Made by the Mac experts at Intego, VirusBarrier Scanner is a free antivirus and malware removal tool for Mac. Choose between maximum protection to easily scan all files on your Mac which belong to you, or essential protection to scan locations where malware is commonly found. In short: We have compiled 10 best Antivirus Apps for your Smartphone for better safety and security. Gone the days when we use to have PC or Mac as our primary computing device, the smartphones are now the basic need of a person to stay updated in the current world, it is expected that mobile devices will be the primary device to connect to the internet by 2020.
Virus Scanner will detect any infected files that you downloaded or got in your inbox, so your Mac will be safe and you won’t pass anything bad to your friends’ computer. Grant Bitdefender Virus Scanner access to the locations on your computer that you want to scan against malware. Based on the table above, it appears to me that ESET Cyber Security Pro is the best antivirus for macOSX, as for the best free antivirus app for mac, that will be Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac. All the utilities listed in this feature are Windows antivirus apps. If you're a macOS user, don't despair, however; PCMag has a separate roundup dedicated solely to the best Mac antivirus software.
Antivirus Android apps remain one of the most popular types of applications on Android. Generally, you don’t need an antivirus app if you play it safe, only download apps from the Play Store, and keep your security settings enabled. However, there are those who like to take a walk on the wild side and not do those things. There are a ton of really bad antivirus apps out there. Even if these apps aren’t necessary, it’s good to know the safe ones that don’t suck. Here are the best antivirus apps and anti-malware apps for Android. All prices are current as of January 2018. You can also check out the best antivirus apps on other platforms on our sister site DGiT by clicking here!
One final thing to note that a lot of antivirus apps on Android do literally nothing or a very bad job. Here’s a study that AV-Comparatives conducted with additional information about what antivirus apps are good and the ones that aren’t.
Related:
Here are some more security apps that actually probably work better.
10 best security apps for Android that aren’t antivirus apps!
15 best Android VPN apps of 2019!
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Best Free Virus Scanners
360 Security
Price: Free / $5.49 per year 360 Security is a bit of a mixed bag. Some of its security stuff isn’t half bad and then the other half is quite bad. The app scans your apps for potential malware activity, although its find rate is a little bit higher than we’re willing to believe. Facebook is bad and all, but it’s not malware yet. In any case, this is a decent, super basic antivirus app that will do the scans and show you potential vulnerabilities. The trick is to uninstall the app yourself instead of enabling every little (usually snake oil) feature the app wants to enable on its own. There are some booster features, but we recommend ignoring those. Once you decline most of the app services, this one functions as a good, lightweight scanner and storage cleaner. You can remove ads for $5.49 per year.
Avira
Price: Free / $11.99 per year Avira is one of the newer antivirus apps comparatively speaking. It grew rather quickly over the last year. The app comes with the basics, including device scans, real-time protection, external SD card scans, and a lot more. Some other features include anti-theft support, privacy scanning, blacklisting, and even device admin features. It’s much lighter than apps like Norton and others. It’s also relatively inexpensive and there is a free version. We also highly recommend its Stagefright Advisor tool.
Avast Antivirus
Price: Free / $2.99 per month / $11.99 per year Avast Mobile Security is one of the most popular antivirus apps on any platform. It boasts over 100 million downloads and tons of features. Some of the features include the classic antivirus scanning, an applock, call blocker, anti-theft support, a photo vault, and even a firewall for rooted Android devices. It also includes booster features, but we don’t recommend those. They do more harm than good and they can really mess things up with your phone. Avast’s subscription prices aren’t bad comparatively speaking. The app comes with a 14-day free trial to demo the product.
AVG Antivirus 2019
Price: Free / $2.99 per month / $11.99 per year AVG is another big name in the antivirus apps space. In fact, it’s basically the same as AVAST. AVAST actually purchased AVG back in 2016. Thus, the experience is similar in both antivirus apps. This one does offer a few differences. The app has anti-theft tracking via Google Maps, but it also doesn’t have the rooted firewall availability. Like AVAST, there are a swath of pointless battery, memory, and phone boosting features that don’t actually work. Otherwise, it’s not a bad antivirus. Like AVAST, this one goes for $2.99 per month, $11.99 per year, and contains a 14-day free trial.
Bitdefender Free Antivirus
Price: Free Bitdefender Antivirus is one of the few actually free antivirus apps. It hasn’t changed much over the years. It offers a basic scanning feature, a simple interface, quick performance, and no configuration. This is a great one for super basic needs. All it really does is scan stuff and then sit there and wait to scan stuff again. There is a larger, more in-depth Bitdefender app. However, we think this one is better for those who just want something simple. It’s also actually free with no in-app purchases or subscriptions. There is advertising, though.
5 best two-factor authenticator apps for Android!
