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What's the lightest anti-virus for macOS?

Steve.P.JobsFan

Steve.P.JobsFan

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 27, 2010
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I'm attending the University of Cincinnati this fall, and I'll be purchasing a new MacBook Pro sometime in July or August before I move in. However, their IT department requires you to have an anti-virus installed to connect to the campus network, and this applies to Macs too.

They suggest I use McAfee. *shudders*

I want the lightest AV possible, something that will use as few resources as possible. There is no reason to run an anti-virus on macOS, in my opinion, but I'm being forced to.

What should I look into? I was thinking something like Clamshell?
 
I'd say Avast or Sophos are your best choices. Both are intuitive, simple, not resource hungry and don't pop up with messages every minute.
 
10 Best AV programs for the Mac According to those ratings McAfee is the most effective. None of them are going to find a Mac virus anyway - because there aren't any. All any of them are going to do is identify Windows viruses that might be picked up by you from email or the like.
 
My suggestion is to "install" a virus protection app, but then turn OFF most of it's operations.

It's unlikely you'll ever experience a problem.
But you'll still have the application "installed" to (cough) "meet the requirements".

BTW, one app I can HIGHLY recommend to monitor malware is "MalwareBytes Anti-Malware for Mac".
It's free.
 
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Steve.P.JobsFan said:
I'm attending the University of Cincinnati this fall, and I'll be purchasing a new MacBook Pro sometime in July or August before I move in. However, their IT department requires you to have an anti-virus installed to connect to the campus network, and this applies to Macs too.

They suggest I use McAfee. *shudders*

I want the lightest AV possible, something that will use as few resources as possible. There is no reason to run an anti-virus on macOS, in my opinion, but I'm being forced to.

What should I look into? I was thinking something like Clamshell?
Click to expand...
Here's a good rundown:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-antivirus,review-2588-6.html

And this graphic actually answers your question:
IMG_8787.jpg
 
I've been running Sophos for several years with no issues. It's pretty transparent.
 
I've been running XProtect-- no problems. Can't beat it for lightness since it's built in!
 
chscag said:
Is malware a virus? I don't think so because it's not self replicating. Anyway, we know there is malware for the Mac, but viruses; none in the wild.
Click to expand...
"Malware (short for “malicious software”) is considered an annoying or harmful type of software intended to secretly access a device without the user's knowledge. Types of malware include spyware, adware, phishing, viruses, trojan horses, worms, rootkits, ransomware and browser hijackers."
(Source)
"'Malware' is an umbrella term used to refer to a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive software, including computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, adware, scareware, and other malicious programs."
(Source)
 
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On my systems I use Clam and ClamXav. It monitors my email folders and my download folders. These are the entry points for malware and viruses though some could come in from instant messaging.

The first line of defense is between one's ears. Be skeptical of any link, any email, and any activity you did not initiate.

Then get the virus detector that meets your needs. In my Windows days I used Avast and some other scanner I can't recall the name of. Work has used Norton in various flavors and names. Avast did well by me in Windows and if I had to have one now for OS X it might be what I use if it weren't for Clam and ClamXav (ttp://www.ClamXav.com).

ClamXav now costs but when I last upgraded to 2.3.6 it was still free. Still $30 is not a lot and I may go ahead and purchase a license as I like and use it.
 
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Another vote for Sophos Home.

I work at a CA University, and we run (required, site-wide license) Symantec on all our lab Macs. I DO NOT believe the zero impact score as published above. I find our lab machines do see an impact, primarily with longer log-in times. I haven't timed it, but the log-in time is notably longer once Symantec is installed and running.

OK...maybe it is zero once it is logged in, updates checked, and all up to date. But that log-in time hit is a PITA.
 
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I likewise do not believe a zero impact score, however, with faster and faster flash storage and memory being used in the latest Macs, the impact is very low so as to not be noticeable.
 
Installing will an AV will make your device less secure. Just don't install flash and use an admin password and common sense.
 
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