MagSafe: Certified

Output charging: 15W

Cable: 1m (3.3ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: White

The most obvious MagSafe Charger to buy for your Apple iPhone is, of course, the Apple MagSafe Charger. It’s the charger that Apple would have shipped with the iPhone if it did such things anymore.

It’s as minimalist a design as you’d expect from Apple – it looks a lot like the Apple Watch Charger.

You can also use it to charge your AirPods.

Its main advantage over the non-certified competition is its 15W charging power. It’s still half as fast as using a Lightning cable but more convenient when you’re not in a desperate rush.

But it’s not perfect. The charger is too small and light to stay on the desk when you pick up your iPhone, making it a poor wireless charging pad. The 1m cable is far too short to comfortably charge and use your iPhone at the same time.

Don’t forget that it still requires a USB-C wall charger (at least 20W recommended if you want the full 15W potential).

MagSafe: Certified

Output charging: 15W

Cable: 2m (6.6ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: Black, White

Available in two predictable colors, the Belkin MagSafe Charger Pad is as fast as Apple’s Charger and comes with a longer cable and handy pop-up stand.

The cable is twice as long as Apple’s, which makes using the phone much easier when charging. It’s also thicker nylon-braided cable with a handy integrated silicone cable tie.

It is pricier than Apple, which is a surprise, so you’re paying a premium for the longer premium cable and the kickstand but we think it’s worth the extra if you must have a certified 15W MagSafe charger.

You can buy direct from Belkin with a 27W power adapter included or just on its own if you already have a wall charger to use.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 1.5m (5ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: White

Another basic magnetic charger, Anker’s PowerWave Magnetic Pad works just like the Apple and Belkin chargers, but at the lower 7.5W as it’s not officially certified by Apple.

It works just fine, though, and is one of the cheaper premium magnetic chargers.

The cable is a decent length at 1.5m.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 1.5m (5ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: White, Black, Blue, Pink

This is a small, simple magnetic charging pad that has a kickstand that lets you prop your attached iPhone 12/13/14 up either in landscape or portrait mode for video viewing or hands-free FaceTime calls.

The cable length is reasonable at 1.5m.

It’s available in four colors, so is wildly more flamboyant than the other magnetic wireless chargers tested here.

MagSafe: Certified

Output charging: 15W

Cable: 1m (3.3ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: White

Coming in its own hard-shell travel case, the Zens 2-in-1 MagSafe and Watch travel charger is a portable delight for owners of iPhone (12/13/14 series) and Apple Watch.

It is officially certified as Made for MagSafe, so charges at the full wireless 15W. Sadly the Watch doesn’t fast charge, too, but its arm folds out to create a kickstand for the iPhone in either portrait or landscape orientation.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 2m (6.6ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: Black, White

Belkin doesn’t just make MagSafe chargers; it has a range of compatible magnetic products, too.

Its low-end Magnetic Charger Pad is not as fast as Apple’s Charger as it’s one of the non-MagSafe-certified products, but it is cheaper and comes with a cable that is twice as long as Apple’s, which gives you more flexibility depending on the distance of your power socket to where is most convenient for you for charging. It also features a handy cord wrap.

An LED indicates if there’s any charging interruption from another object that maybe could harm your phone.

If you don’t mind the slower 7.5W charging, this is an affordable solution that beats the official Apple product with its longer cable.

MagSafe: Certified

Output charging: 15W

Cable: 1.2 m (4ft)

Wall charger: 40W AC power adapter

Colors: Black, White

As an officially MFi-certified MagSafe charger, the Belkin Charge Pro hits the 15W heights just like the Apple chargers.

Like Apple’s own Duo Charger it can simultaneously power up your AirPods at 5W on its Qi circular base, plus it has the bonus of being a stand that can hold the iPhone in either portrait or landscape mode with its stable weighted base.

It’s a bit plasticky but still looks suitably Apple-ish, and it beats the Apple 2-in-1 on price.

A small LED shows whether the placed AirPods case is wirelessly charging.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 1.2 m (4ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: White

Built to charge both an iPhone 12/13/14 and wireless AirPod case charger, the Anker PowerWave isn’t MFi certified and therefore doesn’t reach the 15W phone charging heights of the Apple.

