It was in Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) when Apple introduced Mac OS malware detection capabilities. Such system, called File Quarantine, verifies each program downloaded and it approves it only if it has been downloaded from a legit source.Apart from checking the source, File Quarantine provides security updates, which can check databases of known malware targeting the Mac OS. Checking your Mac for viruses. OS X does a pretty good job of stopping viruses and malware from attacking your computer. But there are steps you can take to further protect yourself.
Viruses, we all hate them. They are very destructive and frustrating. Due to a wide range of reasons that include surfing the net and information transfer from one system to another, we are all vulnerable to virus attack.
If you are a Mac user, you probably think that your Mac computer has the perfect immunity to viruses.
Well, you can’t be too sure because such attacks do happen in spite of what confidence you may have in the Mac OS. It is safe to be concerned about your personal computer’s safety, especially with regards to viruses.
How can you check Mac for viruses?
Read on as I give you some practical tips that can assist you in running a check on your computer for possible attacks and detecting them before they wreak havoc on your PC.
Tips To Check Your Mac device For Malware
Following are ways to execute the Mac virus scan. You may choose any method for your Mac Malware protection.
1. Use An Antivirus Software
As indicated by the name, an antivirus program is a software design to protect a computer against the virus as well as identify viruses in an already infected system.
Several powerful antivirus software programs are highly efficient and can quickly identify the virus on a computer.
You can download any of these programs from the manufacturer’s website and install them on your computer. Then, after the installation, perform a scan on your PC with the antivirus program.
If the system is already infected, the antivirus program will identify the virus and give you an option to delete it.
Some of the best antivirus programs you can consider installing on your Mac computer are:
- AVAST security for Mac
- Malwarebytes anti-malware for Mac
- Sophos antivirus Mac home edition
- Avira free antivirus for Mac
- BitDefender virus scanner and a host of others
- ClamXav
Most of these antivirus programs for Mac are paid. Nevertheless, you can download the free version as well, although that comes with fewer features than the paid ones.
Most of these antivirus programs come in this format. Click the “Buy Now” button to activate the purchasing and downloading process.
After making the payment, you can easily download the software, install it on your system, and launch it for scanning when you suspect virus attack on the network.
Before you run a virus scan on your system, it is advisable that you run virus definitions first. There are two ways you can do this. You can open the program and click on the “Update” menu or right click on the taskbar icon.
Some tech sites such as Internet Security Level of Trend Micro, Virus Information Center from McAfee, and Threat Explorer site from Norton may contain information about current viruses that Mac systems are vulnerable to.
During the scanning, you can check Mac for viruses to make sure that you are not exposed to threats by these viruses.
2. Run A Malware Scanner
Mac can boast of a couple of virus scanners that are designed to allow a user to scan your personal computer.
While there are tons of sites that offer free virus scan for Mac, you must be careful lest you accidentally download a virus on your system, the last thing you will ever want to happen to you.
One of the most reputable antivirus tools for Mac is CleanMyMac X. you can download this efficient tool on your Mac computer and run it to check for any sign of a virus on the system.
This is how to go about it:
- Download CleanMyMac X on your system.
- After a successful downloading, launch the app on your system.
- You will see the “Malware Removal” tab, click on it.
- Click “Scan” for a comprehensive scanning of your computer. During the scanning, any virus on the computer will be identified.
You will get the result of the scan when it has been successfully done. Then, you can choose to do the Mac virus removal process.
This tool has both free and paid version; you may go with the free download before buying the product.
3. Look For Virus Signs
Apart from the software programs that can scan your personal computer and give you a feedback if there is any virus on the system, you can manually check theinternet security for Mac.
There are some telltale signs you can look out for in your system. The presence of one or some of these signs is proof that your system is already infected.
Check the following on your Mac to get rid of the malware.
#1. Is the system behaving erratically? After using your personal computer for a couple of months or years, you obviously can predict its operation. You can predict its speed of service, efficiency, and other attributes. However, if you suddenly notice a change in its activity without a justifiable excuse, you probably are dealing with a virus.
For instance, you may start experiencing strange things like unsolicited messages, applications crashing, and web browser autoloading. Your PC may be freezing unexpectedly, or the system may begin shutting down and restarting without any explanation, and other erratic behavior.
#2. Do you see some random pop-ups or adverts that you don’t expect to see? For instance, if you don’t subscribe to a porn website and don’t sign up on any, it will be quite unusual for you to receive adverts from such sites on your computer.
If you start seeing them, you may also begin seeing unsolicited ads where they didn’t show previously or having ads displayed when you are offline. That should be a source of concern.
Check This Computer For Viruses And Malware
#3. Has the system suddenly lost speed? If your system was previously very efficient and run at high speed but suddenly slows down without any apparent cause, a virus may be the culprit. Some viruses have the natural tendency to slow the Mac down, and if you accidentally have one on your system, the system will run slowly.
Wrapping Up
As a rule of thumb, don’t leave things to chances. Be a very good observant and don’t miss any strange thing that happens to your Mac PC. You may spare yourself a lot of stress if you can quickly identify potential issues before they go out of hand.
While Mac has good immunity to viruses than its counterpart, the Windows Operating system, you should cultivate the culture of scanning your PC occasionally whenever you notice any abnormality in its operations.
Check My Mac For Viruses Free
Check My Mac For Viruses
With any of the suggested techniques above, you may check mac for virus and keep your device and data safe. So, which method of Mac security would you like to follow? Share your view in the comment section!