5 Questions about Mac safety. Help me please!

[Prohybe]

Hey i'm new in Apple world and have some questions that hope you guys can help me with.
1) When i was calibrating the battery and when the battery got to low, i selected system preferences, and some apps didn't open, they stayed at the "loading" mode. Is that because the battery was too low or is some problem with my computer?
2) I heard rummors about youtube not working on mac, if i install Adobe Flash Player will work right?
3) Some people tell me i don't need to use anti-virus but i wanna use one.. What's the best one?
4) Is it ok to download megaupload files and watch them on realplayer mac version?
5) I have some files from my HP computer like music and videos, can i pass them and watch them on mac with no problems?

Thanks and sorry for the trouble. My mainc oncern is with number 1), because i don't know if my computer is not working well.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

1. Computer probably.

______________________________________________________
This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
Apple Notebook Battery FAQ by GGJstudios
______________________________________________________​

2. Yes, installing Flash will let you watch YouTube ****.

3. Not Sophos, maybe ClamXAV, but it is not needed.

There are currently no viruses for Mac OS X in public circulation, only a handful of trojans and other malware, which have to be installed manually via entering the administrator password.
The only anti-virus you need to protect your Mac is education and common sense.
Also know, that the term "virus" is often used to refer to other kinds of malware, but there are differences, which you can find out by reading the following:
Mac Virus/Malware Info by GGJstudios​

4. Probably. Videos don't contain malware affecting Mac OS X.

5. Most definitely, you may have to use VLC Player to watch some videos though.


6.

Helpful Information for Any Mac User by GGJstudios​

 

[GGJstudios]

1) When i was calibrating the battery and when the battery got to low, i selected system preferences, and some apps didn't open, they stayed at the "loading" mode. Is that because the battery was too low or is some problem with my computer?

Which model Mac do you have? The batteries in the newer unibody models do not require calibration. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

2) I heard rummors about youtube not working on mac, if i install Adobe Flash Player will work right?

Yes, Flash videos do work on Macs. You can install Flash or use the HTML5 offered by YouTube.

3) Some people tell me i don't need to use anti-virus but i wanna use one.. What's the best one?

Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released 10 years ago. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which can be easily avoided with some basic education, common sense and care in what software you install. Also, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion have anti-malware protection built in, further reducing the need for 3rd party antivirus apps.

Mac Virus/Malware Info​

ClamXav is a good choice if you insist on running antivirus, since it isn't a resource hog, detects both Mac and Windows malware and doesn't run with elevated privileges. You can run scans when you choose, rather than leaving it running all the time, slowing your system.

4) Is it ok to download megaupload files and watch them on realplayer mac version?

VLC Player is a good choice for watching various video types.

5) I have some files from my HP computer like music and videos, can i pass them and watch them on mac with no problems?

Yes, they should be fully compatible with Mac OS X.

 

[theSeb]

I would install chrome to watch flash videos and I would use HTML 5 in you tube

 

[Prohybe]

Which model Mac do you have? The batteries in the newer unibody models do not require calibration. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Hi and thank you. Well Mac OS X v10.7.2. My computer has just finished charging and i tried in system preferences again and tried to open energy saver os users & groups and they don't open.. they stay at loading mode. I have to use Force Quit i i want to close this. I don't know what else to do i just got my computer 2 days ago. It also appears 'Time Machine Not Configured' i don't know if that has anything to due with my problem. But the rest of the apps like msn, iTunes and so on.. they all open except these ones that stay at 'loading'.

 

[GGJstudios]

Hi and thank you. Well Mac OS X v10.7.2.

That's your operating system version, not your computer model.

 

[Prohybe]

That's your operating system version, not your computer model.

Well sorry i don't understand much about Macs yet. I have a 13 inch MacBook Pro.
Do you know what happened? I can't open anything in system preferences...

 

[GGJstudios]

Well sorry i don't understand much about Macs yet. I have a 13 inch MacBook Pro.

If your MBP is mid-2009 or later, you don't need to calibrate your battery. See the Battery FAQ for details.

Do you know what happened? I can't open anything in system preferences...

Try deleting the following file, then restart your Mac.

