McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac): Good for Large Families

Our Verdict

McAfee AntiVirus Plus' generous multi-license pricing makes this product an alluring option for families.

For

Protects 10 devices
Low passive system touch
Firewall

Against

Unproven detection rates
Huge slowdowns during full scans
Confusing interface

Tom'southward Guide Verdict

McAfee AntiVirus Plus' generous multi-license pricing makes this production an alluring pick for families.

Pros

+
Protects x devices
+
Low passive organization impact
+
Firewall

Cons

-
Unproven detection rates
-
Huge slowdowns during total scans
-
Confusing interface

Yous're surrounded by devices, and information technology can feel overwhelming when y'all consider that each may be nether set on and you try to effigy out how you're going to afford to go along them all safe from malware and other potentially unwanted programs. This is why McAfee AntiVirus Plus (just like Sophos Home Premium) supports 10 devices for an annual price of $59.99, including not just Macs but PCs also.

There are downsides, though. McAfee has super-long scan times, untested Mac-malware protections and a mixed bear upon on system functioning, and the program doesn't offer much in the way of extras to persuade yous that gratuitous alternatives aren't better. Still, information technology's good enough that we tin include information technology among the best Mac antivirus software.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac): Costs and what's covered

McAfee AntiVirus Plus costs $24.99 for the offset yr and $59.99 for each subsequent year, unless you go the 2-year bundle that goes for $29.99. Those prices cover licenses for 10 devices, including Macs, PCs, and iOS and Android devices. (Y'all actually don't need it on your iPhone, though.)

In the past few years, McAfee 10-device licenses were actually unlimited, and we don't remember that has changed, making them top bargains among the best antivirus software and the best Android antivirus apps.

McAfee's other home antivirus products — McAfee Internet Security, McAfee Total Security and McAfee LiveSafe — besides support Macs likewise as PCs, while tossing in extras such as a password managing director, parental controls and identity-theft protection. If you could utilize any of those features, they may be worth looking into; read our review of McAfee's Windows antivirus software for more than.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus supports macOS 10.12 Sierra and afterwards and requires 2GB of RAM and 500MB of storage.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac): Antivirus protection

McAfee AntiVirus Plus matches suspicious files against known Mac malware. Scans take identify passively and on demand, and the user can schedule scans in accelerate.

This software as well uses heuristic-based assay, meaning it monitors the system for behavioral patterns that malware typically exhibits to find and thwart new malware that hasn't been identified withal.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac): Antivirus detection

Neither AV-Test in Germany, nor AV-Comparatives in Austria, the independent antivirus-testing labs whose results we normally rely on, tested McAfee's products in the labs' most recent surveys of Mac antivirus software.

The only time either lab tested McAfee's malware-spotting abilities in Macs in the past two years was in November 2017, when McAfee scored 99.6% in AV-Examination's evaluations. That'southward not a terrible score, but the Mac malware engines of five other brands we've recently reviewed — Avast, Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton and Sophos — all scored 100% in the same circular of tests.

Avast Free Mac Security, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac and Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac tied for 100% on the near recent (July 2019) AV-Comparatives examination, while Avast, Bitdefender, Kaspersky and Norton Security Palatial for Mac all earned 100% marks on the most recent (June 2019) AV-Test report. Neither test analyzed Sophos or Malwarebytes for Mac.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac): Security and privacy features

In a paid option, McAfee AntiVirus Plus includes a few extras for Mac users. While macOS includes a firewall to stop applications from connecting to risky websites, McAfee AntiVirus Plus also offers its own for Macs.

McAfee's web-browser extensions, including McAfee WebAdvisor (bachelor for free online from McAfee and the Chrome and Firefox extension stores), warn y'all before you visit potentially malicious web pages. The extensions also scan downloads for threats and flag risky search results. Unfortunately, those tools don't support Safari.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac): Performance and system touch

McAfee AntiVirus Plus had a midsize touch on Mac arrangement functioning. We assessed this by running our custom Excel VLOOKUP benchmark examination, which matches 60,000 names and addresses on a spreadsheet. Our test automobile was a 2017 MacBook Air with a ane.8-GHz Intel Core i5 CPU and approximately 54GB of information stored on a 128GB SSD.

