Avast One Basic for Mac Review

Too many Mac users blithely assume their devices are immune to viruses and other malware. They aren’t, and macOS-focused malware takes advantage of that misunderstanding. Antivirus protection for your Mac is necessary, but breaking the bank to pay for it is not. With Avast One Basic, you don’t pay a penny, and you get far more than bare-bones antivirus, with plenty of added tools for privacy and security. It’s an excellent competitor of our Editors’ Choice winners for Mac antivirus, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, which operates more independently, and Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac, which has more features.

A Cheerful User Interface

Just as on Windows, Avast One Basic on the Mac looks very different from past Avast apps. Instead of the old dark background, it’s light and airy, with rounded buttons and whimsical line drawings daubed with pastel colors. Where space permits, the line drawings include happy people.

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Finally, Avast doesn’t use the home page to display security status in a fixed manner. Rather, it devotes the home page to a topic that requires your attention. For example, it exhorts you to run your first Smart Scan right after installation.

Clicking Explore in the simple menu on the left brings up a page that gives you access to all the program’s features. The features are organized 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.

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The Explore page also shows 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 it. McAfee Total Protection for Mac offers a similar protection score, though it ranges from 0 to 1,000.

Can My Mac Run Avast One Basic for Mac?

If you want to install this free antivirus, your Mac must run macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later. Most Mac owners keep the OS up to date, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Other Mac antivirus tools need an even newer OS version. Trend Micro wants 11.0 (Big Sur), for example, while McAfee, Norton 360 Deluxe for Mac, and Webroot all require 10.15 (Catalina).

At the relaxed end of the spectrum, a few antivirus tools still support ancient macOS versions for those who can’t (or won’t) upgrade. Intego Mac Internet Security works on 10.9 (Mavericks) or higher, while ProtectWorks goes all the way back to 10.6 (Snow Leopard).

Avast One Basic for Mac Gets Perfect Lab Scores

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

In reports from AV-Test Institute, antivirus utilities can earn six points each for Protection, Performance, and Usability (that last category refers to minimizing occasions when the antivirus identifies a good app or website as bad). In the latest round of testing, Avast earned six points in each category, for a perfect 18 points. F-Secure and Avira reached 17 points, while the rest of the tested products earned 18.

The most important score from AV-Comparatives is the percentage of protection against macOS-centered malware. Like most tested antiviruses, Avast scored 100% on this test. It also detected 100% of Windows malware samples. It’s true that malware written for Windows can’t infect a Mac, but the Mac could serve as a carrier. Finally, on a test using lower-risk potentially unwanted applications, or PUAa, Avast caught 99%, as did most of its competitors. Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac came close, catching 98% of the PUAs.

It’s Surprisingly Easy to Be More Secure Online

With a perfect score from each lab, Avast is sitting pretty. AVG, Kaspersky, and Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac also came in with two perfect scores.

Getting Started With Avast One Basic

The speedy installation features a gaggle of stylized people, all clearly happy to have Avast’s protection. It finishes with an invitation to run your first Smart Scan, which checks for performance issues and runs a quick scan for malware.

After the obligatory initial Smart Scan, I dug into the Scan Center and selected a comprehensive Deep Scan. Avast completed that scan in 10 minutes, quite a bit speedier than the current average of 26 minutes.

I don’t have the resources or expertise to collect and analyze malware aimed at macOS the way I do on Windows. One thing I can check, though, is whether each Mac antivirus detects and removes Windows malware. That might sound pointless since Windows programs won’t run on a Mac, but it does eliminate the possibility that the Mac could become a carrier, passing along infected files across the network. As noted, Avast scored 100% on a recent Windows malware test by AV-Comparatives.

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When I scanned a thumb drive containing my current Windows malware samples, Avast identified 97% of them as malicious, the best score in recent tests. G Data Antivirus for Mac’s 96% score is close behind; none of the rest scored higher than 90%.

Browser-Independent Phishing Protection

Learning to code is a big investment of time, and learning to write malware that can escape the notice of the antivirus malware police requires a high level of skill. Phishing fraudsters 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 such as PayPal or your bank. If you log into the fake website, the fraudsters steal your credentials and thereby own your account. Yes, highly observant folks can learn to recognize phishing frauds, but it’s nice to have some help for those days when you’re a little muzzy.

