Best Antivirus for Mac 2024: Top Security Software Compared
7. Avira Prime
- AV Test, June 2024: 98.3%
Covers: macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
Avira Prime, the paid version of Avira’s free antiviral software Avira Free Security, provides several tools for the user. Avira Prime is designed around several modules (Virus Scans, Protection Options, Quarantine, VPN, Passwords, Cookie Cleaner, Identity Assistant, Junk Cleaner, Uninstaller, and Startup Apps). Each module can be customized and configured as needed. The software installs cleanly and requests permission to fully access the hard drive, which is par for the course.
The Quick Scan can take less than 10 seconds, while a Full Scan took over six hours to look over 800+ gigabytes of files on a one terabyte SSD. The Custom Scan feature allows files and folders to be dropped in for quick scanning as well as external volumes to be scanned through as needed. There is a scheduler so you can program scans in advance.
You can minimize Avira Prime and work with other applications as the scan continues which is lucky because the Full Scan took over six hours to complete. Avira Prime located and quarantined several minor worm files, but missed suspect files such as the Wave web browser, which has been implicated in assorted phishing scams.
Cookie Cleaner module allows you to view and clean up cookie data, helpfully grouping cookies into different categories to make it easy to remove tracking and ads-based items in different browsers.
Junk Cleaner reclaimed a decent 55GB of space when we tried it. There’s also an uninstaller manager for cleaning up deleted apps and managing those that start automatically.
Identity Assistant can track your email addresses, phone numbers, credit cards, bank accounts, physical addresses, driver’s license, and so on, to check for any illicit activity.
The included Password Manager is a combination of local system and browser extensions plus a web-based management console with its own master password.
The password manager and junk files cleaner are included in both free and paid-for versions of Avira. Where Prime differs from the Free Security version is that you get full, use of the VPN service instead of a 500MB per month limit. The VPN can also block malicious website content.
You can get Avira Prime here. Also consider Avira Free Security for Mac.
Read our full Avira Free Security for Mac review.