Now, let’s see the Avast’s plans that are compatible with Mac platform. Avast Security is the company’s free offering for macOS users. Besides providing great protection against different kinds of malware threats, it has a WiFi security scanner (checks your network and connected devices for vulnerabilities), a web shield (protects you from online threats), and an email shield (blocks junk/phishing emails).
Today's best Avast Security for Mac Premium deals
- The submitted data is then analyzed and incorporated into avast! Protective shields and the virus database sent to all users. The low cost of USB memory sticks makes it easy for friends and work colleagues to exchange large media files and creates a convenient target for cyber criminals.
- Adding Specific Shield (File System, Mail, or Web) Exception into Avast 2018 On the screenshot above, you can see many items are excluded from the File System Shield scan by default. We haven’t added any of them.
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- Avast Antivirus shields actively analyze suspicious information coming and going from your PC, as well as potentially malicious content stored within it. These components detect and block malicious files, dangerous websites, unauthorized connections, and other threats.
Avast Security for Mac Premium is a step up from its Essential version, though both offer excellent internet security for your Mac desktops and laptops. The Premium solution, however, comes with a few extra tools like a VPN, system scanner and password manager. And while Avast Security Essential recognizes and blocks ransomware attacks, Avast Premium includes a special file guard that shields sensitive folders and data in case a ransomware threat does sneak in.
This Mac security program did an excellent job of protecting our computer from over 160 malware threats. When we instructed our computer to start unzipping our sample folder to let the infected files loose, Avast Security stopped and quarantined the entire zip folder before it had a chance to open. This is impressive since most of the Mac security programs we tested let each file open before inspecting and stopping any threats. Avast recognizes threats even when they are designed to look like legitimate files and programs.
Most of the Windows malware was also blocked by Avast Security for Mac. This means you don’t have to worry about passing along a threat to family or friends who use Windows computers. And the Mail Shield looks for threats in email messages, both incoming and outgoing, to ensure nothing dangerous is attached. It also scans mobile devices connected to your computer through a USB port for any threats. And it removes viruses from your tablet or phone when it finds them. This is a little different from true mobile protection that is typically a program downloaded to your device. But it is a good way to clear viruses off your cellphone.
When Avast finds a threat, it moves it to the Virus Chest, its fancy name for the quarantine folder. From here you can choose to restore the file or permanently delete it. If you leave the files alone long enough, Avast will eventually delete them for you. The files and tools in Avast aren’t difficult to find because Avast lays them out in a way that’s easy to see and navigate. The only reason we docked points for ease of use is because there are several functions that must be turned on or set up manually. These aren’t hard to do, just a little inconvenient, especially if you’re not real tech savvy.
Avast has safe browsing that helps recognize and stop threats coming in through the internet. When we first opened Avast, we were relieved to see that the Safari browser extension for this feature was already enabled. We did need to manually turn on the Chrome extension after installing it within the browser. As we tried to reach certain websites, Avast displayed a large warning message in the browser if it knew there were virus downloads or malicious links on the page. And when we used search engines, including Google, each search result had an icon noting any safety concerns.
This software comes with a personal firewall that works alongside the one built into your operating system. It monitors the home internet connection to see if anyone is piggybacking on your connection, which affects connection speed. We found that having a second layer of protection is helpful since no firewall is 100 percent effective all the time. And Avast is a pretty sharp tool that catches a lot of dangers that other programs don’t recognize.
The real complaint with Avast Security for Mac Premium is it lacks several protection tools that its Windows internet security products have. This includes parental controls and safe banking tools designed to protect personal information while you bank, shop and access accounts online. We were surprised that most Mac internet security solutions don’t include these features. However, there are a couple that do, so if you need these tools, check out Norton Security Standard or Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac.
Avast Security for Mac Premium is a decent antivirus program that detects both Mac and Windows internet threats. It scans mobile devices when connected to your computer through a USB port, and it warns you before you access malicious websites. The software doesn’t include parental controls or safe banking tools, but overall it is a great choice for protecting your Mac computer.
Today's best Avast Security for Mac Premium deals
Sometimes Avast Antivirus may be blocking you from running a program or accessing a web page, which you know is totally safe. Usually, it’s because of the low application occurrence within the Avast community. Therefore, Avast can’t properly tell if the program is safe or not, and will try to protect you.
