Another Infection Blocked from downloading onto Mac

[BigBoy2018]

Just so you know you aren't alone in the pond. I have Malwarebytes Premium and Avast free both up and running. I too notice no slowdowns or bogs. The "Macs are virus free" folks at some point, will wish they had something running in the background. It may be tomorrow, maybe next month, maybe not for many months. But sooner or later, Karma has a way of catching up to the naysayers.
It does no harm to run those programs and it gives me a little peace of mind.

Yes, run 3 different kinds of AV software, just to be safe.
Also, dont drive in your car anymore, take a bus its safer.
Avoid eating any meat ever too, could have salminella of some other problem there.
Best just stay in your house all day an never leave, all the unsafe people out in the world.

Note: You can impose many annoying lifestyle changes on yourself using the logic ‘its safer this way’. Obviously its easy to take that too far and many do.
Sounds like you’re in that camp along with the thread starter.

 

[SoCalReviews]

Why you would automatically sync your emails with multiple computers of varying operating systems is beyond me tbh. That is exactly the kind of bad habits which allow these things to spread.

Business and personal emails are separated in MS Outlook on multiple platforms and on different machines so they can be directly accessed, recorded and utilized in MS Office and other programs. It's done this way for convenience and redundancy. I've had machines go down and needed access to older emails in order to continue without any downtime.
[doublepost=1548607407][/doublepost]

No, it MAY have been a threat. TO WINDOWS. We will never know either way now.

So you're advocating that I use my Windows VMs and dedicated Windows machines as virus/malware capturing "honeypots". You are saying that it's better to find out if an attachment is a trojan by letting the Windows VMs or Windows dedicated machines get infected.

If Macs don't easily get viruses/malware as so many have claimed why wouldn't it be better to have the Mac AV running on the MacOS detect them? I'm really trying to understand your logic in regards to system security.

 

[Martyimac]

Yes, run 3 different kinds of AV software, just to be safe.
Also, dont drive in your car anymore, take a bus its safer.
Avoid eating any meat ever too, could have salminella of some other problem there.
Best just stay in your house all day an never leave, all the unsafe people out in the world.

Note: You can impose many annoying lifestyle changes on yourself using the logic ‘its safer this way’. Obviously its easy to take that too far and many do.
Sounds like you’re in that camp along with the thread starter.

What a GREAT idea, any suggestions for a third program to use?
[doublepost=1548607795][/doublepost]

I never have tried Malarebytes Premium. How do you like it? I had tried the free Malwarebytes a few years back when it first came out but there wasn't much to it. I know that when I took my Mac Mini in last year to a long time Apple service center (not an Apple store) after it had crashed during the HS update I noticed in my trash bin they had run Malwarebytes and several other programs as part of their diagnostic service.

That Mac Mini crash wasn't related to an infection. It turned out the problem was some corrupted system files. They ended up having to reinstall MacOS and the data and MacOS was all good. It was at that time that they mentioned that they did recommend some type of AV or security scanning software for customers despite the long time "Macs don't get infected" mantra we've heard for years.

I have been quite satisfied for a while with AVAST free for Mac... no noticeable slowdown, not too many nag pop ups to upgrade, etc.. Years ago I was using F-Secure AV for Mac and it was ok. I have been wanting to try ESET Security for Mac but I didn't want to go through any testing when what I'm using has been working well.

No complaints re Malwarebytes. It just sits in the background and does whatever it does. It tells you something that an authorized  service center would run MWB as part of their problem ID process doesn't it?

 

[SoCalReviews]

No complaints re Malwarebytes. It just sits in the background and does whatever it does. It tells you something that an authorized  service center would run MWB as part of their problem ID process doesn't it?

I'm going to consider Malwarebytes Premium for Mac. It sounds like it runs similarly well the way AVAST free for Mac does. Of course those Apple authorized Mac service centers probably don't read this forum so they wouldn't know that some of the Mac users posting here recommend that "it's better for security" if you don't use it.

 

[revmacian]

You know, I began using Debian GNU/Linux back in 2001, having grown tired of the problems on Windows 98 SE. A week after learning about Linux, I wiped every computer I owned and installed Linux. A couple years later I learned about BSD and began using that. It quickly dawned on me that *nix systems were designed to be more secure and I stuck with them for years. Using *nix system kinda forces you to learn about hardware as well as software - I learned how to write my own apps, build my own computers and run my own servers because of my introduction into the *nix world.

macOS is actually based on BSD (Darwin), which was one of the things that drew me to research the Mac line of computers.

