While macOS malware isn't nearly as widespread as malware targeting Windows, Macs do get slammed with Trojans, ransomware, and other malicious software.
Security companies handle macOS antivirus protection in a variety of ways.
Some just offer a simple Mac-specific antivirus tool.
Others include Mac protection in a cross-platform suite.
McAfee is unusual in that all the security products, from antivirus to feature-packed mega-suite, support multiple platforms.
Subscribing to McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac) means getting protection for every macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS device in your household.
That bounty of protection helps us overlook the fact that the testing labs don't certify McAfee's protection on macOS, and that Windows users get a raft of features that don't carry over to the Mac.
As with many cross-platform security products, McAfee starts the installation process online.
You log in or create your account, enter your registration code, and download to your Mac.
During the process, you receive a serial number.
Don't lose that number! If you must reinstall the software on this same device, you'll need that number, not the registration code.
During installation, McAfee offers a Virus Protection Pledge.
This pledge means that if malware gets past an existing McAfee installation, McAfee's trained experts will remotely remediate the problem.
Virus removal service normally costs $89.95, so this is a good deal.
If the experts can't fix the problem, McAfee refunds your purchase.
You must sign up for automatic subscription renewal to get this pledge, but that seems reasonable.
As noted, your license lets you install McAfee on your Windows devices, as well as your iOS and Android devices.
You can read my review of McAfee AntiVirus Plus for details on what you get with the other platforms.
Briefly, the Windows edition is loaded with features not found on the Mac, the Android edition offers both antivirus and antitheft, and the iOS edition (as expected) is relatively feature-limited.
The layouts and color schemes of the Mac and Windows editions track very closely.
Both have a simple menu across the top and a panel at left that shows security status and lists your protected devices.
The rest of the main window is mostly whitespace, with some buttons at the bottom that access useful features.
The Windows edition has a PC Performance item in the top menu, which isn't present on the Mac.
And while both include a button to scan for viruses, the Windows edition also displays buttons to remove trackers, speed up your apps, and check for app updates.
Pricing and OS Support
As noted, you can use your $59.99 per year subscription to install McAfee protection on every macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS device you own.
Norton is also cross-platform, supporting macOS, Windows, and Android, but your $99.99 per year Norton subscription gets you five licenses, not an unlimited number.
On the flip side, Norton is a full suite for Windows and includes Mac features you don't get from McAfee, most notably a no-limits VPN.
You pay $29.95 for ClamXAV (for Mac) just once, which lets you install it on all of the Macs in your household.
Bitdefender, ESET, Malwarebytes, and Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac all cost $59.99 per year for three installations, compared with unlimited licenses for McAfee at that price.
A three-license ProtectWorks subscription costs a bit less, at $44.95 per year.
Of course, you can also get antivirus protection for your Mac with zero cash outlay by choosing Avira Free Antivirus for Mac or Sophos Home, both of which are free.
Like Avira and Sophos, McAfee supports macOS versions back to 10.11 (El Capitan).
Norton's support for the current macOS and the two previous versions means it supports Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave.
For those stuck running an old operating system, ClamXAV or ProtectWorks AntiVirus (for Mac) may be a better choice, with support back to Snow Leopard (10.6).
No Results From Antivirus Labs
The teams of researchers and testers at independent antivirus testing labs can throw a lot of resources at the task of determining the efficacy of an antivirus tool.
I follow four such labs for my Windows antivirus reviews, and two of those also release regular reports on Mac antivirus.
Since my hands-on testing setup, developed over a period of years, is mostly Windows-based, those two sets of lab results are especially important to my Mac antivirus reviews.
When I first evaluated McAfee's macOS product a few years ago, it had certification from AV-Comparatives, with 100 percent detection of Mac malware and 94 percent detection of Windows malware.
More recently, McAfee doesn't appear in the test results from this lab.
Nor has it been included in test reports from AV-Test Institute.
AVG, ClamXAV, ESET, Malwarebytes, ProtectWorks, and Sophos Home Premium (for Mac) also lack recent results.