Its 7.5W charging is fine if you have the time; if you’re in a real hurry you’d be better off using a cable than using a 15W certified MagSafe charger anyway.

The AirPods are charged at 5W, which is standard for all such multi-device magnetic chargers.

You get angled landscape and portrait modes with this good-looking stand from one of our favorite premium accessory makers.

The magnetic link is super strong so you don’t need to worry about the iPhone falling off even during re-angling.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 1.5 m (5ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: White, Black, Misty Blue

Anker’s MagGo 633 isn’t just another passive iPhone and wireless AirPod case charger stand with angled landscape and portrait modes. It is much cleverer than that.

You can remove the charging section from the stand and use it as a 5000mAh portable magnetic charger that clamps onto the back of an iPhone 12/13/14 and will charge your phone on-the-go up to a near full charge.

The power bank holster on the stand can be angled up to 40 degrees.

The detachable power bank is powered up while in the stand, via the connected 1.5m USB-C cable that requires a decent (at least 20W) wall charger. You can swap out the cable for a longer or shorter one if that’s what you require.

This is a great combination of desk-bound charger and portable power bank. For more options, read our roundup of the best MagSafe power banks.

Alogic has a similar modular charger stand that can take a MagSafe-compatible battery pack; reviewed with the 3-in-1 stands (with magnetic Apple Watch charger) but also available as a 2-in-1.

MagSafe: Certified

Output charging: 15W

Cable: 1.5m (5ft)

Wall charger: 45W AC power adapter

Colors: Black, White

Similar in looks to the Belkin 3-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand, the aluminum Zens 4-in-1 MagSafe + Watch Charging Station beats it on two fronts: it has a much smaller footprint and can charge four devices simultaneously. It is certified Made for MagSafe so can fast-charge an iPhone 12/13/14 at 15W compared to just 7.5W for merely compatible magnetic chargers.

The base features a 5W Qi charging pad allows for charging wirelessly rechargeable AirPods or other Qi compatible device

The fourth device is charged using a side-mounted USB-C port, so is wired rather than wireless like the parts for iPhone, Watch and AirPods. Rated at 18W charging, this USB-C connection can fast-charge another iPhone or charge an iPad.

The supplied 45W wall charger comes with US, UK and EU adapter plugs so you can take the Zens 4-in-1 Charging Station on your travels.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 1.5m (5ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: Black, White

A 3-in-1 charger that can re-power iPhone, AirPods and Watch is a boon for Apple fans, but most of the products we’ve tested take up quite a lot of desk space. The stylish HiRise 3, as its name suggests, goes more vertical and so has a smaller footprint—handy for bedside tables and other places where a giant charging stand is less welcome.

It’s 16.5cm (6.5in) high, 12.3cm (4.8in) deep and 8.5cm (3.4in) wide. In comparison, the Belkin 3-in-1 is 13.5cm wide. The Belkin does have the advantage of being a faster charge as it is certified MagSafe (15W) rather than just compatible (7.5W) but if you are charging at night, speed is less of an issue.

The base charges at 5W, and the Watch part at 3W.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 1m (3.3ft)

Wall charger: Not included, except in Australia: 20W AC power adapter

Colors: Black

For a budget 3-in-1 magnetic stand that will charge your iPhone 12/13/14, AirPods wireless-charging case and Apple Watch, the Alogic MagSpeed 3-in-1 Wireless Charger is a simpler product than the Belkin 3-in-1 but works just fine – although at the lower charging speed as it isn’t MagSafe certified.

The iPhone can be angled in either portrait or landscape mode, but it can’t be angled up or down.

If you are buying in Australia (Alogic is an Australian company), you get a 20W charger, but elsewhere you’ll need to use your own wall charger.

MagSafe: Certified

Output charging: 15W

Cable: 1.5m (5ft)

Wall charger: 40W AC power adapter

Colors: Black, White

Belkin has a 3-in-1 MagSafe Charger that is a stand where the phone and Watch are held high and the AirPods case sits underneath in a Qi-compatible hollow on the base.

