Which Mac operating system is the best is a topic of numerous debates among Apple fans.
Since the mission of this blog is to refute myths and legends around Macs, it’s time for me to provide my 2 cents about the issue on hand. While everything below is just my opinion, as a long-time Mac user and veteran software engineer, I hope my opinion worth something.
TLDR; The best Mac OS version is the one that your Mac is eligible to upgrade to. In 2019-2020 it is macOS Catalina. However, users that need to run 32-bit applications on Mac should not go with Catalina because it only supports 64-bit apps. Also, older Macs would benefit if upgraded at least to macOS Sierra because this is the earliest operating system for which Apple still releases security updates.
Update: On WWDC 2020 Apple announced a new macOS Big Sur, which is said to have the biggest UI redesign and the biggest Safari update. New Safari will run 50% faster than Chrome and use less battery. It also has new limitations: Big Sur will require at least MacBook Pro late 2013, MacBook Air 2013, and Mac Mini 2014 or later to run. Big Sur will be released in the fall of 2020.
Best mac antivirus free download - Avast Free Antivirus, AVG AntiVirus for Mac, Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac, and many more programs. To find the best Mac antivirus software, we evaluate ease of use, interface and performance impact. We installed each AV program on the same Late 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina Display running macOS.
To find out which macOS is currently running on your Mac, follow these steps:
Not all Macs can be upgraded to the latest OS version. For instance, old Macs powered by PowerPC CPUs cannot run OS intended for Intel-based computers. Also, some versions have hardware limitations.
For instance, Mojave cannot be installed on MacBook Pro earlier than Mid 2012 model.
Check below to know exactly what version of OS your Mac can run.
Anytime someone asks me which OS is best for them I always suggested going with the latest. Things have changed recently, however.
While personally I like macOS Catalina and have it installed on my MacBook Pro, Catalina comes with serious breaking changes. If you have old 32-bit apps, they will not run in the new OS. macOS Catalina and newer can only run 64-bit apps.
If you wondering whether you should upgrade to macOS Catalina, first verify that you don’t have any 32-bit apps. But first, take a back up, so you can go back in case something breaks after upgrade.
For instance, I had to remove uTorrent after upgrade. And I didn’t know that uTorrent is 32-bit!
To find out whether the app on your Mac is 32-bit or 64-bit follow these steps:
If you have an older Mac which is not eligible to upgrade with some latest software or hardware, I’d suggest upgrading at least to Sierra for the following reasons:
The most important point when choosing the best OS is the ability getting security updates. While Apple generally does not announce the OS end of life dates, it is possible to know when they stop releasing security updates from this page.
For instance, according to the page, the last security update for OS X Yosemite was released on September 12, 2017. The last update for OS X El Capitan was in July 2018, and Carnegie Mellon University confirmed that El Capitan’s end of life date was August 2018.
I know that some users on forums believe that the best OS version for Macs was Snow Leopard. But that is a myth. And I know how such myths get created.
Once I worked in the company, which was selling a 20-year old product. And customers were still using and didn’t want to switch to new versions, because the old one was rock solid.
I then talked to the engineer who worked on the project, and he revealed that the product was a total disaster when it was first deployed. Engineers had to work on-site for almost a year in order to fix all bugs.
After five or so years of polishing the product, it becomes virtually bug-free, and nobody now remembers how bad it was when it was first rolled out. A similar thing happened Snow Leopard, and it was recognized as best mac os version after some time.
There are two ways to update to the latest OS version on Mac:
This is by far the best option, but it only available if you have Yosemite, or later OS installed already. If you enabled automatic updates, then Mac will inform you that the next macOS is available.
Just open System Preferences, go to Software Update and click on the Upgrade Now button.
This method is also best if wondering how to check if you have the latest version of OS installed on your Mac. Only the version compatible with your hardware will appear here.
For instance, my the latest version for Mac Mini 2012 is Mojave, I can’t install anything newer than that.
For older systems or in case you need to downgrade, you have to download a standalone installer in DMG format. DMG stands for disk image, similar to ISO, just different formats.
After downloading the installer, just double click on it and follow instructions. Www google co uk download free. Again, do not forget to take a backup before the upgrade.
Following is a high-level description of all Mac operating systems as early as Mountain Lion.
You can refer to those descriptions when deciding which operating system is best for your iMac, Mac Pro, Mac mini, or MacBook.
With each OS description, I included a list of Macs supported. However, you can use Mac OS compatibility checker for more detailed information.
macOS v10.15 (codename Catalina) is the latest version of the operating system for Apple computers.
