Forced to Install Antivirus: Advice

[Winter Charm]

Hello Everyone... I have sad news to report. My unviersity's IT department is forcing me to install antivirus software on my mac

I really really don't want such performance hogging, messily coded crapplications on my amazing Macbook Pro, but they refuse to let me onto the Univ. network which I will need to access once class starts.

So... I'm going for a minimum damage/maximum protection approach.
What is good mac antivirus software?

EDIT: Could a moderator please change the title to "Forced to Install Antivirus on Mac"
Thanks in advance!

 

[T.Verhoeven]

Use Sophos anti virus. It´s fast and doesn´t decrease performance of your cpu/ ram at all.

 

[munkery]

Use ClamXav.

Don't use Sophos.

This post in another thread provides more details.

Also, it appears that a well known security researcher has found an issue with Sophos. See below.

 

[GGJstudios]

Use Sophos anti virus. It´s fast and doesn´t decrease performance of your cpu/ ram at all.

It also can increase your Mac's vulnerability. Don't use it. ClamXav is a better choice.

No viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any, since it was released 10 years ago. The handful of trojans that exist can be easily avoided with some basic education, common sense and care in what software you install:

Mac Virus/Malware Info​

 

[GaresTaylan]

Clam XAV is what we use for the graphics teams in the field at my job. It seems to get the job done.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

EDIT: Could a moderator please change the title to "Forced to Install Antivirus on Mac"
Thanks in advance!

To edit your thread title, just click on the

button on the bottom right of your original post and then click the

button below your message.

 

[Menge]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Make a secondary partition, install an Anti virus and just use it "for show" and use the other partition instead.

Either that or Windows with anti virus in a virtual machine...

 

[MOFS]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Make a secondary partition, install an Anti virus and just use it "for show" and use the other partition instead.

Either that or Windows with anti virus in a virtual machine...

I guess what they're looking for is something that'll stop you transmitting Windows virus inadvertently. Try and get something that'll check for both - it's all about being altruistic to the window's guys.

 

[gorskiegangsta]

You can use Intego's VirusBarrier Express [free on the Mac App Store]. It's an on-demand virus scanner. There's absolutely no point of having realtime virus protection on the Mac, at least at this point in time.

 

[munkery]

You can use Intego's VirusBarrier Express [free on the Mac App Store]. It's an on-demand virus scanner. There's absolutely no point of having realtime virus protection on the Mac, at least at this point in time.

VirusBarrier Express no longer detects Windows malware. This feature was remove when the parent company, Intego, released a paid app in the Mac App Store. Although, if the IT department is unaware of this you may be able to get away with VirusBarrier Express.

I still prefer ClamXav because, including all the features of VB E, it also scans for malware that affects all OSs (including Linux) and has the option to enable limited on-access scanning.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

Use Sophos anti virus. It´s fast and doesn´t decrease performance of your cpu/ ram at all.

I tried Sophos... My advice is 'be careful". I don't know whether Sophos is any better or worse than other packages.

I have successfully used ClamAV compiled from Mac Ports, so, if your IT department will accept it, personally I would go with that. I scan every once in a while when I don't have anything better to do, because, I have only ever found 2 harmless Windows viruses buried in Junk email.

 

[gorskiegangsta]

VirusBarrier Express no longer detects Windows malware. This feature was remove when the parent company, Intego, released a paid app in the Mac App Store. Although, if the IT department is unaware of this you may be able to get away with VirusBarrier Express....

That was the idea.

 

[GGJstudios]

I don't know whether Sophos is any better or worse than other packages.

Read post #3 and #4 in this thread.

 

[Winter Charm]

Hmm... thanks for all the replies.

Just one more question, Is McAfee for Mac any good? My university's IT department is offering it to mac users (after much grumbling on our part) for free.

Is it going to be the usual crapware and performance hog that it was on windows?

Also, I tried both Clam XAV and Sophos (one after another, with re-installs, etc) and Clam XAV has crashed on me :/ so.... I dont think I'll be using that.

Between Sophos, and the McAfee crapplication, what would be better :/

 

[GGJstudios]

Just one more question, Is McAfee for Mac any good?

No, it's not.

Is it going to be the usual crapware and performance hog that it was on windows?

Yes, it is.

Also, I tried both Clam XAV and Sophos (one after another, with re-installs, etc) and Clam XAV has crashed on me

Sophos is not recommended, as it can increase your Mac's vulnerability. Read the link I posted in post #4 for more details.

ClamXav, if installed properly, should not crash. My guess is there was a problem with the installation, or there was another contributing factor. ClamXav is quite stable.

 

[Piggie]

I would like to ask a genuine question on this topic please.

Let's say you are a Mac user, and like some Mac users, not all but some, you decide to get programs such as Photoshop and/or perhaps other expensive packages from unofficial places.

You know what I mean.

You naturally click on "yes" when you are installing such programs as you want to install and run them. Do I assume that by clicking on "yes" box's, giving the OK to install whatever they want you are then opening yourself up to your mac becoming infected by some bad code?

