NEW Version 15.2

Avast Mac Security
1

Hi,
New version 15.2 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Wednesday 2022-3-9.
What’s new:

  • WebShield: Added per-domain silent mode for alerts.
  • WebShield: Added better malware description in alert dialogs when available.
  • RealSite: Added DNS over HTTPS protocol for secure resolution via Avast servers.
  • SmartScan: Added simpler communication of all solutions Avast can provide.
  • WiFiInspector: Updated scanning engine.
  • Uninstaller: Can now be found directly in Applications folder.
  • Other bugfixes and stability fixes

Download it from direct link - http://mac-av.u.avcdn.net/mac-av/10_11/AAFM/avast_security_online.dmg
Technical change log - http://mac-av.u.avcdn.net/mac-av/10_11/AAFM/changelog.html

Older releases :
Version 15.1 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Monday 2021-12-6.

  • Improved integration with Avast Account
  • Fixed EmailShield with iCloud e-mail on macOS Monterey
  • Other bugfixes and stability fixes

Version 15.0 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Thursday 2021-09-16.

  • Introduced new Avast logo
  • Added localizations to several new languages
  • Dropped support for macOS 10.10. Our scanning engine and virus definitions will continue to support this OS version
  • Other bugfixes and stability fixes

Version 14.10 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Wednesday 15.6.2021.

  • Multiple minor bugs have been fixed and multiple internal improvements have been incorporated.

Version 14.9 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Wednesday 31.3.2021.

  • Added Statistics item to Avast Menu. It shows detailed information about product activity.
  • Preferences: Redesigned Subscriptions page. Now it shows more info aboout available subscriptions.
  • Preferences: Redesigned CoreShields and Scans pages. Now they are easier to navigate.
  • WiFiInspector: Added possibility to edit device name and class in case engine wrongly detects it.
  • Redesigned loading of Avast System Extensions and Kernel Extensions to improve reliability.
  • Fixed scanning via Drag and Drop on Avast icon in Dock.
  • Other bugfixes and stability fixes.

Version 14.8 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Monday 22.2.2021

  • Reimplemented WiFi Inspector
  • Improved notifications behavior in Do Not Disturb mode
  • Improved webshield and mailshield exceptions handling
  • Multiple other improvements and bugfixes

Version 14.7 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Wednesday 9.12.2020.

  • Native support for Apple silicone
  • Our installer is FAT now. It has to contain binaries for Intel and the ARM (Apple silicone).
  • Accessibility is part of the product now. Works with VoiceOver screen reader
  • New “setup wizard” to help users correctly set up their macosx to enable all AV features
  • loooooooot of fixes for BigSur (Intel+ARM)

Version 14.6 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Thursday 15.10.2020.

  • Support for new macosx 11 - BigSur, that required move to new system extensions to make our real time protection work. Tl;DR - it was lot of work and testing.
  • KNOWN issue - as there is not a final API from Apple yet there may be some hiccups when playing long youtube videos in Safari
  • New “setup wizard” to help users correctly set up their macosx to enable all AV features
  • Uninstallation survey is part of uninstallation flow - let us know why are you uninstalling!
  • USB Scan offered when new USB device connects
  • Improved stability of real time protection (web/file/mail shield)
  • loooooooot of improvements and fixes

Version 14.5 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Thursday 2.7.2020.

  • WebShield: Added our own list of certificates to correctly support browsers on macOS versions where Apple does not update certificates anymore.
    • Chest: Added handling of extended attributes.
    • Privacy: Updated Privacy Preferences tab.
    • Onboarding: Updated onboarding flows.
    • bunch of fixes to make the product more stable.

Version 14.4 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Wednesday 15.4.2020.

  • [NEW] implementation of Smart Scan in product - checks all the active apps and their files. Scans the most suspicious areas of your Mac.
    • [NEW] support of scanning http2 traffic
    • [NEW] NPS survey toaster - let us know what do you like or not. Appears once a yes.
    • [NEW] HNS behavior on corporate networks - if network is classified as corporate/public the scan is restricted.
    • bunch of fixes to make the product more stable.

Version 14.3.1 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Tuesday 11.2.2020.

  • [FIX] Updated Preferences > Privacy section - it shows only the related preferences now. We fine tuned the copy to make it more understandable as well.
    • minor bug fixes.

Version 14.3 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Monday 16.12.2019.

  • [NEW] Notifications section - overview of scan history and scan results with more details. It’s back!
    • [NEW] “Scan with Avast” is back in Finder menu.
    • [NEW] Drag and Dropping an item on Avast icon in Dock starts scan of that item
    • [NEW] Option to enable Virus definitions update notifications in Preferences - General.
    • [NEW] Real Site feature available in Premium Security
    • [NEW] Support trial version of Premium product - you can try the premium product. To be available at website soon.
    • [NEW] DNS over HTTPS (DoH) Automatic mode handling in Chrome.
    • [FIX] Interoperability issue with Outlook 11 for Mac.
    • [FIX] removed validation for activation codes in UI - it was causing that codes from amazon were not accepted.
    • [FIX] Fixed font issues in some localizations.
    • looot of other bug fixes and fine tuning.