This is more stylish that other wireless charging stands, having a Sixties space-age design with chrome arms, and a silicone-covered plastic base.

A stand is useful as it lifts the charging phone to a height that makes it easier to FaceTime or watch videos without having to hold the phone aloft. It can hold the phone in either portrait or landscape mode.

In order to support the weight of the phone, the circular base has to be quite wide, at 13.5cm.

An LED indicates if the AirPods are charging, and it ships with its own power supply unit.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 1.5m (5ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: Black, White

The Journey Rapid Trio 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station, like the Twelve South HiRise 3, has a small footprint for such a multi-device charger. It’s only a tiny bit larger than the HiRise 3, at 16.9cm (6.7in) high, 13.3cm (5.3in) deep and 8.6cm (3.4in) wide.

It does have some tricks up its sleeve, though, as its detachable USB-C Apple Watch charger means you can take it with you on your travels and simply plug it into a USB-C port—say on your MacBook—to charge your Apple Watch away from the charging stand.

The phone charging part can also tilt, unlike the more static 3-in-1 chargers reviewed here, for more flexible viewing angles—it can be set in either portrait or landscape mode.

Being just MagSafe compatible, the phone charges at 7.5W; the base at 5W, and the Watch part at 3W.

MagSafe: Certified

Output charging: 15W

Cable: 1.5m (5ft)

Wall charger: 40W AC power adapter

Colors: Black, White

Belkin has two models of 3-in-1 wireless charger, both MFi-certified, that can simultaneously charge your portable Apple goodies: iPhone, AirPods and Watch.

If you’ve bought into the whole Apple device ecosystem, this one will charge all you pocketable or wearable devices. of particular note is that it can fast-charge the Apple Watch.

This model is a flat pad that also includes the possibility to leave the Watch in Nightstand mode as a bedside or desk clock. We would have preferred if the phone charger could also be angled to prop up the phone for video viewing.

While minimalist in design, it does take up a fair section of desk–measuring about 23cm across and 8cm wide, and the iPhone sticks out at either side.

The pad format is better for travel portability than a charging stand, and it comes with its own wall power supply unit, so you don’t need to add your own USB-C charger.

An LED indicates if the AirPods are charging.

Alogic has created a modular system that transforms what is often a static charging station into something more dynamic and portable. It’s called Matrix and features several products, some of which can be used with each other depending on your charging needs.

The Matrix 3-in-1 Magnetic Charging Dock with Apple Watch Charger features a MagSafe-compatible wireless charging stand to charge an iPhone at 7.5W, a Qi cradle neatly placed at the back for charging compatible AirPods, and a detachable charger for the Apple Watch. You can take the small Watch charger with you and plug it into a USB-C charger or device with output charging. Be patient, though, at just 2W it can’t fast-charge an Apple Watch—for that you need Apple’s USB-C Magnetic Fast Charging Cable and at least a 5W USB-C charger—but it is more portable as it doesn’t require a long cable, having its USB-C connector built-in.

As with the Anker 633 Wireless Charger, reviewed above, you can also swap out the wireless phone-charging block and add the Matrix Wireless Power Bank (sold separately). This 5000mAh portable power bank can work in the static charging stand or come with you as a neat, portable magnetic battery pack—ready powered up for the stand. This can charge two phones or devices: one wirelessly and the other simultaneously via USB-C cable. In our tests, it charged a flagging iPhone 13 Pro from 10% to 94%.

There’s even a Matrix Magnetic Wireless Charger with Car Mount available, which the power bank can be slotted into. We’d have preferred this and the 3-in-1 Charger to be available without the non-portable charging block for those users who already own the power bank.

If you don’t own an Apple Watch, the Matrix 2-in-1 Magnetic Charging Dock will save you some money, and the side-mounted USB-C Port means you could add the Watch module at a later date should you succumb to the full Apple device roster.

MagSafe: Certified

Output charging: 15W

Cable: 1.5m (5ft)

Wall charger: 65W AC power adapter

Colors: Black

The Zens 4-in-1 Modular Charging Station for iPhone with MagSafe, AirPods, Apple Watch and iPad is a MagSafe-certified charging stand that can handle not just four Apple devices but more if you buy extra charging modules to connect.

