AVs for Mac OS X

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by iravgupta, Mar 20, 2011.

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  1. iravgupta

    iravgupta Registered Member

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    Need some updated info on what AV would be most suitable for a MacBook Pro running OX X Snow Leopard. Can someone help me find any comparatives/reviews from a performance and effectiveness standpoint?
     
  2. Superman20

    Superman20 Registered Member

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    Here is a list of a few companies that offer antivirus for mac:

    Kapersky: here is a review from users (http://www.reevoo.com/p/kaspersky-antivirus-for-mac#/reviews)
    Norton (http://us.norton.com/macintosh/antivirus/)
    PC tools iantivirus - FREE (http://www.iantivirus.com/)
    Avast (http://www.avast.com/mac-edition)
    Bitdefender (http://www.bitdefender.com/world/solutions/antivirus-for-mac.html)
    Eset cyber security (http://www.eset.com/us/home/cybersecurity-for-mac)
    Clamxav (http://www.clamxav.com/)
    mcafee (http://www.mcafee.com/us/products/virusscan-for-mac.aspx)
    Sophos - FREE (http://www.sophos.com/products/free-tools/free-mac-anti-virus/)

    try http://www.reevoo.com/ for reviews which are submitted by users.
    You could test trial versions to see which is best for you.

    Hope that helps.
     
  3. SweX

    SweX Registered Member

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    Hey RaviG!

    My vote would be ESET Cyber Security wich were in use on a MBP that I tested a while ago,
    and it's almost as nice as the Windows version actually, quite light.
    So download the trial and see how it runs for your self :thumb:

    Keep in mind though, that Avast is due to re-release their Mac Antivirus solution for Mac OS X (wich haven't been updated for ages) in a couple of weeks as a BETA I assume. BUT the final product will be FREE just as the Windows version of Avast.

    Regarding reviews of Mac Av's on the Net, there aren't many of them and if you find one that is made recently then you're lucky.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2011
  4. iravgupta

    iravgupta Registered Member

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    I would have loved to go for ESET, but I am still reeling under the effect of the "Apple Tax" :). Just installed Sophos, but I am not able to figure out what sort of performance overhead does installing an Antivirus on the Mac brings to the table.
     
  5. iravgupta

    iravgupta Registered Member

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    Thanks a ton buddy.
     
  6. twl845

    twl845 Registered Member

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    Don't forget Intego, which I'm told is the flagship of Mac AV's. I won't be getting my iMac until the new Lion OS comes out this summer, so I'm recommending Intego based on what I've read. :)
     
  7. cheater87

    cheater87 Registered Member

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    Comodo is working on an AV for Mac :)
     
  8. iravgupta

    iravgupta Registered Member

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    Eagerly waiting for the avast solution to become final, if the windows version is anything to go by, the Mac version would be great.
     
  9. Someheresomethere

    Someheresomethere Registered Member

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    iAntivirus is dead and has some ramdom CPU usage spikes bug.

    There's also MacKeeper, which uses the Avira engine, however last time I tried it had quite a noticeable impact on performance.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2011
  10. twl845

    twl845 Registered Member

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    Oh great! :p
     
  11. Blueshoes

    Blueshoes Registered Member

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    Intego is the gold standard for OSX anti-malware programs. You get a top tier logging system of your Macs doings. No one competes with their programs offerings. No one! Let alone going with their multiple program Internet Security Barrier x6 vs the stand alone VirusBarrier X6.

    http://blog.intego.com/2011/02/02/i...curity-company-of-the-year-by-frost-sullivan/


    http://antivirus.about.com/od/antivirussoftwarereviews/ss/Best-Antivirus-Software-Winners_3.htm



    As far as processor cycles, I don't have any issues with running both Intego VirusBarrier x6 and Sophos Free together. I am running a Rev A aluminum iMac with 4 gb ram. People get WAY to tide up in processor cycles. I don't see the slow down like PCs get with a heavy AV. What is the ram there for, but to use it at some point. Don't even waste your breath on the running 2 AVs at once crap. I poke around infected sites so I run heavy on the AV.

