Experts say you need antivirus software on your Mac, too -- and Avast Security for Mac is the program they recommend most. It detects both Mac and Windows malware (so you won't unwittingly infect your Windows friends' computers).

Avira and Avast are both highly acclaimed antivirus companies that do quite well in all of the tests that are conducted on any and all of their suites. If they are both so great, why are we comparing? It is so that you make a better and more informed decision when it comes to your security needs.

1. This free Antivirus for Mac uses award-winning technology to protect you against online threats, including viruses, Trojans, adware and spyware. 'Avira is a reliable and powerful Mac OS X application specially designed to protect your system against a wide variety of threats, viruses and malware.'
2. Avira Free Antivirus for Mac can ward off malware, but Avast offers even better protection and less system impact.

Both of the software companies offer different ranges of antivirus suites that either don’t cost anything at all like Avast Free Antivirus or Avira Free Antivirus and they move upwards in terms of pricing and features. Since they are two of the most talked about antivirus companies, we ought to draw a comparison.

Pros

• Password Manager
• Solid Protection (malware)
• Network Scanner (Home)
• Game Mode
• Sturdy Browser

Cons

• Requires Chrome browser
• Slows down scans

Pros

• System booster
• Strong malware protection
• Interface is customizable
• Extra features
• VPN
• Password manager

Cons

• Impact on system
• Slow scans

Cost and What’s Covered

What a suite does and does not offer not only depends on the company, but it also depends on the user’s requirements. The companies design each suite with a different set of needs in place. For example, and Internet Security suite would be focused on providing a safer internet experience for its users. Here are the different suites that Avira and Avast offer.

Internet Security

Cost: $59.99 for a year

Overall, Avast Antivirus for Mac is a nice addition to your Mac toolbox. Reply by Avast Team on September 25, 2017 Hi, gav357123. Download avast pro full version. It's free and very easy to use.

The prices are changed further depending on how many devices do you want the suite for – minimum 1 and maximum 10.

What’s covered:

• Detects viruses, malware, ransomware, and other real-time infections
• Wi-Fi scans
• Password vault ( manager)
• Websites scan
• Quarantine suspicious apps
• Advance firewall
• Anti-spam and phishing
• Extra security against ransomware

Avast Premier

Cost: $79.99 for a year

What’s covered:

Aside from offering all the features that Internet Security offers, here are some additional features that Premier offers to the users:

Sophos Antivirus For Mac

• Webcam protection
• Enables users to delete files permanently
• Automated updates for apps

Avast Ultimate:

Cost: $119.99 for a year

What’s covered:

Just like every antivirus suite step up, the Ultimate version from Avast features everything that Internet Security and Premier offer, plus more.

• • Single device protection
  • Avast Cleanup Premium

• SecureLine VPN
• Avast Passwords Premium

Antivirus Pro

Cost: $44.99 for a year

What’s covered:

• Basic antivirus protection
• 5 device protection
• Mac, Windows, and Android
• Web protection
• Firewall Manager
• PUA Shield
• Network protection

Internet Security Suite

Cost: $57.99 for a yea

What’s covered:

• Blocks online threat
• Software updater

Avast Antivirus For Mac Review

Avira Prime

Cost: $99.99 for a year

What’s covered:

Everything that the earlier suites include, plus:

• Tools for tune-up and PC speed
• VPN
• Premium mobile apps (iOs and Android)
  • AppLock+ Pro
  • Optimizer Pro
  • Antivirus Security
  • Phantom VPN Pro

Also Read: Free And Paid Antivirus Comparison

Antivirus Protection

Avast begins the scan with a standard process that checks the system against a list of known and popular malware/threats. The software uses its Behavior Shield heuristic monitoring in order to study how each and every aspect of the said software behaves. It then sends any suspicious files to Avast’s cloud servers where the culprit is analyzed and made a new addition to their database of malware.

Avira also uses the same procedure to conduct the initial scan with the traditional checking of threats against the database of existing malware. Following by heuristic monitoring that uploads suspicious activity to the Avira cloud servers.

Avira Free Antivirus Mac

Avast features extensions to monitor suspicious activity on browsers – available for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer. However, you can avail the luxury of a personal firewall with Internet Security and Premier; it’s not available with the Free Antivirus.

What Avira does differently in this regard is that after analyzing the website’s behavior and data, it anonymizes the collected data. Avast also features a game Mode that allows the system to mute all the notifications, whereas Avira does not.

Also Read:Intrusta Antivirus Review

Note: The program cannot uninstall Online Security Extensions when web browsers are open. • Enter the administrator name and password for your Mac, if asked, and click OK. Confirm by clicking Uninstall. • Select Avast from the menu and Uninstall Avast. Avast for mac turn off.

