Longtime Mac aficionados may miss the old days when “everyone knew” that Macs didn’t need antivirus. It hardly seems fair you need to buy a Mac antivirus program just because malware coders have become skilled at Mac attacks. Fortunately, you can get macOS protection without laying out any cash, since AVG AntiVirus for Mac is free. This bare-bones software doesn't do much beyond taking care of basic antivirus tasks, but it gets top scores from the antivirus test lab and aces our phishing protection test.
How Much Does Mac Antivirus Cost?
Like Airo and Vipre Advanced Security for Mac, AVG requires macOS 10.11 (El Capitan) or higher. If you're a prudent user who always accepts operating system upgrades, this shouldn't be a problem. However, if for some reason you're stuck using an old macOS version, consider ProtectWorks or Intego Mac Internet Security X9. Intego supports macOS 10.9 (Mavericks) and later, while ProtectWorks goes all the way back to 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
As noted, AVG is completely free. Avast and Avira also offer free antivirus for macOS. However, like Avast, AVG is only free for noncommercial use. If you want to use AVG in a business setting, you must splash some cash for the business edition.
It's Surprisingly Easy to Be More Secure OnlineThe most common price for commercial Mac antivirus is just under $40 per year for a single license. Half of the current products, including Bitdefender, Trend Micro, and ESET fit that model. Several of those give you three licenses for $59.99 per year, or thereabout. With McAfee, that $59.99 subscription price gets you unlimited licenses, not just three. You can install McAfee AntiVirus Plus for Mac on all the macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, and ChromeOS devices in your household.
AVG’s main window is a dark gray expanse that holds four large panels. Panels labeled Computer and Web & Email appear under the label Basic Protection. These two are available and active. Under the label Full Protection, the Hacker Attacks and Payments panels are locked away, available only if you upgrade to the paid edition. You can use the Smart Scan to run a multipurpose scan that includes a quick scan for malware or click a link to run other scan types, including a deep, full-system scan.
The Smart Scan has three parts: checking for virus definition updates, scanning likely locations for malware, and examining advanced issues. On my test system, that last scan warned of folders not protected against ransomware, network monitoring not enabled, and the possibility of DNS-based attacks. Clicking the big Resolve All button simply took me to an upsell page for AVG’s commercial security suite. Later, the app displayed a banner with the same warning and Resolve All button right in the main window. That's misleading, and it's not likely to inspire confidence in users.
Excellent Lab Test Scores
When reviewing Windows antivirus utilities, we look at test results from four independent labs, and we also perform our own hand-on testing with live, wriggling malware samples. That's not as dangerous as it sounds. We use virtual machines, so if malware wreaks havoc, we just revert to an earlier clean snapshot. We’re not equipped to perform that level of testing on macOS, so results from the two labs that test Mac antivirus take on much greater importance.
Avast acquired AVG some years ago and merged the two antivirus detection engines. Thus, I am not at all surprised to see that the two get precisely the same scores from AV-Comparatives in the its latest tests. Both earn the top score against all three sample groups: macOS malware, macOS PUAs (potentially unwanted applications), and Windows malware. Naturally, both have this lab's certification.
AV-Test Institute also includes both AVG and Avast in its latest report. This lab rates products on Protection, Performance, and Usability; that last category refers to minimizing false positives. Both Avast One Essential for Mac and AVG score the maximum of six possible points in each category, for a perfect score of 18 points.
Mac products from Bitdefender and Trend Micro also earn perfect scores in the latest reports from both labs. Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac and Avira also take the best possible score from AV-Test. However, Norton doesn’t appear in the latest testing reports from AV-Comparatives, and Avira Free Antivirus for Mac doesn’t quite reach 100% with that lab.
Scan Choices
If you just click the big Run Smart Scan button, AVG checks for antivirus updates, scans the most likely places for malware traces, and “finds” issues that require upgrading to a paid product. Even with the necessity of clicking Next between each phase, this finished in less than two minutes on the MacBook Air I use for testing.
Clicking the Run Other Scans link at the bottom right lets you choose a Deep Scan of the entire system, a Targeted Scan looking just at certain files or folders, or a scan of removable storage devices. Even the Deep Scan took less than nine minutes, quite a bit less than the current average of 37 minutes. I suggest that you run a Deep Scan immediately after installing AVG, to root out any lurking nasties.
