It also sifts through specific email threads, attachments, and various web activities. It even offers drag-and-drop scanning for individual files and phishing protection, along with the ability to scan external drives and attached volumes. The app’s interface is straightforward and self-explanatory. It features a navigational pane on the left that consists of five primary buttons and a real-time graph that aggregates shield activity and allows you to quickly check the overall stats of your Mac. If privacy is particularly important, you may want to keep in mind the recent reports that Avast does collect, and it also sells customer web browsing data. And while Avast does admit to doing so, the company also maintains that it does not collect names, email addresses, or contact details. Users have the option to opt out of sharing their data. If you want the Premium version, it costs $70 annually for one Mac license. Straddling the line somewhere between necessity and excess, Sophos offers all the basic utilities you expect from quality antivirus software and a whole lot more. It has on-demand, scheduled, and custom scans for specified files, folders, and drives, along with additional tools for deleting and quarantining any software Sophos deems a potential threat. The software incorporates real-time protection features that quarantine unknown files exhibiting suspicious behavior. Although the app tends to scan slower than most, it’s fairly lightweight. It unobtrusively performs vital background tasks while barely leeching or exhausting your system’s resources.ĭespite its robust feature set, Sophos manages to cram all this functionality into a compact interface. Initiating a full-system scan can be done directly from the top of the main menu, and you can configure exemptions quickly from easily navigable menus. The malware definitions also are constantly updated, ensuring the app is never without the latest knowledge of potential threats. It’s one of the most hands-off antivirus apps on the market, and as such, sits among the best.

The free version includes ransomware monitoring, webcam protection, and live support options, but all of these expire after 30 days. You’ll need to get the $45-per-year premium version to keep these features. Bitdefender Virus Scannerīuilt upon the company’s award-winning antivirus engine, Bitdefender Virus Scanner features a host of scan options, allowing users to quickly perform deep scans of the entire system or target specific locations.

If granted, it even provides an option for scanning critical locations - such as launch agents and the entire system library - allowing users to bypass lengthier scans when pressed for time. This antivirus software automatically updates with Bitdefender’s hourly malware definitions before scanning while providing a quick means for blacklisting specific locations from system scans.

Avg for macbook air