I am new to the MAC world and when I purchased my MBP the sales person at Apple said I really did not need Ant-Virus Software. I have heard this from others as well but I am still nervous. What are your thoughts and if you use a Software which one do you recommend?
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Anti-Virus Protection????
- Thread starter dmmcgowan
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There are no viruses for OS X. Assuming you come from Windows, OS X is more robust and stable, and built on top of UNIX foundations. You don't need a virus program. If you do want one, Norton and ClamXAV are good choices, but again there is no need, Macs are 100% virus free.
Let me put it this way... you'll only get a virus on your Mac if you give it your password. Basically, you have to try to get one, it doesn't just happen inadvertantly. Nothing can make changes without your authorization. Don't worry about antivirus software, it's a resource hog and often does more harm than good.
one caveat. you can pass a virus on to your friends/family through your mac if they use windows. aside from that, viruses do not function on this system, due to a number of factors that include a different operating system build and the fact that the market share for OSX is not as great as Windows so people who write viruses don't bother with us. If you're going to cause damage, wouldn't it make more sense to go for the larger population rather than a smaller group?
Don't think that your machine is bulletproof...but its way better than windows.
Don't think that your machine is bulletproof...but its way better than windows.
Mac viruses are way harder to find because of what have been said, they need your authorization to do harm and "spread".
Also, the way OS X works, it would be way harder for a virus to "hide" in the system and waiting to infect other machines. In Windows for example, a virus can easily infect the registry and make some changes that will make it very tedious to remove. In OS X a "virus" would basically be fix with a simple delete. (of course, you cannot undo the damage).
So anyway, its way harder for a virus to infect a Mac so even if you write a virus and try to send it into the wild, it will not really spread and this alone make it really "improbable" that you will meet one in the first place.
Basically, on a Windows PC, using your head will help a lot, but there is always a small chance that a virus will infect your computer. On a MAC, using your head will keep you safe almost 100% sure.
Also, the way OS X works, it would be way harder for a virus to "hide" in the system and waiting to infect other machines. In Windows for example, a virus can easily infect the registry and make some changes that will make it very tedious to remove. In OS X a "virus" would basically be fix with a simple delete. (of course, you cannot undo the damage).
So anyway, its way harder for a virus to infect a Mac so even if you write a virus and try to send it into the wild, it will not really spread and this alone make it really "improbable" that you will meet one in the first place.
Basically, on a Windows PC, using your head will help a lot, but there is always a small chance that a virus will infect your computer. On a MAC, using your head will keep you safe almost 100% sure.
I would recommend not getting virus software for your Mac. It will just slow down your system running unnecessary tasks taking up valuable resources.
In all the years I've had Macs, I have never come across a virus.
In all the years I've had Macs, I have never come across a virus.
The above all presumes that you are not going to run Windows on your Mac. If you are then you need virus protection running on your Windows partition.
And as said above, on OS X you can pass on infected files to Windows users if the copy you originally had was already infected.
And as said above, on OS X you can pass on infected files to Windows users if the copy you originally had was already infected.
There are 3 viruses for OS X.4 tiger and really they are not technically viruses because by definition viruses must be able to spread by themselves and these must be installed onto the computer.
OS X.5 Leopard has 0 viruses
OS X.5 Leopard has 0 viruses
I started working for a new client yesterday who won't let me hook up my MacBook Pro to their network when I'm in the office unless I have anti-virus software installed. They fear that while my system might not be affected by a virus, I can transmit one and cause some serious damage.
I am reluctant to install any sort of virus protection but I guess I don't really have much of a choice (it's either that or use their desktop PC).
Am I going to see serious slowdown with anti-virus installed on my new MacBook Pro (unibody model)? Am I better off creating a separate user account just for this client so that my machine isn't uber-slow when it's used everywhere else?
Any advice aside from you don't need virus protection is appreciated.
I am reluctant to install any sort of virus protection but I guess I don't really have much of a choice (it's either that or use their desktop PC).
Am I going to see serious slowdown with anti-virus installed on my new MacBook Pro (unibody model)? Am I better off creating a separate user account just for this client so that my machine isn't uber-slow when it's used everywhere else?
Any advice aside from you don't need virus protection is appreciated.
Hahah, thats just Bshit! No way it will transfer anything over network. Of course if you download some files that have virus code in them will keep in the files if you re distribute them to a pc users, but hey, they have their own
virus scanners...meh, i think your "client" is a n00b who doesnt know what he/she is talking about. Unix systems dont have viruses/trojans/network worms in general. Its a "impossible" to have a virus "sread" system wide without user permissions. Its mainly how unix platform is designed to keep user space and system space seperate.
They are a fairly large company with a ridiculously large security department so I imagine that they're just being extra cautious with outsiders. Who knows.
Well thats their problem
too much cooks in the kitchen...Honestly I don't know why but for some reason whenever even a bunch of talented IT people get together then turn into this incompetent grey mass...
This is pretty common with a lot of larger companies and Government departments: I have several clients who are exactly the same.
Anyway, their security is probably tighter than most banks as they're dealing with a lot of personal data. Now here's my second question....
I ended up downloading a free virus scanner, iAntiVirus, to appease the IT guy I was dealing with (I found out that he's actually the IT guy for Mac only, so if you're thinking that it's PC IT not understanding or willing to support Mac, that's not the case).
He needed to scan my laptop for viruses (the check should have only taken 20 minutes max as I performed one when I first downloaded it). However, he connected my laptop up to the network and said he'd need it for a few hours. I asked him if he was going to install software on it and he assured me he wasn't.
Any idea what he could have been doing? He said they needed to check for spyware and other stuff and I imagine it was connected via Ethernet for the people downstairs (this is a huge company with an enormous office space) to look at it. Is there a way to see what was recently installed and/or copied from my machine in the last day or two?
I'm not too concerned if my data was copied as this is a fairly new machine and most of the work on here has already been published (although I would like to know if stuff was in fact copied so that I can address that next week).
What I am concerned about is some sort of tracker on my machine following my every move.
I ended up downloading a free virus scanner, iAntiVirus, to appease the IT guy I was dealing with (I found out that he's actually the IT guy for Mac only, so if you're thinking that it's PC IT not understanding or willing to support Mac, that's not the case).
He needed to scan my laptop for viruses (the check should have only taken 20 minutes max as I performed one when I first downloaded it). However, he connected my laptop up to the network and said he'd need it for a few hours. I asked him if he was going to install software on it and he assured me he wasn't.
Any idea what he could have been doing? He said they needed to check for spyware and other stuff and I imagine it was connected via Ethernet for the people downstairs (this is a huge company with an enormous office space) to look at it. Is there a way to see what was recently installed and/or copied from my machine in the last day or two?
I'm not too concerned if my data was copied as this is a fairly new machine and most of the work on here has already been published (although I would like to know if stuff was in fact copied so that I can address that next week).
What I am concerned about is some sort of tracker on my machine following my every move.
You could do a search and define search filter by "last opened /created/modified date".
Hahahaha,
You said, that he told you that he's the mac specialist. For this big company.
He probably has nothing to do all day long then. He was just board and wanted to make him self feel useful. Like the windblow guys who have their hands full all day long.
You said, that he told you that he's the mac specialist. For this big company.
He probably has nothing to do all day long then. He was just board and wanted to make him self feel useful. Like the windblow guys who have their hands full all day long.