Anti Virus for Working from Home

[emdotdee]

Normally I wouldn't bother with Anti Virus on my Mac but I currently work from home and have been told I have to use Anti Virus software by January otherwise my access will be blocked from my home computer.

I've been given this list of providers that are acceptable, anyone got any advice on the best free AV that is the least intrusive?
I've heard of a bunch of the below names but as I've only had experience installing crappy AV on in laws windows laptops I don't know which ones to really trust. It's just got to sit in the background and offer 'realtime' protection...

Avast SOftware
AVG Technologies
Avira Gmbh
Bitdefender
Carbon Black, Inc
Cybereason
Cylance
ESET
Fireeye
Fortinet
G Data
Kaspersky
McAfee
Palo Alto Networks
Panda Security
Quick Heal
Sentinel One
Sophos
Symantec
Trend Micro
Webroot

Any help would be great thanks.

 

[chabig]

Are they going to demand some kind of proof of what you installed, or are they just going to ask you to confirm that you did? In my opinion, all of those are crap and I wouldn't want them on my machine. With a list that long, it sounds like they really aren't serious. They won't pick one, nor will they pay for you to install it?

Tell them you use XProtect. See if that satisfies them.

App security overview

Apple provides layers of protection to help ensure that apps are free of known malware and haven’t been tampered with.

support.apple.com

Protecting against malware in macOS

In macOS, malware defenses are structured using the followingApp Store, or Gatekeeper combined with Notarization, and XProtect.

support.apple.com

 

[emdotdee]

Are they going to demand some kind of proof of what you installed, or are they just going to ask you to confirm that you did? In my opinion, all of those are crap and I wouldn't want them on my machine. With a list that long, it sounds like they really aren't serious. They won't pick one, nor will they pay for you to install it?

I have to log on via Citrix Netscaler so when I login in January at some point an app will download to check my system is up to date and an Anti Virus is running.

I really don't want a scummy anti virus but I'd rather the best free one so I can use my 27" iMac and extra screen instead of the crappy HP laptop they gave me.

They might pay for the anti virus if I ask, after all they threw money at giving everyone laptops/screens and chairs to work at home.

 

[ruka.snow]

So reduce the security of your machine to pass a security test... maybe just make a Windows VM with whatever anti virus your company provides you and log into the Citrix Netscaler with that?

 

[IowaLynn]

Are you running Windows natively or via VM, or just MacOS? Seems a bit draconian.

Might be easy to say what not to use or avoid.

Free usually means avoid at all costs.

 

[posguy99]

Don't use McAfee. They're garbage on any platform. Sophos seems well-regarded on the Mac.

 

[emdotdee]

So from my computer I log into Citrix workspace. I can open applications from there and one of them is a Remote Desktop which opens some version of Windows which is basically like me logging into my work PC.

I accept that I’ve got to have it and don’t want a work around.
Just want to know if anyone uses/has used one they would recommend?

 

[FNH15]

So from my computer I log into Citrix workspace. I can open applications from there and one of them is a Remote Desktop which opens some version of Windows which is basically like me logging into my work PC.

I accept that I’ve got to have it and don’t want a work around.
Just want to know if anyone uses/has used one they would recommend?

I had a similar requirement at my Undergrad - I used Sophos back then. Pretty unintrusive.

 

[Unsupported]

Get this from the App Store: https://www.intego.com/virusbarrier-scanner

 

[doobydoooby]

Its kinda funny what they are asking. When you log into citrix you are just looking at a window on your work computer so they have all the control they need on their end to protect the work computer from viruses. Like the comment above I use intego and find it faultless, but intriguingly its not on your list. Looks quite a lot like your list was made by an IT department focussed on windows.

 

[grahamwright1]

The ESET Cyber Security is both lightweight and effective. They make a number of products with features that I dont want, such as "personal firewall", and outbound connection blocking, but their cheapest, basic package with just on-demand anti-virus protection is nice.

 

[artfossil]

I had a similar requirement at my Undergrad - I used Sophos back then. Pretty unintrusive.

If I had to pick, I'd pick Sophos. I had to use it on my university MacBook Pro as a university faculty member. It was unobtrusive and didn't cause any harm.

 

[Bandaman]

BitDefender and MalwareBytes are both good.

 

[Hoekie]

I'm using Bitdefender Antivirus for MAC on Big sur. Works perfect and protects time machine backups from ransomware. Do not feel any difference in performance. Search for good price.

