ProtectMac Antivirus Review
There have been more and more antivirus programs for Mac lately. Unfortunately, the once proud virus-proof bastion has slipped. Sure, Macs don’t have the same problems as PCs (that’s one of the reasons we use Macs, right? Insert Vista joke here), but with the rising threat of Trojans, Macs are becoming more susceptible. Enter ProtectMac Antivirus. It does just what its name suggests, but how well? I tried it to find out.
Download and Install (4 out of 5)
ProtectMac is easily downloadable from their website. You can buy a license for it for $44.99. The license does cover up to three Macs which is nice for multi-Mac households. However, it is only good for one year. Yep, so in a year you’ll have to purchase it all over again. That’s not so good. On the bright side, they also offer a free 30-day trial which is complete with all of the features the licensed version has.
Downloading and installing are as easy as they should be. ProtectMac even gives you a little icon next to the Bluetooth icon for fast access, should you need it.
Features (4 out of 5)
ProtectMac has everything you need in a virus protection program. It can run scans of your whole computer or individual files. It can run scheduled background scans or you can do it manually whenever the mood strikes you. However, I think the best feature is the Trojan detection. Macs aren’t vulnerable to many viruses yet, but Trojans can be hidden in spam and leech off of your computer (or turn it into a spam bot without you knowing. The horror!) or phish for your passwords or credit card numbers (more horror!). ProtectMac detects and destroys Trojans with a simple click of the mouse.
I ran it over my whole MacBook. It took about two hours to scan everything, and when it was done I had one Trojan in an unopened piece of spam. ProtectMac got rid of it (I just had to click Delete), and I haven’t had a problem since.
Usefulness (4 out of 5)
Internet safety is a growing concern for Mac users, but I’m a little bit leery of all this protection software. I always think software companies are just trying to scare people into buying their products, but ProtectMac isn’t like that. You do need to protect your Mac from Trojans, and ProtectMac does just that. If you have a Mac connected to the internet, this software will be useful for you.
Overall (4 out of 5)
While the price is steep, the ease of use and protection it offers is worth it. While you might not download torrents (a hot bed of Trojans), almost everyone with an email address gets some form of spam. You’ll be able to sleep better at night knowing that Trojans in your spam aren’t turning our computer into a zombie. A little bit of protection can go a long way.
