Avast Security For Mac Is The Best

1. Avast Mac Security Free
2. Avast Security For Mac
3. Avast Security For Mac Download
4. Avast For Mac Review

Avast Free Mac Security is a noteworthy antivirus for Mac, despite it lacks some functionalities. Avast Mac Security assures excellent malware detection scores in a simple interface, coming second only to the competitor Avira. Bitdefender Total Security 2019 - 5 Devices - 1 Year - Secure up to 5 different devices: Windows, Mac OS, iOS and Android. The New Bitdefender Total Security 2019 Multi Device for Is Now Out! The Best Cybersecurityin theWorld, 29-Time Winner awarded by PC MAG.

When it comes to free antivirus for Windows computer, your friends will mostly recommend you either Avast Free Antivirus 2019, AVG AntiVirus FREE 2019, or Avira Free Antivirus 2019. But which one of them is the best? All are completely for free and offers plenty of advanced features. We’ll take a look at details on Avast and AVG.

Two biggest competitors, Avast and AVG, are today a single company. In October 2016 Avast acquired AVG company for $1.3B. From the end-user point of view, there is no change, both brands continue to coexist together. However, they use the same engine and technology in the background – the one from Avast. Feature-wise there are small differences, let’s take a closer look.

Feature Comparison Table – Does AVG Offer More Than Avast?

Both Avast and AVG are offering solid protection against viruses, spyware, malware, rootkits and even ransomware which is a big topic now. Plus you will be secured while browsing online, chatting on Facebook, or watching videos on YouTube. Also, they will protect and scan your incoming and outgoing e-mails if you are using an e-mail client like Outlook or Thunderbird. If you’re a gamer, you can relax – both antivirus solutions offer smart gaming mode and keep themselves silent.

With Avast you will get some cool features like Wi-Fi Inspector (formerly called Home Network Security), which scans your home network, Wi-Fi connection, and routers. An easy-to-use tool called Browser Cleanup for removing unwanted toolbars from your browser. Software Updater for monitoring the up-to-date status of the other software like browser, Java, Adobe Reader, etc. And you can ask your IT friend to fix your computer via the secured remote connection.

However, there are some differences. AVG offers spying and data theft protection controlling what kind of data you are sharing with the other applications, and File Shredder which can permanently delete your sensitive information, so they can’t be restored. A similar feature called Data Shredder is available also in Avast, but only in the top-tier product Avast Premier, not in the free one.

A big plus for AVG is that you don’t need to register or give out any personal information. You can just download, install, and keep using it. With Avast you have to activate the product within the first 30 days, and then once a year.

Impact on the System Resources – Which Product is Lighter?

We have measured the impact on the system resources using two ways:

1. How long does the computer to boot into Windows desktop while the AVG or Avast is installed
2. How does the computer perform in various areas (CPU, Graphics, Memory and Disk operations) while the AVG or Avast is installed

In the boot time test where less is better, it took only 28 seconds (on average) to load Windows desktop when Avast Free Antivirus was installed. The same operation took 33 seconds (on average) when AVG AntiVirus FREE was installed. Default boot-time without any antivirus solution in place took 20 seconds. So according to our testing, Windows loads faster with Avast.

In the second area, we have tested computer performance in various areas and impact of the AVG or Avast on the results. Test results (higher is better) were practically the same for both products, 2,116 points for Avast and 2,115 points for AVG. The default performance without any antivirus installed was 2,150 points. So the overall impact on the system performance is really low for both products.

Final performance test results are highlighted in the chart below. You can clearly see the difference between no antivirus and Avast or AVG present. Please note the vertical axis ‘Performance Score‘ is not starting from 0, but from 2,110 to clearly show the small differences.

Avast vs. AVG – Performance Test Results

You can find more details about how we tested in the ‘Additional Notes‘ section at the end of the article.

Avast Mac Security Free

User Interface – Is Avast Easier to use Than AVG?

Avast user interface is really nice and clear. There is only one main action leading to the Smart Scan, which runs all seven Avast scans: compatibility, viruses, outdated software, browser add-ons, router issues, performance, and weak passwords. The green button ‘UPGRADE‘ (or ‘ACTIVATE‘) leads to a comparison table of Avast Free Antivirus and Avast premium product (Avast Internet Security).

