Security Reviews for macOS and iOS
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Reviews
DoorStop X 1.0
DoorStop X may be the right product for novice users seeking more features than the firewall built into OS X, and using an interface that is easy to understand. However, users willing to deal with complexity may opt for more features at a comparable price in competing firewalls.Reviews
Internet Cleanup 3
Internet Cleanup 3.0 does much more than simply rid your Mac of Internet detritus, and does those things efficiently, but now the program suffers from feature-bloat. In its attempt to be a more thorough Internet security program, it has become confusing and slow.Reviews
PGP Desktop Home 9
PGP Desktop Home 9 is still not for every Mac user—you must have a real need for encryption to get use from it. But for the large audience PGP applies to, the program has never been more useful or relevant, or less intrusive.Reviews
SecuriKey Professional Edition
Griffin Technologies’ keychain-sized device combines a software password with a USB key that locks others out of your files.Reviews
Raise the Wall
While OS X’s built-in firewall will protect most Mac users from hacker attacks, it isn’t that easy to customize and lacks the bells and whistles of similar products. Are third-party firewall applications any better? We put Intego NetBarrier, Pliris FireWalk X2, Symantec Norton Personal Firewall, and Sustainable Softworks IPNetSentry X to the test to find out.Reviews
Select Your Shield
Don’t let the small number of Mac viruses lull you into a false sense of security—you need antivirus software for your Mac. We look at four programs—Intego VirusBarrier, McAfee Virex, Sophos Anti-Virus, and Symantec Norton AntiVirus—designed to keep your Mac secure.Reviews
OS X Security Utilities
If you share a Mac with others, there will come a time when you’ll want to clean out your browser cache files, delete chat transcripts, and remove any other traces of your activity. We look at two security utilities—MacWasher X and Internet Cleanup—that will help you do just that.Reviews
ChatBarrier X3 10.3
Intego’s ChatBarrier X3 10.3.1 applies what sounds like a high standard—“military-grade” 512-bit encryption—to iChat messagingReviews
HomeGuardian 2
HomeGuardian 2 simply and effectively uses your Web cam and your Mac's built-in microphone to monitor activity in your home or office. When motion or sound levels exceed a user-defined threshold, HomeGuardian e-mails photos, videos, and audio snippets of the activity to you remotely.Reviews
PGP Personal 8.0
PGP Personal 8.0 takes a direct approach to safeguarding your information: encrypting e-mail messages and files so that only you and your chosen recipients can read them.Reviews
VisualRoute 7.0
By integrating three tried-and-true analysis tools, VisualRoute saves you time and provides information in easy-to-read tabular and map formats. The server feature's reliance on Internet Explorer is apt to disappoint people who prefer another browser, but this incompatibility should diminish as Java-applet support improves.Reviews
Norton AntiVirus 8.0
Computer viruses are, unfortunately, a fact of life these days. And although we Mac users don't experience the onslaught of malware that folks in the Windows camp have to fight off, we're not invulnerable, and we mustn't become complacent. An antivirus program is a must. Symantec's Norton AntiVirus for Macintosh 8.0.2 is the first OS X-native release of this well-regarded protection tool, and in addition to OS X 10.1 support, this version offers improved scanning capabilities.Reviews
Virus-Protection Programs
Intego's VirusBarrier, Symantec's Norton AntiVirus: Same Goal, Different MethodsReviews