Is a program like Avast helpful for spyware?

Well, since it was a con artist, that pretty much says it all in terms of whether it is something you need. Macs do not need any sort of Anti-virus software, and many of them will actually mess up your Mac, so my advice is to stay away from all of them. In the past we have had reports of people with Avast having serious problems with their iTunes Libraries.

Unless you are running a Windows partition on your Mac, you really don't need to be concerned with viruses. And if you have Adware, you will know it. Your best defense against Adware is to use common sense and caution with websites you visit and links you click on.

Best of luck,

GB

In addition to response by gail from maine, see this document by Klaus1

Viruses, Trojans, Malware - and other aspects of Internet Security

Most welcome 🙂

Cheers,

GB