Intego ONE now protects your iPhone too – and there’s 50% off in September

What is Intego ONE?

Intego ONE is the successor to Intego Internet Security X9, combining Mac antivirus protection with additional security and maintenance tools. It’s currently our top recommendation in our Best Antivirus for Mac guide.

It comes in three tiers:

• Essential: Antivirus and firewall.
• Advanced: Adds SmartClean.
• Complete: Adds Intego VPN and now includes the iPhone app.


Essential and Advanced remain Mac-only packages.

We’ve already reviewed Intego ONE Complete on the Mac, where its malware detection, scanning performance and firewall controls particularly impressed us. In our testing, it handled more than 130 malware samples extremely well and scanned more than two million files in around eight minutes.

Those Mac security features remain the main reason to consider Intego ONE. The new iPhone app broadens the Complete package.

What does Intego ONE do on an iPhone?

The iPhone version of Intego ONE is essentially a combination of privacy protection, network security and security configuration checking.

There are three main elements.

Intego VPN

When you’re using hotel, café, airport or other Wi-Fi that you don’t control, Intego’s VPN can encrypt your internet connection.

The VPN was already included with Intego ONE Complete on the Mac, where it encrypts internet traffic, masks the user’s IP address and can help protect data when using public or unsecured Wi-Fi.

When we tested it as part of our Mac review we found it simple to use, with 51 server locations and good bandwidth and streaming performance, although it isn’t as fully featured as some dedicated VPN services.
Adding the VPN to the iPhone arguably makes the feature more useful, because your phone is much more likely to connect to unfamiliar Wi-Fi while you’re travelling or away from home.

Wi-Fi security checks

Intego can also check the security of the Wi-Fi network your iPhone is currently using.

The test takes around 10 seconds and reports on connection speed as well as any potential security issues it identifies. Intego told us that one of the main things it checks is whether the network is using strong encryption.

iPhone security check-up

The app can also inspect some of the protections already built into your iPhone and tell you whether they are enabled or being used.

Intego says its Device Check-Up can check whether:

• A passcode is enabled.
• Face ID or Touch ID is enabled.
• Apps are permitted to track you.
• The iPhone is running the newest version of iOS it supports.
• Something has been changed that removes Apple’s security protections.
• Screen recording is active.

The key benefit is not that Intego provides these protections itself. Apple already does that. Instead, Intego checks whether important security features are enabled and flags potential weaknesses.

Intego confirmed that its warning about changes that remove Apple’s built-in protections refers primarily to jailbreak detection. It does not generally treat MDM profiles as suspicious, since these are commonly used by businesses to manage and secure devices. Intego also told us that it plans to add Developer Mode detection in a future update, subject to the access Apple’s APIs allow.

But can an iPhone actually get a virus?

If Intego ONE is an antivirus suite, you might reasonably assume that its new iPhone app scans the iPhone for viruses.

It doesn’t.

Traditional iPhone viruses are extremely uncommon because iOS apps are sandboxed, Apple tightly controls software distribution and the operating system incorporates substantial security protections.

That doesn’t make an iPhone invulnerable. Spyware, security exploits, malicious websites, compromised accounts and other threats can still put personal information at risk.

Intego isn’t claiming to replace Apple’s malware protection. Its proposition is effectively this: Apple protects the operating system, while Intego helps with some of the connections and security decisions that remain under the user’s control.

Read: Can iPhones get viruses? for more information.

Who should consider Intego ONE Complete?

Mac and iPhone owners
This is the group that benefits most from the change. On the Mac you get the antivirus and firewall protection that impressed us in testing, alongside SmartClean and a VPN. On the iPhone you get the same VPN plus Wi-Fi security and device-security checks.

People already considering Complete for the VPN
Being able to use the subscription on your phone makes the VPN component more useful, particularly if you frequently travel or use public Wi-Fi.

People only looking for iPhone protection
Intego ONE is harder to justify purely for its iPhone features because most of the suite’s value still resides on the Mac.

If you don’t own a Mac or don’t need Mac antivirus protection, a standalone VPN or other dedicated iPhone security service may make more sense. See our recommendations of the best VPN for iPhone.

Does the iPhone app make Intego ONE Complete better value?

Our Intego ONE review already recommended the suite for its strong malware detection, firewall, performance and ease of use, although we noted omissions including phishing protection and parental controls.

The new iPhone app doesn’t address those weaknesses, but it does make the Complete tier more useful for people who own both a Mac and an iPhone.

On the Mac, Intego ONE Complete includes antivirus, firewall protection, SmartClean and a VPN. On the iPhone, you get the VPN plus Wi-Fi security checks and tools that flag potentially important security settings. It isn’t antivirus for the iPhone and shouldn’t be confused with one.

For existing Complete subscribers, the iPhone app is a worthwhile addition at no extra cost. For prospective customers with several Apple devices, it also makes Intego ONE Complete more compelling than when we originally reviewed it, particularly if you want several security tools covered by a single subscription.