The Catalyst
macrumors 6502
No anti virus here, livin' life on the edge! 
Antivirus on my Mac???
- Thread starter qwerf123
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Lord Appleseed
macrumors 6502a
The question was if he needs AntiVIRUS on Mac, most people answered no, simply because it's not necessary.
The Anti-Maleware utility of OSX is not the topic here and has nothing to do with the answers, especially since it's not optional anyway.
Useless at best.
xraydoc
Contributor
Despite all the evidence that there are NO viruses in the wild for Mac OS X and two trojans that must be installed on purpose by the user, you're still hell-bent on installing an antivirus app on your Mac?
ALL Mac antivirus apps are useless. Why? Tell me what they're going to project you from? There are no viruses in the wild for OS X.
If some are discovered, I'll be first in line to install protection. And trust me, it'll be big news. But until then, just what do you think these apps are going to scan for?
I never said I would install one but as I've got access to a copy of Kaspersky,and I wanted peoples opinions on it.
ECUpirate44
macrumors 603
The topic of this thread is viruses for OSX not malware.
AppleTech22
macrumors 6502a
I do but only because MacKeeper is a program that supports it. If it wasn't supported, I wouldn't really care or have it on.
Dr McKay
macrumors 68040
Sophos is supposed to be a good anti-virus for Mac.
Sophos for Mac
As for using resources, my current Anti-Virus for Windows is currently sat using 0% of CPU, and 6MB of RAM. It only uses resources during its scheduled scans which I put for when I'm not using it, even then it dynamically uses resources depending on what's free.
Sophos for Mac
As for using resources, my current Anti-Virus for Windows is currently sat using 0% of CPU, and 6MB of RAM. It only uses resources during its scheduled scans which I put for when I'm not using it, even then it dynamically uses resources depending on what's free.
GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
Sophos is not recommended, as it can actually increase your Mac's vulnerability. See the link in post #7 for details.
Lord Appleseed
macrumors 6502a
munkery
macrumors 68020
Viruses, worms, and trojans are all different types of malware.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Malware
Read the title of the poll:
The answer is "yes" because OS X (SL and Lion) have one installed by default.
It quarantines an item prior to being accessed for the first time by a user. It on-access scans the item in quarantine when the user accesses the item for the first time.
This is an efficient way to implement this type of feature because it provides on-access scanning without the performance cost of other methods that provide full on-access scanning.
The only deficit to this system is that it does not provide the coverage of other systems but other security mitigations offset this deficit.
Maybe I should reword my question:
Should I have any form of extra protection on my Mac against viruses, malware, trojans and etc.
I just find it a bit strange after being a long tem windows user where you need security packages compared to now not needing a form of protection on a Mac
GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
As already stated, the only protection you need is some basic education and common sense. As long as you're careful what software you install, you're fine. Please take the time to read the link in post #7. That's all you need to know.
Yes, it does take some getting used to, as you feel like you're vulnerable, but you're not. The only Mac OS X malware that exists is in the form of trojans, that cannot infect your Mac unless you actively install them, usually entering your admin password. As long as you're not pirating software or getting apps from less-than-reputable sites, you have nothing to fear.
munkery
macrumors 68020
That depends on if the locations in which you use your computer require that you install antivirus with full on-access scanning.
This is a requirement to access many networks in business and/or academic locations.
If the restriction above applies to you and you can get away with it, I recommend installing the version of ClamXav that includes the "Sentry" feature to provide user defined on-access scanning.
You may be stuck with whatever approved solution that is provided.
If no external force requires that you need this type of Antivirus, then the choice is up to you. You will not get any huge benefit from using third party antivirus software.
I use the version of ClamXav from the Mac App Store. This version only provides on-demand scanning, which I use to manually scan items prior to exposing them to other computers. I also periodically on-demand scan my entire system about every couple weeks just for peace of mind.
On-demand scans only use system resources when performing a scan.
Read the "Mac Security Suggestions" link in my sig for more tips about securing your Mac.
Last edited:
GoKyu
macrumors 65816
When Sophos came out, I decided to give it a try - I noticed my machine started to lag a bit more often than it had previously, more spinning beach balls, etc.
That shouldn't be happening on an 8 core Xeon, so I uninstalled it after about a week, and my machine went back to being fast and snappy.
One that was actually worse than Sophos was Intego's X5 - it never would fully uninstall, and I ended up reinstalling the OS (around Leopard, I think) to fully get rid of it.
Then I saw GGJ's links about antivirus software, and decided I wouldn't use that kind of software anymore. It's a waste of resources, and unless you're going to sketchy places online anyway, it seems unlikely to catch the few things that ARE out there.
Common sense - don't open files you don't trust, don't click suspicious links in email, even don't click links to banks even if you're sure it's from your institution - make a quick link in your browser to access such sensitive info.