/Users/yourusername/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist​

 

[Prohybe]

Try deleting the following file, then restart your Mac.

/Users/yourusername/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist​

There is nothing called "Library" in here. I only find Desktop/documents/downloads/movies/music/pictures/pictures. This is just happening so much.. While i was doing this i clicked AirDrop and boom.. this happened again.. "loading".

Sorry for the trouble is just that i'm a little concerned.

And changing from AirDRop to 'All my files' this happened again and didn't open. The coclored circle always appears.. everywhere i click now.. nothin opens.

 

[GGJstudios]

There is nothing called "Library" in here.

Go to Finder and click Go > Go to Folder and type: ~/Library

 

[Prohybe]

Go to Finder and click Go > Go to Folder and type: ~/Library

It's useless. I just can't access to anything.. Always breaking and stoped at loading. Even when going to Library and opening preferences. I think i'll just go to the store. Thanks for all the help!

 

[GGJstudios]

It's useless. I just can't access to anything.. Always breaking and stoped at loading. Even when going to Library and opening preferences. I think i'll just go to the store. Thanks for all the help!

Have you tried restarting your computer?

 

[Prohybe]

Have you tried restarting your computer?

Yes. It won't shut down. It stopped while shutting down and stayed like that.

 

[GGJstudios]

Yes. It won't shut down. It stopped while shutting down and stayed like that.

Press and hold the power button down until it shuts off... usually takes 5-15 seconds.

 

[Sirolway]

Hold down the power button for 4+ seconds & it will forcibly power down (nothing to worry about)

Then you can start up again & see if you still have issues

It will all be fine ...!

 

[Prohybe]

Press and hold the power button down until it shuts off... usually takes 5-15 seconds.

Well i did that and by now it is finally working with no problems. I guess i was just too nervous because the PC is new and so. It is running with no problems. Thanks for all the help!

 

[GGJstudios]

Well i did that and by now it is finally working with no problems. I guess i was just too nervous because the PC is new and so. It is running with no problems. Thanks for all the help!

Restarting is a good first step in troubleshooting. Always try that first when things aren't going as planned.

 

[Prohybe]

Restarting is a good first step in troubleshooting. Always try that first when things aren't going as planned.

Will do that from now on. By the way, is it ok to work with the battery on and the power cable plugged in?

 

[GGJstudios]

Will do that from now on. By the way, is it ok to work with the battery on and the power cable plugged in?

Yes. It stops charging when the battery is full, even if it's plugged in. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[Sirolway]

A few things to get your new Mac in good shape:

1. Apple menu > Software update & update everything it wants to
2. App Store (probably already in Dock) > Updates & update everything it wants to
3. Disk Utility > select your main hard disk > Repair, just to make sure permissions don't need repairing or anything.

Now you should have a fully up-to-date and shiny Mac ready to serve your every whim ...

PS. probably best to have 50+ GB disk free & 4GB RAM for Lion, but neither essential ...

 

[aCondor]

I would install chrome to watch flash videos and I would use HTML 5 in you tube

This. I use Chrome to browse the web (read: YouTube) when flash is necessary. I'm not installing Adobe on my MBP for as long as I can help it.

 

[rocknblogger]

3) Some people tell me i don't need to use anti-virus but i wanna use one.. What's the best one?
.

I use ESET Security. It uses very little resources and as far as I'm concerned the best you can get. I've been using it on Windows for close to ten years and have never gotten any kind of virus.

While it is 100% true that you probably don't need an antivirus app it will protect against user error at the very least if someone does decide to write a virus for Mac.

 

[Nameci]

The only anti virus I would install is ClamXAV if I am that "paranoid". Nothing else. There are no viruses for macs. Ask any old timers here, and they will tell you the same.

 

[GGJstudios]

While it is 100% true that you probably don't need an antivirus app it will protect against user error at the very least if someone does decide to write a virus for Mac.

No, it won't. No antivirus can protect against a virus that doesn't yet exist, because it doesn't know what to look for. Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released 10 years ago. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which can be easily avoided with some basic education, common sense and care in what software you install. Also, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion have anti-malware protection built in, further reducing the need for 3rd party antivirus apps.

Mac Virus/Malware Info​