/Mac Cleaner /Top 5 Free Mac Virus Cleaners in 2021 [Truly Free]

Apple’s operating system is considered to be invulnerable and there are new threats on Mac that had seemed to appear on a regular basis. Because of this, it a must that you consider keeping up with the security of your Mac. Luckily, there is free Mac virus cleaners that you can use for you to give your Mac a boost from viruses, adware, and ransomware. You will also be able to prevent your Mac from any historic threats that are made by some big companies for you to have the best anti-virus solutions. Because of this, we have listed below a list of the best free Anti-Virus that you can have on your Mac.

Article GuidePart 1. Do I Need Anti-Virus for Mac?Part 2. What Can Mac Virus Cleaner Do for Your Mac?Part 3. What is The Best Free Antivirus for Mac?Part 4. Clean up Your Mac to Prevent Virus InfestationPart 5. Conclusion

Stopping a virus altogether involves searching your Mac pretty thoroughly to ensure all traces of the virus are gone. You should use malware-scanning software to help identify and eliminate viruses. This popular utility comes from a stable of useful tools all in one package, including a macOS cleaner, performance monitor and malware remover. It has a simple layout that offers a variety of.

• To protect your computer from future outbreaks, it is advisable to set up a schedule for Mac virus cleaner on your Computer, including Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan.
• Mac Virus Cleaner free download - MSN Virus Cleaner, Duplicate Cleaner, AVG AntiVirus for Mac, and many more programs.

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Part 1. Do I Need Anti-Virus for Mac?

Anti-virus software is made to prevent, search for, detect, or to remove any viruses. It is also made to prevent any malicious software on your PC such as trojans, worms, and adware and one of the most important software that you should have on your Mac. This is because without any protection of the antivirus software, then your Mac might get infected in just a few minutes once you get connected to the internet.

Nowadays, malware has the ability to change it appeared in a quick manner for it to become less detected by some antivirus software. These viruses have the ability to be programmed and can surely cause damage to your Mac. Free Mac virus cleaner can also prevent you from accessing any of your data or worst, to take control of your Mac.

Part 2. What Can Mac Virus Cleaner Do for Your Mac?

There are some companies who made antivirus and all of them performs a very useful function. Here are some of the things that an free Mac virus cleaner can do.

• It can scan for any files or if there are any malware or known malicious patterns.
• It will allow you to schedule when you want to set up a scan on your Mac.
• It can remove any malicious code detected. There will also be times that you will be notified once have some infection and will ask you to remove it.
• It can show you the health of your Mac.

REMINDER: You always have to make sure that you only have the best of the best and an updated security software. This is for you to be able to protect your Mac and other devices that you might get connected to it.

As what we have mentioned earlier, viruses can now be programmed to avoid any detection. Now, the main thing with how an antivirus software works is that it stores the example of some recognized malware that you have on your Mac. It can store its definitions in the cloud. Because of this, it will allow the software to scan faster, take less space, and maintain a threat-free library on your Mac.

Part 3. What is The Best Free Antivirus for Mac?

Here is a list of free Mac virus cleaners that you can get for you to protect your Mac from any malware or infections of viruses.

1. Avast! Free Mac Security

This is one of the most popular antiviruses. This program is very much effective and is free for non-commercial use. It can give you tools for you to use in making a full system scan and also can help you in sifting through some specific email threads, attachments, and some website activities. The main interface of this program is very much straightforward and have a navigational pane which contains the five primary buttons. It also has a graph that will allow you to see the overall status of your Mac.

2. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac

Malwarebytes started as an adware removal program. However, it has already become a great tool for protecting your Mac from any malicious malware. This program is also very easy to use. All you have to do is to launch it and then click on the scan button. After that, this program will then notify you if you have any malware on your Mac. This software is a lightweight installation because it is just like having three digital music files that you do not even notice that it is there. Even if this program does not have real-time protection, it can still remove any infections that are existing on your Mac.

3. Sophos Antivirus Mac Home Edition

The Sophos program gives you a basic utility but still gives you a quality antivirus software. Its features a custom, on-demand, and a schedule for scanning for some of your files, folders, and drive. The Sophos software can also give you a real-time protection for your Mac that will allow quarantining any unknown files that are giving a suspicious behavior. However, the Sophos software just takes a little more time during the scanning process compared to other antivirus software.

4. Bitdefender Virus Scanner

This program is considered to be a lightweight free malware detector which has the ability to locate and remove any virus on your Mac. This free Mac virus cleaner also has an interface that is straightforward which make it very easy to use. You will be able to see on your screen the status of your Mac for you to become updated about your system. Even if the program looks very basic, it can surely give your Mac a clean touch. The Bitdefender also has the ability to give you an hourly update and its virus scanner always ensures that it has the latest version before it proceeds with the scanning process.