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Dr. Web Security Space
Price: Free / $7.99 per year / $15.99 per 2 years / $74.99 lifetime Dr Web is one of the older antivirus apps and anti-malware apps. It has a decent set of features, including quick and full scans, protection from ransomware, a quarantine space, and even stats. Along with that, it has good anti-theft features, call and SMS filtering, URL filtering, parental controls, a firewall, and more. It’s also fairly inexpensive. It goes for $7.99-$15.99 for one to two years. There is also a lifetime license for $74.99. The lifetime license is a tad pricey. However, it does mean you only pay once.
ESET Mobile Security and Antivirus
Price: Free / $1.99 per month / $14.99 per year ESET is another big name in the antivirus and anti-malware world. It has a decent set of features, including scans, anti-theft support, a security auditor feature, scan scheduling, and more. The setup process is a bit intrusive. It’s one of the few that require an email address. Otherwise, it works pretty well. You get a free one month trial upon installation. From there, it goes for $1.99 per month or $14.99 per year. It’s not quite has heavy as something as AVAST or AVG, but it is heavier than CM Security Lite or Bitdefender. Take that info for what it’s worth.
Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus
Price: Free / $14.95 per year Kaspersky is one of the most popular antivirus apps. It has both a free and pro version. Both versions offer SMS and call blocking, scans, virus updates, and anti-theft. The premium version adds things like real-time protection, an applock, and more. Of course, both versions have device scanning for malware and stuff like that. It isn’t nearly as heavy as the biggest antivirus apps. Plus, it doesn’t have any nasty booster features that don’t work. It’s nice to see an antivirus app that doubles down on its purpose instead of trying to stretch out to stuff that doesn’t make sense. That makes it a decent middle-of-the-road option for a lot of folks. The premium version goes for $14.95 per year.
Lookout Security & Antivirus
Price: Free / $2.99 per month / $29.99 per year Lookout is another popular antivirus and anti-malware app. It comes pre-installed on many devices, especially on carriers like T-Mobile. It does the basics fairly well. That includes scans, phishing protection, malware protection, anti-theft features, and more. It also comes with some unique stuff like identity protection, identity insurance, and WiFi scanning. That gives it a bit of a different perspective than most antivirus apps. It goes for $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year. It’s reasonably good for an antivirus or anti-malware app.
Malwarebytes Security
Price: Free / $1.49 per month / $11.99 per year Malwarebytes is one of the most popular antivirus apps on Windows. The mobile version is pretty good too. It features an aggressively updated virus database, support for malware and ransomware, a permission tracker, and more. It can even scan messages in WhatsApp, Facebook, SMS, etc for potentially dangerous links. Of course, it does the usual stuff like scanning as well. The app looks nice, works well, and it’s not too heavy like others. It’s also reasonably priced at $1.49 per month or $11.99 per year.
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10 best privacy apps for Android
McAfee Mobile Security
Price: Free / $2.99 per month / $29.99 per year McAfee is one of the biggest names in antivirus apps. It’s also one of the heaviest. The app includes scanning, anti-theft, anti-spyware, and security locking features. Additionally, it can take photos of your potential phone thief, record locations to the cloud before the phone shuts down, and more useful stuff. McAfee also has a variety of standalone apps for other things. The UI is old and it doesn’t look very good. Additionally, it has boost features that don’t work and it requires an account creation to go pro. The antivirus portion of the app does work rather well and some of the tertiary features are nice. However, it’s still one of the weaker options in our top 15.
Norton Mobile Security
Price: Free / $14.99-$39.99 per year Norton Security has its ups and downs. Just imagine how much worse it gets if we put this one here. The app has a lot of the basic features though, including protection from malware, spyware, and other bad stuff. Additional features include saving device location when the battery is low, real-time protection, anti-theft features, and more. It’s one of the pricier options in antivirus apps. However, it does have a suite available for $39.99 per year that covers your mobile device as well as your computer. Norton also has other apps, like a dedicated applock app, that are actually not half bad.
Sophos Mobile Security
Price: Free Sophos is one of our favorite antivirus and anti-malware apps for Android. It includes all of the basic stuff such as malware protection, a virus scanner, web filtering, app protections, theft protection, Wi-Fi security, and all kinds of other stuff. It does all of this for free, without advertising, and it doesn’t include any garbage booster functions that don’t actually work. Its password safe function is KeePass compatible and it even comes with an authenticator function for multi-factor authentication. We don’t outwardly recommend antivirus apps to anybody, but if you’re going to have one, try this one first.
Webroot Mobile Security
Price: Free / Up to $79.99 per year Webroot is another excellent and simple antivirus app. You get the basics such as device scanning, protection from malware, and real-time device monitoring. Additionally, it comes with a built-in call and text blocker should you need one. All of that stuff comes with the free version. Those who go pro get anti-theft features, remote phone wiping (if needed), a SIM card lock, and a battery and network monitor. It doesn’t seem like a long list of features, but it feels like Webroot took away a lot of the bloat in favor of a fast and functional experience. The Android subscription is much cheaper than the PC variant, but you can get both for up to $79.99 per year (often on sale for $59.99 per year).
