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Considering Switching to Mac - Anti Virus/Malware Needed?

B

blairs1

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 5, 2011
85
8
Ontario, Canada
Coming from a long tenure of Windows use (literally 30+ years), I've always had some form of protection over the last 15 or so years (maybe longer). Now with me considering the full shift to macOS, how likely is an antivirus/malware protection needed? I have the Mac Mini base model on order (just to start playing around with the OS), so I'm hoping for something lightweight/not impactful to performance.

I've used Norton for years on the PC side and it's actually improved over the past few years from what it used to be in terms of bogging down the system.

Recommendations? Why? Why Not? So many answers all over the map especially from some of the news/tech sites (so many recommendations are all over the map) - just trying to determine what's trash and what could be a great addition for my transition to Mac?
 
There isn't much out there for Mac in terms of Malware. There's some but not much. I say malware as virus protection is a dated term. Malware is more encompassing of the wide range of threats while virus is more specific.

In general pretty much any issue will be prevented by safe browsing practices. After that. Keeping your OS and software up to date.

For actual malware protection. Malwarebytes is commonly the preferred choice on Macs. It's quite lightweight and handles what you'll need for protection. Personally I think the free version with manual scanning is enough. But the paid version will give you automatic peace of mind.

The only true protection is backups. Local and remote. Local for quick recovery. Remote to cover disasters and something like a zero day ransom ware.
 
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I think the biggest threat theae days is ransomware. Ransomware can be neutered entirely with regular backups. You’ll further limit your exposure by only installing apps from the Apple App Store.
 
I'll bet you $1 that should anti-malware and anti-virus software be installed, that not a single detection will be made.

However, to save myself from spending that $1 - I'll say that there are some instances where even I have had a detection - I'm not saying it could have been from pirated software, but it might have been.

That was many weeks ago now and no more have I found any malware when installing Malwarebytes anti-malware software. Also, should you install the software from malwarebytesand would want to uninstall it, then look in its menus as there's an uninstall entry there, because Malwarebytes puts stuff in more places than your usual Firefox drag and drop installation into /Applications

Most things are malware these days, or ransomware as is pointed out above. I usually install OverSight, ReiKei and Lulu from www.objective-see.com
(you can press the escape key on your keyboard to bypass the nagging support me dialogs instead of clicking with your mouse)
Oversight for camera and microphone control and notifications. ReiKey keeps a watch over applications that might want to record your keypresses(Getting notified that an application is actively hooking into your key presses)

Now I don't see much points in installing Malwarebytes when Apple keeps an updated list of malware and stopping these too.

It's easy for me to say that you should enjoy your Mac with macOS as it is now, without anti-malware and anti-virus. I can only suggest that you give macOS a chance and refrain from installing these things, but instead try and control what you can with those programs I mention.

Perhaps exclude the Oversight progra mfrom your list of applications if you're using a Mac mini - unless this new Mac has a camera placed in the chassis.

Closing I would highly suggest, of course, uBlock Origin.. (not that I should be suggesting to limit websites income)
 
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OP wrote:
"how likely is an antivirus/malware protection needed?"

There has never been a "Mac virus" discovered "in the wild" since the advent of OS X. NOT ONE.

Having said that, there IS "malware". So...
Download MalwareBytes and run it:
www.malwarebytes.com

Official Site | Malwarebytes: Antivirus, Anti-Malware & Privacy

Malwarebytes offers advanced antivirus, anti-malware, privacy and scam protection for all your devices. Protect your digital life today.
www.malwarebytes.com

IMPORTANT:
Select the "home" option.
It's a FREE download

IMPORTANT:
You DO NOT NEED TO BUY A SUBSCRIPTION to run MalwareBytes.
It will run FOREVER IN FREE MODE.
When you open it, IGNORE the button to "Upgrade Now" or "Activate License".
Just click "Scan".
Again, you DO NOT have to buy the pay-for version!