Avira, ESET, Webroot AntiVirus for Mac, and others not only let you set up a schedule for regular malware scans, but they also schedule one by default, typically weekly. AVG does have a scheduler, but it starts out empty. It's up to you to set the schedule. You can add multiple daily, weekly, or monthly scans, each with its own configuration.
Almost all the Mac antivirus utilities I've reviewed include the ability to detect Windows malware as well. True, malware designed for Windows can't run on a Mac, but eliminating it means there's no chance of it somehow leapfrogging to a Windows system on your network. AVG promises to detect and remove Windows and mobile malware, in addition to malware aimed at macOS.
To test an app's skills against Windows malware, I copy my current malware collection from a thumb drive to the desktop. AVG immediately started wiping out the samples, quickly eliminating 61% of them. That’s down from 83% when I last ran this test. Interestingly, a full system scan brings that score up to 84%. It seems this product’s on-access scan doesn’t use the full power of the on-demand scan. Tested against an earlier malware collection, Avast eliminated 95%, G Data managed 96%, and Total Defense topped the list with 97%.
Excellent Phishing Protection
Writing malware to steal sensitive information while at the same time evading operating system traps and antivirus defenses is tough. Why bother with that sort of chicanery when you can get the user to just hand over the desired information? Phishing websites mimic banks, financial sites, and other sensitive sites, trolling for innocents who will use the fake site to log in. The moment some poor sap logs in, that account belongs to the fraudsters. Rather than trying to fool the operating system, they aim to fool the user.
Our phishing protection test uses URLs reported as fraudulent on various phish-tracking sites. We make sure to include some that haven't been analyzed and blacklisted yet. That's important because phishing sites are ephemeral. Once they've been blacklisted, the fraudsters just create new ones. Any effective phishing protection must be able to detect frauds, not just match URLs against a blacklist.
We launch each URL in four browsers, one protected by the product under testing on the Mac, and three using the built-in antiphishing of Chrome, Edge, and Firefox on Windows. For Windows, I've written a small program that launches each URL and lets me record the result with a click. On the Mac, it's all handwork; I've become adept at the necessary button-mashing.
With all results recorded, we discard any URLs that didn't load correctly in all four browsers. We also discard any that don't truly fit the profile for phishing, meaning they don't attempt to fool visitors into giving away login credentials for a secure site.
When AVG blocked access to a problem page, it reported its action in a popup window and also displayed a note in the browser, explaining that it fended off an “infected website.”
AVG detected 99% of the verified phishing attempts against this test, which is precisely the same ones as its Windows equivalent, which I tested at the same time. Bitdefender also scores 99% detection, while Avast and Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac own the field with a perfect 100%.
What's Not in AVG
AVG covers the basics, scanning for malware on demand, on schedule, and on file access. It offers excellent protection against phishing frauds. And that's about all. Other free Mac antivirus utilities bring more to the party.
Avira rates links in search results, so you don't accidentally visit a dangerous page. By default, it runs a scheduled scan every week. It brings along a raft of other security-related components, some free, others free trial.
Avast used to offer a simple free antivirus, nearly identical to AVG in terms of features. That product has been superseded by Avast One Essential for Mac, a free, feature-limited version of the Avast One suite. Avast offers a passel of bonus features, though some are unavailable or limited at the free level.
Can't Beat the Suite
AVG Antivirus for Mac easily handles the basic tasks of antivirus protection, and its detection of phishing URLs is especially notable. However, it suffers a bit when compared with other free Mac antivirus utilities. In particular, it doesn’t stack up well against Avast's free Mac suite, which earns a rating of 4 stars. Since the underlying antivirus technology is virtually identical, the main reason to choose AVG over Avast is if you’re a longtime AVG aficionado and you don't want Avast's additional suite-level features.
Those willing to pay for Mac antivirus protection can get significantly better protection. Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac costs $59.99 for three licenses and earns top ratings from independent labs. Bitdefender scores a hair better than AVG in our antiphishing test, and its ransomware protection feature prevents unauthorized apps from modifying your important files. Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac looks expensive, at $104.99 per year for five licenses, but that subscription also gets you five no-limits VPN licenses and 50GB of online storage for your (Windows) backups. These two are our Editors’ Choice winners for Mac antivirus.
