Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
Bullguard for Mac is incredibly round-eyed computer virus protection — perhaps too dim-witted . If you already own a Windows license your Mac is a petty simple machine , it might be worth it to append Bullguard to your Mac .
It ’s often surprising how different and canonic a Mac antivirus product can be compare to its Windows opposite number . Perhaps it ’s because the relative market sizing does n’t merit the same level of development time , or just that macOS substance abuser do n’t flock to antivirus the direction Windows users do .
Whatever the cause , one flavor at Bullguard ’s antivirus product and the contiguous depression you ’ll total aside with is , “ that ’s it ? ”
Before diving late into this , a note : Bullguard was recently acquired by Avira . A few month before that , Avira itself was click up by NortonLifeLock . In other Word , Bullguard is now possess by a subsidiary of Norton , and that may translate into a complete overhaul of Bullguard at some gunpoint . Then again , with three unlike antivirus brands under one cap , you have to enquire how long all of these dissimilar product will last .
observe : This reappraisal is part of ourbest antivirus roundup . Go there for details about competing products and how we tested them .
Basic protection
Bullguard for Mac is improbably simple — perhaps too simple . The primary window consist of a green baulk mark that says whether your Mac is dependable , and then there ’s a scanning panel , a real - time protection panel , a quarantine panel underneath that , and then links to back up and your write up right at the bottom .
BullGuard
sink in on Custom Scan and a Finder window seem letting you choose a pamphlet to skim . Otherwise , clicking the scan button begin a full scan . If you select the configurations cog in the upper good corner , it opens a preference windowpane with very square ( and minimum ) configurations for the antivirus . This windowpane also contains the quarantine and program log .
As for protection , we had to rely on our own tests as Bullguard has n’t had its Mac product tested by the antivirus reports we cover . On the Windows side , however , Bullguard is doing very well . It grade 100 pct and 99.2 percentage fromAV - Test in January and February 2021respectively for its zero - twenty-four hour period test . It also score 100 percent in AV - run ’s far-flung and dominant malware exam during the same flow . AV - Comparatives and SE Labs have n’t tested Bullguard for Windows in recent calendar month .
In my own spot check of common malware for Mac , Bullguard had no fuss identify the sample and quarantining them as soon as they were unzip .
With that canonical exam out of the means we went hunting for live malware , and ran across a fake Flash installer on a torrenting website . After downloading the fake Flash DMG Bullguard spot and wiped out some live malware right away . However , I was still able to set up the phony Flash program .
Admittedly , this scenario is already questionable , because to get to this point you have to first authorise your Mac to instal software that is n’t signed by the developer . Then you have to be naive enough to trust that all the malware that was just pick out by the antivirus did n’t come from the filing cabinet you just downloaded . Then you have to cut a phone number of other warnings from the OS before at long last installing the questionable platform .
With so many barricade shed up it ’s reasonable to sham most user would n’t get this far . Still , I urge on on to see what would happen , and it uncovered a trouble .
After the “ Flash ” install was complete I carried out a full scan to see what we had , and Bullguard observe four threats . That ’s excellent . What was n’t excellent , however , was that Bullguard did n’t take any action against these threat . On top of that , despite the scan windowpane showing four observe threats , the elementary windowpane proceed to show a green handicap mark tell that the Mac was good .
Support wasn’t much help
With four infection and exactly zero exploiter - facing details about what to do with this infection , my next move was to come home the Support link and get some help via chat from the company .
That did n’t wreak out , so I search for the email living address to get assistance that way . After two emails and a day and a one-half , Bullguard get back to me . The company ’s support stave send word me to download and install EtreCheck , a liberal Mac diagnostic scanner , and then send the ship’s company the lead account .
I did so and while I waited for Bullguard to respond , I noticed that EtreCheck show the accurate positioning of the problematic files . I quick deleted those using the command line ( malicious file cabinet often do n’t show up in Finder ) , run a CAT scan , and was still stuck with one knotty file somewhere on the automobile .
After another few scans and some of my own troubleshooting I was able to incur the problematic data file that Bullguard keep flagging . Trouble was , it was already in the antivirus ’ quarantine plane section . Why it continued to slacken off it as problematical , I do n’t know .
During this whole trial by ordeal , Bullguard reinforcement was n’t much help other than suggest me to use EtreCheck . The actual resolution fare about because I know what to see for and where thanks to EtreCheck . Meanwhile , Bullguard ’s customer avail was provide very introductory advice such as disabling web web browser plugins and move more full scans .
This was in the end a very simple-minded problem with some basic but annoying adware stuck on the machine . The files may or may not have been a threat depending on which windowpane you pick out to believe . But a lot of these job could ’ve been deflect . Bullguard antivirus for Mac , at the very least , should ’ve been able-bodied to tell me where the troublesome files were or how to remove them . Also advising drug user to utilise a third - political party programme to troubleshoot such a basic trouble is not the best sign .
Bullguard Antivirus for Mac costs $ 24.99 per yr for a single gimmick . It can also be add to your machines as part of Bullguard Internet Security , which covers 3 devices for a class for $ 60 or Bullguard Premium Protection , which covers 10 machine for a year for $ 99 .
Bottom line
Bullguard for Mac is very introductory , to the point that this protection feel like an reconsideration . If the Macs in your life are also an afterthought and most of your menage is running Windows then tot Bullguard to your Mac because you have an superfluous licence is deserving it for protective cover against mainstream threat .
If , however , you ’re a star sign full of Macs looking to invest in an antivirus entourage there are better option out there correctly now .
