F-Secure Internet Security / Anti-Virus

What to do if you have unused subscription codes for F-Secure Internet Security (or Anti-Virus)
Switching from the old F-Secure Internet Security or Anti-Virus product to F-Secure Total
How to upgrade F-Secure Internet Security (old SAFE) to F-Secure TOTAL
Why did I receive an email saying that my [OLD] F-Secure Internet Security subscription is going to expire, even though I have renewed it?
Can F-Secure Mobile Security be installed on iOS devices?
Legacy F-Secure Internet Security and F-Secure Anti-Virus reaching end of sales
What are the differences between the old F-Secure Internet Security and the new F-Secure Internet Security released on February 14?
Upgrading from F-Secure Internet Security to F-Secure Total
F-Secure SAFE has now a dedicated browsing extension for the Safari browser on iPhones and iPads
F-Secure Mobile Security has been discontinued

What's New in F-Secure SAFE for Mac

This article outlines important changes and features, as well as fixes released in the latest versions of F-Secure SAFE for Mac.

Version 18.4 (build 47125)

Released November 2022

macOS Ventura support

This release has been optimized for full macOS Venture compatibility.

Native Apple Silicon support

This release brings native support for Apple Silicon hardware.

New settings UI

This release comes with a brand new settings interface. It can be accessed from the app drop-down menu in the menu bar.

New update service implementation

This release comes with a new update component implementation.

Hotfix support

This release comes with hotfix capability that allows deploying crucial bug fixes and provides stability improvements outside of the regular product update process.

Real-time scanning activity indicator

The virus scanner activity indicator can be enabled in the product settings. The indicator is shown to the right of the app icon in the menu bar.

Other changes

Version 18.4 also includes other important product improvements and fixes to the overall stability and security including:

The performance of real-time virus scanning has been improved.
The rating injection logic for the Safari App extension has been improved.

Version 18.3 (build 45443)

Released August 2022

New Browsing Protection capabilities

Browser extensions can now handle access to prohibited/illegal and suspicious web content with a block page.
Browser extension block pages support dark mode.
The Firefox browser extension has been moved to the Mozilla Add-ons Store to achieve a better onboarding experience.
Improved Google search engine compatibility for browser extensions.

Other changes

Version 18.3 also includes other important product improvements and fixes to the overall stability and security including:

Improved macOS Ventura compatibility.
Performance of real-time virus scanning has been improved.
Riskware detections can be moved to Trash from the Infection Report window.

Action required after upgrade: After the product has been upgraded, the Safari browser must be restarted to re-activate Browsing Protection. This step is only required if the product is running on macOS 10.15 Catalina.

Version 18.2 (build 43414)

Released April 2022

Product improvements to enhance overall stability and security

The SAFE for Mac 18.2 release offers important product improvements and fixes to the overall stability and security as follows:

Enabled full cloud reputation lookup for real-time virus protection
Optimized load on the F-Secure Security Cloud service backend
Improved the performance and speed of on-demand virus scanning
Optimized the size of the installer package by removing unused components (kernel extensions)

Improved Browsing Protection capabilities

Added support for the "Streaming Media" category to Content Blocker
Enabled support for the generic Chromium based browser
Improved the stability of Browsing Protection with the Safari extension
Improved the stability of Content Blocker
Adjusted Browsing Protection to reflect layout changes for several search engines (Google, Yahoo)

Action required after upgrade: After the product has been upgraded, the Safari browser must be restarted to re-activate Browsing Protection. This step is only required if the product is running on macOS 10.15 Catalina.

Version 18.1 (build 41103)

Released December 2021

New features in SAFE Mac main user interface

The SAFE Mac 18.1 release brings the following additional functionality to the main user interface:

In the People & Devices view, it is now possible to manage your licenses, devices, and people in your group directly without leaving the user interface.
It is now possible to install and launch the F-Secure ID Protection app directly from the main user interface (the Passwords & Identity view) if you have a valid ID Protection subscription.
Now you can manage and monitor your email addresses to prevent identity theft directly from the user interface through the ID Monitoring view.
We have made stability improvements and adjustments to the look and feel of the main user interface.

Improvements to Browsing Protection capabilities

The SAFE Mac 18.1 release brings important improvements to the way browser extensions validate the safety of the visited URLs by integrating the F-Secure Security Cloud service.
The F-Secure Security Cloud is an online digital reputation and threat intelligence knowledge base as well as an analysis system. The Security Cloud is operated by F-Secure and it powers F-Secure's protection services. Its primary function is to spot malicious and unwanted behavior and content.
More information about the Security Cloud can be found in the SAFE Privacy Policy under the "Security data" section.

Other changes

SAFE for Mac 18.1 also includes other major product improvements and fixes to the overall stability and security including:

Further improved the handling of long path names for the virus scanner
Optimized load on the Security Cloud service backends
Adjusted Browsing Protection to reflect layout changes for several search engines (Google, Yahoo)
Added mount event support for DeepGuard on macOS Big Sur (11.4 and higher)
Improved the DeepGuard policy importing flow

Action required after upgrade: After the product has been upgraded, the Safari browser must be restarted to re-activate Browsing Protection. This step is only required if the product is running on macOS 10.15 Catalina.

