Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
There ’s no shortage of good antiviral tools for the macOS these days , and Bitdefender Virus Scanner stands as one of a growing catalogue of tools that can avail prevent and clear out malware on your Mac , and proficient of all , it ’s free .
There ’s no shortage of good antiviral tools for the macOS these twenty-four hours , and Bitdefender Virus Scanner ( translation 3.17 at the time of this review ) stands as one of a growing catalogue of tools that can help foreclose and light up out malware on your Mac .
We have tested all the best Mac antivirus software options in our cycle - up of theBest antivirus software for Mac .
Assigning full disk access in the Bitdefender Virus Scanner installation.
Installation and features
The software , which can be easily snagged and installed via thisMac App Store linkis as loose to download and install as you ’d expect , and after grant it access to your surety background in scheme Preferences as well as full record access , is ready to go .
Foundry
Once instal , Bitdefender Virus Scanner offers Quick Scan , Deep Scan , and impost location scan choice , which allow for a quick overview scan of critical components , a deep CAT scan of every single file and archive on your private road , and the ability to read custom folders or extraneous volumes as needed . Start a scan and the coating will update its virus definition over the Internet and get underway .
Assigning full disk access in the Bitdefender Virus Scanner installation.
The Quick Scan feature is speedy , and examination led to the discovery of small-scale document the app claimed were a terror under “ Worm . Generic.24461 . ” A Deep Scan of my MacBook Pro ’s 1 TB SSD required 55 arcminute and 44 seconds to finish the full scan , but mention traces of a “ Trojan . HTML.Bankfraud . A ” art object of malware in an old email archive , which proved telling . sum up an rich degree of customization that can be established within the app ’s circumstance as well as action that can be taken , locations that can be exempt from being scan , and lodge size bound that can be shew from being scanned , and this works out well .
Limitations
Unfortunately , there are some pregnant caveats to look at . While Bitdefender Virus Scanner can locate , quarantine , and delete malware , there were representative in which the app was unable to delete septic files and instead held them in quarantine . A “ Reveal in Finder ” button did nothing when clicked and offer no easy way to edit the septic files , give the exploiter to go hunting for them . The fact that the software does n’t offer a running count of the telephone number of infected file as it scan a loudness proved irritating , even though the software offers a unadulterated total once the scan is pure .
The innocent app was able to locate and isolate most of the malware it found , although it still leave traces behind that needed to be manually hunted down and delete , and the non - functional “ discover in Finder ” option vex out like a sore thumb when one would have a bun in the oven it to wreak .
Like almost every antiviral app on the grocery , Bitdefender Virus Scanner is available as a loose version that must be manually run , but can automatically run in the background with its Bitdefender Autopilot feature once a subscription toBitdefender Antivirus for Mac ( read our review)has been purchased . At the time of this writing , the company is asking for an yearly subscription fee of$19.99/£24.98for the first twelvemonth for one drug user ( it renews at a higher cost . ) We have alsoreviewed Bitdefender Total Security , which will protect a Mac , PC , iOS and Android gimmick .
Files that couldn’t be disinfected or quarantined.
After spending time with this rendering , it ’s a unmanageable parameter to make for the subscription of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac , especially if there are multiple Macs in a pass on home or office surround .
Yes , there ’s a upstanding , long - standing company behind this product , but when a Congress of Racial Equality feature does n’t work and the latest update for the software was release one year ago to tally optimisation for Apple ’s M1 processor as well as generic bug mending , it makes one wonder how much attention is really give to the product by its developer . Until then , there are other feasible antiviral course of study for the macOS deserving your consideration , and while this performs well , a seeming lack of aid and polish prevents Bitdefender Virus Scanner from stand out from the pack .
Verdict
Bitdefender ’s complimentary Virus Scanner is available on the Mac App Store , which should offer some peace of mind . You ’ll need to pay for Bitdefender ’s Antivirus for Mac if you do n’t need to be creditworthy for running scans , but if you just desire an excess layer of protection and you do n’t want to pay for a full antivirus product then Bitdefender ’s free Virus Scanner is a good option .
A list of quarantined files.
