It is free, it has negligible impact on performance and it keeps you safe. Therefore taking the risk and not having it. I can't 'see' a performance hit with or without it running so on newer machines, the impact would be even less. The impact Avast has running on that machine is negligible. I have several older MacBook Pros including an old mid-2012 that I use regularly. Do yourself a favour and don't run your Mac naked. on networks one would probably consider very safe. It doesn't happen often but I have had positive hits with Avast over the last couple of years. Yes, they are less prominent but they exist. Ignore those who say that Mac's can't get viruses. both on my Mac's and on my Windows machines. Not impossible but if youre the least bit cautious youll be fine, now If children and the like will be using and know the password then there could be an issue but even the macs tend to be fine. I work as a computer consultant for fortune 500 companies and almost all of these companies require that you have anti-virus software on your machine before they will even let you come near their networks. The way MacOS is designed, its difficult for viruses to take effect and do any damage.
