Brand New User, do I need security software?

[storkie11]

I just purchased my 1st Mac, mbp 15 4G, just love it, but am light years behind everyone else here on MacRumors. I will be brief (in my pathetic ignorance), and hope a few kind souls will take pity on me. What do I do about security (I really only plan on keeping my many pictures, music, and home videos on here, and will probably only download the same from iTunes at this time), and when I upgrade to Snow Leopard, do I need to back up what's already on my mbp? Thank you for your mercy!

 

[-Ryan-]

You don't really need to have any security software, but you can get some if you want to. It's just personal preference, but by no means necessary for a home Mac.

And I'd recommend backing up everything for your upgrade to SL, just in case. It's unlikely you'll encounter any problems, but you'd want to be sure.

 

[DavidR91]

I recommend having a manual virus/malware scanner (not an on-access one) just for those occasional "I better check this file isn't dodgy" situations (ClamXav is free and does exactly that)

OS X has few "in the wild" threats, but it's good to have a tool like that just in case (it certainly isn't bulletproof)

 

[Antowns]

You don't really need to. Mac OS X comes with a built in firewall and can be configured under the security tab in System Preferences to allow only what you specify which can be quite annoying but safe.

 

[instaxgirl]

I've not used any security software since I first bought a mac 4 years ago. No problems at all.

And I back everything up before I upgrade, you shouldn't have to but I always do just in case.

I had a hard drive crash once and lost stuff *shudders*

 

[stridemat]

Like another poster said, you do not need one with OSX at the moment. I keep ClamXav just for those instances where I feel a file or download might be suspicious.

Just be careful what you download and you will have many years of worry free computing.

 

[storkie11]

From the newbie....

Wow, thanks guys & gals, I'll check out that clamx thingy (am I pathetic or what), and will, of course, back up. I dropped a wad of cash for this gem, so really want to keep it safe, but am a little strapped at the moment, and am glad there is something free out there. I am usually cautious about what I look at/open, so I should be in good shape. God Bless!