It’s true that fraudsters get caught and blacklisted constantly, but they just scoop up their winnings and spawn a new fake site. For testing purposes, I make sure to include reported frauds that are too new for the blacklists. I scrape hundreds of reported phishing URLs and launch each simultaneously in four browsers. The antivirus under test protects one of the browsers, while the other three rely on phishing protection built into Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

I discard any URLs that don’t load properly in all four browsers or that don’t precisely fit the profile of a phishing fraud. For the rest, I record whether each tested phishing filter blocks the fraud or misses it. A handy program launches the URLs and records my notes for Windows-based testing. Naturally, that program doesn’t run on macOS, so I’ve become adept at the button-mashing required to copy and paste the URLs.

(Credit: Avast/PCMag)

The Web Shield component works below the browser level, so it protects any browser you use and doesn’t need to install extensions. When you accidentally direct your browser to a dangerous or fraudulent page, it prevents the connection and pops up a warning. It also displays a warning right in the browser.

For this test, the macOS edition precisely matched the Windows edition, 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 reached a perfect 100%.

Permission-Based Ransomware Protection

Some types of malware steal your personal information to sell it on the Dark Web. You might never even know a data-stealing Trojan attack happened. But there’s no question you’ll know if ransomware attacks your Mac. After encrypting your important files, this kind of malware demands that you pay a ransom to get them back, typically using cryptocurrency or some other non-traceable payment method.

Avast aims to foil ransomware attacks by banning all unauthorized access to important files. Known and trusted programs get a pass, but any other program attempting to modify or delete those files triggers a warning from Avast. If the new program is one you launched yourself, you can add it to the trusted list with a simple click. But if you don’t recognize it, throw a block.

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By default, this feature protects each macOS user account’s Documents and Pictures folders. You can add folders for protection, 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 get the option to enable Strict Mode. In Strict Mode, every program needs your permission to access files, even programs that Avast might consider to be trustworthy. The Windows edition also lets you protect every file in protected folders rather than choosing specific file types.

Network Inspector

For many years, Avast antivirus tools included a feature called Wi-Fi Inspector. In the current Avast incarnation, that feature is more accurately named Network Inspector. Once you confirm that you’re authorized to scan all devices on the network, you can launch a scan that reports on just what devices connect to your home network.

(Credit: Avast/PCMag)

The scan attempts to identify the name and type of each found device, along with the make and model, if available. It also scans each for security holes. If the scan comes up clean, there’s nothing more you need to do. However, I imagine most users will be curious enough to check out the list of devices. Depending on your skill level, you may even want to track down any unknown devices and edit their entries with name and device type. But be warned: The only clues to make that identification are the IP address and MAC address of the unknown device.

(Credit: Avast/PCMag)

Inspecting your network security is free, but customers who pay get more. With a premium account, you can enable connection notifications. Avast doesn’t let you block access for an unknown new device, 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 safety of messages in your Mac’s Mail app. If it detects malicious attachments or other dangers, it flags the message and neutralizes the danger.

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That’s a nice added layer of protection for your Mac, but as with the Network Inspector, paying customers get more. At the premium level, you can extend Avast’s protection to your account with Gmail, Hotmail, MSN, Outlook, and over 20 other providers across multiple devices.

Premium-Only Features

If you scan down the list of features on the Explore page, you’ll notice that some of the items have a lock icon overlay. The presence of that orange lock means the features are reserved for users of the paid edition. The same is true in Avast One on Windows.

Under Smooth Performance, you’ll see Disk Cleaner, App Uninstaller, Photo Cleaner, and Duplicate Finder. All four of these features are locked away if you’re using the free edition.

Everything in Device Protection is available except Web Hijack Guard. This somewhat arcane feature aims to foil malicious attacks that try to hijack your Mac’s DNS requests. When DNS hijacking is active, perpetrators can undetectably divert your web requests to fraudulent sites.

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In the realm of Online Privacy, you get everything for free except Tracking Prevention, which relies on technology similar to what Avast AntiTrack offers. When high-tech advertisers and snoops try to track you by developing a fingerprint from data they extract from your browser, Avast foils their attempts by fuzzing that data. Given that Avast sells this technology separately, it makes perfect sense that it’s not included with the free Avast One Basic.

Feature-Limited VPN

As noted, you don’t get any of the performance features for free, but most of the privacy features are accessible. Just as on Windows, VPN protection is the star among privacy features.

With Avast shielding your Mac against new attacks, all the data stored on it should be safe. However, the moment that data begins to travel across the internet, antivirus protection loses its power. To protect your data on its travels, you need a VPN.

The VPN creates a secure encrypted connection between your device and a hardened server managed by the VPN company. No snoop, not even the owner of the shady public network you’re using, can access your traffic. A side benefit is that your network traffic seems to come from the VPN server. That means that a site can’t determine your location based on your IP address. It also can allow you to access content that would normally be restricted.

