recyclemac

By Jim Ritz – MacRecycleClinic

For many years we Macs users felt that antivirus software was unnecessary. Although the likelihood of a Virus remains quite low, the possibility exists. At the weekly MacRecycleClinic, we are seeing more and more indications of infection.

A more pressing concern these days is MALEWARE. Maybe not as vicious as a VIRUS, malware nonetheless, can be considerably problematic.

There are two pieces of software all Mac users should consider using today. AVAST ANTI VIRUS for the Mac and MALWAREBYTES. Both have free versions that are really worthwhile installing on your Mac.

Malwarebytes can be run within minutes and offers very reasonable protection. (See Malwarebytes video from YouTube:)

AVAST on the other hand requires considerable time (see previous post about Avast). The run time is directly proportional to the volume of material on your Mac. As an example, for my iMac – with almost 700 Gigabytes of content – the scan required six hours run time to complete. (See Avast video from YouTube.)

Both programs are easy to run. Simply open the application, initiate the SCAN and let it go. The ideal of course, is that the scan completes while finding no problems. If so, simply quit the application. In most cases the application can CLEANSE or REMOVE the threat. However, if the scan identifies something, further action is required.

Simple to run, both of these applications are worthwhile in today’s world.

How often should they be run?

I usually run them each weekly on my Macs. That is not to say that everyone should run them weekly. I would recommend running MALEWAREBYTES weekly as it is easy to use and fast. Because Avast takes longer to run, monthly may be a better choice.

Given the time required for the Avast scan I would recommend setting it to run when you do not plan to use your computer for several hours. After the first run you will know how long it requires for a full scan.

If you feel comfortable doing so, each can be downloaded and installed onto your Mac. Once installed each will automatically check for periodic updates, inform you and install updates ONLY with your approval.