Intego’s Mac Internet Security X9 is a suite of two key security tools: VirusBarrier X9 and NetBarrier X9. The job is obvious, while the second becomes a two-way firewall against unauthorized access.
Together, they promise a high level of protection against direct and indirect threats from unwanted software and malware. As we will see later, it is possible to buy it in protection mode for 1 or 2 years.
If you want to opt for a more advanced package, you can opt for Intego Mac Premium X9 Bundle which includes other additional tools such as Mac Washing Machine X9 system cleaner app, ContentBarrier XP for parental controls and Personal Backup 10.9.
Operation and handling
Installation is relatively straightforward and you can choose one or both of these tools. Since they run quite low on your system, you will need to grant full permission and disk access, which you will be guided through through the installation process.
Once VirusBarrier is installed, you will be asked to choose the level of coverage. The options are Minimal, which scans for Mac-specific threats and malicious scripts; Standard, which monitors emails and scans for threats for any platform; and Maximum, which adds scanning for connected iOS devices.
You can choose the details no matter what level you select, as these three options are basically shortcuts to different sets of settings, but later you can set them up to your liking and preference.
Characteristics
What makes VirusBarrier X9 quite a complete solution is that you can scan all files on any connected drive, even in compressed files, and you can even scan iOS devices connected to your Mac.
Any suspicious file detected will be quarantined for a specified period of time to isolate it from the main system. Repairs can leave the original file usable or delete all your data if it is malware.
At this point, the Mac Internet Security X9 solution has done a great job of finding threats in our Mac benchmark. Malware definitions are frequently updated and can be installed automatically and transparently to the user.
User-friendliness and performance
It took a long time to perform a full hard drive scan the first time it was run. The exact length of time depends on the size of your disk and the number of archives and archives to review.
Calculate that, on average, it can take the team 30 minutes to an hour under normal circumstances. System performance during the scan was not potentially affected. However, you can scan in “low priority” mode to reduce the impact on the processor.
This makes the scan longer, but it is available as an option. Additional scans are performed only on new items and typically take a minute or less to run.
For continued protection, VirusBarrier will monitor the installation of new volumes and optionally scan them automatically. You can also drag individual files, folders, and volumes to the main window for spot checks.
VirusBarrier has detected all of our malware and “uninvited software”, including those from other platforms. We were also notified when we opened a disk image with a malicious installer.
The results of AV-Test, the prestigious independent malware testing laboratory, were similar to ours and did not detect false positives (legitimate software reported as malware).
NetBarrier Firewall
As we go along, Intego NetBarrier is the other interesting component of the security package. It has been found to be very effective in monitoring and marking all communication attempts both outdoors and indoors; it is a two-way firewall that monitors intrusions.
In fact, it will surprise you with the number of conversations taking place on the web. This was to be expected with Adobe Creative Cloud, but even Apple Pages wanted to have remote conversations.
The vast majority of them are completely legitimate, but communication attempts are tagged and the software allows you to choose whether or not to allow them. Then there is the question of whether the app will allow you to continue to function normally or have any drawbacks.
We would have liked general information on connection attempts; Sometimes process names can be alarmingly named even though they are kosher.
That said, the configuration options are really straightforward, and once you’ve figured out what you’re willing to allow information sharing for, it’s a very useful and unobtrusive network security tool.
Pricing and availability
The price of Intego Mac Internet Security X9 It is $ 39.99 for protection of a computer for a period of one year. If you choose to extend it to 2 years, the final price is $ 74.99.
At the time of purchase, you can also increase the number of computers to 3 and 5 with prices for a license year of $ 54.99 and $ 69.99 respectively. Likewise, Intego does not include protection for Windows computers.
However, if in your case you have a Windows PC, you can add dual protection for Mac and Windows for an additional 10 $, thanks to the collaboration that Intego maintains with the Spanish company specializing in security. Panda Security.
The most professional option Mac Premium X9 Bundle Starting at $ 69.99 for the first year of protection and covering a single Mac computer.
With this mode, you get additional tools like Mac Washing Machine X9 (to clean the drive and optimize Mac performance), ContentBarrier X9 (for custom user access restrictions to inappropriate content), and Personal Backup 10.9.
The backup utility has benefits that Time Machine doesn’t, including scheduled backup times and file syncing between two Macs. Everyone should have Time Machine configured, but it’s worth adding this option for your security.
If you want to know about other security solutions in the market, you can consult our special the best antivirus for Mac where you will find the analysis of 8 solutions from the main brands on the market.
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