Best Free Antivirus for Mac OS X

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 12, 2011
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
What is the Best Free Antivirus for Mac OS X.
I am also have virtual machine Windows on it. Will it be protected if I set up antivirus only on Mac?
Thank you.
 
Joined
Oct 27, 2002
Messages
13,172
Reaction score
348
Points
83
Location
Cleveland, Ohio
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro | LED Cinema Display | iPhone 4 | iPad 2

cwa107


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
27,042
Reaction score
812
Points
113
Location
Lake Mary, Florida
Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
What is the Best Free Antivirus for Mac OS X.

Despite a handful of trojans that exist for Mac OS X, there still has never been a true virus for it. What little malware does exist is easily avoided with a bit of common sense computing (i.e. only downloading programs from trusted sources, avoiding pirated software and never giving a program your admin password when prompted unless you know exactly what it is, why you need it and where it came from).

So, an anti-virus solution is kind of useless at this point, since it has nothing to scan for. If you want to do occasional scans, check out ClamXAV.

I am also have virtual machine Windows on it. Will it be protected if I set up antivirus only on Mac?
Thank you.

No. Windows is basically running in its own sandbox, so an antivirus on Mac OS X will not see the filesystem of the virtual machine. You definitely want to run a Windows-specific anti-virus on the virtual machine, particularly if you use it to access the Internet at all.

I recommend Microsoft's own, free, Microsoft Security Essentials.
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
25,564
Reaction score
486
Points
83
Location
Blue Mountains NSW Australia
Your Mac's Specs
Silver M1 iMac 512/16/8/8 macOS 11.6
Also there is now available ClamWin from ClamXAV manufacturers, Sourceforge. It is also free ware. A little slower to update and scan than MSE.
 

cwa107


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
27,042
Reaction score
812
Points
113
Location
Lake Mary, Florida
Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Also there is now available ClamWin from ClamXAV manufacturers, Sourceforge. It is also free ware. A little slower to update and scan than MSE.

Do note though, that ClamXAV is reactive only. It will not proactively prevent the installation of a virus, which is very important in the Windows world. There are many free Windows AV products and most of them are proactive.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top