Any MagSafe iPhone (12/13/14) can be wirelessly charged at up to 15W, faster than non-certified MagSafe-compatible chargers. AirPods and Apple Watch will each charge wirelessly at 5W.

The iPhone can be placed in either portrait or landscape mode. At the back is a stand where you can place an iPad, which can be wired charged via a side-mounted USB-C port at up to 30W.

All devices can be charged simultaneously as the power supply has a 65W total output.

The Watch module that ships with the 4-in-1 charger can handily be situated on either the right- or left-hand side depending on your preference. Modules attach magnetically.

The Apple Watch extension can be disconnected from the main station and charged via a USB-C port to become a standalone wireless charger when travelling.

Up to three modules can be added, and different modules are available separately. Aside from extra Watch modules, the Single Wireless Charger Extension is a 10W wireless charging pad, and the Modular USB-hub Extension lets you recharge a USB-A powered device.

If you don’t own an Apple Watch, the cheaper 3-in-1 Modular Charging Station charges iPhone, AirPods and iPad. Also available from Apple.

As an environmental bonus, the Charging Station and all modules are made from recycled plastic.

Output charging: 15W

Cable: Built-in

Wall charger: 12V car charger included

Colors: White

Use your iPhone for satnav directions or to have easy access to your playlists in the car with this MagSafe-certified wireless charger and car vent mount, which works in both landscape and portrait modes.

It has an integrated USB-C cable, and a 12V car charger adapter for cars come with USB-A ports.

The magnetic link is strong, which should mean that it can cope with any big bumps in the road. It works best with straight, horizontal vent slats up to 3mm in thickness and 20mm in depth. It does work with vertical slats, but there might be slight movements if the mount is overloaded with weight, says Belkin.

As the only dedicated MagSafe-certified 15W car mount available, it is expensive. If you can handle a lower charger rate, the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Car Charger 10W does pretty much the same job for a lot less. Or you can buy Spigen’s Mag Fit Phone Holder Car Mount and add Apple’s MagSafe Charger (reviewed above) for pretty much the same 15W result. That product is also available in black, like most car vents.

At the moment, the only place to buy the MagSafe version is via Apple’s US Store.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 1m (3.3ft)

Wall charger: 20W AC power adapter

Colors: Black, Silver

The special thing about this magnetic wireless charger stand is its foldability. It can be adjusted between 30° and 75°, with the phone in either portrait or landscape mode, and also folded flat so it can slip into your pocket for easy portability—although remember that you will still need a wall charger or power bank wherever you end up. It weighs just 110g.

Handily, this stand does come with a 20W charger. As it is MagSafe-compatible rather than certified, the maximum wireless charge you’ll get for your iPhone is 7.5W (15W for non-iPhones) but you’ve got 20W to play with if you plug a Lightning cable into the charger.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 1.5m (5ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: Black, Light Gray

This smart desk mat includes a detachable side strip that includes a magnetic wireless charging pad for phone and a non-magnetic section to charge your AirPods. Not only is the mat reversible, with smooth, wipeable vegan leather on one side and warmer-feel felt on the other, but you can pull back the mat to stow paper and notes to help reduce clutter.

It’s quite a large mat, measuring 780 x 70 x 4mm. The Light gray color is actually more of a warm stone tone.

The charging panel connects to the mat with a light magnetic snap, and can be positioned on either side simply by flipping the mat round 180 degrees, depending on whether you are left or right handed.

As it’s MagSafe compatible rather than certified, it charges the iPhone at 7.5W rather than 15W, but will charge other compatible phones at the higher power. Earbuds can be charged at up to 5W. The magnetic fit is strong so you can’t knock it off its charging position with a stray flick of an arm.

It comes with a USB-C cable but requires a charger; recommended 20W or higher.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Cable: 1m (3.3ft)

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: Many cool and/or odd patterns

We picked the English Breakfast pattern for its sheer wanton oddness but there are plenty of other patterns (Acid, Checks, Cherry Blossom) and pictures (Yeti, Harry Potter, Snoopy) to choose from.

