"Decent" Free AntiVirus Software

[honestone]

As most folks know, I recently got "hit" with a Bit Coin-related virus on my 13" MacBook Air. I did use the free antivirus program from Sophos to remove it, but I have heard some "not too pleasant" this about it. I eventually completely removed it from my MacBook Air. But, the machine still runs somewhat slow, especially when using either Google Chrome or Safari for web activities.

I have also previously "recommended" to some folks to download and install the free antivirus program ClamXav. While not a "bad" choice, it does have some short comings.

So, I am still looking for a decent, free antivirus program to run on my machines. In a couple of recent Google searches, two products seem to stand out somewhat, with positive reviews:

Avast: https://www.avast.com/en-us/free-mac-security

Avira: https://www.avira.com/en/free-antivirus-mac

I would appreciate any information/comments, etc. regarding these programs.

 

[Cory Cooper]

I don't have a lot of experience with either of those, other than an older version of Avast which caused a few minor issues.

The one I use, if I need to scan someone's Mac for troubleshooting, is ClamXav by Mark Allen. It's a very simple and free app that uses the ClamAV engine - the same that Apple has used in OS X Server since Tiger. Also, it is not a real-time scanning app, which can slow down your Mac, because they scan every file and website you visit in real-time. This one you run manually and scan when and if you want to.

It can be found:

Website
ClamXav

Apple App Store
ClamXav

In all my years of using Apples and Mac, I have only ever had two real viruses - both were Microsoft Word viruses/trojans back in the '90s, which Microsoft patched in a very old version of Microsoft Office. It is widely known that Macs are pretty much free of viruses and malware, but if you exchange a lot of files with PC/Windows users, then it is a good idea to run an anti-virus as a precaution so you don't pass on a virus to them.

C

 

[honestone]

Yeah, I know about ClamXav, and have used it a few times on both of my Macs.

 

[the6202]

Try Avast for Mac-- www.avast.com
Or, you could just try to uninstall it yourself.

 

[honestone]

Thanks, the602. I have seen positive reviews about Avast (as I have with Avira). Yesterday, though, I did run ClamXav on the Air, and nothing was detected (I let scan my user "folder", my documents folder, my applications folder (takes the longest), and my desktop.