PCMag has evaluated the standalone Avast SecureLine VPN and found it to be decent but not outstanding. Read our review for a full understanding of this feature. Briefly, it uses recommended VPN protocols, offers a widespread but somewhat sparse selection of servers (500 servers in 36 countries), and supports macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. Its privacy policy clearly states what information it collects. In our review, we noted that it gathers more data than is needed—and more than most competitors. It doesn’t offer features beyond VPN the way some competitors do, and its scores on our speed tests on Windows ranged from excellent to egregious.

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With Avast One, the VPN is integrated, not a standalone app, but the technology is the same. As is typical, users who aren’t paying don’t get access to the full feature set. The VPN determines the server you use based on its calculation of what’s fastest at the moment. The VPN also caps the 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 how much you’ve used and how long you’ll wait until your new 5GB infusion. The free edition of Hotspot Shield VPN allows 500MB per day, a bit less than Avast. With TunnelBear VPN, non-paying users choke out at 500MB per month. On the other hand, you can use ProtonVPN for free with no bandwidth limits. Avast One Basic users get enough bandwidth to protect quite a lot of interactive internet usage. Just don’t leave the VPN running when you sit back and binge-watch videos all night.

By default, Avast reminds you to turn on VPN protection any time you connect with an untrusted network. Turning off that reminder is a bad idea, though you can do it. Setting it to connect automatically without a reminder is also a bad idea since your bandwidth is limited. Just leave these settings at their default values.

You do have the option to fine-tune those settings for specific website activities: banking, shopping, accessing sensitive content, streaming, or torrenting. Specifically, you can set a reminder to turn on the VPN any time you engage in such activities. Paying customers can choose to just turn on the VPN 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 unless you’re coming from a position of VPN expertise, you shouldn’t.

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That’s it for VPN configuration options. You won’t find split-tunneling (the ability to send less sensitive traffic outside the VPN’s protection) like you get with CyberGhost VPN or Surfshark VPN. There’s no option for the added security of a multi-hop VPN connection. You can’t get a static IP address (useful for evading services that try to block VPN usage). Some VPNs include a kill switch, meaning they cut all connectivity if the VPN connection goes down, but not Avast.

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

Other Privacy Features

Just as on Windows, the Browser Cleaner feature checks popular browsers for traces of your web-surfing activity. A snoop could possibly misuse that information, so Avast encourages you to clear it out. The items for cleanup vary by browser. On my test Mac, Avast found cookies, cache, history, AutoComplete data, and temporary files for Chrome. It listed website history, cache, and temporary files for Safari. For Firefox, it only found website history. None of these are checked for removal by default, so you must check off any that you want cleaned up.

You can clear history right in your browsers, indeuspendent of Avast, with more control over what gets cleared, including the time range to clear. In Chrome and Firefox, you press Shift+Command+Delete to invoke this feature. In Safari, you choose Clear History from the menu. Given what’s built into the browsers, Avast’s feature doesn’t add much value.

How Your Password Was Stolen

Has your password been exposed in one of the data breaches that seem to hit the news every week? Select Data Breach Monitoring on the Explore page to find out. You can check as many addresses as you like, one at a time. Click a found breach to view details. Once you’ve taken any required action (such as changing a password), you can mark the breach as resolved. For premium customers, this feature expands to include real-time monitoring for new breaches.

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The average user won’t have much use for Avast’s Traffic Monitor feature, which reports which apps are generating web traffic and where they’re connecting. A map displays active locations, with a list of apps alongside. You can click an app to see where it’s connecting or click a location to see what’s tapping it. I don’t see this feature as broadly useful, but you can certainly check it if you feel something fishy is going on with your connection. If you see an unexpected connection to a shady location, you can suss out which app is misbehaving.

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With an upgrade to a premium subscription, Traffic Monitor gains added powers. You can set it to ask you whether to allow or block each new connection, thereby creating a rule for that connection. Once you’ve recorded rules for your normal activities, you can set it to allow or block any connections that don’t match a rule. I doubt more than one user in a thousand will bother configuring this ability.

A Good, Free Protector

Avast One Basic for Mac gets excellent marks from two independent testing labs and it earned a near-perfect score on our real-world phishing protection test. Bandwidth limits on its VPN component are more generous than many free competitors and it includes a sprinkling of privacy and security features beyond basic antivirus. If you want to protect your Mac without spending money, it’s worth consideration, 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 has a perfect score from one of the labs and is a full security suite that goes way beyond basic antivirus. Bitdefender holds excellent marks from both labs, and the app’s AutoPilot mode lets you set it and forget it.