The status is also indicated by color when green obviously means ‘You are protected’ (note AVG is using the exact same term). Also, you are assured that ‘Everything is up-to-date‘. The top menu is easy to navigate and structured in fours groups – Scan, Tools, Passwords, and Store. What is pretty annoying is the top menu disappears every time you go from the home screen and you need to click on ‘Menu‘ to get it back.

Same as AVG, also Avast is using the bottom space for the up-sell offers.

AVG user interface is quite busy compared to Avast. When everything is fine, you will see green tick marks with the message ‘You are protected‘. The interface will go red if there will be some issue. What is nice is when some of the shields are disabled, you will see immediately which ones as they will also turn in red.

AVG AntiVirus FREE 2019 – User Interface

The main tiles show you the status of the specific shield protection. If you are looking for a scan, it’s the less visible button ‘Scan now‘. The ‘Fix performance’ button sounds pretty interesting, but you need to download other product (AVG PC TuneUp) to actually fix the performance. The last button is for checking if the program is up-to-date, of course, the virus definitions are updated automatically. ‘Join us on Facebook‘ link at the top bar is very visible and somehow distracting.

Bottom of the interface is used as an offer space to buy or try for free the paid-for version.

Localizations/Translations – Is The Product Available in my Language?

Both Avast and AVG are available in plenty of languages, of course for free. But Avast offers many more.

Avast languages (46): Arabic, Belorussian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (United States/United Kingdom), Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Persian, Pirate talk, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil/Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu and Vietnamese

AVG languages (22): Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Turkish.

Popularity – Which is the Most Popular Free Antivirus? Avast or AVG?

The better product is, the most users it has. It’s simple as that. However, it’s not easy to say which is the most popular antivirus, if Avast or AVG. For expressing popularity we are using several, publicly accessible methods.

1. Official Sources

According to the official website, Avast is protecting more than 400 million users worldwide, but that probably includes also AVG users. The last publicly available number was 230 million users. AVG doesn’t state anymore how many users are using their products, however using simple math it’s around 170 million (400 – 230 = 170). Therefore we believe it’s safe to claim Avast has more users than AVG.

2. Antivirus Vendor Market Share by OPSWAT

OPSWAT is regularly releasing reports about the antivirus market share. Data are based on the OPSWAT GEARS software installed on the client machines. According to the latest report from November 2017, Avast is dominating the worldwide market with 18.48%. Followed by ESET with 13.97%. AVG is still reported as a separate company and didn’t make it into top 10 for June 2017, however, AVG’s share was around 4% in the last few months. It is also important to mention Microsoft for some reason is not included at all.

Avast vs. AVG – Market Share Report November 2017 by OPSWAT

3. CNET Download.com Ranking

Download.com by CNET is the World’s most popular download portal. According to its popularity rankings, AVG has more total downloads – almost 564 million, while Avast has ‘only’ 406 million. However, the recent trend shows Avast is slightly more popular, as it leads the last week downloads number.

Avast vs. AVG – Number of Downloads & Rating on CNET Download.com June 2017

Avast has higher editor’s rating– 4 stars (meaning excellent), while AVG has 3.5 stars (meaning very good). The user/community rating is also better for Avast – 4.5 stars, while AVG has 4 stars.

4. Number of Fans on Social Media Networks

Another way how to measure product/company popularity is the number of fans/followers on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. Avast is leading on Facebook with 4.1 million fans vs. AVG’s 3.1 million. On Twitter, the leader is AVG with 216k followers vs. Avast’s 181k.

Avast vs. AVG – Number of Fans/Followers on Facebook and Twitter

Independent Labs Test Results – Will AVG Protect You Better Than Avast?

If you are looking for a more advanced comparison of antivirus protection, the best resources are the independent test labs. These labs are regularly performing various tests like how many viruses will get through the antivirus software, or which vendor offers better performance.

Selection of the most important and relevant test results is below:

• AV-Comparatives Real Word Protection Test Results (November 2017)
• AV-Comparatives Performance Test Results (October 2017)
• AV-TEST Avast Results (October 2017)
• AV-TEST AVG Results (October 2017)

As we mentioned the antivirus engine is the same for both products and that’s also visible in tests. In the latest AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test from May 2017, both Avast and AVG got 100% detection rate with 0 false-positives. Both products also scored the same score on the latest Performance Test.

Respected computer magazine PCMag gives both products the same rating of 4,5 stars in their comprehensive comparison of free antivirus solutions written by security expert Neil J. Rubenking. Actually, both Avast and AVG are their #1 recommendation for the free antivirus software.

