Similar ransomware was found in other pirated apps, and Mac users can avoid it by staying away from pirated apps and untrustworthy websites and forums that offer illicit downloads. Here are some of the best anti-malware software for mac. Read: How I Removed Malware From my WordPress Site. Best Anti Malware for Mac 1. When it comes to dealing with malware and other nasty stuff like rootkits, there is no other software that more popular than Malwarebytes.

A new Mac always seems to be lightning quick. But then it might slow down up to 17% when its disk is near full (confirmed by MacWorld in a test). And there we got a whole world of Mac optimization apps. Some of them are good enough that even Apple employees use them (Guy Kawasaki, for one). So here are some absolutely essential Mac optimizers to check in 2021.

These are top 3 optimizers that look most optimistic to us (sorry for the pun). We've chosen these among hundreds of others mentioned on Mac Forums.

Rating	Name	Features	Info
1	CleanMyMac X	Includes tools for optimizing your Mac, securely deleting files, and scanning for malware.	Link
2	AVG	Quick scan and deep cleaning of all kinds of junk	Link
3	Onyx	Allows you to adjust parameters that would normally need to be set in Terminal	Link

All three are aimed at basic Mac housekeeping. And now, let's dive into these options and then we'll analyze a few more relevant alternatives.

Best Mac Optimizer software reviewed

Made by independent macOS developer, MacPaw, this app tops our chart.

1. CleanMyMac X

This app, which is notarized by Apple, is absolutely gorgeous visually. But it also sports 49 tools to optimize a Mac in one app. It has a free version you can download and play around with.

Inside, you’ll find a full range of tools that will declutter your Mac, make it run faster, and even scan it for malware and remove whatever it finds. One of the great things about CleanMyMac X is that you choose how much control you take over what it removes.

In terms of Mac optimization, you can:

• Free up RAM memory
• Disable heavy memory consumers
• Run Maintenance scripts
  

It’s worth checking, anyway if you want to improve your Mac’s performance.

2. AVG Cleaner

AVG Cleaner has two functions — to find and remove “junk”’ files one you Mac and to identify duplicate files and make it easy to remove them. The files AVG Cleaner tracks down include cache files from web browsers, apps, photos, and videos; log files; download history; broken downloads; and Trash contents.

When you launch the app, you’ll see it has a clean, modern interface that gives you the option of scanning your Mac for files to clean, or scanning for duplicates. Once you’ve chosen the Disc Cleaner and the scan is complete, you can press a button to clean up the files it has found or view them in more detail and decide which to delete and which to keep. If you choose to scan for duplicates, AVG Cleaner will ask you which folders you want to scan and then show you what it found.

AVG Cleaner is free, l looks great, and works well. However, compared with CleanMyMac X, it lacks many features. These include a malware removal tool, secure file deletion, optimization tools and an app uninstaller.

3. Drive Genius

Drive Genius started out many years ago as a tool for monitoring the performance of your drive, warning you of any potential problems and allowing you to fix them. It has evolved into a tool for optimizing performance and cleaning up drives, as well as keeping it safe.

Some of its features, such as re-partition, rebuild, and de-fragment, don’t work on APFS drives, but the others do. Those other tools include a malware scanner and removal tool, a secure erase utility, and tools for finding and removing duplicate and large files. In addition to those, Drive Genius still has tools for identifying potential problems that could lead to drive failure and allows you to fix them.

It’s not as user-friendly as Sensei, and doesn’t include an application uninstaller and tools for removing login items and launch agents.

4. OnyX

Like most of the apps listed here, OnyX is more than just optimization software for your Mac. It also has a number of tools for cleaning your Mac. However, OnyX also does something that no other tool listed here does: it allows you to adjust settings on your Mac that are otherwise only available through the Terminal app. It’s more of a customizer for your macOS.

Best Mac Malware App

Whether you want to rebuild a database or index, or just changed the default location or file format for screenshots, you can do it in OnyX. In terms of optimization tools, OnyX can clean up system files and browser data, rebuild Spotlight and Launch Services databases, run maintenance scripts and clean up recent items lists.

It doesn’t have a secure file deletion tool or malware scanner, however. And it’s nowhere near as user friendly as tools we’ve described above. If you like playing around with settings and getting under the hood of your Mac, though, it’s a good choice.