If you want to see top lab test results, look to Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac($34.99 for 1 Device, 1 Year Plan at Bitdefender), Norton, Trend Micro, or Vipre.
All earned top scores from both labs.
Kaspersky came close, missing out by one-half point from AV-Test.
Scans and Schedules
Like most Mac antivirus tools, McAfee aims to detect and remove any Windows malware it encounters.
I ran a custom scan challenging McAfee to clean up a USB drive containing the samples I use for Windows antivirus testing.
My collection runs the gamut from barely risky potentially unwanted applications, or PUAs, to pernicious ransomware.
Strangely, McAfee reported detecting about three times as many threats as there were files on the drive.
Judging from its report, and the files that remained, it wiped out 57 percent, down from 72 percent with the previous sample collection.
Windows malware can't do any harm on a Mac, so I don't slap down a product that fares poorly in this simple test.
Even so, it's impressive that Webroot detected and eliminated 100 percent of those samples, and ESET Cyber Security (for Mac) got 93 percent.
ClamXAV doesn't promise to detect Windows malware, but even so, it quarantined 43 percent of my samples.
Most of the Mac antivirus utilities I've evaluated offer two kinds of scans: a quick scan that looks for active malware and checks the most likely areas for infestation, and a full scan that covers your entire computer.
McAfee sticks with the full scan, along with the custom scan I mentioned.
On the MacBook Air I use for testing, McAfee's full scan finished in 57 minutes.
I observed that while the full scan displays what looks like a progress bar, it isn't.
The only indication of progress is the ever-increasing number of items scanned.
McAfee's time for a full scan is slower than the current average of 39 minutes, but still not bad.
However, Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus (for Mac) did the job in just two minutes.
Trend Micro also proved speedy, with 10 minutes for a full scan.
Like ESET, Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac, and a few others, McAfee schedules a weekly full scan.
If you don't do anything, you'll still get a regular full scan.
You can turn off scheduled scanning, or change it to daily or monthly, but you can't add multiple scheduled scans.
Phishing Protection Remains Top-Notch
If you're an evil web designer rather than an evil coder, phishing is just the crime for you.
All you need to do is create a website that perfectly mimics a sensitive site and find a way to entice clicks on that site.
When an unsuspecting user logs in to your fake site, you grab the credentials and own the account.
You can now use those credentials to, say, log into the victim's bank and transfer funds.
For my Windows antiphishing tests, I use a small utility that lets me launch a suspected phishing URL and click a button to indicate the product blocked it, the product missed it, or the page wasn't a proper phishing fraud after all.
I use the utility to launch the same collection of URLs against the phishing protection built into Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, and on a system protected by the antivirus under test.
If it's a macOS antivirus under test, it becomes a manual process involving a lot of copy/paste and button-mashing.
I tested the Windows and macOS editions simultaneously.
The two editions didn't behave identically, though their scores were very close.
Both lucked out by missing a few URLs that got tossed because one of the other browsers couldn't load the page.
Every sample the Windows edition missed, the macOS version caught, and vice versa.
The 98 percent score by the macOS edition is excellent.
Only Bitdefender, with 99 percent, and Kaspersky, with 100 percent, have done better in recent Mac-centered tests.
Bitdefender and Kaspersky earned the same scores when tested on Windows.
Firewall Bonus
A typical personal firewall performs two tasks.
First, it guards against attack by outside agencies.
Second, it manages network permissions to make sure local programs don't misuse the network.
In the past, McAfee handled both tasks, but as of last year the Application Control component is no longer present.
My contact at McAfee explained "This was a business decision, based on usage relative to the cost of maintenance."
Like the similar firewall in Intego Mac Internet Security X9, McAfee asks you to identify each network you join as Public, Home, or Work.
On a public network, the firewall allows all outgoing traffic but blocks unsolicited incoming traffic.
If you flag the network as Home or Work, it allows unsolicited incoming traffic from within the local network.
Simple!
If you're a total network wizard, you can click Manage Rules in the firewall's settings dialog.