Antivirus Performance

Avast is quite strong at detecting and removing malicious malware. According to an AV-TEST conducted by a German lab, Avast proved to have caught and removed 100% of all zero-day malware that it came into contact with; whereas, it protected the system against 99.9% of known threats.

On the other hand, even though Avira’s antivirus suites did well in the same German AV-TEST, the results were 99.0% initially – however, in a test that was conducted again in the following months, it came up to an even 100% as well. These tests only included known malware and viruses. With zero-day malware, Avira only protected against 98.9% of the threats.

It is clear that Avast Antivirus performed better with zero-day malware, whereas Avira provides slightly better protection against known malware and other threats.

Security and Privacy Features

• Wi-Fi Inspector

Protects your system from threats that can enter through loopholes in your router and Wi-Fi connections.

• Avast Passwords

Extension for browsers stores passwords and also generates new passwords for you – as wella s remembering information that you filled in forms earlier on.

• SafeZone and SafeZone Bank Mode

It’s a browser that provides an extra secure browsing experience and prevents data breeches from malicious sites and third-party extensions for browsers.

• SecureLine VPN

Encrypt your Internet connection for safer, anonymous browsing.

• Avira Phantom VPN

Use 500 GB worth of traffic every month –very handy for travelers who require constant e-mail checking.

• Safe Shopping

Enables you to avoid harmful e-commerce sites that may steal your financial information.

• Software Updater

Scans and updates the out-of-date software in your system, protecting it against viruses that may enter through them.

• Avira System Speedup

It enhances the performance of your system by implementing power-saving mode and stopping unnecessary processes.

• Avira Password Manager

You can save all the passwords you like, without risking a data breech.

• Avira Connect

Remote monitoring of all your devices and you can also locate them in case you have lost them or they have been stolen.

Performance and System Impact

Before we ran installed the Avast Antivirus, the OpenOffice test completed in 6 minutes and 56 seconds, whereas after the installation, it only increased as 6 minutes and 59 seconds. On the system we testes Avira Antivirus, the system took 6 minutes and 56 seconds to finish the test before installation. Once the antivirus was installed, it increased to 7 minutes 21 seconds – Avast wins here.

Avast did not slow the system down at all during the Full Scan, as it was completed in 7 minutes and 52 seconds. Avira on the other hand, took 9 minutes and 35 seconds to complete the full-system scans – slowing the system down by 32%, as compared to Avast’s slowdown of 13%. Avira won the quick scan test, as it took 1 minute 28 seconds to complete versus Avast’s 2 minutes and 27 seconds.

As a whole, Avast is quicker with the scans, but it cannot be denied that Avira’s scans are extremely thorough despite being time-consuming. But, given the results, we determined that Avast Antivirus has a lighter impact on the system as compared to Avira Antivirus.

Interface

Avast offers an interface that comes with a dark theme but also includes bright colors. The user interface is not full screen, but you can move it around on your desktop according to your liking. Few of the major categories that you will find on your navigation column are:

• Status
• Protection
• Privacy
• Performance

*With a link to Settings at the bottom.

Once the scan has run and everything is safe, the Status icon turns green in color along with a green checkmark as well – this icon turns red in case of a threat, indicating that things are unsafe or under attack. You can also create a Rescue Disk here in case of an attack. Its interface supports 47 languages, and it also features a Pirate Talk option.

Avira features an Avira Connect interface instead of just a regular one. It also features a green checkmark to indicate that all is safe and well. The list of navigation has these categories: Avast security pro for mac.

• Software Updater
• Phantom VPN
• System Speedup
• Password Manager
• SafeSearch Plus

This window can be resized to your desired size – full screen as well.

Every category comes with may customizable options in terms of requirements, which is specific but can also confuse the users a little.

Installation and Support

How Good Is Avast Antivirus

Once you download the Avast Antivirus, it also comes with an automatic installation of Google Chrome. You can avoid installing this software by being vigilant and un-checking the box that appears at the time of installation. The process of the installation takes around 6 minutes. Even though it’s easy to set up an Avast account, it’s not necessary in order to access your antivirus software.

Avast offers technical support for its users, but it’s not 24/7 – support is only available during 8 AM and 5 PM CET, on weekdays.

Avira Antivirus takes around 7 minutes and 55 seconds to complete installation. You do not require an Avira account in order to access your antivirus, but if you do sign up for the account you can enjoy the online version of Avira Connect that also comes with data worth of 1GB (Phantom VPN).

Avira offers technical support for its users but it I sonly accessible through social media.

Final Thoughts

Both the products come with their own sets of good and bad. Avast is quite straightforward with simple features which make it easier for most people to use, whereas Avira features a slightly more complicated interface which might be difficult to use but it’s incredibly detailed and customizable. The level of protection both the companies provide is more or less the same, but you can decide which one suits your requirements better than the other.