Version 14.2 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Monday 23.9.2019.

  • [FIX] Fixes of crashes of Wi-Fi Monitoring
    • more fixes of hiccups and typos in the very new version 14.x

Version 14.1 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Monday 16.9.2019.

  • [NEW] Notification for users to allow Full Disk Access on 10.15
    • [FIX] no more broken internet connections with TLS 1.3
    • fixes of crashes, hiccups and typos in the very new version 14.0

Version 14.0 of Avast Security for Mac was released on Tuesday 30.7.2019.

  • [NEW] premium product renamed to “Avast Premium Security” - aligning portfolio
    • [NEW] completely new UI in Omni-like style
    • [NEW] Onboarding of new users
    • [NEW] login and activation via Avast account
    • [NEW] connect to Omni to activate child app
    • [NEW] Scan Central that allows you to run several scans at once.
    • [NEW] Custom scans - customize settings of your scan and schedule it
    • [NEW] Wi-Fi Inspector - automatic scans to prevent risk, and better usability
    • [LEGAL] EULA 1.11
    • [NEW] drop of support for macosx 10.9
    • [NEW] align messaging with system Do not disturb mode setting
    • [FIX] always show correct data about manula/auto-renewal of user’s subscription

Version 13.13 of Avast Business Antivirus for was released on Wednesday 18.9.2019.

Version 13.12 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Thursday 21.2.2019.

  • NEW VPS URL changes - getting ready for gigascan
    • NEW Expiration messaging flows for premium users
    • NEW activation form for reseller/retail purchases
    • FIX Correctly register web shield into system firewall to avoid system popups
    • FIX for slow down of Time Machine backups
    • FIX random issue with WiFi Inspector UI
    • FIX Report correctly VPN installation to prevent unexpected VPN offers
    • FIX SafePrice plugin - URL update for Firefox extension
    • FIX remove Call Blocker offering in Tools
    • Looot of other fixes and improvements

Download it from direct link - http://public.avast.com/supp/old_versions/Mac/13.12/avast_security_online.dmg

Version 13.11 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Monday 24.9.2018.

  • Hotifix of update issues in 13.10 release

Version 13.10 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Wednesday 19.9.2018.

  • IMPROVED onboarding experience to guide users through KEXT allowing on macOS High Sierra and newer.
    • FIX - Fixed WiFi Inspector UI for macOS Mojave.
    • CHANGE - All executable code is now inside Avast.app to better support Mojave. We have moved all executables to /Applications. You can find the cliscan in /Applications/Avast.app/Contents/Backend/utils
    • IMPROVED - Redesigned scans to improve stability. Any problem in scanning engine should not take down the entire scan.
    • FIX - Mail Shield. IMAP was sometimes mixing mails together when multiple e-mail clients were used on the same Mac.
    • LEGAL - new EULA v1.9

Version 13.9 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Thursday 11.6.2018.

  • FIX - removed Privacy settings from Free AV - not necessary
    • FIX - reporting of consents to GDPR portal
    • LEGAL - new EULA v1.8 reflecting GDPR changes

Version 13.8 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Wednesday 16.5.2018.

  • FIX - decrease the frequency of the warning popup
    • FIX - Addressed problem with https certificate validation on macOS 10.9 and increased stability of web shield (proxy)
    • FIX - stabilisation of Wi-Fi Inspector

Version 13.7 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Friday 4.5.2018.

  • FIX - crash in proxy/Web shield

Version 13.6 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Thursday 3.5.2018.

  • FIX - Added some widely used apps to Ransomware whitelist
    • NEW - GDPR compliance, we added new preferences in Avast Security Pro
    • NEW - Improved phishing protection in Avast Security Pro
    • NEW - Support for activation codes
    • NEW - Moved browser plugins from Tools to Preferences
    • NEW - Added SafePrice Avast browser plugin.
    • and many other fixes and improvements

Version 13.5 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Thursday 8.3.2018.

  • fixed - Wi-Fi Inspector glitches and UI
    • fixed - “Your connection is not secure” messages with Firefox 58
    • fixed - Ransomware Shield sensitivity + implement mechanism to deliver updates quickly
    • fixed - Ransomware shield performance at boot time
    • new - managed customers see static message in “Managed by”
    • new - activation subscription page can be opened with CMD+K shortcut
    • new - activated Ransomware shield protects default directories for all users

Version 13.4 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Wednesday 20.12.2017

  • fixed - issue with iCloud in Safari on MacOS 10.13

Version 13.3 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Thursday 7.12.2017.