After nosotros installed McAfee AntiVirus Plus on our MacBook, the VLOOKUP examination finished in an average of iii minutes and 35 seconds, 2 seconds more than the same organization took earlier the installation. That'southward a passive organisation hit of 1%, which is on the low stop of the range we found. By contrast, Sophos rated v% (the loftier end), and Bitdefender rated 0%(the lowest). You lot probably wouldn't notice any of those slowdowns.

During a McAfee full-system scan, the VLOOKUP test finished in 5 minutes and fifteen seconds, signifying a operation dip of 47%. That'due south the biggest performance slowdown during a full scan that we saw. Most of the programs got a two-digit functioning slowdown — from Norton at 13% to Kaspersky at 41% — and only Sophos (7%) had a one-digit crash-land. (McAfee AntiVirus Plus doesn't offer a quick browse for Macs.)

On average, McAfee'south total scans took 1 hour and 17 minutes, and so you'd spend a while waiting to notice said slowdown. Notwithstanding, that'due south less than one-half of Sophos' total-scan completion time of two:56, but much longer than Malwarebytes' blink-and-yous-miss-it full-scan fourth dimension of 16 seconds.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac): Interface

McAfee AntiVirus Plus makes you click around more than you should to perform uncomplicated tasks. Both its menu-bar icon and its domicile window show your arrangement's condition, but if you want to showtime a scan, y'all'll demand to click up to iii times, which is iii times every bit many clicks as information technology should take.

Seriously, the home window has a Run a Scan button, but clicking it doesn't start a scan, which makes me feel like it'due south labeled wrong. Instead, you're taken to another window, which has ii options: Full Scan and Custom Scan.

Clicking on Updates opens another window, where you have to click another push (Offset) to bank check for malware-definition updates, adding some other layer of unnecessary interaction.

Back in the principal window, the Mac Security tab splits the window between a side menu of statuses for real-time scanning, firewall, updates and scheduled scans, along with three bigger buttons to send yous to the scan options, file quarantine and device history. Yes, that Run a Browse push button is back (which makes sense in a Security section), but it yet sends you to the same window.

Then, you have the Identity tab, which feels sparse. On the left, you have a status button for McAfee WebAdvisor, which gives you controls for avoiding risky and unverified websites and blocking sites according to such nefarious categories as pornography and phishing (both blocked past default).

In the Preferences window, you'll find toggles to disable scanning and updating and McAfee'south firewall. Yous'll also see granular options to accommodate how the organisation scans files and grants permissions to applications. Here, you'll as well find McAfee Antivirus Plus' firewall controls.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac): Installation and support

After you buy McAfee AntiVirus Plus, you'll download a deejay-image file. Information technology contains an installer app that requires you to enter your serial number. After completing the installation, McAfee AntiVirus Plus will ask if y'all're continued to a public network or a private (home or work) 1, which the programme asks each time you connect to a new network.

During installation, the software will install the SiteAdvisor web plug-in in Chrome. (Firefox didn't get it automatically, and there isn't a version for Safari.) SiteAdvisor warns you of maybe malicious web pages and suspicious search results and also scans downloads for threats.

MORE: How to Choose the Antivirus Software That's Correct for You

For technical support, click Aid in the Bill of fare Bar, select "Mcafee [sic] Services and Back up," and then scroll downward to the very bottom of the folio and click Contact Support. Then, click Technical Assistance, select Mac, and click Chat or Phone. Or y'all can go to McAfee's global contact page, select Back up and choose your state from the drop-down bar. The cost-free number for Habitation & Home Part Support in the U.Southward. is 1-866-622-3911.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac) review: Bottom line

The third-political party labs we regularly rely on accept not recently tested McAfee's Mac malware-detection performance, and so we cannot definitively recommend McAfee for Mac. Also, while its passive operation hit is negligible, McAfee's organization impact during a total scan (which takes forever) could boring you down when yous're trying to work. McAfee AntiVirus Plus' lack of important special features, and lack of support for Safari, make other antivirus options amend for Mac users.

The all-time part of McAfee AntiVirus Plus is its 10-device license, which makes it worth looking at for large families. But anyone with just one or a few Macs to protect should bank check out Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, our summit Mac antivirus pick.

Updated with pricing changes. This review was originally published in September 2019.

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Henry is a senior editor at Tom'due south Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple tree, reviewing devices and services for the past six-plus years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild earth of professional person wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/mcafee-antivirus-plus-for-mac

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