5. macOS Manage Storage

Manage Storage is a feature that’s built into recent versions of macOS. To access it, click on the Apple menu, then About this Mac> Storage> Manage Storage.

When you do that you’ll see a list of categories on the left-hand side of the window that opens. At the top is Recommendations. This is where macOS helps you easily free up storage space by recommending what to get rid of. For example, it might recommend that you store files in iCloud and only keep recent ones on your Mac, or that you allow the OS to delete Apple TV downloads you’ve already watched.

The other categories cover things like Mail attachments, Garageband sound libraries, podcasts, and iOS backups. You just click on each section in turn and follow the advice in the window.

Manage Storage is a very useful tool and can certainly help free up storage space. However, it is not a replacement for a tool like CleanMyMac X because there is no app uninstaller and there are no tools to remove junk files or optimize performance.

6. CCleaner

CCleaner is one of the oldest cleaner tools around, having been available on the Mac for nearly a decade and on Windows before that. It offers tools to get rid of junk files cluttering up your Mac, remove cookies, history files, and other web browser data, and disable login items and launch agents. It also has an app uninstaller, and the professional version offers real-time protection against potentially harmful files you may download.

Like most tools here, you can choose to follow its recommendations and remove files with just a few clicks, or review the files it finds and choose which to remove yourself.

CCleaner has many of the tools available in CleanMyMac X. However, it’s not as easy to use, in our opinion, thanks to its less friendly user interface. It also doesn’t have a tool to allow you to quickly see what files are occupying space on your Mac, like CleanMyMac X’s Space Lens, or a way of securely shredding sensitive files.

7. Disk Clean Pro

Disk Clean Pro offers many of the same tools as the other cleaners here. You can use its automated utilities to quickly get rid of junk files, logs, crash reports and partial downloads. And you can also use it to identify and remove duplicate files, old files, large files and old downloads. There are also tools to remove browser files, aloud backups and mail downloads.

Like CCleaner, however, its interface isn’t the friendliest. Also, there are no tools for scanning for malware, securely deleting files, or uninstalling apps.
Does Mac optimization involve cleaning?
Many of the tools above belong to the category of cleaners, so why place them here? To answer that, we should define “optimization” more clearly. If optimization means improving the performance, it does entail a bit of cleaning that is improving something by elimination. To optimize any computer, one should start with removing blockages, massive unwanted objects, and apps that eat up a lot of memory.

There are lots of applications that can optimize your Mac’s performance and make it run more smoothly. Most of these apps are paid, but you can get away with a free version in some cases.

We would rather pick CleanMyMac X for the sheer number of features and its looks but the choice is yours.

There are many antivirus and antimalware reviews for Macs on the Internet.

They do a good job comparing various aspects of antimalware software, such as price, impact on the performance of the computer, ease of use, detection ratings according to respectable AV test labs.

However, almost none of the reviewers made an effort to inject their Macs with malware and test antiviruses on the real devices.

I went the same route initially when I wrote What to Look for In Antivirus Software post. Not because I was lazy, but because I didn’t know where to find real viruses for a Mac.

But as we know, “Seek and you shall find.”

I was finally able to download more than 100 Mac-specific malware samples, and I spent two weeks testing 13 malware detection software.

I have to admit that the results surprised me a little. But now, armed with the real data, I can confidently recommend:

The best malware detection app for Mac is Norton 360. It detects all malware on the Mac, it is available for all devices, including PCs and Androids. And finally, Norton is a reputable company, which was founded in 1982.

Why is it important to know which AV is the best?

Personally, I wouldn’t want to spend a single penny on a program that finds only 90% of threats, because even a single undetected virus can ruin my Mac.

It’s like a cop wearing a bulletproof vest which only protects from certain types of bullets. If I were a cop I wouldn’t want to have the second best vest.

Same with antimalware. It’s the only kind of app where I don’t want a hacked or free version.

I want a legally purchased, fully supported software with regular updates. With a hacked software updates are not available and very soon the AV will be outdated and pretty much useless.