 

[bb12]

A lot of AV right now are a **** show for Big Sur. Apple removed the primary way that these things work for the new OS. So all of the AV companies have been scrambling to support Big Sur. Many of them do not yet. When they do, it is likely to be beta quality software. Even Apple's support of the new APIs aren't exactly top shelf. For example, to do the things you have to do in AV you need to install a "System Extension". As of this writing, you can't uninstall a "System Extension" (link)

 

[AppleSmack]

Normally I wouldn't bother with Anti Virus on my Mac but I currently work from home and have been told I have to use Anti Virus software by January otherwise my access will be blocked from my home computer.

I've been given this list of providers that are acceptable, anyone got any advice on the best free AV that is the least intrusive?
I've heard of a bunch of the below names but as I've only had experience installing crappy AV on in laws windows laptops I don't know which ones to really trust. It's just got to sit in the background and offer 'realtime' protection...

Avast SOftware
AVG Technologies
Avira Gmbh
Bitdefender
Carbon Black, Inc
Cybereason
Cylance
ESET
Fireeye
Fortinet
G Data
Kaspersky
McAfee
Palo Alto Networks
Panda Security
Quick Heal
Sentinel One
Sophos
Symantec
Trend Micro
Webroot

Any help would be great thanks.

That is a big list, and some of those like Cylance and Fireeye are big bucks enterprise AVs. Are they paying for the AV?

If they just want to tick a box and are not paying, Sophos would be a good choice. Chances are that the other free AVs (Avast, AVG, Avira) will pester you to upgrade.

Whether you believe a Mac needs AV or not, it's typically a requirement for compliance and insurance reasons – don't get yourself thrown under a legal bus just because a bunch of randoms on a forum told you it's not necessary.

 

[Bazza1]

While currently on paid Bitdefender (I got a deal), I have previously been happy with Avast Free. It operated with a minimum of fuss, and just offers that 'belt and suspenders' option I wanted. Yes, yes - AV isn't needn't on Mac (blah, blah, blah), but an AV program also helps prevent you from passing on (say, in docs files received from someone else) issues to others. And there's always someone playing silly buggers on the web trying to get at you. Anything that can help there is worthwhile - and if it doesn't drag down the computer, what's the problem?

For generalized (but neutral) actual tests/reviews on AV, you might want to check out https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-macos/ and / or https://www.av-comparatives.org/consumer/test-results/macos/
These aren't limited to Free, but may give you a clue as to which get good reviews.

 

[emdotdee]

That is a big list, and some of those like Cylance and Fireeye are big bucks enterprise AVs. Are they paying for the AV?

If they just want to tick a box and are not paying, Sophos would be a good choice. Chances are that the other free AVs (Avast, AVG, Avira) will pester you to upgrade.

Whether you believe a Mac needs AV or not, it's typically a requirement for compliance and insurance reasons – don't get yourself thrown under a legal bus just because a bunch of randoms on a forum told you it's not necessary.

Thanks for understanding AppleSmack, I'm not interested in trying to ignore this requirement, I just want the least annoying out of all of them haha. I will keep looking into Sophos.

 

[emdotdee]

While currently on paid Bitdefender (I got a deal), I have previously been happy with Avast Free. It operated with a minimum of fuss, and just offers that 'belt and suspenders' option I wanted. Yes, yes - AV isn't needn't on Mac (blah, blah, blah), but an AV program also helps prevent you from passing on (say, in docs files received from someone else) issues to others. And there's always someone playing silly buggers on the web trying to get at you. Anything that can help there is worthwhile - and if it doesn't drag down the computer, what's the problem?

For generalized (but neutral) actual tests/reviews on AV, you might want to check out https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-macos/ and / or https://www.av-comparatives.org/consumer/test-results/macos/
These aren't limited to Free, but may give you a clue as to which get good reviews.

Thanks Bazza, I will look at those links. When I've searched for Best anti virus I just get adverts so looking for someone I can trust.

 

[IowaLynn]

PCMag can no longer recommend Avast Free Antivirus as an Editors' Choice in the category of free antivirus protection.

The Cost of Avast's Free Antivirus: Companies Can Spy on Your Clicks

Avast is harvesting users' browser histories on the pretext that the data has been 'de-identified,' thus protecting your privacy. But the data, which is being sold to third parties, can be linked back to people's real identities, exposing every click and search they've made.

www.pcmag.com

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