Mac software > All Reviews > Software > Security > Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 for Mac review

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 for Mac review

Antivirus software for the Mac: essential or an unnecessary expense?

Chris Brennan

Manufacturer: Kaspersky Lab
Manufacturer: Kaspersky Lab
Pros: Not too expensive; offers peace of mind; not too processor hungry
Cons: Not an essential service for Mac users
Price: £39.99 per year per Mac (£49.99 three Mac per year family pack)
We rate this 4 out of 5.Star rating:

Start a conversation about antivirus software with most Mac users and they probably won’t know a great deal about the subject. Viruses have traditionally been the domain of Windows PCs and the perceived wisdom is that Macs don’t suffer from such problems.

While the threat that Mac users face is small, it may well increase with the growing popularity of the Mac OS. To protect your computer from online nasties Kaspersky has just released its latest antivirus software for Mac.

When performing a full scan the Kaspersky antivirus software

is fast and doesn’t take up too much of your processor

The software allows for two types of scan, Quick and Full. Both found threats on our MacBook, but these were mostly Trojans with names like win32.exe and the like – hardly a genuine threat to the Mac user as .exe files are Windows executable files. However, if you were to forward one of these to a Windows-using contact you’d not be liked so catching and deleting them on your Mac is, if nothing else, the community spirited thing to do. Live protection checks your emails as they come in and it’s surprising how much spam has a virus attached to it. You can also scan a single file by dropping it on the Virus Scan icon.

Anti-Virus 2011 accesses Kaspersky’s cloud servers for constant updates. The software chugs silently away in the background and on our MacBook the processor load wasn’t too harsh. The software itself is very easy to use and as well as malware detection offers protection while you are surfing to guard against phishing attacks.

As to whether you really need it or not that’s up to you. Running no protection at all is probably a bad idea, but then confirmed reports of a harmful Mac virus are, if not non-existent then certainly very, very rare.

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User Reviews

Fri, 21 Jan 2011Reviewed by: patkammwa

Star Rating:

Duration of ownership: 4 months

Strengths: identified 3 threats which are all Exploit Java Agents. Not much of a dangerous threat on Mac, but i'm happier having a clean mac book.

Weaknesses: i've had to input the product key twice since the first install... not sure how it looses the product key, but for anyone buying a copy. Its a good idea to keep the product key safely and close.

Overall Evaluation: Have had Kapersky Mac version for 4 months now and it runs quite well. Great buy as it runs and does scan in the backround with no strain on the processor. Personally i forget its even installed.

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