Our current Editors’ Choice products for free antivirus utility are Avast Free Antivirus and AVG AntiVirus Free. Both get very good scores from the independent labs, and in our own tests as well. Both include some useful bonus features.

Neil J. Rubenking for PCMag

System Requirements & Compatibility – Will the Product Run on my Computer?

Both products will run on a majority of today’s computers as there are no special requirements. In fact, the system requirements are identical since the antivirus engine is the same. You just need to run a newer Windows than 2000, so at least Windows XP with Service Pack 3. Both Avast and AVG are also fully compatible with the latest Windows 10.

System Requirements for Avast Free Antivirus 2019

• Supported operating systems: Microsoft Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 SP1 or higher / Vista / XP SP3 or higher (any Edition, 32-bit or 64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Pentium 4 / AMD Athlon 64 or above
• Memory: 256 MB RAM or above
• Space: 2 GB of free hard disk space
• Please note that Avast Free Antivirus 2019 won’t work on Microsoft Windows 95 / 98 / ME / 2000 / Server, or any other operating system which isn’t specified above

System Requirements for AVG AntiVirus FREE 2019

• Supported operating systems: Microsoft Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP SP2 or higher (any Edition, 32-bit or 64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Pentium 4 / AMD Athlon 64 or above
• Memory: 256 MB RAM for Windows XP or 1024 MB RAM for Windows Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 / Vista
• Space: 2 GB of free hard disk space
• Please note that AVG AntiVirus FREE 2019 won’t work on Microsoft Windows 95 / 98 / ME / 2000 / Server, or any other operating system which isn’t specified above

Test Conclusion – Both Avast and AVG are Worth of Trying!

Both products have their pros and cons. We don’t want to recommend only one of them, instead, we would like to encourage you to try both, and see if Avast or AVG will suit you better. Even they are offered completely for free, the level of protection you will get is comparable with the paid-for antivirus solutions. The download links are below.

From official AVG website

If you are looking for premium protection, check out our Internet Security suites comparison including Avast, AVG, Avira, ESET, and Norton (Symantec).

Additional Notes

Information about the product features has been obtained from the official websites of each vendor. If you believe we have stated something not correct, please let us know, and we’ll fix it immediately. Our intention is to offer a fair and fact-based comparison of each product.

Avast Free Mac Security is the most downloaded antivirus for Mac with more than 4.5 million downloads Also, the user reviews on Download.com are very positive. Avast Free Mac Security 2018 has 4.5 stars (out of 5) from 1,641users. /rate-avast-for-mac.html. Avast Free Mac Security caught 99.9 percent of all malware, packs in a password manager, barely leaves a smudge on system impact and doesn't charge a dime. Mar 03, 2017  Rate this App Avast Free Antivirus is an antivirus developed for Windows and Mac OS X platforms that not only detects and destroys a wide variety of known viruses, but can also detect traces of the modifications produced by unknown viruses. In security lab tests, Avast detected 99.9 percent of macOS malware, and 100 percent of Windows malware.

For measuring the boot time we have used a free tool called BootRacer. We have tested AVG AntiVirus FREE 2016 (2016.0.7163) and Avast Free Antivirus 2016 (2016.10.2.2215) released on March 23, 2015. Both tests were performed on a Windows 7 Professional x64 computer with CPU Intel Core i7 @ 2.70GHz and 8 GB RAM.

For measuring the overall PC performance we have used a free tool called PassMark PerformanceTest which tests various areas including CPU, graphics, disk, and memory.

Besides the World’s most popular antivirus for Windows, Avast is offering a comprehensive antivirus for Apple Mac OS X (Macintosh). The product is called Avast Free Mac Security 2018 (version 11) and same as the Windows version it’s completely for free. It doesn’t even require the registration, so you can just download, install and use it without any hassle.

While some Mac users are still questioning the need for the antivirus/security software on OS X, we definitely recommend have Avast installed as the number of hacker attacks on Mac users is rising rapidly.

