Anyone with a computer these days knows that it is important to have some sort of antivirus software installed on your computer so you do not get any sort of Trojan horses or computer viruses. Keeping your computer safe is as important as keeping your house safe. You have certain securities in place so you do not have to worry about intruders. With Mac computers, it should be no different. Even though Mac computers have a slimmer chance at having a computer virus, it is a smart move to download some kind of antivirus for Mac program to have in order to keep your computer safe. With a comprehensive Avast for Mac review, you can get all the facts you need in order to fully protect your computer and all of your important personal files.
What does Avast actually do?
Avast is an antivirus program that you can download for free onto any computer.
They are most notable for making the PC version, but there is now a version for Mac computers.
This free program will sweep your computer for any viruses or corrupted files and when it finds them, it will either quarantine them so as to not cause any problems, or it will delete them all together.
You as the owner certainly have a choice in what you would like done with them though. The program will even scan any device that is placed into the USB port of your computer as well.
So, what is Avast for Mac?
With a computer that is almost built to not get any type of computer virus, you would assume that if you own a Mac, you do not need some type of antivirus program to keep your computer clean. But that is not always the case.
Avast for Mac is simply another program to download in your computer that will help to shield it from Trojans and viruses.
With Web Shield and Mail Shield, it is able to swipe through emails and web history to delete those nasty and potentially harmful bugs that are deep within your computer’s data.
This is not the same thing as the Mac Cleaner program which will go through all of your files, not to mention, Avast did not start off as a program for just Macs. They focused more on PCs until Macs came onto the scene.
What are some advantages of Avast for Mac?
One of the biggest advantages of this program is the fact that it is free to download. So for people who do not necessarily want a very sophisticated antivirus program, this would be what you would want since it is basic, and costs nothing. After the price, the other biggest advantage is the fact that it has some of the most sophisticated malware detection of the antivirus programs. Another advantage to having Avast is that it can scan your full system, local volumes, network volumes, just your home directory, or a custom mix of folders. It also will automatically download new virus definitions in order to keep your program up to date. It also automatically displays pop-up windows there are new virus definitions and important messages for you to know. This keeps you in the loop of what exactly is going on at all times.
Not to mention, if you will look at Avast for Mac reviews and compare it to MacKeeper reviews, they get a better list of pros than their rivals.
With the good, you also have the bad
As with any program you will have both good and bad things.
It is no surprise that with Avast for Mac you will also have some disadvantages to this program. One minor aspect of this programs that could be considered a disadvantage would be the fact that you cannot schedule a scan for your computer. You will need to manually go into the program and scan it when you want to. This could be a problem mainly because some people do not like to have to remember to do scans like this. Another disadvantage is the possibility that it will slow down your system.
Andrew Harrison of MacWorld says just that:
“The free price looks attractive, and its malware-finding abilities are among the best of current products. Avast Free Antivirus for Mac 8.0 could make a good fallback for monitoring known Mac malware, although our tests suggest it can slow your Mac to a crawl in daily activities when simply running in the background. The Avast ‘free’ business model is based on personal data gathering and marketing to a larger degree than most others, so may be less enticing to Mac users looking for protection but trying to avoid spyware.”
Just how do I install Avast for Mac?
It starts off easy enough.
All you need to do it go to the Avast website and you will find a button that allows to you click it for a download window to appear.
The setup window will appear on your screen and you just need to click “download now” in order to get just the Avast program.
Other available buttons will give you other programs you do not want.
Wait about five minutes and when it is complete it will ask you to register your computer.
If you do not do it then, you will need to do it within 30 days or it will no longer be available.
After registration (if you choose to do so) you will see the program box appear and you will see all the options you can do.
Your scan button will allow you to run a scan on your whole computer, after which you will see a report about each and every scan you do.
The installation is just as easy as that. Hardly any work for you, and Avast will take it from here from now on.
A Review of some of the best Avast for Mac features
A big component of Avast for Mac is the Shields it provides for your computer.
The Shields are the “active” part of Avast’s protection.
They are divided into three sections: Web Shield, Mail Shield and File System Shield.
The Web Shield feature scans the links you view in your Web browser for malware.
Avast claims that Web Shield’s scanning is done on a network level, and therefore works with all browsers.
This means they scan any browser you use on your internet network. Mail Shield scans your incoming mail for malicious links or attachments. And File System Shield scans programs as you use them.
Avast for Mac Reviews
Before you go downloading Avast for Mac, it is always smart to read up on what you want to have.
Having some testimonials from other users is always a smart thing to read.
There are plenty of people who have download Avast for both PC and Mac, that have only good things to say.
For instance, one long time user had this to say,
“I highly recommend Avast. It keeps me secure. It’s done so for several years. It’s certainly a lot better than software I’ve used before. My first was Norton, which I dropped after getting a virus, and because of fraud. It would claim that flash games were malicious trojans. Even well-known and popular commercial software products would be labeled as specific viruses. I also found out they’ve committed fraud in scans to make people believe their software is more necessary than it is. I’ve used AVG, as well. That was a pretty good antivirus, but when I got infected, I cast it aside, and went with Avast. I’ve been using it since.”
Another user said
“Best anti-virus I’ve ever used including ones I’ve had to pay for. All my friends even the ones who do IT work on computers recommend this program. It has found all the viruses and spy ware on my computers regardless of Operating System. I also use it to protect my mobile devices.”
Be aware that while it does do a good job at protecting you and your computer, there will be small annoyances. Such as this one user’s complaint,
“For something that should be running the background, Avast will constantly pester you with pop up notices that have nothing to do with the security of your system. Super annoying.”
Even technology wizards give a good review for Avast for Mac,
“This was suggested by two of my computer wizards. I figured if they liked it, it had to be good. I have not any problems since using Avast in the last several years, I even convinced my wife to put it on her computer. I used to have other brands but had problems with the way they interacted with my other programs and just had to delete them. Avast plays nice with all programs.”
“I have used the Avast Free for several years and recently purchased Avast Pro. I am always impressed with their twice daily updates keeping definitions effective. The product is easy to install and receive updates.”
Conclusion
While it is important that you get the right program for your computer, after this Avast for Mac review, it should be clear just what program is going to be the best for your computer. It’s free and easy to use all while giving you the best protection for your Mac. With many easy to use features, it is able to protect you from your browsing history to your email. There is no argument that Avast knows exactly what they are doing and you should experience it for yourself.