Indeed, there are 238 different wireless charger fronts to choose from.

This 100% recyclable slim charger has eco sustainability points, too, as it’s made with recycled aluminum and printed with eco-friendly ink.

MagSafe: Compatible

Output charging: 7.5W

Wall charger: Not included

Colors: White

The Moshi SnapTo Magnetic Wireless Charger can mount to a wall. Attach the included firm 3M fixture to a convenient wall, perhaps beside your bed or office desk, and then slide in the magnetic charger.

Then simply place your phone onto the charger.

It can also be used as a landscape charging phone stand.

It’s important to note that you will need a compatible case (Overture, iGlaze, Vesta or Altra) according to Moshi.

Intego’s Mac Internet Security X9 suite is a pair of utilities designed to help you keep your Mac safe and running smoothly. These are VirusBarrier and NetBarrier, which catch and kill malware threats plus spot potential intrusion attempts from outside as well as outgoing attempts from rogue software.

You can get Intego Mac Internet Security X9 here.

The Mac Premium Bundle X9 adds three more sets of capabilities to these: the backup prowess of Personal Backup (a good ‘belt’ addition to your Time Machine ‘braces’), the useful cleaning, tidying and general speed optimising tricks of Mac Washing Machine, and finally the multi-user safe surfing intelligence of ContentBarrier.

Sure, that last one is not something everyone needs, but it’s great for parents. Whichever one of these software suites you choose, you can be sure they offer some of the best protection available for your Mac.

Clario 1.5 for the Mac is much more than an antivirus package, it packs a healthy amount of security into one package, including real-time and on-demand malware scanning, ad blocking and website trackers, a VPN, and data breach monitoring to alert you if your email is caught and potentially exposed in a cyberattack. There’s also 24/7 live support.

Payment is by subscription, and currently Clario has 54% off the usual $107.88 / £107.88 a year, so you can pay $50.00 / £50.00 a year (billed at $4.17 / £4.17 a month). The three devices included in the plan can include a combination of Macs and iOS or Android devices. There’s also a 7-day free trial.

Set up is quick and painless with a wizard that takes you through configuration of all the key features while allowing you to evaluate the different options and determine which ones you want to enable. Once installed you can access information about the security of your Mac and monitor the status of your online accounts and personal data. The VPN will kick in if Clario detects you using an unprotected network. And from the Dashboard you can trigger a quick virus scan, which is actually quite thorough.

We did encounter some issues with performance, with the program sometimes running slow before we were fully set up, but once we were fully configured everything ran smoothly.

Whether you’re a novice or advanced user, Clario is an effective and supportive security program.

AVG Antivirus for the Mac is one of a handful of free antivirus for Mac programs. As such it is basic, but its effective at protecting you from viruses, spyware, and malware.

Despite being free, AVG covers all the bases: blocking viruses and malware from websites, downloads, and email attachments. AVG will scan applications and check every file and remove threats from your Mac. It auto updates so you shouldn’t miss out on protection from the latest threats.

Though it lacks the advanced features of paid antivirus products, it handles the core tasks cleanly and seamlessly. However, if you need to resolve any advanced issues you will need to pay to upgrade to the full version of the software, which is about $2/£2 per month for a one-year subscription. There is a 60-day free trial though, which could be enough for your purposes.

All in all this is a great option, despite being basic. You get much more than you ‘pay’ for.

McAfee Total Protection is a dedicated software security tool that will monitor your Mac as you work, looking for unauthorised software activity such as browser search engine hacks, attempts to trick you into installing unwanted software, and actual malware and virus attacks.

It is very simple to use; once you’ve walked through the guided steps for giving it permission to work behind the scenes it is essentially something you can just leave to get on with its job.

Total Protection also offers WebAdvisor as an option, steering you from known problem sites and warning you when you visit questionable ones. It also offers a software firewall for two-way network traffic monitoring.

We noted some occasional performance impacts as it ran in the background, but it was largely unobtrusive in its efforts. The option of protecting other devices is useful as well, covering smartphones and Windows PCs as you require.