But, even for me, the dialog that lets you create custom firewall rules is daunting.
Most users shouldn't touch it.
WebAdvisor Wisdom
The WebAdvisor component is what serves to divert your browsing from malicious and fraudulent pages, but there's more to it than that.
Its browser toolbar icon changes color to reflect the current site's status, green for safe, yellow for iffy, red for dangerous.
It also marks up results from popular search engines with color-coded icons.
Pointing at an icon with the mouse gets a popup window with more detail, and from that window or the toolbar icon you can open a full report on the site.
The report isn't as detailed as what you get from the similar feature in Symantec Norton 360 Deluxe (for Mac), but it's useful.
By default, WebAdvisor blocks risky sites and warns about suspicious sites; you can change its behavior in the settings.
There's also an option to block by category, including Pornography.
It's not parental control as such, just a way to keep your browser from raunchy sites as well as dangerous ones.
ESET, Trend Micro, and Sophos include a simple form of parental control, blocking various unwanted categories.
Basic Protection
It's excellent that McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac) covers every Mac you own with a single subscription, and also covers all your devices that run on other platforms.
In our antiphishing testing, it blocked every single fraudulent website.
However, we'd still be happier with some scores from the independent antivirus testing labs, and its failure against several real-world ransomware samples is troubling.
If you need lab-approved straight antivirus protection for your Mac, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is a top choice.
Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac is a full security suite that's packed with many more features than just protection against malware.
Symantec Norton 360 Deluxe (for Mac) also includes suite-level features, most notably a no-limits VPN.
These three are our Editors' Choice picks for Mac antivirus.
McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac)
Pros
Subscription covers unlimited macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS devices.
Virus protection pledge.
Excellent score in antiphishing test.
Includes simple personal firewall.
View More
The Bottom Line
One subscription gives you unlimited licenses to protect all your Macs with McAfee AntiVirus Plus, and your Windows, Android, and iOS devices, too, though the Mac edition lacks certification from independent testing labs.
While macOS malware isn't nearly as widespread as malware targeting Windows, Macs do get slammed with Trojans, ransomware, and other malicious software.
Security companies handle macOS antivirus protection in a variety of ways.
Some just offer a simple Mac-specific antivirus tool.
Others include Mac protection in a cross-platform suite.
McAfee is unusual in that all the security products, from antivirus to feature-packed mega-suite, support multiple platforms.
Subscribing to McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac) means getting protection for every macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS device in your household.
That bounty of protection helps us overlook the fact that the testing labs don't certify McAfee's protection on macOS, and that Windows users get a raft of features that don't carry over to the Mac.
As with many cross-platform security products, McAfee starts the installation process online.
You log in or create your account, enter your registration code, and download to your Mac.
During the process, you receive a serial number.
Don't lose that number! If you must reinstall the software on this same device, you'll need that number, not the registration code.
During installation, McAfee offers a Virus Protection Pledge.
This pledge means that if malware gets past an existing McAfee installation, McAfee's trained experts will remotely remediate the problem.
Virus removal service normally costs $89.95, so this is a good deal.
If the experts can't fix the problem, McAfee refunds your purchase.
You must sign up for automatic subscription renewal to get this pledge, but that seems reasonable.
As noted, your license lets you install McAfee on your Windows devices, as well as your iOS and Android devices.
You can read my review of McAfee AntiVirus Plus for details on what you get with the other platforms.
Briefly, the Windows edition is loaded with features not found on the Mac, the Android edition offers both antivirus and antitheft, and the iOS edition (as expected) is relatively feature-limited.
The layouts and color schemes of the Mac and Windows editions track very closely.
Both have a simple menu across the top and a panel at left that shows security status and lists your protected devices.
The rest of the main window is mostly whitespace, with some buttons at the bottom that access useful features.
The Windows edition has a PC Performance item in the top menu, which isn't present on the Mac.
And while both include a button to scan for viruses, the Windows edition also displays buttons to remove trackers, speed up your apps, and check for app updates.
