Macintosh Internet Security Guide

Comparative Reviews of Macintosh Security Software

• Mac Security Focus: Privacy, Joe Kissell, MacWorld, PC World, October 8, 2008
• Mac Security Focus: Antivirus, Scott McNulty, MacWorld, PC World, October 7, 2008
• Mac Security Focus: Firewalls, Chris Pepper & Rich Mogull, MacWorld, PC World, October 6, 2008
• Walling In The Mac, Jack Germain, Macnewsworld, August 27, 2007

Firewall Software for Macintosh

• BrickHouse Brian Hill
• DoorStop X, Open Door Networks, also see "Who's There? Firewall Advisor" and their book "Internet Security for Your Macintosh"
  • DoorStop X Security Suite 2.0, Jeffery Battersby, MacWorld, March 19, 2007
  • Doorstop X a sweet suite for security, Don Foy, Macsimumnews, January 11, 2006
• Flying Buttress
  • Flying Buttress 1.4, Jeffery Battersby, MacWorld, May 22, 2006
• IPNetSentry, Sustainable Softworks
  • IPNetSentryX 1.6.5 [firewall], Joe Kissell, MacWorld, PC World, July 22, 2008
  • IPNetSentry X, Jeffery Battersby, MacWorld, May 22, 2006
• Mac OS X Firewall
  • Mac OS X Firewall, Jeffery Battersby, MacWorld, May 24, 2006
• Net Barrier, Intego
  • Review: NetBarrier X5, Chris Pepper, MacWorld, September 3, 2008
• Norton Personal Firewall 3.0 for Mac; based on Door Stop Personal.
  • Norton Personal Firewall 3.0.3, Jeffery Battersby, MacWorld, May 23, 2006
• SunShield

Anti-Virus Software for Macintosh

• Best Free Antivirus Software, Mary Landesman, antivirus.about.com, April 21, 2009 -- Avira AntiVir Personal for Windows, PC Tools iAntivirus for Mac, AVG Free Edition for Windows, Avast Home Edition for Windows, and ClamXav for Mac.
• ClamXav
  • Secure Your Mac with Free ClamXav Virus Checker, Jesse Kirdahy-Scalia, OpenMediaBoston, September 26, 2008
• Intego VirusBarrier
  • VirusBarrier Adds iPhone, iPod Touch Scanning, Peter Cohen, Macworld, July 17. 2008
  • Intego VirusBarrier X4, Rob Griffins, MacWorld, May 11, 2006
• McAfee Virex for the Macintosh
• Norton AntiVirus 11 for Macintosh
  • Review: Norton AntiVirus 11, Scott McNulty, MacWorld, July 7, 2008
  • Norton AntiVirus 10.1, Rob Griffins, MacWorld, May 10, 2006
• Norton AntiVirus Dual Protection (Mac & PC antivirus)
• PC Tools, free for personal use
  • PC Tools iAntivirus for Mac, Mary Landesman, antivirus.about.com, September 23, 2008
• Also see our page on secure online email hosting services with virus and spam filters.

Anti-Spam Software for Macintosh

• Hendrickson Software Components -- Purify, Em @ ilCRX, SidewinderX, SpamX, SpamControl...
• Spamfire 2, MatterForm Media
• SpamSieve "Adds Bayesian spam filtering to popular e-mail clients."
  • SpamSieve 2.7 [Macintosh], Rob Griffiths, Macworld, July 6, 2009
• SpamSweep, Bains Software
  • SpamSweep 1.5, Christopher Breen, MacWorld, April 10, 2007
• Also see our page on secure online email hosting services with virus and spam filters.

Internet Security Suites and Families for Macintosh

• Intego Family -- NetBarrier (firewall+), VirusBarrier, Personal AntiSpam, ContentBarrier, FileGuard, Personal Backup, Internet Security Barrier (two suites) and dual boot for Macs with Windows.
  • Personal Antispam X5 [Macintosh], Rob Griffiths, MacWorld, July 7, 2009
  • ContentBarrier X4, Roman Loyola, MacWorld, PC World, August 18, 2008
• Norton Internet Security 4.0 for Macintosh suite includes Antivirus, Anti-phishing, Identity protection, Internet worm protection, Two-way firewall, Vulnerability protection, Intrusion protection, Norton DeepSight™, Browser protection and File protection.
• Trend Micro Smart Surfing for Mac -- two-way firewall, antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, web threat protection, and more.

Privacy Software for Macintosh

• Allume Systems -- Internet Cleanup...
• OS X Security Utilities, Kirk McElhearn, MacWorld, January 25, 2005
• Little Snitch, Objective Development [outward bound firewall]
  • Little Snitch, Consumer Search, May 2009
  • Little Snitch 2.0.3, Mark Anbinder, MacWorld, May 8, 2008
• Jiiva -- AutoScrubber
• NetShred X, Internet track eraser for Mac OS X $20, Mireth Technology Corp.
• Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) email security
• Web Confidential password manager, $20

Hardware Routers (Firewall, Internet Connection Sharing & Networking)

• AirPort Extreme, Apple Computer
  • Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station 802.11n, Mario Morejon, PC Magazine, April 20, 2009
  • Review: Apple's new Airport Extreme gets dual-band Wi-Fi, Michael DeAgonia, Computer World, March 29, 2009
  • Review: Apple AirPort Extreme, Gerry Blackwell, Wi-Fi Planet, June 2, 2008
  • First Look: AirPort Express 802.11n Wi-Fi base station, Christopher Breen and Dan Frakes, Macworld, March 17, 2008
• Go to our Router, Wireless and Broadband Gateway pages for more choices and product reviews.

Anti-Theft Services for Laptops

• Adeona is a free Open Source system for tracking the location of a lost or stolen laptop while preserving your privacy.
• Computrace Lo/Jack
• MacPhoneHome, Brigadoon Security Group
• Orbicule Undercover
• XTool