It’s worth noting that the Windows version in particular offers more features, such as a native VPN, which you don’t get in the Mac app.

You can get McAfee Total Protection here.

Norton 360 Deluxe is a security utility that performs a range of different monitoring and safeguarding operations to keep your Mac free from threats such as browser hacks and search engine hijack scripts to intrusion attempts and actual malware.

It focuses on catching unwanted software, but it also offers some useful additional features including a VPN for securing personal data while online, and a tool for managing passwords, bank card details and similar data.

There are three different versions, two of which can also be used to secure your iPhone as well as Android smartphones and Windows PCs, should you require that. In tests it proved to have little to no detectable impact on performance, and it spotted all the challenges in our test macOS setup.

Note that the Cloud Backup feature doesn’t work on macOS, but that is more of an extra rather than a vital part of the package.

You can get Norton 360 Deluxe here.

Avast Premium Security for Mac does its job well overall. There are a few niggles such as the unwanted upselling for Cleanup Premium and the fact that the File Shield monitoring slows down file copy times a bit.

Otherwise, it’s a well-featured suite which will protect from all sorts of nasties including watching for browser script hacks, potential ransomware and other remote attack activity. It will, of course, also scan for potentially unwanted programs and actual malware threats, whether on your Mac or your removable media or in email attachments.

Custom scheduled scans can be set up, although the automatic background monitoring teamed with occasional specific manual scans is likely to be enough for most requirements. Wi-Fi network monitoring for vulnerabilities is another feature this software offers, and the Real Site option watches for fake sites pretending to be legitimate shopping or banking sites, a serious risk that goes beyond just watching for unwanted files on your own Mac. It is very effective at all these things, although we found that customising its behaviour can be a little fiddly.

Bitdefender Total Security is a very effective tool for keeping your Mac safe, and it will also protect Windows PC, an iOS and Android devices. The bundled VPN is very basic and gives you only 200MB of data per day, but the rest of the suite of tools is effective and easy to manage.

But when you compare what the Mac version offers compared to the Windows version, you’ll feel quite hard done by. There’s no password manager, no social network protection, no webcam or microphone protection, no Wi-Fi security advisor and plenty of other features that Windows users get for the same price.

Bitdefender is also lagging behind its rivals with no identity protection. If your goal is simply to keep your Mac protected from malware, then Bitdefender does a great job. But you can find better value elsewhere.

Eset Cyber Security Pro is a useful security tool that protects your Mac – and your Windows PC, Linux box and even Android phones, although not your iPhone – against unauthorised software behaviour, network intrusions, search engine hijack scripts and worse.

It stands out from its competition through its comprehensive range of preferences controls that can fine-tune many aspects of its behaviour, and its relatively low price.

It isn’t the most unobtrusive in terms of background performance impact, although most of the time this was minor enough to be not really noticeable.

As well as real-time and on-demand monitoring it also provides a useful firewall, dedicated tools for spotting web-based threats including spyware, and protection against phishing attempts to trick users into divulging private data. It also offers parental controls with three user categories and detailed control over what kinds of sites each user is allowed to visit.

Trend Micro Antivirus is a good program with well rated antivirus protection, and a simple, straightforward interface that users will appreciate.

Anyone looking for additional features will be disappointed with this suite, but it offers good protection at a fair price.

In March 2022 AV-Test gave Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac a 99 percent protection score against 200 samples.

Our own spot checks produced similarly good results. Lining up against the Objective See malware library Trend Micro had no trouble detecting most threats. However in a few cases it didn’t detect all the malware contained in a folder until a scan had been run.

Trend Micro is an excellent choice for those looking for something that’s simple and easy to use. There are options with better protection, but Trend Micro’s protection is still good and pricing is fair.

Avira Prime is a security utility designed to keep your Mac safe from potentially unwanted programs; which covers everything from simple scripts designed to compromise and redirect your browser searches through to actual malware.

A single large window presents the various features, from scans to app management and cleanup, although a couple of its features use a separate panel for a web-based console. In our tests it detected all our compromised files and installers.