5. Avira Free Mac Antivirus

This software will block any latest malware before it can proceed to cause damages on your Mac. It has also the ability to give you a real-time protection and can quickly detect any threats on your Mac.
However, this free Mac virus cleaner does not have any web filtering, no network scanning or any other security extras because it is only focused on giving your Mac safe from any malware. One of the good features of this program is that it does not only protect your Mac from any threats, but it also has the ability to choose any PC-related malware which will make sure that you will not be able to share any files that may cause damage to your friends or colleagues.

Part 4. Clean up Your Mac to Prevent Virus Infestation

Of course, aside from having an antivirus installed on your Mac to have it protected, having a Mac cleaner will also become really handy. This is because having a Mac cleaner will ensure that you will be able to clean your Mac for you to boost its speed and have more storage space on your hardware. What we highly recommend you to have for you to be able to clean up your Mac and prevent more virus infestation is the iMyMac PowerMyMac.

The iMyMac PowerMyMac has the ability to boost the speed of your Mac by removing all unwanted files that you have. It can find and then remove any email attachments, iTunes backup, and even your multi-languages that you do not actually need. It also has the ability to scan and then delete your large and old files from your Mac.

Because of the said features of the iMyMac PowerMyMac, this will be a great help for any free Mac virus cleaner that you have installed on your Mac. It can help it remove all files that may be a carrying any viruses that will cause damage to your Mac. And since you are removing files that you no longer need, then this means that you will have more space on your hard disk for you to save or install other important files or applications that you may need.

We have provided below on how you can use the iMyMac PowerMyMac for you to be able to clean up your Mac.

1. Go ahead and download the iMyMac PowerMyMac from the official website at www.imymac.com and then have it installed on your Mac, then run the program on your Mac.
2. Choose one of the modules on the left side of the main interface, perform one at a time for you to clean your Mac completely.
3. After choosing the module, go ahead and click on the “Scan” button. Wait for the program to finish the scanning process.
4. Once that the scanning process is complete, the iMyMac PowerMyMac will then show you all the junk files that you have on your Mac by category. You will be able to see categories like Application Cache, Photo Cache, System Cache, Email Cache, System Logs, User Logs, and more.
5. Go ahead and click on the categories that you want to remove.
6. Choose all the data that you would want to remove and then go ahead and click on the “Clean” button.

Note: For the other modules that are under PowerMyMac: “Duplicate Finder” and “Large and Old Files”, the steps for you to be able to clean them up is the same with cleaning up the “Master Scan” module. Once that the iMyMac PowerMyMac is done cleaning up your junk files, most of the folders will have an indication that says “Zero Kb”. This means that those folders are all cleaned up by the program. However, there are some folders that will not have this indication even if it is all cleaned up. This is because those folders are considered to be an auto recreated folders.

Part 5. Conclusion

Having an free Mac virus cleaner installed on your Mac is one of the most important things that you should do and have on your Mac. This is for your Mac to become safe and protected from any malware infestations. Antivirus software has the ability to remove any threat and suspicious files, folders, or applications on your Mac. Having the iMyMac PowerMyMac is also a great thing to have installed on your Mac. Actually, both software can become a great partner in protecting the health of your Mac.

As the antivirus software eliminates any threat of malware or virus on your Mac, the iMyMac PowerMyMac can make sure that you can clean up any junks from your PC. Aside from cleaning, it can also help you de-clutter your Mac and remove all of your large and old files that you do not even need. Since the iMyMac has the ability to clean up your Mac, which means removing all the things that you do not need, this will give your Mac a better performance. This is because it can boost up your Mac’s speed and can also give you more space to store more important files.

You have the option to choose from the list of the best free Mac virus cleaner that we have mentioned above and then go ahead and check and protect your Mac from getting damaged. Plus, get the iMyMac PowerMyMac for free to make sure that you will be able to remove unnecessary things on your Mac. You also have the option now to regularly clean your Mac as one of a way of preventing any malware threat or viruses to come on your Mac.

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You may have heard it's said that Macs don’t get viruses. That there’s no Apple virus. You may even have said it yourself. Sadly, it’s not true. The latest State of Malware Report by Malwarebytes describes a significant rise of Mac threats of over 400% in 2019. The report claims that cybercriminals now target Macs severely, due to increasing market share. So, do you still believe that Macs don’t get viruses? Continue reading to discover how to remove a virus from your Mac and protect your files from getting infected.

Can Macs get viruses?

Macs have been considered safer than Windows PC for a long time. Macs are indeed secure, thanks to various built-in features, such as GateKeeper, that doesn't allow installing anything not approved by Apple. But, as the Apple security features have improved, so is malware. According to the State of Malware report mentioned before, Macs are mostly attacked by adware and potentially unwanted programs (PUP), which macOS has no counteraction against. So, answering the question, yes, Macs do get viruses, and they may impact your sensitive file and data seriously.