I may not be a Mac veteran, but I'm far from being a dummy where computers are concerned.. and I know a thing or two about computer/server security. I have not run security apps in over a decade and I haven't seen any problems with any of my many computers (Mac, Linux and BSD).

Where are all of these horrible threats and why have I not seen any of them on my computers?

 

[BigBoy2018]

.

Where are all of these horrible threats and why have I not seen any of them on my computers?

Hmm, could be the threat of them infecting your system are 1 in a billion, contrary to what martyimac and the threat starter want you to believe.

 

[revmacian]

Hmm, could be the threat of them infecting your system are 1 in a billion, contrary to what martyimac and the threat starter want you to believe.

Well, BSD was designed from the beginning to be secure - I believe that was what prompted Steve Jobs to use it as a base for NeXT systems. And now, being that macOS still uses Darwin, we are using a system that is quite different from Windows. And, changing systems often requires switching old habits and procedures.

I haven't used a Microsoft product in 17 years and I don't think I could manage it now.. having to manage two different systems that each have their own procedures would likely drive my old mind to the looney bin.

 

[0009827]

Business and personal emails are separated in MS Outlook on multiple platforms and on different machines so they can be directly accessed, recorded and utilized in MS Office and other programs. It's done this way for convenience and redundancy. I've had machines go down and needed access to older emails in order to continue without any downtime.
[doublepost=1548607407][/doublepost]
So you're advocating that I use my Windows VMs and dedicated Windows machines as virus/malware capturing "honeypots". You are saying that it's better to find out if an attachment is a trojan by letting the Windows VMs or Windows dedicated machines get infected.

If Macs don't easily get viruses/malware as so many have claimed why wouldn't it be better to have the Mac AV running on the MacOS detect them? I'm really trying to understand your logic in regards to system security.

IF you have adequate security on the windows (or don't open blatantly fake email attachments), it is irrelevant what runs on your macs. NO honeypot, no infection, no issues. And please ignore whether or not a windows system is in a VM or not- it really makes no difference to safety.
I will not post in this thread again- you are free to do as you wish- as i stated all along. And please- don't worry about MY logic on internet security.
[doublepost=1548612393][/doublepost]

Where are all of these horrible threats and why have I not seen any of them on my computers?

Warez sites more than likely. And even most of those are quite honourable.

 

[revmacian]

IF you have adequate security on the windows (or don't open blatantly fake email attachments), it is irrelevant what runs on your macs. NO honeypot, no infection, no issues. And please ignore whether or not a windows system is in a VM or not- it really makes no difference to safety.
I will not post in this thread again- you are free to do as you wish- as i stated all along. And please- don't worry about MY logic on internet security.
[doublepost=1548612393][/doublepost]

Warez sites more than likely. And even most of those are quite honourable.

I'm guessing that not everyone learned the lessons from XcodeGhost.

 

[SoCalReviews]

Hmm, could be the threat of them infecting your system are 1 in a billion, contrary to what martyimac and the threat starter want you to believe.

We could test those odds and let you roll the dice for us. If you give us your email information and we could send you anything our Mac AV security software detects or blocks. This would include any malicious web links and exploits blocked by the web browser security. You could open those infected files and click on those bad web links and we could see what happens.

 

[revmacian]

We could test those odds and let you roll the dice for us. If you give us your email information and we could send you anything our Mac AV security software detects or blocks. This would include any malicious web links and exploits blocked by the web browser security. You could open those infected files and click on those bad web links and we could see what happens.

The question is how are you getting all of these threats? Do you have a subscription to Malware-R-Us or something? I've been all over the internet for years and I've never seen a peep of a threat.. and I used to run several servers (web, dbase, ftp, pop/smtp). I still think most of those threats are fabricated by the AV software company in order to keep their software relevant in your life. Either that or tons of false positives - something Avast is known for.

 

[BigBoy2018]

The question is how are you getting all of these threats? Do you have a subscription to Malware-R-Us or something? I've been all over the internet for years and I've never seen a peep of a threat.. and I used to run several servers (web, dbase, ftp, pop/smtp). I still think most of those threats are fabricated by the AV software company in order to keep their software relevant in your life. Either that or tons of false positives - something Avast is known for.

Lol! Love it.

