The recent macOS malware attack dubbed Silver Sparrow drives home the fact that, contrary to myth, Macs are not invulnerable. Oh, it’s still true that Windows and Android are easier targets, but your Macs truly need antivirus protection. There are free options available, including Avast Security for Mac, but commercial antivirus utilities offer more features and do better in testing. Whether you choose Avast Premium Security for Mac depends on how important you deem the features it adds beyond the free edition.
This product’s appearance is close to that of Avast Premium Security for Windows. The spacious main window features a status indicator atop a purple background, with a big scan button just below. Four large buttons across the bottom give access to Core Shields, Virus Chest, Wi-Fi Inspector, and Ransomware Shield. The main visible difference from Avast’s free Mac protection is that the Ransomware Shield panel isn’t marred by a padlock icon.
Still Tries to Upsell You
As I mentioned in my review of Avast’s free macOS product, clicking various options takes you to an upgrade page. The Premium edition is that upgrade, but that doesn’t mean upsell pages are gone. For example, the main window sometimes displays a banner pointing out the danger of advertising trackers, linking to several pages of information and culminating in an invitation to buy Avast AntiTrack for $3.99 per month. Note that the latter is a rebranded version of TrackOFF Basic, which Avast acquired last year.
Another prompt led me to install Avast SecureLine VPN. All went well, until I clicked the button to connect. Instead of connecting, it suggested I buy a license for $3.89 per month. Upsells that may be bearable in free products (companies have to make money somehow) are much less tolerable in apps you’ve already paid for.
How Much Does Avast Premium Security for Mac Cost?
Like Airo Antivirus for Mac and Vipre Advanced Security for Mac, Avast supports macOS versions back to 10.11 (El Capitan). If you have an antique Mac that for some reason can’t even run El Capitan, consider ProtectWorks, which supports versions 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and later, or Intego Mac Internet Security X9, which goes back to 10.9 (Mavericks).
The most common pricing plan for Mac antivirus products runs $39.99 per year for one license or $59.99 for three. Bitdefender, ESET Cyber Security for Mac, Kaspersky, and Malwarebytes all fit this profile. Price-wise, Avast seems on the high end, at $69.99 per year for one license. Things look better when you consider that $20 more gets you 10 licenses that you can use on your Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices.
Even at that low per-device price, you get more from Avast on other platforms. On the Mac, the free edition has all the same features except for Ransomware Shield and Wi-Fi intruder detection, which I’ll detail below.
Shared Features
This utility shares all the features of the free Avast Security for Mac. I’ll briefly summarize those shared features here. You should read my review of the free product for a full explanation of those features.
AV-Comparatives certified Avast’s macOS malware protection as effective. It protected against 100% of the Mac malware used in testing and 100% of the Windows malware. It also scored 100% at detecting macOS PUAs, or potentially unwanted applications. Most tested products matched these scores or came close.
Avast took 17.5 of 18 possible points from AV-Test Institute which earned it the title Top Product. Avira, Clario, MacKeeper, and Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac got a perfect 18 points.
I don’t have the same kind of resources for antivirus testing under macOS as I do for Windows. I did try scanning a thumb drive containing my current collection of Windows malware. Avast detected and quarantined 89% of the samples, the same score as Clario and F-Secure Safe for Mac. Webroot caught 100% of the Windows samples, but no other product has scored higher than Avast against this malware collection.
Avast’s deep scan finished in 16 minutes, which is about half the current average. It doesn’t offer a quicker scan for rescans the way many competitors do, but you can schedule and customize scans if you wish.
Phishing websites masquerade as secure sites in the hope of fooling you into giving away your login credentials. They don’t care which browser you use or which operating system. Avast managed an excellent 97% detection in my real-world phishing test, precisely matching the score of its Windows counterpart. AVG’s free Windows and macOS antivirus products also matched this score.
Ransomware Shield
Everything I’ve described to this point is also available in Avast’s free edition. The premium-only Ransomware Shield component simply prevents unauthorized access to files in sensitive folders. By default, it protects the Documents and Pictures folders for each active user. Naturally, you can add other folders if needed. A similar feature in Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac also protects your Time Machine backups.
