Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac

Main Window

With the current edition, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac's main window is almost indistinguishable from its Windows counterpart, with the same left-rail menu and recommendations from AutoPilot.

Protection Page

On the Protection page, you can launch a quick, full, or custom scan. This is also the place to check on items in quarantine, and items you chose to exclude from scanning.

Scanning for Malware

Running a full scan on a clean Mac took just 24 minutes, well below the current average.

Phishing Blocked

Tested simultaneously with its Windows counterpart, this scored the same, detecting and blocking 99 percent of verified recent phishing URLs.

Enable Anti Tracker

Like the Traffic Light extension, the new Anti-tracker extension installs in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

Anti Tracker

When you visit a site infested with trackers, Bitdefender puts the number of trackers on its toolbar button. Clicking the button displays details, including an estimate of the loading time saved by blocking trackers.

Traffic Light

Traffic Light marks up results on popular search sites with colored icons, green for safe, red for dangerous, and gray for not checked yet.

Safe Files

To defend against ransomware, the Safe Files feature prevents all unauthorized access to files in protected folders. You can use your own word processors, image editors, and so to edit files, but ransomware doesn’t get a chance.

VPN Montage

Just click Connect to run your communications through Bitdefender’s VPN. You can view the list of available countries, but clicking one just brings up an invitation to pay for a Premium subscription. Likewise, if you want to use more than 200MB per day, you must go Premium.

About Our Expert

Neil J. Rubenking

Principal Writer, Security

My Experience

When the IBM PC was new, I served as the president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years. That’s how I met PCMag’s editorial team, who brought me on board in 1986. In the years since that fateful meeting, I’ve become PCMag’s expert on security, privacy, and identity protection, putting antivirus tools, security suites, and all kinds of security software through their paces.

Before my current security gig, I supplied PCMag readers with tips and solutions on using popular applications, operating systems, and programming languages in my "User to User" and "Ask Neil" columns, which began in 1990 and ran for almost 20 years. Along the way, I wrote more than 40 utility articles, as well as Delphi Programming for Dummies and six other books covering DOS, Windows, and programming. I also reviewed thousands of products of all kinds, ranging from early Sierra Online adventure games to AOL’s precursor Q-Link.

In the early 2000s, I turned my focus to security and the growing antivirus industry. After years of working with antivirus, I’m known throughout the security industry as an expert on evaluating antivirus tools. I serve as an advisory board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), an international nonprofit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.

The Technology I Use

Much of the testing I do, particularly testing with real-world ransomware, is just plain dangerous. To perform such tests safely, I sequester them inside virtual machines managed by VMWare Workstation. For cross-platform testing, I use a MacBook Air, a Google Pixel 4, and a 6th-generation iPad.

I rely on my Delphi coding skills to create and maintain small applications. These include programs to check whether an antivirus correctly handled the malware it detected, launch dangerous URLs and record the security program’s reaction, and analyze the malware that I collect for use in testing. I also wrote a tiny browser and text editor for use in testing security apps that have predefined reactions for known products.

I do my writing and research on a Dell OptiPlex desktop, relying on Microsoft Word (my fingers know all the shortcuts). Many of my articles include charts and analysis; Excel is my go-to for those. When work hours end, though, I escape the bounds of Microsoft and Windows. There’s an iPhone in my pocket, I relax with my oversized iPad, and my Kindle Oasis is always loaded with the best science fiction and fantasy.

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