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Antivirus?

iphone joe

iphone joe

Suspended
Original poster
Feb 10, 2011
275
22
NY
Hello all, I'm very excited because this week I will be purchasing my first MacBook Pro. My question is what's the best antivirus to use?

I searched these forums but couldn't find any info regarding antivirus software to use. Thanks in advance.
 
You couldn't find anything about AV software? There are hundreds of threads about this on this message board alone.
Maybe have a look at Advanced Search to find these threads:
​

Anyway, AV software 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​

To learn more about Mac OS X:
______________________________________________________
This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:
Apple Notebook Battery FAQ by GGJstudios
______________________________________________________​
 
That's because there are no compelling reasons to use ANY antivirus on the Mac

Common sense, safe computing and only using your Admin password when you know what you are doing

Others will be along to expand further
 
thundersteele said:
Best antivirus is to not install Windows on it.
Click to expand...

Windows isn't any more vulnerable than OS X is in my experience.

I haven't used antivirus since 2006 when Vista first launched, and I haven't had any problems.

Regardless of operating system, most problems tend to stem from user negligence/ignorance. In other words, if you're internet/security savvy, you don't really need to worry about anything.

However, not everyone is an expert on everything, so it's understandable that some people get tricked into installing malware. However, the best advice I can give them is to google the name of anything that is requesting permission to be installed on your computer.
 
The only reason to use antivirus on your mac is if you are in the same network as windows machines. You may be housing viruses that don't do anything on Mac, but once they get access to windows machines on your network...have fun!
 
iphone joe said:
I searched these forums but couldn't find any info regarding antivirus software to use.
Click to expand...
That's because you didn't search properly. As already stated, there are hundreds of threads on this. Be sure to read the Mac Virus/Malware Info link that simsaladimbamba posted. That's all you need to know about antivirus on Macs.
 
Adamantoise said:
Windows isn't any more vulnerable than OS X is in my experience.
Click to expand...

I agree. But the absence of active viruses for OSX provides a certain amount of passive protection. Right now, the only way to catch a virus on a Mac is if you install windows.

Also, "accidentally" clicking on hot_naked_girl.exe is less likely to cause damage on OSX.

We'll see what the future brings. Most computers still run windows, so I don't see a big market for OSX viruses and malware. iOS is probably more interesting for criminals or people who just want to mess around.

There are these computer break in competitions, where the OSX+Safari combination is usually the first one to fall.
 
I use an anti-virus. I'm also particularly protective over my equipment. Plus the fact I've just come from Windows 7.

I use VirusBarrier X6.
 
thundersteele said:
I agree. But the absence of active viruses for OSX provides a certain amount of passive protection. Right now, the only way to catch a virus on a Mac is if you install windows.

Also, "accidentally" clicking on hot_naked_girl.exe is less likely to cause damage on OSX.

We'll see what the future brings. Most computers still run windows, so I don't see a big market for OSX viruses and malware. iOS is probably more interesting for criminals or people who just want to mess around.

There are these computer break in competitions, where the OSX+Safari combination is usually the first one to fall.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure you've used Windows 7.

It is impossible to install something unless you absolutely want to. Before any program or application runs, the screen is darkened and the end user is prompted with a confirmation box.

The default option in the aforementioned confirmation box is "Cancel" ... You can't just "accidentally install" hot_naked_girl.exe
 
simsaladimbamba said:
It has nothing to do with marketshare.
The Mac OS X Malware Myth Continues
Click to expand...

Interesting, thanks.

Two points raised were bad decisions by microsoft (user = admin and automatic execution of mail attachments), and have since been improved/fixed.

The other two points are interesting.

better design/less code that has access to the highest security levels. This is inherited from the underlying Unix (BSD) structure of OSX. This should also apply to iOS, and to some extent also to Android, which is Linux based.

less supported hardware. This is a point where Apple is very different from any other OS producer. Letting the OSX/Windows discussion aside, Android already suffers from this problem, although it comes with a solid Linux basis. This is worsened by phone vendors that don't upgrade their phones to current versions of the OS, so that Android either has to keep releasing security update for 5-10 versions, or just ignore older versions.
Android and iOS have similar marketshare, yet iOS has much less (no?) problems with malware, while Android is already fighting heavily to keep the problem under control.

Hmm, so maybe the Apple strategy with in-house hardware and OS provides a more secure basis, which makes it much less attractive and much more difficult for attackers to launch a successful and widespread attack.
 
Adamantoise said:
I'm not sure you've used Windows 7.

It is impossible to install something unless you absolutely want to. Before any program or application runs, the screen is darkened and the end user is prompted with a confirmation box.

The default option in the aforementioned confirmation box is "Cancel" ... You can't just "accidentally install" hot_naked_girl.exe
Click to expand...

I have used Windows 7. I did experience the crazy alarm bells that it rings whenever you try to install software or connect to a non-secure network. This is much better than the situation in XP and older versions (never seen vista).

I do still have a problem with this. Assume that every time you broil a steak, the fire alarm in your house goes off (and assume you can't change it's sensitivity). Over time, either you will turn the fire alarm off, or you will learn to ignore it. The same will happen to the naked pix.exe. Of course, in the end this is a user mistake. But it can happen.
 
thundersteele said:
I have used Windows 7. I did experience the crazy alarm bells that it rings whenever you try to install software or connect to a non-secure network. This is much better than the situation in XP and older versions (never seen vista).

I do still have a problem with this. Assume that every time you broil a steak, the fire alarm in your house goes off (and assume you can't change it's sensitivity). Over time, either you will turn the fire alarm off, or you will learn to ignore it. The same will happen to the naked pix.exe. Of course, in the end this is a user mistake. But it can happen.
Click to expand...

But you can change the sensitivity in Windows 7 ... That was one of the main changes from Vista to 7. Changing the sensitivity of UAC.
 
thundersteele said:
I do still have a problem with this. Assume that every time you broil a steak, the fire alarm in your house goes off (and assume you can't change it's sensitivity). Over time, either you will turn the fire alarm off, or you will learn to ignore it. The same will happen to the naked pix.exe. Of course, in the end this is a user mistake. But it can happen.
Click to expand...

That same argument can be used when entering the Admin Password on the Mac, so that isn't OS specific
 
MacDawg said:
That same argument can be used when entering the Admin Password on the Mac, so that isn't OS specific
Click to expand...

Yes. But OSX can't open and execute naked_pics.exe, even if you ignore all warnings. That was my main point: The absence of viruses and malware provides a large amount of passive protection.

So far, I haven't gotten an email with hot_apple_girls.dmg
 
Have run ClamXav since the get go, never had a positive. 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 :cool: What`s passed on to you may not infect your Mac, however it may cause issue for family, friends & colleagues...

ClamXav is very customizable, I limit the "Sentry" on demand scan to a very few specific folders; Downloads, Documents & Desktop, unless there is any change in the files the "Sentry" will not consume any significant resource. Same folders are set up for an automated scan daily. My older machine is a MacBook Pro 4.1 (2.4Ghz) the impact of ClamXav is negligible at best, my newer MacBook pro is a 8.2 (2.4Ghz Core i7) and ClamXav hardly registers :p

If you are going to be receiving mail/data/documents and forwarding on, ClamXav offers an elegant solution that costs you nothing. In the professional environment passing data with a malicious payload does you no favors; be it corporate or freelance ;)
 
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