The current average is 38 minutes, almost three times as long as ProtectWorks took. In any case, a full scan of the Mac I used for testing took 13 minutes, which plenty speedy. ProtectWorks doesn't bother with a quick scan, since the product's real-time protection should take care of any active malware. The quick scan looks for active malware and checks for traces in system areas that are frequently infected, while the full scan examines the entire device. Many antivirus utilities offer two levels of scanning. And four others, Clario, Intego, Kaspersky, and MacKeeper, score 100% with AV-Comparatives. Six products, Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac among them, take perfect scores with AV-Test. Quite a few others, tested by only one lab, receive one perfect score. By contrast, Avast and Bitdefender take perfect scores from both labs. Many antivirus products for macOS have never been tested by either of the labs I follow. The fact that ProtectWorks got certification at least once is encouraging. Neither lab has reported on ProtectWorks in recent years, though it did receive certification from AV-Test a few years ago. Both AV-Comparatives and AV-Test regularly report on Mac-centered testing. Independent antivirus testing labs around the world tend to focus on Windows malware and Windows security products, but some of them extend their testing to the macOS platform. A status panel at the right lets you know that protection is enabled and notifies you if you need to deal with found malware.

Panels at the left let you scan the whole computer, scan your personal files, scan a specific location, or set up scheduled scanning. While ProtectWorks does include real-time protection, its main window is all about the scans. You can choose a 30-day trial with full functionality, copy in a registration code, or click a link supplied in your purchase verification email to register. Getting Started With ProtectWorksĪs with most Mac antivirus utilities, installation is quick and simple. Avira and McAfee also want Catalina or better. ClamXAV also offers an older version that goes back to Snow Leopard.Īt the other end of the spectrum, Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac only supports the current version and the two previous, meaning Monterey (12), Big Sur (11), and Catalina (10.15). The company also maintains an older edition that supports macOS versions all the way back to 2009's version 10.6, Snow Leopard.

You can run this product on macOS versions back to Mountain Lion (10.8).

But if you're stuck on an old version, ProtectWorks can still help you out. You keep upgrading to the latest, and the antivirus makers keep supporting the latest. If you're fortunate enough to have a thoroughly modern Macintosh, operating system support isn't an issue.

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