Anti-virus/Security needed for Mac?

[webella]

Hi,

Seems as my Mac friends have mixed thoughts on using an anti-virus/security package on a Mac. My PC just got the Windows AntiVirus virus and granted I may just be alittle touchy, but I do not want to be zapped on my Imac like what just happened to my laptop.

So, what do folks think? I probably would err on the side of caution but would be interested in how folks think on this and what software they may recommend. Thanks so much, I appreciate your help.

 

[brad.c]

Despite frequent claims by the media that a new virus for the Mac has been found in the wild, these inevitably turn out to be Trojans, crafted to convince you to explicitly allow them to work.

The most important thing you need to do is be careful what you install, and where you got it from.

 

[instaxgirl]

I just spent 15 minutes carefully convincing my mum that a plus point of a mac is we don't have to bother with antivirus.

I haven't used anything on my mac since I got it in 2005, because the Apple guy that sold it to me told me not to bother. I've never had a single problem.

As the previous post said, you're biggest problem is trojans which, to put it bluntly, is the user's own fault.

 

[drummerlondonw3]

seriously nothing is needed I would have been surprised if more than 1% of mac owners use it. As I have said before my friend is forced to use Sophos at his work and it causes lots of problems, nevers finds anything and interferes with Time Machine, which in a contest I would much rather have TM

 

[GGJstudios]

To avoid double-posting, see my response in another thread here.

 

[angelwatt]

I have ClamXAV installed. I don't use it because I'm afraid of getting infected, but it's nice to have something to do scans. It'll scan predominantly for Windows viruses so you can make sure not to propagate viruses to other users. There's also iAntivirus that will scan for Mac trojans and such. There isn't much that can bother a Mac, but unless you have software to scan for problems, how will you know if they're there or not? Plenty of Windows users go years not realizing their machine is a part of a zombie net contributing to spam or DOS attacks. Knowledge is power.