Thanks to cybercriminals who’ve been increasingly targeting Macs as Apple’s share of the PC market rises, competition among antivirus makers has created a wealth of choice in the Mac security-software market. Some reputable Mac AV solutions are free, yet are very effective at stopping malware. Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac retails for up to $60 per year, offers an elegant interface that’s easy to use and excellent malware protection. You can’t schedule scans, and Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac offer more features for your money, but Bitdefender offers stronger security and impacts your Mac’s performance less.
Antivirus Protection
In evaluations conducted by German independent lab AV-TEST in April 2015, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac detected 100 percent of on-demand malware (detected during active scans) and 96.5 percent of on-access malware (detected when a file is opened, downloaded or executed). Both scores are above the 91.3 percent and 91.2 percent industry averages, respectively, in each category. But the on-access score is a significant drop from Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac's performance in last year's Mac AV product tests, in which it aced both categories, and implies that quite a bit of malware might slip past it.
In fact, Bitdefender's on-access detection score was only third best out of the six Mac AV products we recently reviewed. Avira Free Antivirus for Mac found 100 percent of malware in both on-access and on-demand situations; Avast Free Mac Security got 98.8 percent of on-access malware and 100 percent of on-demand malware.
Strangely, Kaspersky Lab, another big name that regularly aces AV-TEST's Windows antivirus tests, also did poorly, scoring even lower than Bitdefender in on-access malware detection. In the case of Mac AV software, free may be best after all.
Security Features and Tools
As evidenced by its main window, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac's feature set is particularly thin, and entirely focused on malware. The software also lacks the ability to schedule scans, which is offered by Sophos Antivirus for Mac, Avira Free Antivirus and Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus.
When you run an on-demand scan, a window dedicated to that process pops up to give a detailed explanation. You see the name of the file currently being scanned, a progress bar for the total scanning process, the time elapsed and a list of any suspicious files found.
If Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac finds a suspicious file, the Reveal in Finder button will bring that file front and center in a Finder window to give you a choice for how to handle it. Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac may immediately delete some files, but if the program does not believe a file is an immediate threat, the Reveal in Finder button will give you options for how to handle it.
Not every antivirus solution gives users that control. For example, Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition pushes you out to Apple's Console program (not to be confused with Terminal) to show you a file's directory path, but then makes you to do all the work to find the malicious file.
Bitdefender's TrafficLight browser extension, which is also available as a free download, gives users a sense of safety when they're navigating search results. TrafficLight places Green Light icons near links it deems safe to click and red icons next to links known to be suspicious or dangerous.
However, for a paid product, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac doesn't offer many extra features that would justify its retail price. By comparison, Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac includes parental controls, an online-purchase "safe wallet" and a virtual keyboard.
More important, Bitdefender doesn't let the user schedule malware scans. Modern AV software catches quite a bit of malware "on access" while running in the background, but to get a thorough checkup, regular scans are necessary.
Performance and System Impact
Dell OptiPlex 745 Desktop Complete Computer Package with Windows 7 Home 32-Bit - PD 2.6Ghz, 2GB, 80GB, Keyboard, Mouse, & Dell 19" LCD Monitor
Fortunately for consumers, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac has a relatively small impact on system performance.
We installed Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac on a MacBook Pro, and then ran our OpenOffice performance test, which involves matching 20,000 names and addresses. That test took only 3 minutes and 41 seconds to complete, bested only by Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac and Avira Free Antivirus for Mac, both of which tied with a time of 3:48.
While Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac ran a full scan, the OpenOffice test completed in 4:04 — faster than the average of 4:18, and the third best time recorded.
We also ran these tests during a Critical Locations scan, which is Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac's equivalent of a quick scan. That scan gave us a time of 4:07 (the second best in its class and faster than the average time of 4:15).
Setup and Interface
Setting up Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is as simple and easy a process as any we've experienced. Installation took less than 2 minutes, and we were immediately placed into the software's main interface window.
The main window of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac presents the on-demand scanning options front and center. You can scan the whole system, scan a directory of your choice or scan only Critical Locations (Documents, Downloads, Applications and the other directories that Bitdefender sees as the usual suspects in which malware can reside).
The main window also clearly presents which of the system's Web browsers have Bitdefender's activity-monitoring TrafficLight extension installed. TrafficLight is one of the best solutions we've seen to this problem; Kaspersky installs all browser plugins during software installation at once, and Webroot does a poor job of installing extensions.
The last option you're presented with in the main window is an On-Off switch toggle for Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac's Continuous Scan. This is Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac's on-access scan, which, as its name suggests, is always keeping tabs on your system. We recommend leaving it on; to turn it off, you'll have to enter the system password.
The bottom of the window also features a simplified Apple Monitor Mac utility. Visualizing the status of system resources isn't exactly why you buy an antivirus solution, but it pairs nicely with the "Your Mac is safe" message at the top of the window.
Bottom Line
Dell OptiPlex 745 Desktop Complete Computer Package with Windows 7 Home 32-Bit - PD 2.6Ghz, 2GB, 80GB, Keyboard, Mouse, & Dell 19" LCD Monitor
Among the six Mac antivirus programs we tested, Bitdefender Antivirus did the best job of not impacting our system’s performance. The software also impressed us with its ease of installation and simple user interface. While Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac ($39.99 per year) offers better features and the free Avira Antivirus for Mac detects more malware, Bitdefender offers good protection without slowing you down.
Review Source: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/bitdefender-antivirus-mac,review-2348.html
Hello,I am Habib Rahman to you. Thana of Noakhali Senbagh was born in June 1993 and are now in Noakhali. The temptation to think of the Internet early on escalating passion. Now I'm at the back of the study as well as blogging.
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