How do I know if my Mac has a virus?

Before you remove a virus from a Mac, you need to be sure it actually has one. We’ve covered that in more detail in this article but here are a few pointers.

• Your Mac starts behaving erratically and doing things you don’t expect;
• Your Mac starts running very slowly as if something is hogging the processor;
• You start seeing adverts on your desktop;
• You find software or applications you didn’t install.
• An app asks for your administrator password

These symptoms may mean your Mac has a virus, although there could be other explanations.

How to remove a virus from a Mac manually

Thankfully, there are lots of ways to do it. And Mac virus removal doesn’t have to cost money.

1. Delete browser extensions

One of the most common types of malware comes in the form of browser extensions. Even extensions that aren’t particularly malicious can be annoying, and if you didn’t deliberately install them, they’re malware. Here’s how to get rid of unwanted browser extensions.

Safari

1. Launch Safari.
2. Click Safari in the top menu, then choose Safari Extensions.
3. Look down the list and click on any extensions that look suspicious. Read the description of the extension. If you don’t remember installing it, click Uninstall.
4. Repeat until you’ve removed all the extensions you don’t want.

Chrome

1. Launch Chrome.
2. Click on the 3-dot icon in the upper right corner.
3. Select More Tools and choose Extensions from the menu that appears.
4. Look over the extensions in the browser window and click Remove on any that you don’t recognize.

Mac Virus Cleaner Reddit

Firefox

1. Launch Firefox.
2. Click the 3-line (hamburger) icon at the top right corner.
3. Choose Add-ons.
4. Click the Extensions tab and remove any you don’t recognize.

2. Uninstall apps

Malware comes in lots of different forms. And it even comes disguised as security software to help you get rid of viruses! Devious, huh?

If you’ve inadvertently downloaded an app that turns out to be a virus, you need to uninstall it immediately. There are a couple of ways to do this. Here’s the hard way.

1. Go to your Applications folder and drag the app to the Trash.
2. Go to ~/Library folder and look in the Application Support folder for any files related to the app and drag those to the Trash.
3. Look in the other folders in ~/Library, especially Launch Agents and Launch Daemons and remove any files related to the app from there. But be careful, if you remove files used by legitimate apps you could cause lots of problems.
4. Repeat Step 3 for your Mac’s main Library folder.

The easy way: Uninstall apps in a few clicks

1. Download and launch CleanMyMac X.
2. Click Uninstaller.
3. Check the box next to the application name.
4. Click Uninstall.

If you don’t know the name of the application, it’s more difficult. But if you use CleanMyMac X, all you have to do is scroll through the list of applications and look for any you don’t recognize or don’t need and remove them. CleanMyMac X removes every trace of an app, including files that you may overlook when you remove applications manually. This is particularly important for viruses, so it’s much better to use CleanMyMac X.
What makes this method even better, is that CleanMyMac X also shows you app leftovers that remained after the main app is gone.

3. Escape the virus: Create a new user profile

Usually, viruses are attached to a particular user profile on your computer. In this way, they are able to seize control of your admin profile. But you can start if from scratch and create a new user on your Mac. Don't worry, you will be able to transfer all your important data from one user to another.

Go to Apple menu > System Preferences, click Users & Groups.

1. Click the lock icon , then type in your admin password.
2. Use the plus sign to add a new user profile.

To move your important information from one user to another, you will need to access the Shared folder.

1. Click on the Finder > Go to Folder...
2. Paste in this: /Users

Can you see the Shared folder? Here you can copy the needed files from your old user account. Hurray, you've started a clean, virus-free life!

Bonus tip: Clean up your login items

Login items are apps that launch automatically upon startup. Malware programs would often sneak into your login items without you knowing. How to prevent them from launching?

1. Go to Apple Menu > System Preferences.
2. Click Users & Groups.
3. Click on the Login Items tab
   

From here you can manage them using the [+] and [—] buttons.

How to remove a virus from Mac automatically

While the above steps work very well in lots of cases, sometimes the Mac virus removal means using a dedicated application to scan and remove malware from your Mac.

Scan your Mac for viruses

There are lots of these applications available, and many of them are either free or allow you to at the very least scan your Mac for free to find out whether you need to take action. Be careful, however. It’s important to choose a tool from a reputable vendor. If you just google ‘Mac antivirus tool’ some of the results may well be for tools that are themselves malicious and instead of removing viruses from your Mac will infect it. We recommend using CleanMyMac X.