    As far as Avast for Mac don't waste your time, it is nothing but a hobby for them. A year or two ago they were asking posters on their Mac form to send them common Mac Trojans that all the other Mac AVers had in their sigs weeks if not months ago. They were too lazy to find their own Mac malware and did not know were to find it other then asking the Mac form posters to send them the common trojan at the time. Plus, their Mac program looks like crap. They should just change the color and use the GUI from the PC AV since it isis very appealing and well designed.


    Kaspersky for Mac has no heuristic engine. A modern AV with no heuristic engine is a big FAIL.

    Sophos has been in the enterprise Mac AV business for years, they have the gravitas when it comes to their free new AV.

    ESET is the wild card for me, I have ran it but don't have an opinion on it other then it would at best be my 3rd to 4th choice. With Intego being and Sophos second. Seems ESET received very few votes in About.com Mac Antivirus readers vote.

    And of course we need to comment on ClamX because there always seems to be someone bring up this program that is on-demand and does not have all of the Mac malware signatures because the Clam signature team doesn't care about writing Mac malware sigs. It was the easy go to free program, but with the advent of Sophos free and questionably free detuned Intego free version that came out this year. ClamXav is not a 1st choice or even a 5th choice because it lacks a real-time scanning engine.
     
  12. Montecristo

    Montecristo Registered Member

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    +1 for Intego. I use it on my Mac.
     
  13. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    I tried Intego on my mac, a fine anti virus, but heavy on resources 200meg plus and very expensive with no discount on renewal.
    I also tried the sophos free which was good, but made some programs slow to open. I have settled and purchased the Eset cybersecurity, and found it very good, light and reasonably priced, especially upon renewal. Each to their own, but thats my two penneth.
     
  14. yongsua

    yongsua Registered Member

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    :thumb: Ya.For me,ESET is fairly light on resources but I don't know its detection is higher than Intego or noto_O?
     
  15. Paul_E

    Paul_E Registered Member

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    I was using Dr Web but when SOPHOS introduced their free version I couldn't see the point of using anything else, particularly as they have been protecting Mac's for years.

    Paul
     
  16. twl845

    twl845 Registered Member

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    If I am correct, Cybersecurity is the suite with the firewall. What about a stand alone AV for Mac? I used the Eset AV for PC for a few years and every upgrade had new bugs that were a pain.
     
  17. Someheresomethere

    Someheresomethere Registered Member

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    No, it's only an AV.
     
  18. yongsua

    yongsua Registered Member

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    what pain?
     
  19. twl845

    twl845 Registered Member

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    Ah yes, I just checked the site. I think I was thinking of Smart Security. I never noticed the Mac version when I was using NOD32.
     
  20. twl845

    twl845 Registered Member

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    Back in the v3 into the early v4 NOD32 AV days, I would get problems with NOD slowing my Outlook down to a crawl, to the point that I had to deselect mail coverage in NOD. There were other minor problems that I can't remember any more, but I decided to switch after a while. This Mac version has me interested though. It seems to be light on RAM compared to Intego.
     
  21. SergM

    SergM Registered Member

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  22. BoerenkoolMetWorst

    BoerenkoolMetWorst Registered Member

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  23. SweX

    SweX Registered Member

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    It was released late last year, or very early this year.
    I don't remember the exact date though.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2011
  24. Blueshoes

    Blueshoes Registered Member

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    Intego dropped their pricing and there is a discount on renewals through their Netupdate I think it is $29 and you can get a 2 year renew for I think $46.

    Intego $49

    Eset $39

    No brainier, Integos integrated logging system and other features are well worth the extra $10

    .
     
  25. rollers

    rollers Registered Member

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    I think one thing is for sure after all these replies, and that is that Macs are a lot more popular these days, which is why its probably a good idea to run an AV on them, which ever one chooses.
     
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