Mac Security Test & Review 2021 by AV-Comparatives shows that macOS is also susceptible to malware and PUAs.
The independent antivirus test laboratory AV-Comparatives has published the report of its Mac certification test 2021, in which the security software for Apple's macOS operating system was tested. 8 consumer and two enterprise software products were tested for their malware and PUA detection rate on macOS Big Sur systems.
7 out of 10 products receive a certificate
The participants of the Mac antivirus test at AV-Comparatives (AV-Comparatives table).
7 of the 10 products passed the test and were then certified by the Austrian testing institute. These are (in alphabetical order): Avast Security for Mac, Avira Antivirus Pro for Mac, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, Clario App, Intego Mac Internet Security X9, Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac, and Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac. The two enterprise products CrowdStrike Falcon Pro for Mac and FireEye Endpoint Security for Mac have also been approved.
To receive certification, the products had to demonstrate a high level of protection against common Mac threats and were not allowed to generate false positives with legitimate software for macOS. The tested products also had to offer the highest level of protection without slowing down the system and had real-time protection. The essential functions of the software must be performed reliably and not confuse the user with misleading warnings etc.
Mac users are not immune to cyberattacks
The test values for the detection of Mac malware, PUA and Windows malware (Image: AV-Comparatives).
The malware research by AV-Comparatives has shown that active malware is still being produced for macOS and that even Mac users are not immune to cyberattacks. Experts have recently seen a rapid growth in Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs) for the Mac. For this reason, AV-Comparatives has also tested each product against a wide range of potentially unwanted programs for macOS.
In addition, all security software products were tested for their ability to detect Windows malware. This ensures that Mac users do not accidentally pass infected Windows files on to family, friends or colleagues.
More at AV-Comparatives.org