Google Play Protect
Price: Included with Android Google Play Protect is Android’s antivirus app. It scans the apps on your device and then compares them to the Google Play versions of that app. It lets you know if the two aren’t the same. This combined with the existing protection in Google Play creates a really good barrier of security. Plus, it’s free, it’s probably already on your device, and you don’t have to do anything to use it. This along with common sense work better and are better for your device than basically any antivirus app, no matter what company makes it. It’ll also save valuable resources with one fewer app running in the background. We recommend this one first. Hit the button above for more information!
Thank you for reading! Here are some final recommendations from us to you!
10 best gallery vault apps for Android!
5 best encrypted private messenger apps for Android! (Updated 2019)
If we missed any great antivirus Android apps, tell us about them in the comments! You can also click here to check out our latest Android app and game lists!
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Today's Best Tech Deals
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Top Deals On Great Products
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MacPaw CleanMyMac X
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CleanMyMac X is MacPaw’s catch-all software crud and gunk remover for the Mac. This version swings for the fences, with new features such as a malware scanner, extensions manager, and a universal updater for all of your application programs. This is in addition to CleanMyMac X’s core functions, which include tools for smart cleanup, system junk, mail attachments, iTunes junk, trash bins, a large and old files scanner, privacy scanner, and application uninstaller.
CleanMyMac X is also complimented by an improved menu bar menu that can be clicked to take note of handy information such as available hard drive space, available RAM, network connectivity speed, CPU usage, and a quick means of opening your Dropbox account. An improved Notification system lets you know which programs are lagging or suspended, but isn’t as obtrusive as seen in previous versions of CleanMyMac.
As with previous versions, the modules work well, and users can either performed generalized, overarching system scans or embrace a fair degree of customization and specify what they want looked into and to what extent. CleanMyMac X has built on its core strengths of finding gigabytes of assorted crud—cache files, unused language files, and duplicate files—to clear up room at a speedier pace than previous versions.
Handy modules
New modules such as Extensions and Updater come in handy. With the Extensions module (which almost harkens back to Mac OS 9’s Extensions Manager), you can quickly manage extensions without having to dive too deeply into the macOS. The applications updater, in turn, provides a quick means of finding every application you have and updating them on the fly, which becomes almost addictive in its ease of use and functionality.
As with CleanMyMac 3, the Large & Old Files module helps you quickly see what files are devouring the most space on your hard drive and quickly erase them at will. This pairs well with the Uninstaller module, which helps you quickly locate your application programs and erase them as well as their support files to rid them from your Mac forever.
All this combines with a decent new Maintenance module, which offers an assortment of system-level clean up scripts (Free Up RAM, Run Maintenance Scripts, Flush DNS Cache, Speed Up Mail, Rebuild Launch Services, Reindex Spotlight, Repair Disk Permissions) to help free up resources. The effort is appreciated, but free utilities such as Titanium Software’s Onyx have historically done this better with more modules and customization.
Malware module
Unfortunately, the Malware module is where things fall apart. Over the course of days of testing, I installed several pieces of known Mac malware and adware on a MacBook Pro running macOS 10.14.1 Mojave. These samples included MacKeeper, assorted free-and-questionable video players, and entirely questionable utilities that purport to speed up your Mac yet historically find “infections,” change your web browser and search engine preferences, activate the speaker to tell you that your Mac has been corrupted, and advise you to call an 800 number where a technician can help resurrect your computer for a fee.
Upon running CleanMyMac X’s Malware module, which claims to be able to find and clean out malware with confidence, the module missed every beat, locating none of the malware or adware and happily reporting back that my Mac was clean, devoid of malware and ready to go. I used a free version of Malwarebytes to locate the malware, quarantine it, delete it, reboot my MacBook Pro, and ensure that the malware was gone.
This presents an enormous problem and unless MacPaw improves upon the malware module, this feels like you’ve opened the gates to malware and adware on your Mac if you’re only using CleanMyMac X for protection. MacPaw says that they are working on an update to address this issue.
CleanMyMac X retails for $39.95 for a one-year subscription for a single user and $89.95 for a one-time payment for a single user with the MacPaw store offering different purchase tiers depending on licensing needs. The software is available in a trial version, which lets you run as many scans as you want, clean up to 500MB of system junk, and run assorted tools a limited number of times.
Bottom line
CleanMyMac X has a fair amount going for it, especially in terms of its speed, new modules, and improved user interface, and it could represent a significant step forward for the program. Sadly, the Malware module seems to be where MacPaw has shot itself in the foot and will need to spend a number of caffeine-fueled evenings fixing this in a forthcoming update. Still, this doesn’t have to be an absolute deal breaker, and, if coupled with a focused malware utility such as Malwarebytes, CleanMyMac X does offer its own advantages with its core advantage of removing gigabytes upon gigabytes of system junk in tact and worth consideration.
MacPaw CleanMyMac X
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Pros
Speedy, easy to use, good user interface improvements
Excellent new modules, such as Updater and Extensions, allow for quick application updates and system-level customization
Notification system has been toned down, doesn't feel as intrusive
Cons
Malware detection and removal module seems incapable of locating malware, reports everything back as fine