Release date: October 7, 2019
Hardware Requirements: RAM requirement increased from 2GB to 4GB.
Software Compatibility Issues
Video editor download. macOS Catalina is the first Mac operating system that does not support 32-bit applications. Only 64-bit apps are allowed to run on Catalina.
There are two ways to install Catalina: enable automatic updates in System Preferences or download by using the following link.
Release date: September 24, 2018
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 18.5GB free space on disk
If your Mac is eligible to update to Mojave, then the easiest way to install it is by enabling automatic updates. Downloading a standalone Mojave installer could be a little tricky.
Release date: September 25, 2017
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 14.3GB free space on disk
Here is a High Sierra download link.
This is the first macOS version. Previous OS versions for Macs were called OS X (X stands for 10).
Release date: September 20, 2016
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Here is a Sierra download link. Onecast 1 13 reasons.
Last OS X version.
Release date: September 30, 2015
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
same as OS Mountain Lion. Ender 5 3d printer software.
Here is El Capitan download link.
Release date: October 16, 2014
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Same as OS Mountain Lion.
Here is Yosemite download link.
First free Mac OS. Previous OS versions vary from $19.99 to $129.
Release date: October 22, 2013
Hardware Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Same as OS Mountain Lion.
OS X Mavericks installer is not available on Apple Site. Follow instructions here to install Mavericks.
Must be purchased. Fixed many bugs introduced in OS X Lion.
Release date: July 25, 2012
System Requirements: 2GB RAM and 8GB free space on disk
Mountain Lion installer is not available on Apple Site. Follow instructions here to install OS X Mountain Lion.
Following Mac OS versions are still running on older Macs, but Apple does not support them anymore, and there is no point to upgrade (or downgrade) to them:
“Do I even need antivirus security for my Mac?” If you’re thinking that antivirus software is unnecessary on Mac systems, you’re not alone. Most people erroneously think that simply because they’re using OS X that they’re impervious to viruses, malware, Trojans, and other similar types of malicious code.
In the not so distant past, this was true. And Apple wanted to look better than Microsoft, so they marketed their computers by saying they were superior regarding security. But times have changed, and Macs can get viruses now. The only problem is, a lot of Mac users aren’t caught up with the times (which is pretty ironic considering the most die hard Apple fans buy the latest iPhone the instant it becomes available).
If someone tells you that your Mac can’t get a virus, don’t listen to them; they’re dead wrong. Security isn’t a problem you can simply ignore. In this case, what you don’t know can hurt you. You might be thinking that it doesn’t matter since Apple runs a tighter ship and plugs up security holes with patches as soon as possible.
And you’re not wrong in thinking that. For example, Apple reportedly patched two enormous viruses that targeted the system’s secure image. But each new successive virus draws more hackers to Mac systems like moths to a flame.
The Mac operating system has its roots in a Unix system known as BSD. https://cbdownload.mystrikingly.com/blog/free-inshot-video-editor. Windows, however, was based on DOS (Disk Operating System). Naturally, over time both operating systems and their various forks grew, evolved, and took on a life of their own.
But because they are so fundamentally different, each operating system needs its own special code and packages to write applications that function properly. For example, if you double clicked an executable program named install.exe from a Windows system, it would launch an installer wizard for your application. But the same file on a Mac wouldn’t run, because the file systems, machine code, and operating system architecture are as different as day and night.
This is just one trivial example, but note that hackers have wreaked havoc and installed immeasurable numbers of malware and viruses by tricking users into running a malicious .exe executable file – which wouldn’t do anything to a Mac.
Now consider things from a hacker’s perspective. If you wanted to steal a lot of information or damage the most number of computers possible (I’m not saying you would, only that hackers think this way), wouldn’t you want to cast as wide a net as possible? Hackers sure do, so in the past, it was common practice to target the Microsoft Windows operating system, since so many people used it than Macs.
And it’s partially true: Windows systems are less secure than Macs. The largest reason why Windows is less secure deals with the myriads of flaws, bugs, and security holes in the code. The same bugs, vulnerabilities, and exploits may not even exist in a Mac system, making it unfathomably difficult for Windows viruses to spread to Macs (though some have in the past, such as scripting attacks).
So, several factors came together that made antivirus unnecessary in years past. Hacker didn’t target OS X, it was harder to find security vulnerabilities within the operating system, and other viruses weren’t able to run on both Windows and OS X without first being reprogrammed.
Though I don’t want to burst any Mac users’ bubble, I do have bad news for you. All of this has changed, and within the last four years, more and more viruses have been popping up on Macs. These days, using a Mac without antivirus is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute.
