What's the recommended security software?

[Bob Smith]

Hi --

On my 2017 27-inch iMac running Catalina v.10.15.7, I've so far taken the freebie route with security, on the apparently-no-longer-accurate assumption that Macs were, on their own, pretty secure.

So, at one time and another, I've run the free versions of Sophos Home and MalWareBytes software.  However, I've noticed recently that, despite my attempts, neither will do a free update.

Additionally, I'm now seeing more and more evidence that the old Mac-safe world is no longer with us.  And, given a little reflection, I'd be happy to pay any reasonable price for real security.

So -- two questions:

1. What have you found to be a satisfactorily protective software?  

And;

2. Are all security softwares now subscription based, or are there still one-time-pay versions?

Thanks for any assistance.

[G Gifford]

So -- two questions:

1. What have you found to be a satisfactorily protective software?  

I have used no antivirus/anti-spamware since the early 2000’s and do not believe they work well OR are necessary. I do use SpamSieve to sort out spam and dangerous suspects.

Best practices, I think, are to avoid situations where the scammers hang out. Avoid clicking on links in emails and messages. Don’t go to unknown websites, click links in unknown websites, or go to websites which do not use secure connections (HTTPS://).

And;

2. Are all security softwares now subscription based, or are there still one-time-pay versions?

See above!

Jerry

Thanks for any assistance.

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[irish.masms]

Hello Bob, great questions.

Those that say you do not need endpoint protection on an Apple system
have not experienced the pain as of yet - are are not aware they are
already compromised. You can not just avoid the "bad" neighborhoods on
the internet - one accidental click to open an email attachment, or a
drive by download from an ad in a web page and you are popped. I have
conducted and ran multiple information security incident investigations
that involved OS X systems over the years. Sadly we are not alone any
more, we are no part of the targeted audience.

You are correct that the majority of the free endpoint protection has
been depreciated for subscription based services (welcome to our new
enshitification overlords).

For personal use, would suggest leveraging
- little snitch as the endpoint firewall if you know what you are doing.
- Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac
- Windows Defender for OS X

Avoid:
- Avast
- AVG
- Norton/Symantec

HTH!

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