 

[SoCalReviews]

The question is how are you getting all of these threats? Do you have a subscription to Malware-R-Us or something? I've been all over the internet for years and I've never seen a peep of a threat.. and I used to run several servers (web, dbase, ftp, pop/smtp). I still think most of those threats are fabricated by the AV software company in order to keep their software relevant in your life. Either that or tons of false positives - something Avast is known for.

Of course... You never see any threats because you don't use Mac security software and most infections these days... spyware, ransomware, software and browser exploits are purposely engineered to remain undetected. Therefore how would you ever know? I guess you do hold true to your belief that "what do don't know about can't hurt you."

 

[revmacian]

Of course... You never see any threats because you don't use Mac security software and most infections these days... spyware, ransomware, software and browser exploits are purposely engineered to remain undetected. Therefore how would you ever know? I guess you do hold true to your belief that "what do don't know about can't hurt you."

Uhm.. sorry, but that won't wash. Running servers teaches a person what to look for and how to detect network traffic.. especially on *nix systems. Sorry, but I'm not buying into the AV company brainwashing as you apparently have done.

I guess it was a waste to try to open your eyes about AV software.

I'm out.. can't justify wasting any further time on this with someone who doesn't want to change.

 

[harriska2]

Well, BSD was designed from the beginning to be secure - I believe that was what prompted Steve Jobs to use it as a base for NeXT systems. And now, being that macOS still uses Darwin, we are using a system that is quite different from Windows. And, changing systems often requires switching old habits and procedures.

I haven't used a Microsoft product in 17 years and I don't think I could manage it now.. having to manage two different systems that each have their own procedures would likely drive my old mind to the looney bin.

I’m coming from DOS/Windows to mac after 25+ years. I blame my husband and his macos fetish he’s had about as long as I’ve been on Windows. In the past 2 months I’ve almost caught up to him in all things mac. It is different but not impossible to learn, even for a stuck in the mud person like me. Oh, and I don’t have AV software on the mac - I do on the PC I am migrating away from and it was a PITA. The mac is a breath of fresh air. Every day that I use it I tell him what an amazing machine it is. But no AV on it.

 

[0009827]

Of course... You never see any threats because you don't use Mac security software and most infections these days... spyware, ransomware, software and browser exploits are purposely engineered to remain undetected. Therefore how would you ever know? I guess you do hold true to your belief that "what do don't know about can't hurt you."

Completely and utterly incorrect. I can only assume you are deliberately trolling at this point. This parrot is dead.

 

[SoCalReviews]

Completely and utterly incorrect.
Incorrect about what? That most modern infections...malware, spyware, ransomware.... these days is engineered to remain undetected?

I can only assume you are deliberately trolling at this point. This parrot is dead.

Really? I have not been the one that has been doing the "trolling". I am the one who started this thread on the topic of having an infection blocked and the benefits of utilizing Mac security software. I'm not sure how someone is supposed to troll their own thread and parrot their own thread topic. No one forced you to post in this thread.

What information have you contributed in regards to Mac security software? What experience do you have with using any security software for Mac that you can add to the discussion?... If someone is not using a threat diagnostic software that is monitoring your system... How would you recommend a common Mac user detects infection threats?.... or do you just want to continue trying to derail from the main thread topic to debate your own talking point that "Macs don't ever need use any Mac security software"?

 

[0009827]

Really? I have not been the one that has been doing the "trolling". I am the one who started this thread on the topic of having an infection blocked and the benefits of utilizing Mac security software. I'm not sure how someone is supposed to troll their own thread and parrot their own thread topic. No one forced you to post in this thread.

What information have you contributed in regards to Mac security software? What experience do you have with using any security software for Mac that you can add to the discussion?... If someone is not using a threat diagnostic software that is monitoring your system... How would you recommend a common Mac user detects infection threats?.... or do you just want to continue trying to derail from the main thread topic to debate your own talking point that "Macs don't ever need use any Mac security software"?

Not only have i provided you with verifiable, useful information on keeping your business network safe, basic computing habits, and links to articles, i have been polite and patient since page 1. It seems you do not read any of it, or post in an angry way- where you forget any of the previous posts.
As for experience on the topic- i have OVER 15 years in professional setting.
Also to note- never once did i say "macs do not need security software". Please show me where i typed that.
What a waste of my time. Why ask for advice if you will not hear it?
You state that threats deliberately try to go undetected- so by your own logic- they try to go undetected by your antivirus software as well. Unless you think it is a magic bullet?