So, let’s take a look at the best antivirus services for Macs.
Avira is a great option for Mac users because they are completely free. Usually, I tend to think that free software can’t keep up with paid software. As humans, we tend to perceive value based on price. However, Avira breaks the mold.
One of the key advantages to Avira is that it has the smallest impact on system performance, which is essential for antivirus software. Antivirus software typically needs to run for long periods of time in the background.
If software bogs down your computer too much, your Mac is essentially out of commission until the scans finish, which is highly undesirable. But Avira doesn’t hog system resources as much as competing software.
And it has some great features, such as a real-time scanner to offer you immediate protection against threats. It does also have a manual system scanning feature, which allows you to control when the software scans for viruses and malware.
In addition, there is an integrated scheduler to remove the burden of manual scans, so you can “set it and forget it.”Last but not least, it will quarantine suspicious files and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), instead of automatically deleting them (even the best software will sometimes produce a false positive).
Bitdefender is a favorable alternative to Avira for Macs, though it does cost money. To secure up to 3 different devices, it only costs $38.97 per year. That makes the monthly cost $3.24, which is very reasonable. That puts them in the same price range as other digital services like cloud storage and VPNs.
On their website, they claim that their service has “zero negative impact on speed.” That’s because a key part of their service is cloud-based. However, I feel that this statement is misleading. The service does use some amount of memory, CPU cycles, and bandwidth, meaning that it does use resources and can slow down your Mac.
However, it’s not as intrusive as other services. For instance, even though Norton Antivirus is known for being extremely strong, users have complained that their PCs become much slower when using it.
Conversely, Bitdefender is rather light. And it will help remove and guard against pesky adware, malware, and viruses. They too have a real-time protection feature, which the call “Autopilot.” The Autopilot feature continuously monitors your Mac, look for suspicious activity, strange files, and odd changes to the file system to safeguard your Mac in real time.
Avast is another free alternative for Macs, but there are a few drawbacks. First of all, it isn’t as feature rich as other services, though it does do a great job of stopping viruses and malware dead in its tracks. In fact, they are known for being better at malware identification and protection than many of their competitors.
Unfortunately, Avast isn’t as light as the two aforementioned antivirus software providers. Instead, their software gobbles up memory and CPU cycles, so it’s best to run scans when you’re not using your computer.
But they do have real-time monitoring of suspicious Internet traffic and can identify bogus URLs and malicious sites. Unlike many of their competitors, this security suite doesn’t have parental controls or remote management. But privacy aficionados will like their ability to block attempts of websites and third parties to track browsing activities.
Also, they do have an email scanning feature. This may sound mundane compared to other features, but I would argue it’s essential – though not every antivirus suite has this critical service. There are a lot of viruses, executables, infected downloads, and phishing attempts that are carried out by sending a malicious email. Having software to scan emails for potentially unwanted programs and viruses is key to preventing viruses from infecting your computer.
Kaspersky is our last good alternative for Macs, though I’d expect more viable Mac-centric products to emerge in the near future. This software originally started by supporting other operating systems – namely Microsoft Windows.
Nevertheless, they do a good job of keeping up to date with the latest threats, and continually update their virus definitions database to ensure your safety. By default, the software will automatically download the latest updates. But viruses and malware are only a fraction of overall threats, so they include features designed to safeguard your privacy.
One feature I really liked was their Webcam Protection tool, which automatically prevents cybercriminals from peering through your webcam. In my humble opinion, that technology should come standard on every device with a camera. The software also makes it nigh on impossible for others to track your online browsing habits.
And if you shop online (and let’s be honest, just about everyone does in some capacity), their online banking and shopping security is a massive benefit. Every time you visit a website with a payment option, the software will use its Safe Money feature to check that the website is legitimate and secure.
A notable ancillary feature is parental controls to help manage what your kids can do online to help prevent them accessing inappropriate content or make purchases. Last but not least, Kaspersky does a moderately good job of not impacting system performance, so you can still use your computer in conjunction with real-time protection and manual scans.
The good ol’ days of Macs being invincible in the face of viruses are long gone. Today, hackers have become so advanced that even Mac users need to use antivirus software. But so many Mac users live under the delusion that they’re safe online, even without security tools. If you don’t know which service you like best, I’d recommend at least taking advantage of a free trial to test the waters.
Though these services are branded as “antivirus tools,” many of them prevent malicious attacks that did plague Mac users in the past, such as phishing attempts. Using a Mac without antivirus is like driving a car without insurance – sooner or later, it’s going to catch up to you.
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