Avast Security Pro for Mac is the professional version of the hugely popular AV program. Efficient and comprehensive, the popularity stems from the reliable and trustworthy brand that Avast have created over the years. Although virus and malware issues are not as prevalent on the Mac platform as they are on Windows, there are serious threats out there that you will need protection from. Avast Security Pro for Mac's key features are the advanced ransomware protection tools and the advanced network security tools.
Oct 16, 2017 Avast Security for Mac Premium is a step up from its Essential version, though both offer excellent internet security for your Mac desktops and laptops. The Premium solution, however, comes with a few extra tools like a VPN, system scanner and password manager. Features Avast Free Antivirus for Mac offers numerous, configurable features. The free features include an antivirus scanner, a firewall, reports, and that’s it. Scan – Avast offers a free antivirus scanner that you can use to scan files, folders, hard drives, and your computer.
Avast Security Pro for Mac has a simple and easy to navigate UI. The key features can be easily reached in the sidebar and the homepage is customizable, so you can access the tools you use most often easily.
The X-A10 sits at the very bottom of Fujifilm’s mirrorless lineup. And to be honest, it feels like it. The image quality is good, but not great, for a beginner model, and the autofocus is not as brisk as we’ve seen from rivals. Avast for Mac Free Download: Every computer user knows the importance of an antivirus software. So that they don’t get any kind of Trojan horses and virus. By putting the right security at a place then you need to worry about the virus. Avast Security Pro for Mac review: Everything a modern antivirus app needs and a little bit more An all-around champion has strong malware-fighting abilities packaged with worthwhile extras. The 12-inch MacBook is the way to go if you want the smallest and lightest Mac laptop possible and you’re willing to pay more for it: Its pricing starts at $1,300 (though that gets you 256 GB of storage, twice that of the $1,300 entry-level Pro and $1,000 Air).
Avast Security Pro’s Ransomware Shield expands on the standard ransomware protection of Avast Free Mac Security, in order to stop ransomware variants from holding your files hostage. The tool can even go beyond the standard ransomware protection in order to stop any untrusted app from changing or deleting your protected data.
Key Features include:
- Real time virus, spyware, and other threat detection.
- Secure personal files and photos from ransomware attacks.
- Instant alerts for network weaknesses and intruders.
- Malicious website warning for safer online payments.
- Mail Shield.
- Custom Scan options.
- File Shield.
- Web Shield.
- WiFi Inspector.
Comprehensive Protection is something that Avast takes very seriously. With Avast Security Pro for Mac you can be sure that your protection is first rate. With a constantly updated database of virus definitions, your computer will be protected against the latest spyware, viruses and potentially hazardous websites.
Avast’s large and active community quickly alerts the development team of new security threats which are swiftly countered and added to Avast’s significant database. The browser add-on further improves computer security with features like cookie and social tracking blocking.
Overall, Avast Security Pro for Mac is without a doubt, one of the best total security suite's available for the Mac platform. It is relatively lightweight and super-efficient, while still providing a comprehensive security protection for your Mac. The appearance is clean and uncluttered, with buttons intuitively labelled and positioned, so the app can be navigated by users of all levels of expertise.
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The big friendly “You Are Protected” green checkmark on Avast Security Pro’s home screen is certainly a plausible statement. The software is a rare breath of fresh air in a sea of anti-virus products that haven’t worked hard enough to keep up to date with current threats, or haven’t updated the interface to meet modern expectations of presentation and usability.
Avast is danged good at catching malware. AV Comparables says Avast detected 99.9 percent of macOS malware and 100 percent of Windows malware. In spot testing, the app did splendidly. Immediately on decompression of macOS malware from an encrypted archive, Avast detected it, deleted it, and notified me. It did as well with malicious files on the web, though it didn’t detect some items at the WICAR test site that require active local components to be dangerous. Siccing it on drives loaded with other anti-virus products, Avast found test malware I’d downloaded that had wound up in cached files that the anti-virus software on those volumes missed.
Note: This review is part of our best antivirus roundup. Go there for details about competing products and how we tested them.
Avast’s browser component, Web Shield, doesn’t seem to rely on plug-ins (there are none to configure), but uses the program’s kernel extension to check at a low level. It can be managed from the Avast app, and settings apply to all browsers.
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If you’re interested in ransomware monitoring, you need to buy the Pro version ($59.99 for one year/one Mac; $69.99 for one year/three Macs; $99.99 for one year/10 Macs), which relies on folder-based ransomware monitoring. It marks the user Documents and Pictures folders as protected by default, and you can add more folders. By default, Avast allows any Apple and App Store apps to manipulate items in those folders, although you can disable those options. Any other app that tries to modify or delete anything in the shielded folders is blocked, giving you an option to whitelist it.
This is an effective way to protect most users’ critical files, but we prefer Sophos’s active monitoring approach, which looks for patterns of behavior and keeps files from being deleted than one that requires anointing folders. Still, it worked well in testing, and most users keep their most precious documents in a few locations. (Avast could expand the list to include a few more locations by default, too.)
Outside of core anti-virus features, the Pro version also offers a Wi-Fi Inspector. This is unique among anti-virus software we tested, and it looks for devices on a network engaged in malicious behavior. Other anti-virus software packaged with network monitors either whitelist local network activity, or treat it the same as any malicious Internet attacks. This seems aimed at helping users understand if they’ve joined a network, such as at a coffeeshop, that has compromised or attacking devices on it.
One negative is the soft but distinct upsell of Avast, which is sensible in its Free version, but not necessarily in a Pro. A Tools item on the lefthand navigation bar mostly displays other available products, like VPN service. A one-time message at installation might be acceptable, but mingling features and items for sale is too heavy-handed in a security product.
While you can create an account at Avast Software, it’s optional. Once created, you can use it to add machines to log in from the software for a computer to join the account. Unfortunately, the account provides no remote mangement or configuration, just reporting.
Bottom line
If you’re looking for a free anti-virus program, Avast is the best choice, edging out Sophos by providing more parity between free and paid version.
While we gave Sophos Home Premium and Avast Security Pro the same 4.5 mice rating, Sophos has a slight edge. The combination of active ransomware scanning makes it somewhat more superior to the folder-based method in Avast, while central configuration and remote control in Sophos can help for a disparate set of family or small-business users. We like Avast’s unique Wi-Fi threat detection, and its native app interface, where Sophos leans heavily on the cloud.
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