You CAN pay to register it if you wish. The cost is very reasonable.
Do this, and it will offer malware scanning/protection "in real time", continuously.

The free version only runs when you launch it manually.
 
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pdoherty said:
Not familiar with that game so not sure.
Click to expand...

Fishrrman said:
OP wrote:
"how likely is an antivirus/malware protection needed?"

There has never been a "Mac virus" discovered "in the wild" since the advent of OS X. NOT ONE.

Having said that, there IS "malware". So...
Download MalwareBytes and run it:
www.malwarebytes.com

Official Site | Malwarebytes: Antivirus, Anti-Malware & Privacy

Malwarebytes offers advanced antivirus, anti-malware, privacy and scam protection for all your devices. Protect your digital life today.
www.malwarebytes.com

IMPORTANT:
Select the "home" option.
It's a FREE download

IMPORTANT:
You DO NOT NEED TO BUY A SUBSCRIPTION to run MalwareBytes.
It will run FOREVER IN FREE MODE.
When you open it, IGNORE the button to "Upgrade Now" or "Activate License".
Just click "Scan".
Again, you DO NOT have to buy the pay-for version!

You CAN pay to register it if you wish. The cost is very reasonable.
Do this, and it will offer malware scanning/protection "in real time", continuously.

The free version only runs when you launch it manually.
Click to expand...

What type of performance hit will this take on a base M1 Mac Mini? will it be significantly noticeable?
 
"What type of performance hit will this take on a base M1 Mac Mini?"

None.
 
blairs1 said:
Coming from a long tenure of Windows use (literally 30+ years), I've always had some form of protection over the last 15 or so years (maybe longer). Now with me considering the full shift to macOS, how likely is an antivirus/malware protection needed? I have the Mac Mini base model on order (just to start playing around with the OS), so I'm hoping for something lightweight/not impactful to performance.

I've used Norton for years on the PC side and it's actually improved over the past few years from what it used to be in terms of bogging down the system.

Recommendations? Why? Why Not? So many answers all over the map especially from some of the news/tech sites (so many recommendations are all over the map) - just trying to determine what's trash and what could be a great addition for my transition to Mac?
Click to expand...
I love these threads.

Pretty much no. Because my servers run Windows, I have malwarebytes on my Mac. It's found things on the windows side.
 
Hi, Transferring over to the Mac then. Wipe your mind of how windows does things. You are starting afresh. Well done for making the switch. Did mine three years ago and never looked back. Windows is a drain on your personal life. Dump that OS.
Search out Macmost on YouTube.
Security is built into MacOS.
Nothing else required.
 
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Still not sure if windows is good for you. May I suggest watching Britec09 on YouTube.
 
If you search for similar questions in these forums, you'll find strong opinions for and against. Ultimately, it's like asking whether there's a God... Do what's right for you, just live your best life either way.
 
Some say that since the original developer sold Malwarebytes, it has become bloated and slow, and not as good as it was before. I see recommendations for DetectX Swift instead, reporting none of the above.
 
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Gregg wrote
"Some say that since the original developer sold Malwarebytes, it has become bloated and slow, and not as good as it was before."

Having read your post, I opened MalwareBytes and ran it (my Mac is a 2018 Mini using Mojave).

Scan time was 19 seconds.

Is that "too slow" for you?
 
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My experience, coming from Chrome OS and Windows.

I installed Cleanmymac and Bitdefender.

In 6 months, Bitdefender detected 2 viruses:
- Once installing Qbittorrent from the oficial webpage.
- Once downloading a pdf classic book from a web page that I found googling.

None of them were detected by Cleanmymac.

I will continue with Bitdefender and quit Cleanmymac.
 
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Here's some perspective on the amount of Windows malware versus Mac malware: ClamXAV was using a full GB of RAM, but I had it set to check for Windows malware. Without Windows malware checking, ClamXAV only uses 149 MB!
 
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