Intego Mac Internet Security X9 Review

While your Mac has several built-in security and privacy features, doubling down on your safety can improve your chances of avoiding viruses and other online threats. Intego is one of many antivirus tools out there, but is it worth using?

A Quick Summary

Our Rating: 3.6/5

My thoughts on Intego Mac Internet Security X9: From my tests, it’s a comprehensive security tool that can scan your computer and external disks for malware. You have control over what you do with quarantined items and can pick plans for 1–5 computers. Intego’s antivirus also has Safe Browsing features for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari to stop you from visiting potentially dangerous websites.

However, Intego Mac Security X9 has some downsides. For example, I needed to get paid add-ons for Intego’s full suite of security and performance tools. This got quite annoying as I’d rather manage everything in one place. Moreover, the in-browser features slowed down my performance when browsing the web.

Not using an antivirus tool on your MacBook is a bad idea for several reasons. If a virus or hacker breaches your only line of defense, you’re in serious danger of identity theft, bad computer performance, and many other negative effects. Unfortunately, choosing the best tool is difficult because so many options exist. Moreover, you must think about and critically assess your own unique needs.

In this Intego Mac Internet Security X9 review, I put this antivirus tool to the test. Expect to learn about not just its key features, but also where it excels and needs improvement.

Before we start:

 

Although Intego Mac Internet Security X9 is highly regarded, MacKeeper’s Antivirus is a better solution for Apple computers. The tool was designed specifically for MacBooks, and you’ll get access to support from a team of dedicated experts. You’ll also get to use plenty of security and performance tools without needing to pay for add-ons and can manage everything in a single interface.

 

Setting up MacKeeper’s Antivirus solution is easy. Here are the steps you must follow:

1. Download MacKeeper.
2. Navigate to Security > Antivirus.
3. Select Launch Antivirus.
4. Tap Next; when you see the call-to-action telling you to grant disk access, select Allow next to it.
5. Tap Open Settings and allow disk access for all of MacKeeper’s features.
6. Click on Allow next to Real-time protection is disabled.

Features of Intego Mac Internet Security X9

Intego has several security features, including:

• NetBarrier: With its help, you can control connection access based on the type of network you’re currently connected to. You can pick from public, home, and work Wi-Fi.
• Real-Time Scanning: Enable real-time threat scanning and receive email alerts if Intego Mac Internet Security X9 identifies an issue.
• Scheduled Scanning: Set scheduled scans if you want to regularly keep your device up-to-date.
• Multi-Drive Scanning: Scan your computer and individual disks. You’ll see a list of what you can scan on the left-hand side of your screen.
• Trusted Files: Add files that don’t need to be scanned. You can remove these whenever you want.
• Quarantine: Choose which detected malware scans should be trusted or deleted.
• Safe Browsing: Avoid browsing fraudulent sites in Chrome and Safari. However, this doesn’t keep you entirely safe—so you may need extra protection.

I’ll now go over each one in a bit more detail.

NetBarrier

NetBarrier is a comprehensive tool that lets you choose whether you’re on a home, work, or public Wi-Fi network. You can allow or deny access to incoming and outgoing internet connections, along with local connections. It’s possible to add exceptions for each of these.

Besides managing your connections in general, you can also set up rules for different apps and programs. You’ll often see pop-ups appear and ask whether you want to allow connections for certain actions, and I have to be honest—these quickly get annoying. Nonetheless, you can control everything further in the NetBarrier app if necessary.

Scanning features

From my app’s investigation, I found that the VirusBarrier app offers three main types of scanning. The first is a real-time scan. Here, you can choose to run a Quick Scan or Full Scan.

A Quick Scan will perform a swift scan across your device, and you’ll see a notification determining whether your device is safe. To start it, find the relevant button within an app.

Sometimes, however, you might occasionally want to go deeper. When this is the case, a Full Scan is a better option. By doing this, you could potentially identify malicious software to delete. At this stage, it might also be possible that you need to learn how to remove adware on your Mac.

The VirusBarrier app also has a Scheduled Scans feature. Besides picking when you want the scan to take place, you can choose whether you want to perform a quicker or full scan. You can set up multiple scans if you wish to. For this, click Display scheduled scans in Task Manager if you want these to appear in your computer’s Task Manager.

When using Intego’s Mac Internet Security X9 tool, you can also scan different drives—so-called multi-drive scanning—all your options are on the left-hand side.

Trusted Files

You’ll likely have some files that don’t require scanning on your Mac, and if you want to speed up the process, you can add these as your Trusted Files. Go to the Trusted Files tab, select the + icon at the bottom of your screen, and add everything you want to include in this list.

You can delete your Trusted Files later if needed by highlighting them and tapping - icon at the bottom of your window. However, I must say that adding Trusted Files might be a good idea if you’re interested in protecting your privacy and don’t want a scanner to access sensitive information. Using a VPN and enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) are two other actions I recommend implementing for a more profound protection on Mac.

Quarantine tools

If Intego identifies malware, the files and folders will be moved into quarantine. Here, you can then decide what to do next. Sometimes, the software might mistakenly mark a file or folder as malicious. In these instances, you can mark it as trusted.

However, you’ll sometimes have to remove dangerous programs from your device. In these instances, simply select Delete All and your app will do the rest.

Intego also lets you repair files and folders by selecting Repair All. So this if you feel like it’s necessary. All of these tools are available in the Quarantine tab.

