At a glance

Expert's Rating

Pros

• Easy installation and setup





• Solid customization options such as whitelists, exceptions, and scheduled scans





• Handy network tools like Traffic Monitor and Network Inspector

Cons

• Steady stream of ads, upgrade prompts, and assorted locked features





• The Web Guard module failed to catch obvious scam links





• The Scam Guard failed to detect scam, phishing, and ransom attempts

Our Verdict

Avast Free Antivirus for Mac delivers on its historically strong antivirus/anti-malware tools and offers some interesting network tools. However, the inConsistent web filtering and the failure of its AI-powered Scam Guard module, drags down the free version of one of the better security options for macOS. 

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There’s a distinction that every software company’s marketing department has to make in terms of what’s a demo, what’s a free trial, what’s a teaser, and what’s the fully-featured version of a product it intends to release. The free version of Avast Security for the Mac, Avast Free Antivirus, combines a powerful antiviral/anti-malware core with several other modules, each with its own varying degree of success.

Downloading and installing the software is simple; Avast Free Antivirus requires macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later to install. The installer, somewhat surprisingly, places an uninstaller application in your Mac’s Applications folder for easy removal, a nod to convenience. Once installed, the software both creates a network extension for itself and requests full access to your Mac’s hard drive, which is handled without any undue fuss by the installer.

Like similar Mac antivirus applications, Avast’s antivirus suite is centered around several modules (Smart Scan, Virus Scans, Scam Guardian, Traffic Monitor, Network Inspector, Email Guard, Ransomware Shield, Core Shields, and Quarantine), each with its own settings and functions.

The Smart Scan updates virus definitions and performs a surface-level viral scan, while its Advanced Issues feature scans for ransomware, network vulnerabilities, and fake website threats. However, you will need to subscribe to unlock additional features. Expect ads to pop up frequently offering Avast Security’s upgraded subscription package and its expanded feature set.

Other modules, such as Traffic Monitor, follow up on features available in previous versions, and it’s fun to see where your internet traffic is traveling through and how much data you’re using. The Network Inspector takes this to the next level and offers a full network scan as well as a list of every device currently on the network, so you can be made aware if a device has connected that shouldn’t be there. Granted, this is only a casual set of network controls compared to a dedicated application, but it’s a nice tool to have on hand if you’re curious as to what’s happening on your network.

The Virus Scans module is the heart of the app as you would expect, and there’s a lot to complement it on. Avast’s viral definitions are up to date, the application can scan .zip and .dmg archives, there’s a good level of customization with the preferences, and it’s easy to build a whitelist.

Scanning external volumes is easy, and the scheduling function works well, but the function itself doesn’t jump up and declare that it’s running; you have to go into the Virus Scans module to watch it function. The Deep Scan feature is speedy, even if it could benefit from a timer declaring how much time has passed and/or an ETA as to how much time is remaining, and the overall antiviral element teams up well with the macOS’ Gatekeeper and Xprotect systems, which block everything that’s suspect (you genuinely have to bypass various dialog screens warning you as to what you’re about to do wrong to install malware). This, in turn, corresponds well with the Core Shields module, making it that much harder to install malware on your Mac.

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