Avast One Basic for Mac Review

Avast One Basic for Mac gives you effective antivirus protection for free, as well as a limited-feature VPN and tons of additional security and privacy features.

Pros.
Full marks from the antivirus lab
Excellent scores in our phishing protection tests
Includes VPN and other privacy features
Quickly scans for malware
Free

Disadvantages
Limited VPN bandwidth
Many useful features need to be upgraded

Too many Mac users are optimistic that their devices are safe from viruses and other malware. But that’s not true, and malware targeting macOS takes advantage of this misconception. Antivirus protection for your Mac is necessary, but it’s not. With Avast One Basic, you don’t have to pay a dime, and you get not just simple antivirus software, but tons of additional tools for privacy and security. It’s an excellent competitor to the Editor’s Choice winner for Mac antivirus (paid), Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, which runs more independently, and Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac, which has more features.

Pleasant user interface
As on Windows, Avast One Basic on the Mac looks very different from past Avast applications. Instead of the old dark background, it’s bright and airy, with round buttons and whimsical line drawings painted in pastel colors. Where space permits, the line drawings depict happy people.

Avast does not use the home page to display security status in a fixed way. Instead, it dedicates the home page to topics that require your attention. For example, it recommends that you run your first Smart Scan immediately after installation.

Clicking on “Browse” in the simple menu on the left will bring up a page where you can access all the features of the program. These features are categorized into three groups: Device Protection, Smooth Performance, and Online Privacy. This is your go-to page when you have a specific task or feature in mind.

“The Explore page also displays your online safety score as a percentage. If it’s low, don’t worry. Below the score itself, you’ll find a link to tips for improving your score. McAfee Total Protection for Mac offers similar protection scores, but on a scale of 0 to 1,000.

Can I run Avast One Basic for Mac on my Mac?
If you want to install this free antivirus software, your Mac must be running macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later. Most Mac users keep their operating system up to date, so this should not be a problem. Other Mac antivirus tools require a newer operating system version. For example, Trend Micro requires 11.0 (Big Sur), while McAfee, Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac, and Webroot all require 10.15 (Catalina).

On the loose end, some antivirus tools still support older macOS versions that can’t (or won’t) be upgraded. Intego Mac Internet Security runs on 10.9 (Mavericks) or later, while ProtectWorks goes all the way back to 10.6 (Snow Leopard).

Perfect lab scores
Since I don’t have the resources to test macOS antivirus utilities against real-world malware, any available lab results are gold to me. Two of the four Windows antivirus results labs I follow also publish Mac antivirus reports, and Avast received perfect scores in both areas.

In the AV-Test Institute’s report, the antivirus utility scored 6 points each for protection, performance, and usability (this last category is defined as minimizing the instances where antivirus software identifies good applications or Web sites as bad ones). In the latest round of testing, Avast scored 6 out of 18 in each category. F-Secure and Avira scored 17 points, while the rest of the products tested scored 18 points.

The most important score for AV-Comparatives is the percentage of protection against macOS-centric malware. Like most of the antivirus software tested, Avast scored 100% in this test. It also detected 100% of Windows malware samples. It’s true that malware written for Windows can’t infect a Mac, but a Mac can act as a vector. Finally, in tests using low-risk potentially unwanted applications (PUAa), Avast had a 99 percent success rate, as did most of its competitors. the Bitdefender antivirus for Mac came very close, capturing 98 percent of PUAa.

Improving Online Security is Surprisingly Easy

With perfect scores in every lab, Avast did very well. AVG, Kaspersky and Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac also received two perfect scores.

Getting Started with Avast One Basic
The quick installation process is populated by a stylized group of people who are all clearly happy to have Avast protection. Eventually you’re invited to run the first Smart Scan, which checks for performance issues and runs a quick scan for malware.

After the mandatory initial Smart Scan, I dug into the Scan Center and opted for a full deep scan. Avast completed the scan in 10 minutes, much faster than the current average of 26 minutes.

I don’t have the resources or expertise to collect and analyze malware targeting macOS as I do on Windows. However, one thing I can check is whether every Mac antivirus detects and removes Windows malware. This may sound pointless as Windows programs can’t run on a Mac, but it does eliminate the possibility of the Mac being the carrier and passing infected files over the network. As mentioned earlier, Avast scored 100% in a recent Windows malware test conducted by AV-Comparatives.

When I scanned thumb drives containing current Windows malware samples, Avast recognized 97 percent of them as malicious, the best score in recent tests.G Data Antivirus for Mac’s 96 percent score was a close second; the rest scored no higher than 90 percent.

Browser-independent phishing protection
Learning to code requires a significant investment of time, and learning to write malware that escapes the attention of the antivirus malware police requires a high level of skill. Phishing scammers don’t bother with any of that. Instead of looking for vulnerabilities in the operating system, they focus on the most vulnerable component – the user. They design websites that look exactly like sensitive sites like PayPal or banks. If you log into the fake site, the fraudster steals your credentials and thus owns your account. Yes, observant people can learn to recognize phishing scams, but it’s still nice to get some help when you’re a little confused.

