detection system.
Malwarebytes for Mac
What We Like
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It's always active and running to find threats.
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Provides advanced options that can be tweaked to your desires.
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Doesn't use up lots of memory or CPU.
What We Don't Like
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The free version only works in manual mode (i.e., it can't catch malware automatically).
Malwarebytes for Mac has been a top choice for finding and removing Mac-based malware ever since its early appearance as Adware Medic.
Now under the guidance of Malwarebytes, the app retains its free ability to find and remove malware but has also expanded its capabilities to offer a premium paid version that can actively prevent Mac virus, spyware, and malware infections. It can also keep adware and unwanted apps from finding a home on your Mac.
- Detects and removes adware targeting Macs without requiring a separate browser add-on.
- Real-time protection can be disabled, allowing you to scan only when you wish.
- Includes an uninstaller for removing the Malwarebytes app.
- Low system overhead even with background scanning enabled.
Malwarebytes uses a signature-based system to determine the presence of Mac malware. The signature list can be updated as often as once per hour. Malware that is discovered can be automatically quarantined for easy removal at a later date.
Sophos Home for Mac
What We Like
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Provides real-time threat detection.
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Identifies and removes various types of malware.
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Includes unique features such as remote management.
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Protects against web threats via filtering.
What We Don't Like
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Several features are not included in the free edition.
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You must provide personal details to download the free version.
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It has a relatively large setup file.
Sophos has been a leader in business-grade antivirus and security protection apps for PCs and Macs for years. Sophos brings the same business-grade security system to the personal Mac (there is also a PC version) user for free.
Sophos Home for Mac can protect every Mac in your home from malware, viruses, and ransomware. It also can protect your web browsing from stumbling across inappropriate websites that may contain phishing schemes or malware.
Sophos uses signature-based as well as heuristic-based behavioral detection to monitor the unusual behavior of apps to identify suspicious activity. Like most antivirus apps for the Mac, Sophos can detect Windows-based threats as well, helping to prevent cross-platform contamination.
- Remote management allows you to monitor, configure and control Sophos Home on up to ten Macs or PCs.
- Parental controls can block viewing inappropriate websites while keeping a log of such web visit attempts for later review.
- Background scanning had a low impact on overall performance.
- On-demand scanning allows you to initiate a scan at any time.
Sophos runs primarily in the background scanning your Mac and detecting if malware or related threats are present whenever you download, copy, or open a file or folder. The scanner can also examine compressed files to make sure files contained within are safe.
One of the reasons why people embrace Mac cleaning software’s is to avoid paying Apple based on the storage space taken up. Optimized storage would only be moving your junk files to iCloud and it makes the iCloud space limited especially after crossing the 5GB limit. You would have to pay for extra space that you are getting. It does not make sense to have GBs of junk data to be saved on the cloud.
The best Mac Cleaner software helps you to do this without iCloud. You do not have to spend additional money if you can locate free space in your Mac itself. Other reasons why you need to consider Mac cleaner software includes the removal of GBs application data that is not often used. These tools can help clean up temporary data and cache files just to save a lot of space.
Using mac cleaner software helps you to take care of all these with just a single click. You don't need to worry about cleaning files from individual directories because a Mac cleaner helps you to intoxicate your mac in every manner. Here are some of the best Mac Cleaner software.
1. CleanMyMac X
CleanMyMac X is very easy to use with the drag and drop feature. It is one of the best Mac cleaners and gives its users access to visual and textual information about disk usage. The interface is simple and it is easy to install. You also have the opportunity to see detailed information about a certain app by selecting it.
This will help you to understand what is taking too much space as you remove it and give your hard drive a breathing space. There are so many things you can do with it especially verifying the startup disk and structuring the files to configure parameters. You can perform cleaning and disk maintenance action by deleting caches and removing apps that they come with. It also helps to rebuild databases. CleanMyMac provides a drive that responds fast with fast startup and internet connection regardless of the version of OS that you are using. It supports all versions of Mac and if you recently performed an upgrade, it will clean up the junk from the previous OS that you were using thereby giving you a clean slate to start with. With a clean and fast Mac, you will enjoy the best experiences ever.
Furthermore, we have tested quite a number of Mac cleaning apps in order to determine the best. In the same vein, we have considered several reference points and used various criteria to determine the most effective tool that can be used to clean a Mac. CleanMyMac X came from a trusted developer and it is an “all-in-one” cleaning software for devices that run on the Mac Os. It has completed an updated transformation in the area of comprehensive cleanup, management tool, and optimization.
CleanMyMacX gives you the opportunity to clean your Mac device from every aspect. You can easily delete unwanted files thereby optimizing the performance of apps and maintenance of certain tasks. There are also additional features such as Software Uninstaller and Updater that helps you to deal with optimization.
CleanMyMac X creates valuable space to store files on Mac without transferring junk files to any iCloud space that is available. The software cares for all versions of mac by offering Smart Scan that lets you perform a single scan while providing information about the condition of your Mac and helping you to make decisions thereafter. Malware remover is another additional module in CleanMyMac X that scans your Mac for various malware and instantly removes them. CleanMyMac X is thrice as fast as others are when scanning files in your system. It offers optimization that keeps your Mac snappy and performance friendly.
CleanMyMac X is a great addition to any Mac because it saves a lot of space and enhances MacBook performance. The beautiful interface, smart and safe cleaning options make it the best Mac cleaning software that is available. Although, CleanMyMac X is not the only option that can be considered, here are some of the tools that you can also try.
Over the years, CCleaner has been the standard in PC cleaner software. Mac users can enjoy the benefit offered by Piriform developers. It is professional, quick and easy to use because it speeds up your Mac and secures it. Even if CCleaner has a free version, there are just two basic features that are emphasized on the website. They include “faster computer” and “privacy protection”. You can also obtain services such as Real-time monitoring, Automatic Browser Cleaning and Automatic Updating at the premium level.