Version 18.0 (build 40256)

Released October 2021

New SAFE Mac main user interface: F-Secure SAFE now has a new user interface. The interface has been completely redesigned emphasizing clarity and ease of use. It also has full support for the macOS dark appearance, also known as Dark Mode.

Major improvements in stability of F-Secure Security Cloud communication

The SAFE Mac 18.0 release includes important improvements to the way the antivirus scanner and DeepGuard check the reputation of suspicious files using the F-Secure Security Cloud backend capabilities.
The F-Secure Security Cloud is an online digital reputation and threat intelligence knowledge base as well as an analysis system. The Security Cloud is operated by F-Secure and it powers F-Secure's protection services. Its primary function is to spot malicious and unwanted behavior and content.
More information about the Security Cloud can be found in the SAFE Privacy Policy under the "Security data" section.

macOS 12 Monterey Support: The SAFE Mac 18.0 release is compatible with the upcoming release of macOS 12 Monterey.

macOS 10.14 Mojave support dropped: The SAFE Mac 18.0 release can no longer be installed on macOS 10.14 Mojave.

Other changes

SAFE for Mac 18.0 also includes other major product improvements and fixes to the overall stability and security including:

Optimized CPU consumption of the Family Rules feature
Adjusted Browsing Protection to reflect layout changes for the supported search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Yahoo Japan)
Added support for Serbian

Action required after upgrade: After the product has been upgraded, the Safari browser must be restarted to re-activate Browsing Protection. This step is only required if the product is running on macOS 10.15 Catalina.

Version 17.11 (build 38515)

Released June 2021

Scanning exclusions: Scanning exclusions allows adding folders and individual files to be excluded from anti-virus scanning. It can be accessed through the SAFE preference pane ("Viruses and Threats" tab). The feature is available starting from macOS Catalina (10.15) and higher.

F-Secure Security Cloud based file reputation for anti-virus scanner and DeepGuard introduced

This SAFE release changes the way the anti-virus scanner and DeepGuard check the reputation of suspicious files by incorporating F-Secure Security Cloud backend capabilities.

F-Secure Security Cloud is an online digital reputation and threat intelligence knowledge base as well as an analysis system. The Security Cloud is operated by F-Secure and it powers F-Secure's protection services. Its primary function is to spot malicious and unwanted behavior and content.

More information about Security Cloud is available here.

Unwanted application detection

This SAFE release adds an ability to distinguish between different types of infections and apply appropriate action based on the infection type.

Real-time protection automatically blocks access and trashes malware and unwanted applications.
Access to Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA) is blocked on 10.15 (macOS Catalina) and higher. False positives can be added to the scanning exclusions list through the Infection Report UI or by accessing "Scanning exclusions" UI on the SAFE preference pane. We encourage you to submit false positives here.

Other changes

SAFE for Mac 17.11 also includes other major product improvements and fixes to the overall stability and security including:

Optimized DeepGuard memory management
Adjusted DeepGuard Configuration app layout and introduced additional policy evaluation precautions
Improved handling of iOS applications running on Apple Silicon (M1) Macs by DeepGuard
Improved subscription handling with non-Gregorian calendars
Streamlined subscription and on-access scanner nagging logic in the UI
Improved security of inter-process communication
Adjusted browsing protection to reflect layout changes for the supported search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Yahoo Japan)

Action required after upgrade

This step is only required if the product is running macOS 10.14 (Mojave) and macOS Catalina lower than 10.15.5.

After the product has been upgraded, you must allow a new system extension from F-Secure for the product to function properly. macOS notifies you through a "System Extension Blocked" dialog, and from here, you can access Security Preferences and allow the system extension.

SAFE does not rely on kernel extensions when running on macOS versions starting from 10.15.5. Therefore, macOS versions from 10.15.5 upwards do not require this step and your approval for SAFE to operate.

Version 17.10 MR2 (build 37976)

Released May 2021

Improvements for handling "Full Disk Access" permission on macOS Big Sur 11.4: Improved the way missing "Full Disk Access" permission is detected on macOS Big Sur 11.4

Action required after upgrade

This step is only required if the product is running macOS 10.14 (Mojave) and macOS Catalina lower than 10.15.5.

Version 17.10 MR1 (build 36673)

Released February 2021

Improvements and optimization for Real-time protection: Improved the way file system events handle long path names

DeepGuard: Improved automatic policy generation during learning mode

Browsing Protection: Fixed an issue with how the website rating icon is injected on Google search pages

Action required after upgrade

This step is only required if the product is running macOS 10.14 (Mojave) and macOS Catalina lower than 10.15.5.

Version 17.10 (build 36018)

Released December 2020

Introducing DeepGuard for Mac

DeepGuard provides an additional layer of security to help protect your personal data from being deleted, ransomed, or stolen by harmful applications. DeepGuard makes sure that you use only safe applications. The safety of an application is verified from the trusted cloud service. If no information is available, DeepGuard displays a permission dialog that asks you to deny or allow the application. By checking the file reputation, DeepGuard improves the detection of system compromises. It also makes sure that applications that do not respect privacy are prevented from using your webcam, installing new startup programs, taking control of other programs, eavesdropping on your internet connection, or other such activities that can affect your privacy.

