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Do you use a virus protection program?

Do you use a virus protection program?

  • No, I never have.

    Votes: 156 69.0%

  • Yes, because it was free. (College given software goes here)

    Votes: 11 4.9%

  • Yes, I always have just in case.

    Votes: 13 5.8%

  • Yes, I do now but I did not used to.

    Votes: 2 0.9%

  • No, I used to but I do not anymore

    Votes: 40 17.7%

  • Other (please go into detail if this is the case)

    Votes: 4 1.8%
  • Total voters
    226
swmr

swmr

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 22, 2008
172
0
Penn State
Just a quick question with a poll if I can set it up.

Do you use a virus protection program? I have heard that it is a waste of money, I have heard that it cannot hurt to have it, and I have heard that people use it simply because it was given to them for free.

Please vote and include a detailed reason if you wish. I want to know if I should include the price of this software into my budget. (It will most likely be Norton since that is what I have always used on my PC's, with no viruses to security risks to date.)
 
Nope. I've owned Macs as my primary systems for 4 and a half years, and have never once owned a virus scanner.
 
Nothing to worry about on Macs with viruses. Don't bother with one.
 
Fuzzy14 said:
You should use one on your Dell Dimension.
You don't need one for your iPod.
Click to expand...

Haha I do use Norton on my Dell (though I never had a problem) but not on my iPod. I guess I forgot to include that I am talking about a MBP that I will be buying after the update.
 
On my macs pretty much nothing, on my PC's any thing but Norton or McAfee they have turned into viruses them selves- make the machines runs so slow.

rj
 
Not to ask a stupid question....

... but what do mac virus scanners look for?

If there are no known viruses for the mac, then what fingerprints do the scanners look for?

I know there are trojans out there - is this what they are after?
 
bericd said:
... but what do mac virus scanners look for?

If there are no known viruses for the mac, then what fingerprints do the scanners look for?

I know there are trojans out there - is this what they are after?
Click to expand...

From what I understand, there are viruses and such, at least it is possible to create them, unlike some will say. Its just that due to the small market share Apple currently has with its OS, most people who make viruses don't find it worth the time.
 
zirkle2007 said:
From what I understand, there are viruses and such, at least it is possible to create them, unlike some will say. Its just that due to the small market share Apple currently has with its OS, most people who make viruses don't find it worth the time.
Click to expand...

The problem with this o/c is that there has not been a successful virus on OS X in the "wild" (by which I mean not for the sake of security testing or experimentation). What exactly would a virus scanner look for on OS X?

And it's been proven many times that the market share myth isn't true (the two OSs are fundamentally different). Market share might be a contributing factor, but it is not the only factor.
 
bericd said:
... but what do mac virus scanners look for?

If there are no known viruses for the mac, then what fingerprints do the scanners look for?

I know there are trojans out there - is this what they are after?
Click to expand...

Don't they look for Windows viruses? I'm sure that was the case.

To the OP, Norton for OS X is reputed to cause all sorts of odd little quirks and problems. I've never used a virus scanner on my mac; every Windows machine in the house is now running Avast! as AVG just doesn't cut it anymore.
 
I must say

I have never used Anti Virus in my Mac aside from trying some free AV software that I can't remember the name of(Sophos I think), but, If there was something available free that was as good and unobtrusive as AVG Antivirus for Mac, I would definitely install it. Just to be safe and to make sure I don't send something to the people that still have Windows machines, including my daughters Windows gaming box.
 
No.

I probably should for Office files, but everything leaving the company is PDF anyway.

I hope it's always this way. All AV scanners do is line the pockets of incompetent vendors like McAFee and Symantec while bringing systems to a crawl. Talk about bloatware.

I <3 :apple:

I'm a bit drunk.
 
rjflyn said:
...on my PC's any thing but Norton or McAfee they have turned into viruses them selves- make the machines runs so slow.
Click to expand...

That is very true. My dad buys the software though. His dell came with Norton AV four years ago, and he has always bought the renewal for 2-3 PCs to cover the house. The first version I ever used was nice, but when I upgraded two years ago, it did slow down significantly on the first day after installation. The problem is that is that I don't have the money to buy my own software, and Norton has indeed kept me virus free.
 
We had Virex installed on our family eMac back when .Mac was relatively new, but after a while it dissappeared (I dont really remember who/what removed it). Never since I had AV on a Mac.

Why pay for AV that even slows down your computer when there are no viruses? :confused:
 
I would never, ever use a virus protection program. If there were viruses on the Macintosh, I might use a program that removes viruses. But virus protection? Who would want to protect the nasty buggers :eek: ?
 
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