“Cleaner”, “Tools” and “Option” are the 3 tabs that are available and these 3 files help you to remove junk files, unused data, unwanted files and other things that can decrease the performance of mac thereby enabling it to run smoother and faster. It also clears cookies, saves passwords and browsing history thereby making your online browsing safe and secure. CCleaner already cleared about 3000 files at a go from my system and this shows the level of effectiveness of the software.
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Although CCleaner has helpful features, it lacks some things. It is not fully featured because it only has a beta version for Mac thereby leading to the absence of some features that are available in the original version. In addition, it is limited to certain browsers such as Firefox, Safari, and Chrome.
Disk Doctor helps to perform certain operations that maintain your system and optimizes its performance. It fixes possible errors and gives you the opportunity to fine-tune hidden preferences. Disk Doctor checks for errors and junk files that pile up on the system. It is a small but useful application that effectively cleans junk files from hard drive.
There is a small pretty window on the interface that tells you the capacity of your hard drive as well as the used and free space that is available. There are no check boxes or additional steps but all you need to do is to click on the scan button. Disk doctor scans six areas that include caches, language files, logs, application, trash can, mail downloads, and downloads. There are explanations for each area and the type of junks that can be found in them. You can simply choose what you wish to erase and click on “clean my disk” button.
Free Mac Antivirus
The process of erasing is quite easy and fast and you will see a notification of the quantity of space that is freed. This is what Disk Doctor does since there are no additional features that allow you to set up specific options. The major shortcoming of disk doctor is that it only scans Mail (Apple’s mail applications) for attachment thereby neglecting various desktop e-mail clients. While other software uses a secure erase procedure, Disk Doctor uses a basic procedure that cannot permanently remove a file. It is only a basic disk cleaner app without any element of advanced features.
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This is another beautiful and distinct disk space analyzer that efficiently scans the drives on your Mac. It provides a visual overview of what is eating up space on your Mac and showcases files in a pinwheel-shaped disk that helps you to locate and clean up large files.
It also has a built-in Quick Look preview that shows you what you wish to get rid of. There are collection drawers that help you stage files for trashing. You only need to browse through and select things that you do not need while a single click clears them out. We like Daisy Disk’s design and its circular visualization but DaisyDisk does not warn you if you delete something that is needed for any application or your system hence, use daisy disk carefully.
Drive Genius keeps the computer running smoothly while ensuring that there is no valuable data loss. It combines data recovery, virus scanning, and cleanup process efficiently. It constantly scans for major issues before they become a problem. If you use your Mac to make money and store valuable information, you can consider Drive Genius. It offers a collection of tools that are very comprehensive but if you are a casual user of the computer, there are some basic software that can provide free data recovery.
The partitioning feature in the Disk utility provides several functions such as allowing users to resize rename and reformat partitions. Drive genius provides these features and more. It also allows partitions to be directly transferred to other locations on the drive that contains free space. In addition, it automatically selects new locations that are available for maximum compaction of the disk. Users will also have the opportunity of hiding or revealing partitions in order to make them accessible or inaccessible. Drive Genius run these utilities simultaneously on different drives thereby making the process of maintenance quick and easy.
The easiest way to delete an app from your Mac is to move it to trash. This however usually leaves behind some extra files. To remove all the files associated with an app when it is uninstalled, this is the Mac cleaner to use. It clears everything ensuring that the hard drive's space is only used to store data related to apps that are actually useful.
This app is very easy to use. Just drag apps you would like to uninstall and drop them in the small window of the AppCleaner. All the files associated with the app to be uninstalled are listed and you can uninstall them at once. Even widgets associated with the app to be uninstalled can be deleted. The files deleted are sent to trash and you can confirm and be sure of what you are deleting.
This is one of the best free Mac Cleaners. It gives its users visual and textual information about disk usage. It is easy to install and has a simple interface.
When opened Disk Inventory X will show a simple disk selector dialog box. Select the disk you want and this will expand to a large Window. On the left pane, you will see the total size of files and folders in hierarchical order. On the right side, you will see a colorful graphical presentation of the file types of color coded. You can see detailed information about a certain app by selecting it. With this, you can know what is taking too much space and you can remove it to give your hard drive some breathing space.
This comes with a clean interface with two main features. The first is the “Disk Cleaner” which scans for junk files stored in the hard drive and removes them. Any leftover files, log files and hidden cache will be detected. You can clean these up by pressing on the “View & Clean” button.
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The other major feature is the Duplicate Finder. To use this click on the “scan now” button and you will be presented with all the duplicate files and you can decide to delete them. Just click on the “Clean” button. AVG Cleaner for Mac is a simple yet very powerful tool and to top it all it is free of charge.
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This feature-packed utility is the best Mac cleaner. There is so much you can do with this. From verifying the startup disk to structuring the system files to configuring parameters in the Finder and other Apple applications like Dock and Safari you can do it with this app. You can even carry out disk maintenance and cleaning. You will be able to delete caches and remove apps and all they come with. Databases and indexes can be rebuilt as well.
You must be thinking that you can do all these with Terminal. Well, you can but you would have to remember complex commands. With OnyX you get to do all the above activities without having to remember a single command. However be careful not to delete files or features that are important unknowingly.
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In summary, CleanMyMac X is the perfect mac maintenance tool that is available simply because it provides interactive features together with a good interface that depicts beauty and quality. If you are a power user, CleanMyMac remains your best bet when you are considering apps of this nature. In addition, over 5 million Mac users use CleanMyMac X across the globe. CleanMyMac will speed up and manage your app like never before.