Anyway, here is a table with my top picks followed by the test description and results:

Free Malware Removal App

Best Malware Detection Apps (Antiviruses) for Mac

I Injected my Mac With 117 Malware Samples

The list of actual active viruses and how tested AVs performed can be found in Appendix A. This list is pretty comprehensive. It includes:

• 27 Adware and PUP (potentially unwanted programs)
• 54 backdoors
• 7 ransomware
• 6 keyloggers
• 6 bitcoin stealers and crypto miners
• 5 worms
• 2 rootkits
• 3 trojan viruses

Each column in the table has the name of the AV tested. If AV failed to identify and disinfect the malware, I would put ‘x’ in the corresponding cell.

The best antimalware is supposed to have no ‘x’ in the table, and there was only one AV that accomplished the goal.

Testing Procedure

In order to create a repeatable environment for the test where all conditions are the same except the antimalware installed, I used my MacBook Pro 13″ with macOS Catalina.

First, I wiped out the disk and installed a fresh new OS.

Then I took a backup of the disk.

The following steps I repeated more than 13 times (I had to rerun several tests to make sure everything was right):

1. Copy malware folder from a thumb drive to the Downloads folder on my Mac
2. Install an antivirus
3. Scan the Downloads folder if the AV allowed selecting an individual folder, or ran the Full Scan.
4. Repeat scans until the results came back clean (according to the AV)
5. Save the results

In the end, I compared the results (see Appendix A).

As you understand, it was a lot of work.

I spent exactly two weeks running tests each night after work, but now I have the best data you could possibly find.

High-level Results

Here are the initial results aggregated by each AV. As you can see, the only AV that deleted 100% of malware was VIPRE Advanced Security.

One program that most AV products did not identify was MacKeeper. Some programs define it as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program), but I happened to disagree with this. You can read my post about MacKeeper here, where I explained my point in great detail.

After some consideration, I decided to exclude MacKeeper from the list. After this adjustment the results would be as follows:

So, now we have three solutions with a malware detection rate of 100% for Mac (all US-based companies):

Testing 13 AVs

Here I want to quickly describe my impressions from each antivirus I tested (even the one not included in the final list):

Airo AV

One of the most frustrating interfaces I have seen. On the one hand, the simple interface they come with may be appealing to non-technical people who just want to set and forget.

But on the other hand, it took me a lot of time to make sure that I ran the scan against the folder where I kept all my malware.

And since I was not sure that Airo picked up the correct folder, I ran the scan multiple times. Still, it missed 10 malicious programs.

Details:

• Company founded in 2017 in Israel.
• 1-year price: $119.98 (first year $49.99) for one Mac. Additional pricing available for two years or monthly.

Avast Free Antivirus for Mac

Avast and Malwarebytes are the only truly free AV products. I wrote a detailed post about Avast. In my test, it missed only one sample.

So, if you are looking for a free AV, Avast could be your choice. However, keep in mind that the company was known for spying after its customers, so be aware.

Details:

• Avast was founded in 1988 in Prague, Czech Republic.
• 1-year price for Premium: $69.99 for one Mac or $89.99 for 10 devices (Mac, PC, Android, iOS).

Best Mac Malware App Software

AVG Antivirus

AVG was acquired by Avast, and I suspect that both have the same engine under the hood. So it is not surprising that both have similar results in testing.

I actually liked AVG more than Avast, it was straightforward to use, and the interface is very clean.

Details:

• AVG was founded in 1992 in Prague, Czech Republic.
• 1-year price for AVG Ultimate: $79.99 for 10 devices (Mac, PC, Android, iOS) – $10 cheaper than Avast.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac

Honestly, I was not impressed with Bitdefender.

Pros:

• One of the cheapest AV products.

Cons:

• it missed 6 samples out of 117
• it took a while to set it up
• the interface was average and not very easy to use

Details:

• Bitdefender was founded in 2001, with headquarters in Bucharest, Romania.
• 1 year price: $39.99 (first year $19.99) for one Mac or $59.99 (first year $29.99) for 3 Macs. Additional pricing available for 2 and 3 years.

ClamXAV

One of the simplest user interfaces (one might say not polished). It did a very good job finding viruses (missed only 2).

However, once the malware detected, it depends on the user to take action: I had to delete items manually. Unfortunately, since there was no bulk delete option, I had to delete items one by one (all 100+ of them).

