Here, too, Aviras scores are down from their previous values.

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Yes, Windows and Android are more popular as targets, but Macs suffer malware attacks too, even ransomware attacks.

You need antivirus protection on your macOS devices, though you dont necessarily have to pay for it.

Antivirus 2017 Review Free Antivirus For

Avira Free Antivirus for Mac doesnt cost a penny, and it earns decent scores in tests by the independent labs.

Antivirus 2017 Review Full Or Quick

The rest of the window features plenty of whitespace around three components: a round icon that reflects your security status, a button to run a full or quick scan, and a target that you can drag files or folders onto for a quick scan.

Scanning and Scheduling On the MacBook Air I use for testing, the quick scan took just a bit under two minutes, and the full scan took 28 minutes.

You can schedule more quick or full scans, on a daily or weekly basis.

Seeing the label Firewall, you might get the impression that Avira includes a firewall component, like Intego Mac Internet Security X9, McAfee, and Norton.

However, this component simply controls the built-in macOS firewall component.

At the high end, Intego lists at 99.99 per year to protect three Macs, and Norton 360 Deluxe (for Mac) asks 99.99 per year for five cross-platform licenses.

Granted, these two are security suites, going way beyond the features offered by a simple antivirus utility.

The most common pricing plan among products weve reviewed is 39.99 per year for one license and 59.99 for three.

As for Avira, you dont pay a thing.

Like Norton and Trend Micro, Avira requires macOS High Sierra (10.13) or better.

If youre stuck using an old operating system for some reason, you may need to consider a different Mac antivirus.

Intego support runs back to Mountain Lion (10.8), Webroot works on Lion (10.7) or better, and ClamXAV (for Mac) goes all the way back to Snow Leopard (10.6).

Malware Protection Lab Scores Down When evaluating Windows antivirus utilities for malware protection, I use a wide range of tests that Ive coded and re-coded over the years.

I dont have anything similar for the macOS platform, as my many hand-coded testing tools and my coding skills are both Windows-only.

For Mac antivirus, I necessarily rely heavily on the independent testing labs to know which products are the most capable.

AV-Comparatives certifies Avira for malware protection, with 99.8 percent protection against macOS malware, down from 100 percent at my last review.

Like Avast, Bitdefender, Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac, and most tested products, Avira detected 100 percent of the Windows malware used in testing.

Of course, these samples couldnt affect a Mac, but removing them prevents the Mac from becoming a carrier.

The experts at AV-Test Institute rate antivirus utilities on three criteria: how well they protect against malware, how little they impact performance, and how carefully they avoid interfering with usability by flagging valid programs as malicious.

With six points available for Protection, Performance, and Usability, the maximum score is 18.

Free Antivirus For Mac 2017 Review