Intego Anti-virus software offers full-range protection for macOS devices with four different plans. You may choose a plan depending on the features needed. Founded in 1997 in Paris, Intego has offices in Seattle, Texas and Austin, employing about fifty people. Currently a subsidiary of the UK-based Kape Technologies, Intego offers comprehensive solutions, including for Mac users. Homeowners and businesses may choose any plan with multi-device and multi-year subscription. You may decide to protect only macOS machines or a mix of Windows and macOS devices. The latter is a more realistic option for homes and offices with multiple macOS and Windows computers.
The first plan is Mac Internet Security X9, which consisted of VirusBarrier X9 for antivirus protection and NetBarrier X9 to protect the home/office network against online intrusion. It comes with an embedded firewall and data protection features. The second plan is Mac Washing Machine Secure X9. It has the same VirusBarrier X9 and NetBarrier X9, as well as Mac Washing Machine X9 to optimize the macOS system. The third plan is ContentBarrier Secure X9 with VirusBarrier X9 and NetBarrier X9, along with ContentBarrier X9, a parental control feature. The fourth, Mac Premium Bundle X9 combines all five utilities, Virus Barrier X9 for antivirus, NetBarrier X9 for network protection, Mac Washing Machine X9 for system optimization, ContentBarrier X9 for parental filter and Personal Backup.
Antivirus performance
The VirusBarrier X9 runs scheduled scanning on your system and real-time protection works immediately after you install Intego Anti-virus. Each time a threat is identified it will be quarantined. If the antivirus somehow flags secure files improperly, they can be designated manually as false positives. VirusBarrier X9 should be able to detect nearly all Mac malware, similar to Avast and Bitdefender.
Privacy and security features
The built-in Safe Browsing features check the settings of installed browsers to verify that your browser works safely. You may configure Safe Browsing to monitor or ignore specific browser settings. NetBarrier X9 is the primary network module that checks incoming and outgoing data. It makes sure that your private information isn’t being sent to an unknown destination and there’s nothing harmful is being implanted into your system. It is a crucial capability to have on a MacBook if you regularly use Wi-Fi networks at work or in public spaces.
Performance impact
The post-installation performance impact of Intego Anti-virus is very negligible, while it’s tracking the system for possible threats. During scheduled quick scans, performance impact should be less than 10 per cent, but it could jump to under 40 per cent when you start a full scan of the system. Based on tests, Intego Mac Internet Security X9 has astoundingly fast performance, scanning more than 500,000 files in less than 7 minutes. In comparison, Kaspersky has the slowest performance, completing a full scan on the system in 30 minutes or more, depending on the number of files scanned.
Conclusion
Intego Anti-virus offers solid protection to any macOS machine with acceptable performance impact and very fast scanning. It is priced higher than the competing Norton 360 Standard and Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, but still an appropriate investment for average users and businesses.