 

[SoCalReviews]

Not only have i provided you with verifiable, useful information on keeping your business network safe, basic computing habits, and links to articles, i have been polite and patient since page 1. It seems you do not read any of it, or post in an angry way- where you forget any of the previous posts.
As for experience on the topic- i have OVER 15 years in professional setting.
Also to note- never once did i say "macs do not need security software". Please show me where i typed that.
What a waste of my time. Why ask for advice if you will not hear it?
You state that threats deliberately try to go undetected- so by your own logic- they try to go undetected by your antivirus software as well. Unless you think it is a magic bullet?

Once again I will ask the question...

How would you recommend a common Mac user detects infection threats?

 

[MSastre]

Once again I will ask the question...

How would you recommend a common Mac user detects infection threats?

The question has been answered many times by credible people here. Looks like this thread is only meant to increase the OP's post count.

 

[BigBoy2018]

Why ask for advice if you will not hear it?
?

In fairness to the OP, I don't think he ever really wanted advice. All he wanted was for people to pop up like a cheering section applauding his use of AV software and how excellent it was that he found these supposed viruses.

I really think he didn't expect this kind of blowback. So when it came, stunned and confused, he dug in his heels.

 

[SoCalReviews]

In fairness to the OP, I don't think he ever really wanted advice. All he wanted was for people to pop up like a cheering section applauding his use of AV software and how excellent it was that he found these supposed viruses.

The Mac AV software worked very well on my Mac. Yes in that case...no offense... but I'll cheer.

I really think he didn't expect this kind of blowback. So when it came, stunned and confused, he dug in his heels.

Blowback....For posting how an infection was blocked from being downloaded on my Mac?

Read the first post and main topic. The purpose of this entire thread is to discuss how to block and detect security threats and to ask for other people's experience with utilizing Mac security software.

 

[0009827]

The biggest security threat is sitting at the desk. As for any other advice, i have better things to do. This thread is finished.

 

[SoCalReviews]

The question has been answered many times by credible people here. Looks like this thread is only meant to increase the OP's post count.

No the question hasn't been answered by him. He referred to me as a parrot and a troll for discussing the topic of this thread. As part of my reply I asked a simple question and underlined it because there are Mac users that want to detect and block infections and threats of all kinds on their Macs and to block them from reaching other computers they use. If he or anyone else has a solution to detect those threats not involving using Mac security software then he and any other "credible people" should be able to have the answer. I'm interested in security solutions not rhetoric.
[doublepost=1548714898][/doublepost]

I’m coming from DOS/Windows to mac after 25+ years. I blame my husband and his macos fetish he’s had about as long as I’ve been on Windows. In the past 2 months I’ve almost caught up to him in all things mac. It is different but not impossible to learn, even for a stuck in the mud person like me. Oh, and I don’t have AV software on the mac - I do on the PC I am migrating away from and it was a PITA. The mac is a breath of fresh air. Every day that I use it I tell him what an amazing machine it is. But no AV on it.

I started moving away from dedicated Windows machines after Windows 8 came out. One of the main reasons was security. I always liked UNIX and Linux and when the Macs started using a UNIX based OS I took notice.

As I explained in the first post Macs and the software on them still can have vulnerabilities.... browsers and email software have been targeted in the recent past. Files can be downloaded and transferred to other computers using Windows or visa versa. Potential infections can transfer to a system from simply using a common Flash memory drive. There have been hardware exploits...such as the issues with hyper-threading, branch prediction and speculative execution in older processors. Security software can help address many of these potential issues.

 

[0009827]

No the question hasn't been answered by him. He referred to me as a parrot and a troll for discussing the topic of this thread. As part of my reply I asked a simple question and underlined it because there are Mac users that want to detect and block infections and threats of all kinds on their Macs and to block them from reaching other computers they use. If he or anyone else has a solution to detect those threats not involving using Mac security software then he and any other "credible people" should be able to have the answer. I'm interested in security solutions not rhetoric.
[doublepost=1548714898][/doublepost]
I started moving away from dedicated Windows machines after Windows 8 came out. One of the main reasons was security. I always liked UNIX and Linux and when the Macs started using a UNIX based OS I took notice.

As I explained in the first post Macs and the software on them still can have weakness.... browsers and email software have been targeted in the recent past. Files can be downloaded and transferred to other computers using Windows or visa versa. Potential infections can transfer to a system from simply using a common Flash memory drive. There have been hardware exploits...such as the issues with multithreading and predictive execution in older processors. Security software can help address many of these potential issues.

For somebody not interested in rhetoric, you never stop speaking it.