Once you allow it, the SecureAnywhere installer fires up and offers its first prompt:
To start, the download’s super easy directly from the Webroot web site, a click, a few seconds to get the app (it’s surprisingly small, much smaller than competitive security software), and a window pops up with the app install button:Ī click and Mac OS X itself asks you if you really want to let a program you’ve just downloaded from the Web run on your system.
In addition to threat protection, it’s specifically designed to combat the latest heinous viruses, ransomware, along with identity theft protection, anti-phishing filters, network connection monitoring and even support to help keep your smartphones and tablets free (more of an issue for Android that iOS). I decided I wanted maximal protection and downloaded SecureAnywhere Internet Security Complete, adding a handy 25GB of cloud backup space to the already robust set of features. The first step is to decide which version of SecureAnywhere you want as there are three: AntiVirus, Internet Security Plus and Internet Security Complete. Would it find anything on my MacBook Pro running the very latest version of Mac OS X (10.11.4)? Would it be so annoying having it mediate my online usage that I’d shut it off in frustration? When Webroot approached me and asked me to review the latest edition of SecureAnywhere for Mac, I was up for the challenge. Which means that your data, your personal information, your social life, your phone list, text messages, photos and even taxes are all at risk, every day, whether you’re on a brand new MacBook Air at your office in uptown Manhattan or a five year old iMac you play games with in the basement. The fact is, as the Mac platform has become more popular it’s become an increasingly interesting target for the criminals, hackers and ne’er-do-well people behind attacks both organized and chaotic. But are Apple users still safe from bad software and online threats?Īnd that answer might surprise you.
I still remember a few years ago destroying and throwing away my father’s Gateway PC because it was so badly infected with malware that I couldn’t clean it, even with a hard drive reformat. In all that time, I’ve remained a bit smug about the safety of using Mac OS X versus the virus-riddled Microsoft Windows. I’ve owned just about every Mac system that made it to market, starting with a Mac 512K and even owning a Mac clone for a few years when Apple let other companies license and use their operating system. I’ve been on Apple systems since before the Mac was introduced, and one of the first computers I really used was an Apple II.