It doesn’t look inside zip archives or disk images, but it pounces as soon as items are extracted from these.

Most importantly, even while Avira Prime is actively scanning for trouble it has such a small impact on the general performance of our Mac that we wouldn’t notice it without comparing timings. You can get the basics of the security features with Avira Free Security but Prime’s annual subscription provides useful additional capabilities, if you can stomach the high cost.

Sophos used to offer a free version of its Home product with antivirus protection and website protection, but in 2021 that version was discontinued, leaving Sophos Home Premium as the only option for personal use.

There’s now a 30 days full trial, but after that it costs £37.46/$44.99 for the first year and £49.95/$59.99 for each subsequent year. You can install on 10 Macs or PCs though.

Setup was confusing. Initially the software guides you through the process, but then setup stops and you have to sign into your
Sophos Home dashboard to complete setup (it’s not at clear that you need to do this step).

There’s also no Dock icon to launch the program, instead you use a menu bar icon to access the online dashboard where you can control the five types of protection including:

• Antivirus protection – real-time scanning for local and network drives, perform a manual scan or schedule one, plus a quick scan can be triggered from the menu bar icon.
• Web protection
• Ransomware protection
• Privacy protection
• Malicious traffic detection
• Web filtering

A
2017 evaluation of macOS security software by AV-Test gave Sophos Home outstanding grades for protection, performance, and usability. We ran the EICAR test, which simulates a virus, and Sophos detected and blocked it with no trouble. The website filtering worked well.

Sophos Home Premium provides effective protection, but the setup process and cloud-only features are drawbacks. It needs clearer set up and the ability to do more locally.

Installing ClamXAV from the ClamXAV website is quick and easy. Either click the Free Trial button or sign up for a $29.95/£24 a year subscription and the installation file is automatically downloaded. After the initial setup, where you need to grant permission to access the Downloads folder and modify security settings, you are all set.

You can run a manual scan from the main screen, but there are several other options. A quick scan checks system files and other areas on your Mac, you can select just your hard drive to runs a scan on all folders and files on the disk, and dragging and dropping a single folder or file onto the scanning pane checks it for malware. You can also select an external drive or connected USB stick for scanning. There’s also a real-time scanning component–Sentry–that is always on guard.

It is possible to schedule any type of scan to run on specific days and times. By default, any malicious files are automatically quarantined, but you can decide whether or not to quarantine infected files. You can open the quarantine folder to see what files were caught.

ClamXAV proved effective at detecting and stopping test malware files, but there’s nothing more to the program beyond the basic antivirus scanning and options. ClamXAV is certainly effective at virus scanning, but that’s a capability found in many free and equally effective security products for the Mac.

Malwarebytes comes in both free and premium editions for personal use. Unfortunately the Mac version falls short of many of the features of the Windows version. Malwarebytes Premium for Mac includes the basis virus and malware scanning as well as the ability to detect malicious apps, or PUPs (potentially unwanted program). The real-time protection constantly monitors your system for security threats, automatically blocking and quarantining anything that could infect your computer.

But it doesn’t directly come with the protection against malicious links and phishing attempts. Nor does it offer the safeguards against ransomware and zero-day exploits.

There is a free version of Malwarebytes, but that just includes just basic virus scanning. The premium version costs $3.33/£2.50 billed monthly or $39.99/£29.99 billed annually for one device, and $6.67/£5.83 billed monthly or $79.99/£69.99 billed annually for five devices. There’s a free 14-day trial.

Malwarebytes Premium on a Mac is accessible through a menu bar icon. Clicking the icon displays a menu with options to start a scan, temporarily turn off the malware protection and malicious app blocker, update the program, view and tweak its settings, and open the management console.

From the management console you can trigger a manual scan and set up scheduled scans to run on a recurring basis. A detection history displays all quarantined items. There’s an Allow list to add legitimate files or programs that were mistakenly flagged as malware to.

Malwarebytes Premium has regularly and consistently gotten top marks from AV-Test for protection, performance, and usability. In real-world testing conducted by AV Comparatives during February and March of 2022, the software scored 100% at blocking malware, though it had a high number of false positives.