Details:

• The ClamXAV engine is based on free software Clam AV. The same engine was used by macOS.
• 1-year price: $29.99 for three Macs or $49.95 for 9 Macs. Student discounts are available.

Best Free Mac Malware App

ESET Cyber Security

This was the biggest surprise for me. I know Nod32 for a long time since my Windows days. In my test, the program performed extremely poorly (missed 20 samples), and I don’t know why.

I ran the tests multiple times to make sure that I didn’t miss anything. It is entirely possible that I was doing something wrong, and there is a right way to use the product.

Free Malware Removal Mac

However, most people using the product are less technical than I am (I am a software developer, after all).

And if it takes me a while to learn how to use the product, what are the chances that the regular guy or gal can handle it better and won’t be infected?

Details:

• The company was founded in 1987 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
• 1-year price: $39.99 for one Mac

F-Secure

Another poor performing product. F-Secure was so eager to find something on my Mac that it started the scan even before the installation completed. I saw it found a lot of malware; however, I was not able to figure out how to make F-Secure to delete them.

All I could see is No Action as a remedy. In the end, the product displayed the worst results of all tested apps: it missed a whopping 26 samples.

Details:

• F-Secure was founded in 1988, with headquarters in Helsinki, Finland.
• 1-year price: $89.99 for three devices. Other plans are available.

Intego Mac Internet Security X9

This was one of three products that cleared 100% of malware (excluding Mac Keeper). The interface could be simpler, but the end result is good enough.

Details:

• Founded in 1997, with headquarters in Seattle, United States.
• 1-year price: $49.99 (first year $39.99) for one Mac. Plans available for 3 and 5 devices (Mac and PC).

Kaspersky Internet Security

Another well known and pretty old stable AV product. However, it didn’t do well in my test: Kaspersky missed 7 samples, and this disqualified the product from my recommended list.

Details:

• Kaspersky was founded in 1997 in Moscow, Russia.
• 1-year price: $39.99 (first year $29.99) for one Mac or $35.99 for 3 Macs.

Malwarebytes

One of two free AV products. Noticed that the results of Malwarebytes are not in the table?

It’s because Malwarebytes does not have Full Scan capability. All it does a Quick Scan (very quick indeed), but I couldn’t point it to scan the folder with all malware samples.

Malwarebytes Premium will trigger when you open a file with a virus, but I don’t think that the free version does it too.

Details:

• Founded in 2004 in Chicago, United States.
• 1-year price: $39.99 for one device (Mac, PC, iOS, Android) or $59.99 for 3 devices.

Norton 360 Deluxe

On the one hand, Norton took longer than any other product to install, but the result was pretty good: it detected 100% malware in adjusted test.

I have to admit that I have a soft spot for Norton products since I’ve been using them for more than 20 years, and I generally trust the company.

I rated the AV as the best for the following reasons:

• Norton protects all types of devices: Macs, PCs, Android and iOS
• It is the best deal for 5 devices (and I to have 5 Macs)
• It’s been in the business longer than any other company
• Besides AV, Norton 360 is offering cloud backup to protect from ransomware.
• Additional services: Secure VPN, Cleaner, Credit Monitoring, Identity Theft Protection, etc.

Details:

• Company (Symantec) was founded in 1982 in California, United States.
• 1-year price: $99.99 (first year $49.99) for five devices (Mac, PC, iOS, Android).

Trend Micro

Another solid AV product. It only missed one sample.

Details:

• Founded in 1988 in Los Angeles, United States.
• 1-year price: $39.95 (first year $29.95) for one Mac.

VIPRE Advanced Security

Another US-based company. This one came as a surprise for me. It was the only AV product that cleaned all malware and the only one that hit 100% in both adjusted and non-adjusted results.

The product was very easy to use. The interface is straightforward, and it didn’t require any learning.

Details:

• Founded in 1994, with headquarters in Florida, United States.
• 1 year price: $54.99 (first year $43.99) for one Mac or PC or $64.99 (first year $51.99) for 3 Macs or PCs.

Appendix A

Following is a table with results of the test. Symbol ‘x’ in each cell indicates the instance when the program failed to detect certain malware. Less ‘x’es is better.

VIPRE Advanced Security is the only solution that does not have a single ‘x’ in its column because it detected and removed all malware in the test.