In the settings, Avast lists all the file types protected, categorized as Documents, Photos, Videos, and so on. You’ll want to scan the lists carefully in case you rely on a file type that’s not covered by default. I added TXT files to the list.
Operation is simple. When an untrusted program tries to modify a protected document or other file, Avast pops up a warning. If you’ve just installed and launched a new photo editor, for instance, click Allow. If you don’t recognize the program, click Block (the default). You can choose to allow access just once or to add the program to the trusted list.
This type of access control is an effective tool for ransomware protection, one used by many security tools both on Windows and macOS. However, it does require vigilance on your part. When you see the Ransomware Shield pop-up, examine it carefully, and only click Allow if you’re sure the program is legitimate. Blocking doesn’t make a file permanently untrusted, so if you choose Block in error, just open it again.
Enhanced Wi-Fi Inspector
As noted, you get Avast’s Wi-Fi Inspector even in the free edition. However, while the free version lists all found devices, it doesn’t check their security, nor does it offer details like device IP addresses. Clicking any device other than your Mac itself or your router just takes you to yet another upsell page.
In the Premium edition, you can click a device to see details such as the model, vendor, IP address, and network services used. In many cases, the device name is clear, like “Roku” or “Neil’s iPad.” For others, you just get “Unknown device.” Digging in for details, you can see things like the MAC address, IP address, and vendor, as well as a list of network services used by the device.
Bitdefender Home Scanner (a Windows utility) and Avast on Windows both let you edit such entries to give them a friendly name. They even remember the name on subsequent scans. With Avast on the Mac, I found no way to edit the entries. You’ll just have to keep a list of which device matches which weird name.
The marquee skill of Wi-Fi Inspector’s Premium edition is alerting you when a new device connects. You do have to turn this feature on by checking the Monitor box. Once you’ve done so, Avast puts an activity indicator at the top of the Wi-Fi Inspector and on the Wi-Fi Inspector button in the main window.
Just after you fire up monitoring, you’ll probably see quite a few of these alerts, as devices that were turned off during the initial scan wake up. Once you get past that shakeout period, you should pay close attention to the new-device notifications. If you don’t recognize the device, it could be a neighbor swiping your Wi-Fi, or even an active hack attempt.
Clicking for more info in the notification popup takes you to the Wi-Fi Inspector’s main page. It doesn’t highlight the new addition, but, by observation, you’ll find the newly detected device at the end of the list.
If you determine that the new connection isn’t legitimate, there’s really nothing you can do about it. The similar feature in Panda Dome Essential more usefully lets you ban the offending device. Wi-Fi Inspector offers notification, but no direct way to act on the information it supplies. Unless you have the skills to log into your router’s setting and ban the device from your network, your only real recourse is to change the Wi-Fi password, and then reestablish the connection for every computer, phone, and IoT device in the house. It’s a workable solution, but far from an elegant one.
Doesn’t Add Much for the Money
Avast Premium Security (for Mac) offers lab-certified Mac malware protection and a network security scanner, but those features also come with the free Avast Security. The Premium edition adds ransomware protection that works by banning untrusted applications from modifying your files. It also adds detailed reporting on devices found by the Wi-Fi Inspector along with real-time notification of new connections to your network. However, it offers no way to do anything if you determine the new connection is perfidious. That’s not much extra for $69.99 per year. Paying $89.99 for 10 cross-platform licenses is a decidedly better deal. However, you get a lot more value using those licenses on Windows and Android. On the other hand, if you have licenses to spare, you might as well use them on your Macs.
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac, and Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac all have perfect scores from one testing lab or the other. Bitdefender’s phishing detection is excellent, and it comes with ransomware protection much like Avast’s. Kaspersky comes with a collection of features fit for a suite. Norton looks expensive, but your subscription also gets you five no-limits VPN licenses and 50GB of storage for your Windows backups. These three are our Editors’ Choice picks for macOS antivirus.