Safe Browsing

Whether you use Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, you can make the most of Intego’s Safe Browsing feature. When this tool is activated, your browser should stop you from visiting websites it deems to be fraudulent. I’ve had issues where I have been scammed on fake sites in the past, especially online stores—and as such, I found this feature quite nice.

However, I must warn you that this tool isn’t 100% foolproof. When it’s activated, you might still have issues when clicking on suspicious links in messages. So, I still recommend practicing due diligence to avoid encountering these problems.

It’s also possible to turn off Safe Browsing if you don’t think it’s necessary. Intego will warn you when you aren’t protected, but you’ll have to have notifications enabled to receive these alerts.

How much does Intego Mac Internet Security X9 cost

Intego Mac Internet Security X9 has various pricing options starting at $39.99 per year for one Mac on a one-year subscription. When you renew, you’ll pay $49.99 thereafter.

Note that Intego will add VAT at checkout, so the pricing will vary depending on your region. For example, I’m based in Denmark and had to pay 25% VAT at checkout; I was also charged in Danish Kroner (DKK) rather than USD.

Below is a breakdown of your different pricing options in USD, excluding tax.

System impact of Intego Mac Internet Security X9

When I set up Intego Mac Internet Security X9 on my computer (which is a 2022 MacBook Pro with an M2 chip), I didn’t notice a huge difference in terms of overall device speed. So, I don’t think that Intego slows down your computer too much.

However, I did have problems with Google Chrome after setting up Safe Browsing. I’ve never had significant lag before, but as soon as I installed Intego’s apps, this changed. Since I often use Chrome to write, this was incredibly frustrating.

After a while, I disabled Safe Browsing. Everything started performing like normal again, so it was hard for me to determine that this was anything other than the software I’d recently installed.

Everything else worked without problems. Even with the firewalls enabled, I didn’t notice a huge difference in my connection speed. The Safe Browsing extensions were the only real problem from what I could observe.

Effectiveness of protection against viruses of Intego Mac Internet Security X9

Intego is relatively good at protecting against viruses, but things sometimes go undetected. For this reason, I suggest thinking about pairing another solution with Intego. I felt like the protective network features were excellent, though, and these might make Intego worth subscribing to for your needs.

Is Intego Mac Internet Security X9 easy to use

Intego Mac Internet Security X9 is relatively easy to use, but I don’t like how you have to use two separate apps. It’d be much better if they were in a unified interface.

I also disliked the app interface design because it looked like it could do with a modern refresh. Nonetheless, navigation was at least quite logical. When navigating the Security X9 apps, I could also easily add and remove settings with minimal lag or delay.

Intego Mac Internet Security X9 customer support

I always look at customer support when determining the effectiveness of any third-party tool, especially antivirus software. It’s vital that I’ve got access to an expert if something goes wrong; like me, you probably have better things to do than wait hours for a response.

You can contact Intego’s team via Live Chat if your request is particularly urgent. The support team is available from 08:30 through 17:30 (Central US time). To their credit, Intego’s support team was quick and helpful when I reached out for assistance.

I also think that it’d be nice for Intego to have round-the-clock support if possible. Sometimes, problems will arise outside of business hours. Having to wait for an entire weekend would be quite frustrating, so I’d hope that Intego solves this in the future.

You can also submit a support ticket if you’re having problems with your account or billing. While useful, you’ll still need to wait a certain period of time for a response. Phone and email support are also available.

Note from our experts:

 

When comparing Intego vs. MacKeeper, MacKeeper excels in customer support. When you sign up for an account, you’ll get access to 24/7 support—regardless of where you’re based—from a team of experts. Besides MacBooks, the team is also knowledgeable about Apple Watches, iPhones, and other devices.

So, is Intego Mac Internet Security X9 worth using?

Intego’s antivirus software is decent enough. I liked its scanning features and that you could control your quarantined items. You can also choose between full and quick scans. However, it does have a couple of downsides that you must consider.

First, I didn’t like how customer support is limited to certain hours. Technical issues can arise at any time, and having access to an expert is—in my opinion—very important. Second, I didn’t like how Safe Browsing made Safari and Chrome feel bloated and caused my browsers to lag more than they ever had before.

Where Intego Mac Internet Security X9 did excel, however, was in its firewall options. You can set the levels of security based on your internet connection type, and I thought this was particularly useful for connecting to public Wi-Fi when you must be extra careful.

I would, however, still recommend MacKeeper’s Antivirus instead. You don’t need to pay for performance add-ons and bundles, and you can also control security and performance within a single app. MacKeeper also has 24/7 support and many of the same features as Intego, such as quarantining—along with a better user interface.

Follow my instructions to install and use MacKeeper’s Antivirus:

1. Download MacKeeper and navigate to Security > Antivirus.
2. Tap Launch Antivirus and select Next to turn on real-time protection.
3. Open your System Settings/Preferences when prompted to; enter your password or use Touch ID if asked.
4. Allow MacKeeper in your settings by switching the toggle on or ticking the related boxes.
5. Quit and reopen MacKeeper.
6. Select Enable next to Real-time protection is disabled.
7. Tap Start Scan to look for malware.
8. Select  Move to Quarantine if the app finds malicious software.
9. Delete the malware when asked.

Before committing to a subscription, you can perform one MacKeeper scan for free. After doing that, you can decide whether you want to continue using the tool or not.