  • Fixed sensitivity of Ransomware shield. Added photoanalysisd and cloudphotosd to default Ransomware Allowed Applications.
    • Fixed ‘+’ button in Ransomware Shield’s Allowed Apps section. It did not work properly when listing certain apps to offer in UI.

Version 13.2 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Monday 27.11.2017.

  • fixes for WiFi Inspector on macOS 10.9
    • Fixing localisation issues

Version 13.1 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac was released on Sunday 12.11.2017.

Version 13.0 of Avast Security for Mac aka Avast Antivirus for Mac on Sunday 6.11.2017.

  • we are introducing new premium features - Ransomware Shield and Wi-Fi Inspector. Promo of these features is shown in the Free product. However you need to buy a license to unlock these features and upgrade to the premium version called Avast Security Pro.
    • we improved performance of our File shield.
    • lot of bugfixes - including fix for issue with iCloud login on High Sierra, fix for the persistent threat warning in emails.
    • we dropped support for macOS 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8. Virus definitions and scanning engine will be still provided for these OSes.

Thank you for your support and sharing your experiences with our Mac products!
Lukas.

2

hallo. I got the file avast_security_online and I’m trying to re-install :-. The MacMini doesn’t allow it and now I’m loosing almost an hour trying to find a support e-mail. no way. So I send this message. I’m really disappointed >:( >:(it is so impossible to send a simple email asking support >:( >:(
Please. I have even the Log-file and any requested file from the “support instructions” online… but no way to find out a >:( >:( mail or form to open an assistance ticket.
Hope you can help me.
Thanks, Pietro

3

Contact support: https://support.avast.com/contact

4

Was there any error message?
Support portal is linked from the main avast.com webpage.

5

Been testing other Mac AV, can’t wait to get back to Avast. It just works, fast, clean updating sigs, and it doesn’t bog my system down. Great job!!!

6

Hello, please help me!
I have a MacBookAir with MacOS 10.12.6 and have used free Avast Security a long time. Today I downloaded version 13 and first uninstalled the previous version as instructed. During the last step of installation of the the latest version, the installer stopped and showed this message (Translated into english): “Installation failed. The installer encountered an error preventing installation. Contact the program maker and ask for assistance.” I have tried this three times with the same result. Consequently I now have neither the older, nor the new version and is unprotected.
Please give me instructions on what to do!
/heze

7

@heze - please try to download the DMG of version 13.0 again (link above). Run the “Uninstall Avast” that will show up.
If it fails again (hopefully not) check the uninstall log - open terminal, cat /tmp/avastuninstall-*

8

You wrote: “please try to download the DMG of version 13.0 again (link above)”
I can’t find the link to 13.0. Where is it?
/heze

9

→ http://mac-av.u.avcdn.net/mac-av/10_9/AAFM/avast_security_online.dmg

10

Thank you very much. Now it works!
/heze ;D

11

Why is the ransomware shield blocking Apple MacOS services such as photoanalysisd and cloudphotosd? These should be in the whitelist by default.

12

Thanks for report! We’ll fix it in next update.
Please add them to “Allowed apps” as a workaround to fix it now.

13

Fixed in 13.3 release.

14

Thanks for fixing those two, but there are others. Bearing in mind that the Mac System/Library is totally locked down, would it not make sense to exclude any executables that reside there as they are part of the operating system and cannot be tampered with?

15

Hello,
The problem is not with the fact that the executables are part of the operating system, but that they could potentially be used by a malicious code to destroy your data. Assuming that our file shield does not detect the ransomware in time, it is then free to use any of the system binaries to do the harm.
Kind regards,
Ondrej Kolacek

16

Thanks. I understand what you are saying however I have a concern. The ransomware shield seems to act indescrimitately, in other words it blocks a process whatever app calls it genuine or rogue. isn’t there a danger that your blocking the process for a genuine app could result in data loss or corruption of data?

17

Ransomware shield protects only select file types and these only in directories the user selects. While there are some theoretical scenarios where data could be lost and corrupted (eg. badly written app that needs to modify multiple files atomically and does not cope correctly with access errors), it is highly unlikely for the types of files we protect. What is possible (and expected) is that “legit” apps may fail to write protected files. While this may lead to a loss of data, it is never silent (the app is notified about forbidden access).
So when protecting files via Ransomware shield, verify, that your tools work correctly, and, if necessary, whitelist them. When all is working, you have yet another layer of protection on files you care about.

18

Apologies - another question:

The default state of the webshield on installation has “Scan files while downloading” toggled off. In this state, the application fails the majority of the AMSTO tests. Surely this is not intentional?

19

Just double-checking: is this address to the changelog correct/legit?

http://mac-av.u.avcdn.net/mac-av/10_9/AAFM/changelog.html

Thanks!

20

Which tests exactly? https://www.amtso.org/feature-settings-check-for-desktop-solutions/ are OK, except compressed malware and cloud protection.