That shouldn't be happening on an 8 core Xeon, so I uninstalled it after about a week, and my machine went back to being fast and snappy.
One that was actually worse than Sophos was Intego's X5 - it never would fully uninstall, and I ended up reinstalling the OS (around Leopard, I think) to fully get rid of it.
Then I saw GGJ's links about antivirus software, and decided I wouldn't use that kind of software anymore. It's a waste of resources, and unless you're going to sketchy places online anyway, it seems unlikely to catch the few things that ARE out there.
Common sense - don't open files you don't trust, don't click suspicious links in email, even don't click links to banks even if you're sure it's from your institution - make a quick link in your browser to access such sensitive info.
Lord Appleseed
macrumors 6502a
You are talking nonsense, simply because no one asked about that.
Yes OSX has a basic Anti Malware protection. But the question was: DO WE NEED ANTIVIRUS. The answers were no. You are just being picky about definitions and detail no one asked about.
Also the Mac's default AntiMalware isn't "installed" per se, but integrated in the system. OP clearly meant if the user himself installed AntiVirus software on the Machine.
Fact is: Macs running OSX don't need AntiVirus software, of any kind.
That was the answer to the thread and to the poll.
Last edited:
munkery
macrumors 68020
Read the thread title:
Read the poll title:
WTF?
So, Mac OS X isn't installed, per se?
I clearly replied that antivirus software is already installed by default.
WTF? Why are you arguing with yourself? That's weird.
I agree that knowledgeable users can get by without any antivirus software but that does not negate the fact that an implementation of antivirus software is installed by default.
To clarify for the OP:
Technically, no true viruses have been released in the wild that affect OS X.
There are a few trojans. These can be avoided using knowledge about safe computing practices.
As a backup in case you make a mistake, OS X includes basic anti-malware protection that is updated daily and detects most of these threats. Do not rely solely on this for protection.
Last edited:
GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
munkery and Lord Appleseed: The confusion rests with the fact that the OP asked:
"I'm just wondering if its worth putting an Antivirus on it?"
instead of "I'm just wondering if its worth putting a 3rd-party Antivirus on it?",
even though that's what was intended, since the built-in protection doesn't require the user to install it.
Queen6
macrumors G4
Run ClamXav since the get go, and found squat, OS X is safe by default, all the same it`s worth running the ClamXav sentry if you are dealing with a mixed environment, think of it as helping our "Windows" brothers & sisters out
What`s passed on to you may not infect your Mac, however it may cause issue for family, friends & colleagues...
What`s passed on to you may not infect your Mac, however it may cause issue for family, friends & colleagues...
KnightWRX
macrumors Pentium
These 2 statements said in the same post made me chuckle I got to admit. Seriously, it's been my professional experience that modern "security consultants" have basically no idea of the world of IT security, going as far as to propose ludicrous and costly measures to protect against non-issue while ignoring glaring risk staring them in the face.
Virus is neither ambiguous or generic. Malware is, but that's by definition, malware is the name of the category of software that poses a threat to computers, it has to be both ambiguous and generic. Viruses are well defined.
Yes, with a local privilege escalation, you could technically write a virus, since when you are root, you can pretty much do anything. The fact is, no one ever bothered to write one for OS X, whatever the reason may be. The closest we came is the iChat worm, OSX.Leap.A.
GGJstudios
macrumors Westmere
That one wasn't close, either, as it was a trojan, requiring the user to install it.
munkery
macrumors 68020
Given the confusion around whether or not Leap-a required password authentication to be fully functional, I decided to play around with it.
Leap-a was only effective if the user was running as root. This is because Leap-a required hijacking the apphook bundle located in the /Library/InputManagers folder to be fully functional. The apphook bundle in that folder is only modifiable by system so Leap-a was unable to modify it unless the user was running as root.
If the user was not root (so admin or standard), then Leap-a would install itself in ~/Library/InputManagers with a crippled set of functions rather than prompt for authentication to modify the aforementioned apphook bundle. Leap-a was basically non-functional when installed in this location.
Given very few users run as root and it was only effective in accounts running as root, Leap-a was never a real threat.
Leap-a was only effective if the user was running as root. This is because Leap-a required hijacking the apphook bundle located in the /Library/InputManagers folder to be fully functional. The apphook bundle in that folder is only modifiable by system so Leap-a was unable to modify it unless the user was running as root.
If the user was not root (so admin or standard), then Leap-a would install itself in ~/Library/InputManagers with a crippled set of functions rather than prompt for authentication to modify the aforementioned apphook bundle. Leap-a was basically non-functional when installed in this location.
Given very few users run as root and it was only effective in accounts running as root, Leap-a was never a real threat.
Last edited: