14 DAY TRIAL // Antivirus research firm AV-TEST has conducted a new study to determine the best security software for macOS Mojave, focusing on malware detection, performance, and false positives.
The results aren’t necessarily surprising, as the solutions developed by the top vendors worldwide are among the top scorers once again.
AV-TEST conducted two series of tests in April and May 2019 and evaluated each product for protection, performance, and usability. The maximum number of points per each test was 6, so an overall rating for flawless performance in all three tests leads to a final score of 18 points.
Only three security applications for macOS achieved the maximum score of 18 points, namely Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac 7.2, Trend Micro Antivirus 9.0, and VIPRE Advanced Security 11.0.
All products getting the certification
On the other hand, solutions from other top security vendors, including here Norton, Avast, AVG, and Kaspersky got very close with a final score of 17.5 points, after losing 0.5 points in one of the three tests.
While all security products in this test received AV-TEST’s certification, the lowest score this time is 17 points, which highlights just how much macOS security products improved in the last years. Avira Antivirus Pro 3.10 got only 5 points for performance and 6 points for protection and usability, while F-Secure SAFE 17.4 receive 6 points for protection and 5.5 points for performance and usability.
These are all products aimed at home users, and AV-TEST evaluated the latest versions at the time of running the research, with each app allowed to update and connect to cloud services, if available.
Needless to say, while security products keep improving to help block malware and defend users against the avalanche of threats found online, other security practices are still recommended, such as avoiding the download of files from untrusted sources that could be used to spread infected files.