It’s true that fraudsters are often caught and blacklisted, but they just grab the prize and create a new fake website. For testing purposes, I made sure to blacklist reported fraud. I grabbed hundreds of reported phishing URLs and launched each one in four browsers at the same time. the antivirus being tested protected one of the browsers, while the other three relied on the phishing protection built into Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

I discard all URLs that don’t load correctly in all four browsers or don’t exactly match the phishing scam profile, and for the rest, I record whether the phishing filter for each test blocks or misses the scam. A handy program launches the URLs and records my notes for Windows-based testing. Of course, the program doesn’t run on macOS, so I’ve mastered the keystrokes required to copy and paste the URLs.

The Web Shield component works below the browser level, so it protects any browser you use and does not require an extension to be installed. It blocks connections and sends warnings when you accidentally direct your browser to dangerous or fraudulent pages. It also displays the warning in the browser.

In this test, the macOS version matched the Windows version precisely, with a near-perfect 99% detection rate. When I last tested them, AVG AntiVirus for Mac and Malwarebytes for Mac Premium also scored 99%, while McAfee and Trend Micro achieved a perfect 100%.

Permission-based ransomware protection
Certain types of malware steal your personal information and sell it on the dark web. You may never know that a data-stealing Trojan attack has occurred, but there’s no doubt you’ll know if ransomware has hit your Mac. But you’ll undoubtedly know if ransomware has attacked your Mac. after encrypting your important files, this type of malware demands a ransom to get them back, often using cryptocurrency or some other untraceable payment method.

Avast is designed to stop ransomware attacks by disabling all unauthorized access to important files. Known and trusted programs get a pass, but any other program that tries to modify or delete these files will trigger a warning from Avast. If the new program was launched by you, you can add it to the trusted list with a single click. But if you don’t recognize it, throw blocks.

By default, this feature protects the Documents and Pictures folders for each macOS user account. You can add folders to be protected, including folders belonging to other user accounts, and you can fine-tune the lengthy list of protected file types. The only significant difference from the similar feature in Avast One Basic for Windows is that you don’t have the option to enable Strict Mode. In strict mode, every program needs your permissions to access files, even programs Avast might consider trustworthy. The Windows version also allows you to protect every file in a protected folder, rather than selecting a specific file type.

Wi-Fi Inspector
For years, Avast antivirus tools have included a feature called Wi-Fi Inspector. In the current version of Avast, this feature is more accurately called Network Inspector.Once you’ve confirmed that you have the right to scan all devices on your network, you can initiate a scan to report on devices connected to your home network.

The scan tries to identify the name and type of each device found, as well as the make and model (if any). It also scans for each security vulnerability. If the scan is clean, you do not need to perform any other action. However, I think most users are curious to see the list of devices. Depending on your skill level, you may even want to track down any unknown device and edit its entry using the name and device type. But please note: the only clue for identification is the IP address and MAC address of the unknown device.

Checking your network security is free, but paying customers get more. With a premium account, you can enable connection notifications. Avast doesn’t allow you to block access to unknown new devices, but if an intruder shows up, you’ll at least know it’s time to change your Wi-Fi password.

Simplified Email Guardian
Avast’s Email Guardian feature checks the security of messages in the Mac Mail app. If it detects a malicious attachment or other danger, it flags the message and removes the danger.

This provides a great additional layer of protection for your Mac, but like Network Inspector, paying customers get even more protection. At the premium level, you can extend Avast’s protection to your account through Gmail, Hotmail, MSN, Outlook, and more than 20 other providers across multiple devices.

Advanced Features Only
If you scroll down the list of features on the Explore page, you’ll notice that some items are covered by a lock icon. The presence of the orange lock means that these features are reserved for users of the paid version. The same is true for Avast One on Windows.

Under Smooth Performance, you will see Disk Cleaner, Application Uninstaller, Photo Cleaner, and Duplicate Cleaner. “and Duplicate Finder. If you are using the free version, all four of these features will be locked.

Everything in Device Protection is available except Web Hijack Guard. This somewhat mysterious feature is designed to thwart malicious attacks that attempt to hijack your Mac’s DNS requests. When DNS hijacking is active, criminals can divert your Web requests to fraudulent sites without being detected.

In the realm of online privacy, where you get everything for free except tracking prevention, tracking prevention relies on technology similar to that offered by Avast AntiTrack. When high-tech advertisers and snoopers try to track you by developing fingerprints from data extracted from your browser, Avast thwarts their attempts by obfuscating that data. Given that Avast sells this technology separately, it makes perfect sense that it’s not included in the free Avast One Basic.

VPN with limited features
As mentioned earlier, you don’t get any performance features for free, but most privacy features are accessible. Just like on Windows, VPN protection is the star of the privacy features.

With Avast protecting your Mac from new attacks, all the data stored on it should be safe. However, when data starts traveling over the Internet, antivirus protection loses its effect. To protect your data transfers, you need a VPN.

A VPN creates a secure, encrypted connection between your device and an enhanced server managed by a VPN company. No snooper, not even the owner of the suspect public network you are using, can access your traffic. Another benefit is that your web traffic appears to be coming from the VPN server. This means that websites cannot determine your location based on your IP address. It can also allow you to access content that would normally be restricted.