Pricing and OS Support
As noted, you can use your $59.99 per year subscription to install McAfee protection on every macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS device you own.
Norton is also cross-platform, supporting macOS, Windows, and Android, but your $99.99 per year Norton subscription gets you five licenses, not an unlimited number.
On the flip side, Norton is a full suite for Windows and includes Mac features you don't get from McAfee, most notably a no-limits VPN.
You pay $29.95 for ClamXAV (for Mac) just once, which lets you install it on all of the Macs in your household.
Bitdefender, ESET, Malwarebytes, and Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac all cost $59.99 per year for three installations, compared with unlimited licenses for McAfee at that price.
A three-license ProtectWorks subscription costs a bit less, at $44.95 per year.
Of course, you can also get antivirus protection for your Mac with zero cash outlay by choosing Avira Free Antivirus for Mac or Sophos Home, both of which are free.
Like Avira and Sophos, McAfee supports macOS versions back to 10.11 (El Capitan).
Norton's support for the current macOS and the two previous versions means it supports Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave.
For those stuck running an old operating system, ClamXAV or ProtectWorks AntiVirus (for Mac) may be a better choice, with support back to Snow Leopard (10.6).
No Results From Antivirus Labs
The teams of researchers and testers at independent antivirus testing labs can throw a lot of resources at the task of determining the efficacy of an antivirus tool.
I follow four such labs for my Windows antivirus reviews, and two of those also release regular reports on Mac antivirus.
Since my hands-on testing setup, developed over a period of years, is mostly Windows-based, those two sets of lab results are especially important to my Mac antivirus reviews.
When I first evaluated McAfee's macOS product a few years ago, it had certification from AV-Comparatives, with 100 percent detection of Mac malware and 94 percent detection of Windows malware.
More recently, McAfee doesn't appear in the test results from this lab.
Nor has it been included in test reports from AV-Test Institute.
AVG, ClamXAV, ESET, Malwarebytes, ProtectWorks, and Sophos Home Premium (for Mac) also lack recent results.
If you want to see top lab test results, look to Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac($34.99 for 1 Device, 1 Year Plan at Bitdefender), Norton, Trend Micro, or Vipre.
All earned top scores from both labs.
Kaspersky came close, missing out by one-half point from AV-Test.
Scans and Schedules
Like most Mac antivirus tools, McAfee aims to detect and remove any Windows malware it encounters.
I ran a custom scan challenging McAfee to clean up a USB drive containing the samples I use for Windows antivirus testing.
My collection runs the gamut from barely risky potentially unwanted applications, or PUAs, to pernicious ransomware.
Strangely, McAfee reported detecting about three times as many threats as there were files on the drive.
Judging from its report, and the files that remained, it wiped out 57 percent, down from 72 percent with the previous sample collection.
Windows malware can't do any harm on a Mac, so I don't slap down a product that fares poorly in this simple test.
Even so, it's impressive that Webroot detected and eliminated 100 percent of those samples, and ESET Cyber Security (for Mac) got 93 percent.
ClamXAV doesn't promise to detect Windows malware, but even so, it quarantined 43 percent of my samples.
Most of the Mac antivirus utilities I've evaluated offer two kinds of scans: a quick scan that looks for active malware and checks the most likely areas for infestation, and a full scan that covers your entire computer.
McAfee sticks with the full scan, along with the custom scan I mentioned.
On the MacBook Air I use for testing, McAfee's full scan finished in 57 minutes.
I observed that while the full scan displays what looks like a progress bar, it isn't.
The only indication of progress is the ever-increasing number of items scanned.
McAfee's time for a full scan is slower than the current average of 39 minutes, but still not bad.
However, Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus (for Mac) did the job in just two minutes.
Trend Micro also proved speedy, with 10 minutes for a full scan.
Like ESET, Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac, and a few others, McAfee schedules a weekly full scan.
If you don't do anything, you'll still get a regular full scan.
You can turn off scheduled scanning, or change it to daily or monthly, but you can't add multiple scheduled scans.