More information about DeepGuard is available in the "Help" section which is accessible from the main UI window of SAFE.

Apple M1 chip (Apple Silicon) support: SAFE 17.10 supports the latest M1 Mac computers recently announced by Apple. For the time being, the support is achieved thanks to the Rosetta compatibility layer. More information about Rosetta: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211861

Improvements and optimization for Real-time protection on macOS Catalina and macOS Big Sur

Improved memory management and handling of file system events
Improved system performance during database updates

Browsing protection

The logic of how the website rating is injected onto the search results page is now dynamic and adjusts the positioning automatically based on the search engine layout.
Some layout adjustments were made for Google to fix page elements from overlapping with the website rating.
We also fixed the issue with the Yahoo Japan pages and how the website rating was being displayed. These pages now follow the new logic and dynamic positioning.

Other improvements: SAFE for Mac 17.10 also includes other major product improvements and fixes to the overall stability and security.

Action required after upgrade

This step is only required if the product is running macOS 10.14 (Mojave) and macOS Catalina lower than 10.15.5.

Version 17.9 (build 35210)

Released October 2020

MacOS Big Sur support: The SAFE for Mac 17.9 release brings support for macOS Big Sur. From now on, real-time protection does not use a kernel extension to operate. Instead, it uses an EndpointSecurity API provided by Apple that replaces the kernel extensions. These APIs are used by SAFE on macOS Catalina 10.15.5 and higher (Big Sur included). SAFE is still relying on kernel extensions for real-time protection when running on lower versions of macOS.

Introducing a native uninstaller: With this release, we have introduced a native uninstaller. The uninstaller has been reworked to ensure support for macOS Big Sur and to give a better user experience.

macOS 10.13 is no longer supported

SAFE for Mac 17.9 is compatible with the following versions:

macOS Mojave (10.14),
macOS Catalina (10.15), and
macOS Big Sur (11.0).

Other improvements

SAFE for Mac 17.9 includes other major product improvements and fixes to the overall stability and security.

The startup of the real-time protection feature has been reworked to ensure better stability and reliability;
Subscription handling has been reworked and improved;
Reporting of database updates and real-time protection activities are shown more reliably in the user interface;
The layout of the Family Rules tab has been improved by shortening some phrases for certain languages;
The browser extension has now been adjusted to properly handle different combinations in the settings for Browsing Protection and the Content Blocker features;
Other fixes to the overall stability and security of the product.

Action required after upgrade

This step is only required if the product is running macOS 10.14 (Mojave) and macOS Catalina lower than 10.15.5.

Version 17.8 MR1 (Maintenance Release)

Released July 2020

This release contains a fix related to an issue with the Security Cloud telemetry. This is an internal fix that does not affect the product performance, nor the end-user experience.

Version 17.8

Released June 2020

Family Rules reworked from the ground up

Family Rules has been redesigned from the ground up to improve usability.
Daily Time Limits and Bedtime can now be applied without restrictions on all supported macOS versions and all types of macOS accounts.

Other general improvements

SAFE shows a notification with a Renew option when the subscription expires which takes you to the F-Secure eStore, where you can renew your subscription.
This version includes important product improvements and fixes to overall product stability and security.

Version 17.7 MR2 (Maintenance Release)

Released March, 2020

This release contains fixes related to notifications in the product. The following items have been fixed:

The layout for the safety rating icons in the web search results for Google.
The notification to install the browser extension.
The notification to upgrade the firewall.

Version 17.7 MR1 (Maintenance Release)

Released February, 2020

Support for silent upgrade

This release adds support for silent upgrade. For this release (17.7 MR1), you still need to install the upgrade manually, but for future releases, upgrades are then installed silently in the background.

Usability improvements

The "block" page has been redesigned and now has a new look and feel. This page appears when Browsing Protection detects a harmful website.
The Safari browser extension now installs when clicking Set up now.

Other general improvements

This version also includes various improvements and fixes to the overall appearance of the product and its behavior.

Version 17.7 (Build 20591)

Released September, 2019

Support for macOS Catalina now available

This release adds support for macOS Catalina.
If full disk access has not been granted to the product, a warning notification appears in the product.

Usability improvements

A link has been added to the main product view that enables you to access your subscription information more easily. The Manage subscription link takes you directly to the My F-Secure portal, where you can view your subscription details.
The Manage subscription link changes to Renew Now when the product is about to expire; the Renew Now link takes you to the F-Secure eStore, where you can renew your subscription.

Other general improvements

An opt-in option has been added that gives you the option to provide product improvement data to F-Secure. This option appears during installation or you can set this up later in System Preferences.
The product no longer prevents you from installing the software if it detects 3rd party incompatible software; only a warning is given instead.
A new, updated version of the Support Tool for SAFE Mac comes with this release. When you start the tool (select Run Diagnostics), you are asked to enter your admin credentials.