Also, Avast detects so-called ‘Potentially Unwanted Programs‘, which are actually wanted in some cases, and so-called ‘False-Positives‘, which means the program is safe but Avast’s detection is wrong. Unfortunately this often happens with popular games and services like League of Legends (LoL), Steam, GoG Galaxy, Minecraft, uTorrent, BitTorrent, Windows Update, Google, Java, Chrome and other launchers which are being often updated. Usually the false-positive detection lasts only a few hours, but can be very annoying.
Quick Summary
- Make sure the blocked file or webpage is not malicous by testing it at www.virustotal.com
- Add it as exception by going to Avast user interface » Settings » General » Exclusions
- Confirm by clicking OK
Read more detailed steps and other options including screenshots below.
When Avast blocks something, you will always get a pop-up notification informing you about the threat.
Solution/Fix for the Invalid Certificate Issue Caused by the HTTPS Scan
Recently a lot of Avast users (especially the ones running Windows XP) are experienced an issue when Avast has been blocking several major websites because of the invalid cloudflaressl.com certificate. The full message on the pop-up is ‘Avast Web Shield has blocked access to this page because the following certificate is invalid: [name of the certificate]‘.
To fix this try one of the following actions:
- Disable HTTPS scanning by going to settings » Active Protection » Web Shield » Customize » Main settings » Un-check ‘Enable HTTPS scanning‘ and restart your computer
Disabling HTTPS Scanning in Avast 2018 Web Shield Settings
Solution/Fix When Avast is Blocking Internet Connection Completely
Sometimes Avast may even block completely the Internet access so user is not able to visit any website. If this happens to you, try one of the following actions:
- Repair your Avast installation by going to Programs » Uninstall a program » Avast » select Repair and restart your computer
- Disable HTTPS scanning by going to settings » Active Protection » Web Shield » Customize » Main settings » Un-check ‘Enable HTTPS scanning‘ and restart your computer
Solution/Fix When Avast is Blocking Specific Website, Program or Game
There are two ways to unblock any program or website from Avast blocking. Please note, you should do it only if you are 100% sure the blocked file is safe for you and your computer. Even if you own the blocked site, doesn’t mean it wasn’t hacked and injected with dangerous malware. For checking the program/file with other Antivirus vendors, you can use online detection at VirusTotal.
1. Add Blocked Program or Website to Exclusion List (Whitelist) to Unblock it
Using the exceptions in Avast you can simply add any file or URL to the list of exclusions and exclude it from scanning and shield protection, therefore also from blocking. For more information about adding exceptions, check our full guide ‘How to Add File/Website Exception into Avast Antivirus 2018‘.
Adding File/Folder/Program/Website URL Exception into Avast 2018
2. Temporarily Turn Off Avast Protection
If you want install or run a program but it’s being blocked by Avast you can simply turn off Avast shields for a short period of time. For more information about turning off Avast or it’s shields, check our full guide ‘How to Turn Off (Pause, Disable) Shields in Avast Antivirus 2018‘.
Temporarily Disabling Avast Protection from the Windows Tray
3. Report a False Positive Detection to Avast
We also strongly suggest to report the detection you believe is a false positive directly to Avast team. They will look into it and eventually confirm the reported file, software, or website is clean.
Link to report is included on every in-product pop-up displayed when the harmful webpage or file is blocked. Just click on ‘Report the file as a false positive‘.
Avast Web Shield Has Blocked a Harmful Webpage or File Pop-up
Then you need to fill-in following simple form. In the additional info you can add a link from VirusTotal scan. Don’t forget to check the option ‘I know what I’m doing‘ and click on ‘Submit‘.
Avast In-product Form for Reporting False Positive Detection of Files or Websites
Alternatively you can use the official web form for reporting false positive detection.
Official Avast Web Form for Reporting False Positive Detection of Files or Websites
Additional Notes
Although we have used Avast Free Antivirus 2019 screenshots in this article, these steps are also applicable for all Avast Antivirus solutions (i.e. also for Avast Pro Antivirus, Avast Internet Security, or Avast Premier) running the latest version available.
Steps are relevant for all Windows versions – Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 (including Anniversary Update).
Mac Found Dead
Managing exceptions or turning off Avast protection may leave your computer at risk.