You need to follow good online safety practices to avoid malware on a Mac, just like you do on a Windows PC. It won’t necessarily block anything new, and it won’t stand in the way of all the adware and spyware out there. Macs do have an anti-malware feature known as “XProtect” or “File quarantine”, but it only blocks a handful of the most nasty pieces of malware after they’ve become widespread. Yes, obnoxious junk software is still a problem on a Mac. RELATED: How to Protect Your Mac from Malware

We recommended it back when it was just an “Adware Medic” tool that could only manually scan your system for malware, and we’re happy the automatic protection features are now available for people who want them. We’ve been happy with Malwarebytes on Windows for years and recommend it, and the Mac version also seems solid. If you want something that runs in the background, automatically scans your downloads, and monitors your system, you’ll want the paid version.

The free version is fine if you just want to check for and remove malware. If you want to remove malware, spyware, and other garbage software from your Mac, we recommend you download and run Malwarebyes. The Malwarebytes Premium features that will monitor your Mac for malware and spyware, prevent infections before they occur, and automatically download updates do cost money, but Malwarebytes does provide a 30-day free trial. Anyone can manually initiate a scan and remove malware with Malwarebytes for Mac without spending a penny. The standard scanner that checks for malware on your system and removes it is free. There are now two versions of Malwarebytes for Mac, a free version and a premium version.

Malwarebytes originally expanded into the Mac security software arena by purchasing and rebranding a popular application named “Adware Medic” that we and others have used successfully in the past. Malwarebytes makes well-regarded security utilities for Windows. RELATED: Mac OS X Isn't Safe Anymore: The Crapware / Malware Epidemic Has Begun Crucially, that protection against malware doesn’t block all the adware and spyware bundled with application downloads. Macs do have some integrated protection against malware, but it isn’t perfect. Beyond traditional viruses, worms, and Trojans, there’s now a thriving ecosystem of adware and spyware programs that bombard you with ads and spy on your web browsing, just like on Windows.

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