It can identify thousands of malware threats, including adware, spyware, ransomware, worms, cryptocurrency miners. And if CleanMyMac finds something suspicious, it will offer immediate removal. Besides, it ensures real-time Mac virus protection, informing you when you’re about to install something harmful. Here’s how to perform a full system scan:

1. Download CleanMyMac X (free download) and launch the app.
2. Click on the Malware Removal tab.
3. Click Scan.
4. Click Remove.

Disable the invisible agents

Some small supporting applications never show up in the Login items. They are called the Launch agents and may as well be hacked by viruses. You can find them with the universal Mac cleaner, CleanMyMac. This app is notarized by Apple, so you are safe using it.

1. Launch the app and go to the Optimization tab.
2. Click Launch agents

How many apps do you see there? Remove any flash players, automatic updaters, or everything else that you find suspicious. Even if you deleted the main app itself, its launch agents may still occupy your drive. Here is what I have:

How to get rid of a virus on a MacBook Pro (or any other Mac) if all else fails

If you’ve run through all the steps above and are still having problems trying to remove a virus from a Mac, the next step is to restore from a Time Machine backup. The benefit of restoring from Time Machine is that you can do it quickly and easily by booting into the recovery partition and you can choose to backup to a state just before your Mac started behaving erratically.

The downside of this option is that any work you’ve done since the backup you restore from will be lost. You could manually copy files from your Mac to another drive or cloud storage service before you restore and then copy them back afterward. However, if one of those files is infected, you risk contaminating your Mac all over again. If there are documents you really need and that aren’t backed up elsewhere, use one of the antivirus tools above to run a scan on them before you copy them to another disk. That way you’ll know they’re safe.

Here’s how to restore from a Time Machine backup

1. Make sure you’re connected to your Time Machine backup drive.
2. Restart your Mac, holding down the Command and R keys until you see the Apple logo. When the macOS Utilities screen appears, choose Restore from a Time Machine Backup. Click Continue.
3. Choose the last backup before your Mac started misbehaving or you suspect you were infected with a virus.

Your Mac will now return to the state it was in when you made that backup.

If you don’t have a Time Machine backup to restore from, the last resort is to reinstall macOS. This is a ground-zero approach. You’ll need to wipe your startup drive completely clean and start again. That means reinstalling all your applications and copying all your data back to your Mac afterward. If you have a recent backup of your data, from before your Mac became infected, you can use that to copy data from after you re-install. If not, you’ll need to back up important files now — but scan them with an antivirus tool first to make sure they’re not infected.

To perform a clean install of macOS, you’ll need a bootable installer disk. Creating one is beyond the scope of this article, but there is a comprehensive guide here.

Once you’ve made your bootable installer, plug it into your Mac, go to System Preferences, choose Startup Disk and select the disk you just plugged in. Restart your Mac, holding down Command-R and do the following:

1. When the macOS Utilities screen appears, select Reinstall a new copy of macOS. Click Continue and then Continue again when the next window appears.
2. Agree to the terms and conditions and select your Mac’s internal disk.
3. Click Install. Wait for your Mac to restart.
4. Your Mac will start up as if it’s a new Mac and you’ll need to go through the process of setting it up from scratch.
5. Once you’ve set it up, copy back the files you need from the backup and that you know aren’t infected.

As you can see, there are many different ways to remove a virus from a Mac, depending on how badly infected it is and what kind of virus it is. The main thing to remember is if you suspect your Mac is infected, don’t worry. It can be fixed! Move on to our little Q&A section to find answers to questions many users ask.

Mac Virus Cleaner

FAQ

Do you need an antivirus for Mac?

Most of the antiviruses protect your Mac in real-time, making it apparent for you when an intruder appears. So, with antivirus software, you can be sure no PUP or adware can infect your computer. Antivirus is not a must-have software, but it indeed adds up a layer of protection if you use it.

Can you get a virus from opening an email?

Email viruses do exist, but you can’t catch one just by opening an email. What you need to be cautious with are email attachments. If you don’t know who that email comes from, avoid opening the attachment. It can contain PUP and other things you don’t need on your computer.

How to do a virus scan on Mac?

Mac Virus Scan

To do a quick virus scan, inspect your Mac for the software you didn’t intentionally install. Some apps can come in bundles hiding malicious programs that end up appearing on your Mac. For a more thorough virus scan, get CleanMyMac X. All you need to do, is to install the app, go to Malware Removal, and hit the Scan button.

How to remove fake “Update Adobe Flash Player” pop-ups on Mac?

Recommended Mac Virus Cleaner

Try to find and delete the last app you installed before you started seeing such fake alerts. Also, remove browser extensions from the web-browser where you see such pop-up ads. Some malicious extensions can be responsible for this. If nothing helps, scan your Mac for viruses using the antivirus of your choice.

Mac Virus Cleaner For Pc

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