i see that VIPRE is best security and virus protection system overall for windows..but what about Apple Mac products as i have one of each? Geek Squad wanted me to install their Kaspersky for over $130 per year, and I feel like that’s a rip-off. What do you recommend?
The best anti-malware / anti-virus software for a Mac OS X system is a hotly contested discussion, and not for the reason you might think if you’re used to working in a Microsoft Windows environment. Before I go there, however, I concur that VIPRE is a good solution, but there really are a lot of good options on the Windows side. All of them have a subscription fee except for Windows Defender, however. But there are a lot more viruses and malware targeting Windows users than Mac users in the wild, so the need for a good anti-virus program is much higher on the PC side.
And that’s the debate on the Mac side: A lot of Mac experts say that because there are so few legitimate malware programs targeting the Mac platform, it’s perfectly safe to run an iMac, MacBook, or any other Mac system without any antivirus program running at all.
I used to think that was true but after I installed Webroot Secure Anywhere on my MacBook Pro [see Review: Webroot SecureAnywhere for Mac OS X] I have been surprised to have it flag an occasional download as having malware, including a recent download of FlashPlayer.dmg that was downloaded without me being aware of it. Here’s what the main window looks like with this particular program:
You can see that it’s still flagging the threat, but here’s the point: it caught it. Immediately. Without this program running, I would have had malware sitting on my Mac system, waiting to trigger. ¡No bueno!
And yet depending on how you use your Mac and what sites you visit, perhaps you can get away with never having to worry about an antivirus program (a marked difference to Windows, where I recommend every single computer have good, strong antivirus installed and running at all times regardless of usage patterns). Or perhaps those computers have been compromised and their owners simply don’t realize.
The other wrinkle is performance, and there are definitely some antivirus programs on the market that are so aggressive with their scanning and monitoring that they measurably slow down your computer, a super frustrating experience. I haven’t had Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac running on my system to test, but I can report that Webroot SecureAnywhere is completely invisible and I see no impact at all on my system performance.
And then there’s price. I don’t know what Geek Squad was selling you at $130/year but the Kaspersky site lists the annual subscription price for Internet Security for Mac as $34.99. Or, plan b, if you use my affiliate link you can buy Webroot SecureAnywhere for a $19.99 annual subscription price, so it’s even less expensive. Here’s the link: Get Webroot SecureAnywhere for your Mac (or Windows PC) at a discount.
Either way, on the Mac side I am beginning to recommend that people get and install an anti-virus program. Yes, Apple does a good job of writing a toughened operating system with Mac OS X, but do you want to trust their programmers with all your valuable data, files, photos, documents, movies, and email archives? I prefer an additional layer of security, even if it never flags anything as being at risk. It’s just insurance against something bad happening.
Hope that long explanation and discussion is helpful. I encourage you to either install one of these apps on your Mac yourself (it’s easy enough) or go back to Geek Squad and ask them what the extra $100/year gets you in terms of their services and assistance.
Thank you for another helpful article. I would also like to know if I should or if there’s a need for having antivirus software on my iPhone?