

With both types of scans, you’re able to schedule a scan to run daily, weekly, or monthly. Here, you can run a quick scan to check out system files and other vulnerable areas or a full scan to analyze your entire Mac for malware. Though the smart scan’s usefulness is limited unless you plan to upgrade to one of the paid editions, the program’s dashboard seems to offer access to a variety of impressive tools, all organized into three main categories: Security, Privacy, and Performance. But resolving most of them requires an upgrade to one of the paid editions. All of these features pop up in the program’s dashboard, but only a few are actually accessible in the free product.įor alternatives, see our roundup of the best antivirus software for Mac.Īvira’s Smart Scan checks for security, privacy, and performance issues. Free for home use, Avira Free Security starts off with antivirus protection but then lists a VPN, password manager, browser cookie cleaner, junk file cleaner, application uninstaller, startup manager, and PC performance booster.

Such is the case with Avira Free Security for Mac. But when you dig deep, you find that most of those extra, advanced options actually require a paid subscription. Some free security programs appear to offer an array of features beyond just basic antivirus protection. But most actually require a paid subscription, so the product’s overall usefulness is limited. The VPN severely limits the amount of encrypted trafficĪvira Free Security for Mac seems to offer a lot of features for free.A smart scan promises to boost your PC’s performance, but there’s little you can do in the free version.Offers several different tools via its dashboard, but only a few are available in the free version.