It’s just a shame that the Mac version feels like an also-ran compared with the Windows edition.

F-Secure Total for Mac is a simple-to-use security software suite that works on macOS, iOS, Windows and Android devices and protects your data from a wide range of threats. It includes several useful features, but lacks certain key options, especially in the virus scanning.

The program is $59.99 a year for one device, which is steep, but there’s a free 30-day trial that requires no credit card and even gives you free technical support if you need it.

Clicking the Scan button runs a full virus scan that checks your entire system, while clicking the link for Viruses & Threats takes you to another screen where you can scan just specific folders. But there are no options to run a quick scan or even to schedule a scan, unlike the Windows version which includes a quick scan. It provides real-time virus and spyware scanning to automatically block malware, and ‘DeepGuard’ monitors applications for any changes indicative of a malware infection.

You can set up the ID monitoring to check your email address for data breaches among your online accounts. The VPN is another defense and includes tracking protection to prevent advertisers from monitoring your online activity and a kill switch to quickly cut off all internet traffic.

F-Secure offers a password vault that creates and stores secure logins for all your accounts. The password vault requires an extension that supports Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Safari isn’t yet supported.

Unfortunately, F-Secure doesn’t let you review blocked or deleted malicious files, and no setting allows you to quarantine files instead of remove them.

MacKeeper 5 is the reborn version of a security utility that has been around for many years. The reputation of previous versions seems just old news now – today, it’s a useful and comprehensive tool for keeping your Mac secure and optimised as you work, play and use the internet.

The range of tools it offers in addition to watching for unwelcome software is wide ranging. There’s a memory optimiser, an update tracker to spot outdated applications, a smart uninstaller to clean up after other software and a VPN feature for secure browsing.

There’s even identify protection, which monitors password databases to catch possible ID theft efforts. While we noted occasional performance impacts from its real-time antivirus monitoring, it wasn’t something that happened all the time.

Ultimately, we liked MacKeeper’s easy and helpful interface, which makes what could be a daunting task quite approachable.

Avira Free Security for Mac seems to offer a lot of features for free. But most actually require a paid subscription, so the product’s overall usefulness is limited and the constant sales pitches annoying.

You can run a quick scan to check out system files and other vulnerable areas or a full scan to analyze your entire Mac for malware. These scans can run daily, weekly, or monthly. You can also create a custom scan. There are also real-time virus protection scans to scan new files saved to your computer or downloaded from the internet. You have to pay to scan a USB drive. Malware discovered is automatically quarantined. Avira was effective at detecting and stopping malware when we tested it.

The free version of Avira includes a junk cleaner that can identify issues via a smart scan, but you need to pay to actually clean up anything beyond the junk files.

The old adage of “you get what you pay for” is certainly true with Avira Free Security. Take away the tools that require a subscription, and you’re left with the antivirus feature, a limited VPN, a password manager that works only in Safari, and a junk file cleaner.

The 2022 version of Kaspersky Total Security offers a raft of features, including antivirus and anti-phishing protection, ad blocking and private browsing, webcam spying protection, a VPN, a child locator with parental controls, screen time management, and a password manager.

The main disappointment with Kaspersky Total Security 2022 is the installation process on the Mac – made all the more frustrating by the fact that installing on Windows is quick and easy.

Mac users have to download and install the Internet Security product and then download and install the password manager and Safe Kids tools as separate apps. Kaspersky doesn’t make this clear.

Once installed, the product is robust and effective. Based on 2021 testing for anti-virus products, Kaspersky received top marks for protection, performance, and usability from
AV-Test and solid grades from
AV Comparatives. The product also was rated the best antivirus software for 2022 from
Security.org.

Total Security offers access four key features: scanning, updating, privacy, and Safe Kids. To hunt down malware, you can run a full scan, a quick scan, or a scheduled scan. The Safe Money feature protects your credentials when you shop or bank online, while the Kaspersky password manager sets up strong passwords.

There is also an easy to configure VPN and the Safe Kids app (which can be accessed via a smartphone app) brings parental controls.