Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Anyone think antivirus software for a MAC is necessary?

Tons of threads on this. Its not necessary. There are no known virus's for the mac platform. An antivirus is ineffective if it doesn't know what to look for.
 
thats why i asked for I never felt the need for it but wondered if anything had changed that i had not been aware of ...........

in fact thats the first anti virus software I have ever even seen for the mac.....

ok, will ignore, thanks ;-)
 
I thought that although there was nothing that would attack a Mac, it was wise to scan your system for any problems because you might have something in an email that you could pass on to a PC user?
 
Koll said:
I thought that although there was nothing that would attack a Mac, it was wise to scan your system for any problems because you might have something in an email that you could pass on to a PC user?
Click to expand...
Read the link I posted in post #5 of this thread.
 
Koll said:
I thought that although there was nothing that would attack a Mac, it was wise to scan your system for any problems because you might have something in an email that you could pass on to a PC user?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that could be. But the recipient most likely has an AV software installed nowadays, if the recipient is using Windows.
I have been using the e-mail service for 15 years and only once I got a virus via it and that was in 98/99. Why waste CPU resources for something that doesn't happen that often?
But in the end it is up to you.


GGJstudios said:
Read the link I posted in post #5 of this thread.
Click to expand...

I DID, I DID, I DID. Shouldn't you be in bed or something?
 
I use ClamXav Sentry which is free. Not really a full antivirus I just tell it to monitor my emails and downloads folder. I think it has picked up two bits of adware in 18 months.

Doesn't use much in the way of resources, and if you are worried about something you can point ClamXav to it to do a quick scan.
 
I use it, even though having a decent firewall is a much better protection mechanism for a Mac. There are vulnerabilities in the software components that make up OSX, but as yet there have been no viruses to exploit them. Instead individual hackers will exploit the flawed code on individual machines.

However, better safe than sorry when it comes to data security IMO. The Sophos AV is actually a very good product. It's got a small footprint yet provides both full scanning and file-access protection and costs absolutely nothing. If you do decide to go with AV on your Mac (and the decision is totally yours) that's the one to go for.
 
I don't use antivirus on my Windows computers, and I sure am never going to consider it on my Macs.
 
I'm not running anything in background, but I scan with VirusBarrier Express every now and again so as not to pass anything on to a PC user. Technically, it may be a waste of time, but I want to keep my friends as I haven't got many :(.

Anyhow, my files go back to year dot and so do my emails. No scan has ever found a single problem.
 
As I sit smugly in front of my Mac, I think of my Windows using friends, to whom I possibly could be spreading infected email, and I think, "Serves 'em right. That's what they get for not listening to my advice to buy Macs." HaHa. Screw "em.
 
iMacThere4Iam said:
As I sit smugly in front of my Mac, I think of my Windows using friends, to whom I possibly could be spreading infected email, and I think, "Serves 'em right. That's what they get for not listening to my advice to buy Macs." HaHa. Screw "em.
Click to expand...
Or, more appropriately, "That's what they get for not listening to my advice to install anti-virus software on their Windows PCs, so they would be protected from malware, no matter what the source."
 
Koll said:
I thought that although there was nothing that would attack a Mac, it was wise to scan your system for any problems because you might have something in an email that you could pass on to a PC user?
Click to expand...

The malware usually comes in the form "nude picture of xxx", or "important message from xxx", which then turns out to be some malware when you open it. Would you forward such an email without having looked at it? If you opened it on your Mac and found no pictures, and no important message, would you forward it?
 
The argument that one should run anti-virus software on a Mac to protect against passing virus-infected files to Windows users is flawed, in many ways:
  • You can't create a file on Mac OS X that contains any Windows malware. The only way you can have such a file on your Mac is to first get it from a Windows computer.
  • If you are downloading files from less than reputable sites (which includes file sharing, porn and gaming sites), you should never send such files to anyone, regardless of the OS they're using.
  • Before you receive files from any Windows user, you should be prudent enough to make sure they're running AV on their computer.
  • Before you send files to any Windows user, you should be prudent enough to make sure they're running AV on their computer.
  • You should never forward an email to anyone if it contains attachments that you're not certain are safe or came from a safe source.
  • If you run AV on your Mac but fail to make sure your Windows-using friends are also running AV, you have failed to help them, as you have left them vulnerable to much greater malware threats from sources other than your Mac.
Protection against malware is the responsibility of each and every computer user. That responsibility cannot be effectively transferred to anyone else.
 
me personally dont think macs need it as such, but i send lots of stuff to windows users and get stuff from them, i am a re-seller for bitdefender and get the mac version of the antivirus free so i do use one, but its more a case of stopping me passing something on i've received rather than being worried about my mac...
 
Actually, reputable porn sites (or what I like to call "websites for training videos") are actually some of the safest places to download from. They want your business, so they won't risk losing it by spreading malware.



GGJstudios said:
The argument that one should run anti-virus software on a Mac to protect against passing virus-infected files to Windows users is flawed, in many ways:
  • You can't create a file on Mac OS X that contains any Windows malware. The only way you can have such a file on your Mac is to first get it from a Windows computer.
  • If you are downloading files from less than reputable sites (which includes file sharing, porn and gaming sites), you should never send such files to anyone, regardless of the OS they're using.
  • Before you receive files from any Windows user, you should be prudent enough to make sure they're running AV on their computer.
  • Before you send files to any Windows user, you should be prudent enough to make sure they're running AV on their computer.
  • You should never forward an email to anyone if it contains attachments that you're not certain are safe or came from a safe source.
  • If you run AV on your Mac but fail to make sure your Windows-using friends are also running AV, you have failed to help them, as you have left them vulnerable to much greater malware threats from sources other than your Mac.
Protection against malware is the responsibility of each and every computer user. That responsibility cannot be effectively transferred to anyone else.
Click to expand...
 
@walshinik, this is pretty anecdotal, and it happened to me on a Windows laptop using Firefox with flash enabled, but I was on a reputable "training video" site (you'd recognize the name), and i was able to get something that looked like an antivirus checker. The thing took over my system in record time, and not even pressing the power button in a panic could get rid of its extensive presence in Windows (task manager, login screen, etc.).

I was a pretty embarassing trip to IT and the guy had a grin on his face all the while he was checking out my problem. Of course I told him I had no idea what had happened, and anyway there was no reason for a girl to be watching "training videos", right?

So, um.. be careful! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back