Phishing Protection Remains Top-Notch
If you're an evil web designer rather than an evil coder, phishing is just the crime for you.
All you need to do is create a website that perfectly mimics a sensitive site and find a way to entice clicks on that site.
When an unsuspecting user logs in to your fake site, you grab the credentials and own the account.
You can now use those credentials to, say, log into the victim's bank and transfer funds.
For my Windows antiphishing tests, I use a small utility that lets me launch a suspected phishing URL and click a button to indicate the product blocked it, the product missed it, or the page wasn't a proper phishing fraud after all.
I use the utility to launch the same collection of URLs against the phishing protection built into Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, and on a system protected by the antivirus under test.
If it's a macOS antivirus under test, it becomes a manual process involving a lot of copy/paste and button-mashing.
I tested the Windows and macOS editions simultaneously.
The two editions didn't behave identically, though their scores were very close.
Both lucked out by missing a few URLs that got tossed because one of the other browsers couldn't load the page.
Every sample the Windows edition missed, the macOS version caught, and vice versa.
The 98 percent score by the macOS edition is excellent.
Only Bitdefender, with 99 percent, and Kaspersky, with 100 percent, have done better in recent Mac-centered tests.
Bitdefender and Kaspersky earned the same scores when tested on Windows.
Firewall Bonus
A typical personal firewall performs two tasks.
First, it guards against attack by outside agencies.
Second, it manages network permissions to make sure local programs don't misuse the network.
In the past, McAfee handled both tasks, but as of last year the Application Control component is no longer present.
My contact at McAfee explained "This was a business decision, based on usage relative to the cost of maintenance."
Like the similar firewall in Intego Mac Internet Security X9, McAfee asks you to identify each network you join as Public, Home, or Work.
On a public network, the firewall allows all outgoing traffic but blocks unsolicited incoming traffic.
If you flag the network as Home or Work, it allows unsolicited incoming traffic from within the local network.
Simple!
If you're a total network wizard, you can click Manage Rules in the firewall's settings dialog.
But, even for me, the dialog that lets you create custom firewall rules is daunting.
Most users shouldn't touch it.
WebAdvisor Wisdom
The WebAdvisor component is what serves to divert your browsing from malicious and fraudulent pages, but there's more to it than that.
Its browser toolbar icon changes color to reflect the current site's status, green for safe, yellow for iffy, red for dangerous.
It also marks up results from popular search engines with color-coded icons.
Pointing at an icon with the mouse gets a popup window with more detail, and from that window or the toolbar icon you can open a full report on the site.
The report isn't as detailed as what you get from the similar feature in Symantec Norton 360 Deluxe (for Mac), but it's useful.
By default, WebAdvisor blocks risky sites and warns about suspicious sites; you can change its behavior in the settings.
There's also an option to block by category, including Pornography.
It's not parental control as such, just a way to keep your browser from raunchy sites as well as dangerous ones.
ESET, Trend Micro, and Sophos include a simple form of parental control, blocking various unwanted categories.
Basic Protection
It's excellent that McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac) covers every Mac you own with a single subscription, and also covers all your devices that run on other platforms.
In our antiphishing testing, it blocked every single fraudulent website.
However, we'd still be happier with some scores from the independent antivirus testing labs, and its failure against several real-world ransomware samples is troubling.
If you need lab-approved straight antivirus protection for your Mac, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is a top choice.
Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac is a full security suite that's packed with many more features than just protection against malware.
Symantec Norton 360 Deluxe (for Mac) also includes suite-level features, most notably a no-limits VPN.
These three are our Editors' Choice picks for Mac antivirus.
McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac)
Pros
Subscription covers unlimited macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS devices.
Virus protection pledge.
Excellent score in antiphishing test.
Includes simple personal firewall.
View More
The Bottom Line
One subscription gives you unlimited licenses to protect all your Macs with McAfee AntiVirus Plus, and your Windows, Android, and iOS devices, too, though the Mac edition lacks certification from independent testing labs.