PCMag evaluated the standalone Avast SecureLine VPN and found it to be okay, but not great. Read our review to fully understand this feature. In a nutshell, it uses the recommended VPN protocol, offers a wide but somewhat sparse selection of servers (500 servers in 36 countries), and supports macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. its privacy policy specifies what information it collects. In our review, we noted that it collects more data than needed and more than most of its competitors. It doesn’t offer features beyond VPNs like some of its competitors, and its scores on Windows speed tests ranged from excellent to very poor.

With Avast One, the VPN is integrated rather than a standalone application, but the technology is the same. Typically, the full feature set is not accessible to non-paying users. The VPN determines which servers you use based on the current fastest server calculations. The VPN also limits the amount of bandwidth you can use.

To be fair, Avast’s bandwidth limit is more generous than most, allowing 5GB of traffic per week, and it clearly shows you how much traffic you’ve already used and how long you need to wait before injecting a new 5GB.The free version of Hotspot Shield VPN allows 500MB per day, which is slightly less than Avast. With TunnelBear VPN, non-paying users can enjoy 500MB of traffic per month. On the other hand, you can use ProtonVPN for free with no bandwidth limit. Avast One Basic users get enough bandwidth to protect a lot of interactive internet usage. Just don’t leave the VPN running when you sit down to binge-watch videos all night.

By default, Avast reminds you to turn on VPN protection whenever you connect to an untrusted network. It’s not a good idea to turn off this reminder, although you can. Setting it to automatically connect without reminders is also a bad idea because you have limited bandwidth. Simply leave these settings as default.

You can choose to fine-tune these settings for specific website activities: banking, shopping, accessing sensitive content, streaming, or seeding downloads. Specifically, you can set up alerts to turn on the VPN when you’re doing such activities, and paying customers can choose to turn on the VPN only for protected activities.

Avast offers two VPN protocols, IPSec and a proprietary system called Mimic, and chooses the best one for you based on its own analysis. You can override its choice, but you shouldn’t unless you have VPN expertise.

This is the VPN configuration option. You won’t find split tunnels (capable of sending less sensitive traffic outside of VPN protection) like CyberGhost VPN or Surfshark VPN. There are no options to enhance the security of multi-hop VPN connections. You can’t get a static IP address (useful for evading services that try to block VPN use). Some VPNs include a termination switch, which means they will cut off all connections if the VPN connection goes down, but Avast does not.

It may not be fancy, but it’s free, integrates with the suite, and has more generous bandwidth limits than many of its competitors. If you’re using Avast One Basic on your Mac, you’d be foolish not to take advantage of a VPN.

Other Privacy Features
Just like on Windows, the Browser Cleanup feature checks your popular browsers for traces of your web surfing activity. Snoopers may misuse this information, so Avast recommends that you clear it. The items cleaned up vary by browser. On my test Mac, Avast found Chrome’s cookies, cache, history, autocomplete data, and temporary files. It listed Safari’s site history, cache, and temporary files. For Firefox, it only looks for site history. By default, none of these will be selected for deletion, so you’ll have to check any you want to clean.

You can clear history directly in your browser, independently of Avast, and have more control over what is cleared, including the timeframe for clearing. In Chrome and Firefox, you can invoke this feature by pressing Shift+Command+Delete. In Safari, you can select “Clear History” from the menu. Considering the built-in functionality of the browser, Avast’s features don’t add much value.

How your passwords were stolen
Were your passwords exposed in a data breach that makes the news every week? Select Data Breach Monitoring on the Explore page to learn more. You can check as many addresses as you like, one at a time. Click on a discovered breach to view details. After taking any necessary action (such as changing a password), you can mark the breach as resolved. For Premium customers, this feature is extended to include real-time monitoring of new breaches.

Regular users won’t make much use of Avast’s traffic monitoring feature, which reports which applications are generating network traffic and where they’re connected. A map shows the active locations, with a list of applications next to them. You can click on an application to see where it’s connected, or click on a location to see what’s clicking on it. I don’t think this feature has a wide range of uses, but you can certainly check it out if you think you’re having problems with your connection. If you find an unexpected connection to a shady location, you can find out which app is misbehaving.

By upgrading to a Premium subscription, Traffic Monitor gains even more features. You can set it to ask you whether to allow or block each new connection, thus creating a rule for that connection. After logging the rules for normal activity, you can set it to allow or block any connection that doesn’t match the rule. I doubt more than 1 in 1,000 users would bother to configure this feature.

An excellent free Mac protection program
Avast One Basic for Mac received excellent scores from two independent test labs and a near-perfect score in our real-life phishing protection test. Its VPN component has more generous bandwidth limits than many of its free competitors, and includes a number of privacy and security features in addition to basic antivirus functionality. It’s worth considering if you want to protect your Mac without spending a fortune, but for the best Mac security, you need to open your wallet. Our Editors’ Choice winners are Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac and Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac. norton received perfect scores in one of the labs, and is a complete security suite that goes well beyond basic antivirus features. Bitdefender received excellent scores in both labs, and its AutoPilot mode lets you set it and forget it.