Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac is another excellent option for security-conscious Mac users. It posted near-perfect scores in recent antivirus tests, with very little import on the system load (performance). Find out more in this Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac review – also take a look at our Best Mac Antivirus 2018 roundup.
Get Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac.
Testing explained
Testing Mac Antivirus software is a split into four major sections. The first test is a regular malware detection test. Next, we measure the load AV software puts on a Mac’s performance. This is followed by a false positives test to make sure non-harmful files aren’t flagged as dangerous. The test is concluded with a Potentially Unwanted Applications test – PUAs are programs with excessive advertising, messaging or privacy policies. See AV-Test.org for more information.
Protection & Performance
Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac detected 100% of the 514 malware threats. Only five other Mac Antivirus packages achieved this perfect score.
Tests were performed on an iMac running Sierra 10.12.6. During testing, we left internal MacOS protection running.
Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac also scored well on performance tests adding just 1.35%. To test how much AV software adds to the system load, tester copied 27.28 GB worth of files. The test was repeated with and without AV software running. The base score for a clean Mac was clocked at 147 seconds. The same test, with Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac running, added two seconds to the copying time.
Download speeds were also measured. And Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac posted a perfect score here. The base time (on a clean Mac) was recorded at 56 seconds. The same test was repeated, with Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac, and the time was unchanged.
Potentially Unwanted Applications & False Positives
Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs) are programs that aren’t technically harmful to a Mac but are usually a nuisance to a user. These apps have aggressive levels of advertising, messaging and/or unacceptable privacy policies. Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac detected over 98% of these PUAs. An excellent score.
The next test was false positives. This is designed to examine how sensitive an AV’s malware detection is by subjecting antivirus software to a mix of safe and harmful applications. Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac successfully identified all harmful apps while whitelisting 100% of the safe apps. Kaspersky is one a handful of Mac Antivirus packages to score this well.
Pricing
The pricing structure of Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac is a flexible one. You can either buy a one- or two-year licence. The two-year licences are more economical FYI. Kaspersky also offers discounts to customers buying Internet Security for more than one device.
Customers can buy protection in bundles of one, three or fives devices.
- 1 Device 1 Year £34.99
- 1 Device 2 Years £54.99
- 3 Devices 1 Year £44.99
- 3 Devices 2 Years £79.99
- 5 Devices 1 Year £54.99
- 5 Devices 2 Years £89.99
Note: Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac is £10 more expensive than Norton Security for Mac for a year’s single license. Norton Security for Mac outperforms Kaspersky Lab across the board (see below). The most competitive Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac package is the two-year licences.
Get Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac.
Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac review: Verdict
Kaspersky Lab Internet Security for Mac is an excellent option for protecting your Mac. It’s on a par with Norton Security regarding its perfect malware detection score, however, it adds a slightly heavier load to the Mac system (Norton’s score was only 0.5%). If you’re looking to buy two-years of Mac protection, Kaspersky Lab represents the best value.
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