Avast for Mac Key Features & Benefits

• Award-winning antivirus engine with 100% detection rate (according to the independent test by AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives)
• Real-time protection with 3 layers (File System Shield, Mail Shield, Web Shield)
• Automatic streaming updates of the virus definitions
• Excellent performance – very low on system resources
• Simple and intuitive user interface
• Completely for free – no registration required

Avast for Mac Free Download & Installation

Avast for Mac is unfortunately not available on iTunes or App Store. But you can simply download Avast Free Mac Security using the link below:

From the Official Avast Servers

Avast Security For Mac

After you finish the download you can proceed with the installation. The installation process is really easy and doesn’t require any technical skills:

1. Close the Safari browser, locate the setup file called ‘avast_free_mac_security.dmg‘ and run it
2. Confirm the Avast License Agreement by clicking on ‘Agree‘
3. You can customize the installation by clicking on ‘Customize’, click on ‘Install’ to start the installation
4. If prompted enter the administrator name and password
5. Once the installation is complete, you should get the confirmation screen

Please note it’s heavily recommended to uninstall any other antivirus/security software from your Mac before installing Avast.

Avast Security Pro for Mac – Is it worthy to pay extra?

Besides the free version of Mac antivirus, there is also a premium one called Avast Security Pro for Mac. The pro version offers two extra features

• Wi-Fi Alerts – This feature will immediately notify you if someone connects to your Wi-Fi network. This helps you to keep hackers/neighbors out of your network.
• Ransomware Shield – Ransomware shields keep your personal data from being encrypted without your permission.

For these, you need to pay for the premium version which costs $59.99 per year. Is it worthy? We would say yes as ransomware on Mac is on the rise and Avast offers solid protection against it.

Avast for Mac User & Experts Reviews – What others are saying?

Avast Free Mac Security is also really popular among the users and technical experts. It is by far the most downloaded Mac antivirus/security on Download.com with more than 4.5 million downloads! While other competitors don’t have even half a million (Sophos 247k, Avira 80k, Norton 30k, Kaspersky 12k, McAfee 11k, Eset 9k).

Avast Free Mac Security is the most downloaded antivirus for Mac with more than 4.5 million downloads

Also, the user reviews on Download.com are very positive. Avast Free Mac Security 2018 has 4.5 stars (out of 5) from 1,641users.

How can the answer be improved? Our free Mac antivirus protects on 3 fronts. Malware isn’t the only threat to your Mac. Malicious websites and vulnerable Wi-Fi networks can also jeopardize your safety. Avast Security provides essential free protection against all 3 threats, and our new Pro version goes the extra mile to expose Wi-Fi intruders and stop ransomware. Is Avast A Good Antivirus For Mac: Antivirus is the must have app for MAC. Due to the increased number of different viruses and hacking techniques, your personal data is always at the risk. Hacker can use your personal data for any type of illegal activities and you will found yourself in trouble soon. Is avast effective for mac. Avast Antivirus for Mac is a “free” software program that protects your Mac from viruses, malware, spyware, and ransomware. The free version doesn’t do much more than allow you to scan for malware that has already made its way into your system. Sep 08, 2009  Question: Q: is avast for mac any good More Less Apple Footer This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only.

Avast for Mac is doing really well also in the independent tests. It has been certified with 100% detection rate by the German laboratory AV-TEST. Same results were measured also by the Austrian laboratory AV-Comparatives.

According to Tom’s Guide, Avast Free Mac Security was better in detecting viruses than the other paid solutions: ‘it was better at malware detection than all three of the paid antivirus solutions we reviewed‘.

Avast for Mac System Requirements – Will it run on your Mac?

Minimum system requirements are quite easy to comply and really nothing special. Avast Free Mac Security will run even on the older MacBooks (Air/Pro) and iMacs:

• OS X Version: Apple Mac running macOS 10.9 (Mavericks) or newer
• Processor: Intel-based Mac computer with 64-bit processor
• Memory: 128 MB RAM or above (1 GB RAM or higher preferred)
• Free space: 500 MB minimum hard disk free space

Avast for Mac Uninstall – How to remove it from your Mac?

If you decide to uninstall Avast Free Mac Security from your Mac, there is nothing special you would need to do compared to any other Mac application. To remove it simply follow the instructions below:

Avast Security For Mac Download

1. Close Safari browser and open Avast by going to ‘Finder’ » ‘Applications’ and double-click on the Avast orange icon
2. Open ‘Avast Mac Security‘ in the menu bar at the top-left, select ‘Uninstall Avast‘ and confirm (you may need to log in as an administrator)
3. Wait and the uninstall process to finish and Avast Free Mac Security is completely removed

Avast For Mac Review

Unfortunately, there is no removal tool or uninstall utility for Mac. Avast Uninstall Utility (AvastClear) is available only for Windows.