How does this scenario, which I'm sure is not that uncommon, as I'm sure there is just as much piracy on the Mac as there is on the PC, work when it comes to Mac's ?

On a PC, if you have your typical Antivirus running, and click OK to something which contains a virus or some such bad code, the AntiVirus software will kick in an ALERT on screen telling you, despite you clicking OK, it's found something bad, and you have the ability to stop it from doing any harm to your system.

I'd like to understand how a Mac user, deals with this scenario in the real world?

 

[GGJstudios]

I
You naturally click on "yes" when you are installing such programs as you want to install and run them. Do I assume that by clicking on "yes" box's, giving the OK to install whatever they want you are then opening yourself up to your mac becoming infected by some bad code?

Yes, you do expose your Mac to risk of infection by installing pirated software. There have been several cases of that happening in recent years. The way you deal with this is don't pirate software. Read the link I posted in post #4 of this thread.

 

[03jcrhr]

I was forced into having Antivirus when I started at university. I went with iAntivirus which was recommended by the university. I never really noticed it and removed with no problem once I left.

 

[jacksam101]

Sophos Antivirus for Mac just got 4 out of 5 in Mac User magazine's mac antivirus tests (June 2011 edition);
Kaspersky for Mac got 3/5;
Intego Virus Barrier X6 4/5;
iAntivrus 2/5;
MacAfee Mac 3/5;
Protect Mac 3/5
ClamXav also got a brief mention in the main text.

 

[GGJstudios]

Sophos Antivirus for Mac just got 4 out of 5 in Mac User magazine's mac antivirus tests (June 2011 edition)

That doesn't matter. Read the comments about Sophos in this thread. It is not recommended.

I went with iAntivirus which was recommended by the university.

iAntiVirus makes bogus claims about threats to promote their product. Read the link in post #4 for details.

 

[03jcrhr]

iAntiVirus makes bogus claims about threats to promote their product. Read the link in post #4 for details.

I didn't really want to use it, I knew I would never need it, it's just the first one that was free on the list of recommended antivirus software.

If you are just looking for antivirus to allow you to connect to the system I would recommend iAntivirus as you hardly notice it being there but if you actually want something to stop viruses then there are probably better options out there

 

[munkery]

I would like to ask a genuine question on this topic please...

In relation to piracy, XProtect, which is built into Snow Leopard, scans and detects for malware that are included in installers, such as those for pirated software, when the installer is launched.

ClamXav is obviously capable to scan the installers as well.

Also, in relation to piracy, there are plenty of free alternatives good enough for most users to make piracy unnecessary.

Photoshop -> Seashore or GIMP.

 

[173080]

Just install any AV, show it to them and connect. Then uninstall it.

 

[Piggie]

Yes, you do expose your Mac to risk of infection by installing pirated software. There have been several cases of that happening in recent years. The way you deal with this is don't pirate software. Read the link I posted in post #4 of this thread.

Thanks for your honest.

I appreciate your comments and correct ones that you should not download and install pirated software, and in a utopian ideal world that would indeed be the case.

However, we live in the real world where many people will do this.
How many young people who use Photoshop at home have paid the $700 for the program I wonder?

And I've no reason to expect it to be any different between people with PC's or People with Mac's who are the same type of people with the same types of income.

It does come across a little high and mighty I'm afraid to listen to the general comment that Mac's don't get these things, and that you should not install software to protect you, and then say, oh well if you say yes to some unofficial software in the way many people will have tried at times, be it from the old Amiga Days, right up to the PC and Mac's of today, then you will get into trouble.

It does come across as quite dangerous to give people a false sense that whatever they do, they are immune, which is the general theme of such discussions.

 

[GGJstudios]

I appreciate your comments and correct ones that you should not download and install pirated software, and in a utopian ideal world that would indeed be the case.

However, we live in the real world where many people will do this.

And if they do, they run the risk of inviting malware onto their computers. No software can protect a user from their own decisions.

It does come across a little high and mighty I'm afraid to listen to the general comment that Mac's don't get these things

You've significantly misinterpreted the statements being made about Mac malware.

It's completely accurate to say Macs don't get viruses, since none exist that run on Mac OS X. No one is saying they don't get malware.... in fact, the statement I make all the time is that the handful of trojans that do exist can easily be avoided by a prudent user exercising reasonable care.

and that you should not install software to protect you,

Again, no one is saying you shouldn't install antivirus software; we're saying it's not necessary to protect your Mac from malware.

then say, oh well if you say yes to some unofficial software in the way many people will have tried at times, be it from the old Amiga Days, right up to the PC and Mac's of today, then you will get into trouble.

That's just the point. A prudent user exercising reasonable care isn't going to install pirated software.

It does come across as quite dangerous to give people a false sense that whatever they do, they are immune, which is the general theme of such discussions.

It's been stated many many times that Macs are not immune to malware. It's not giving people a false sense of security to tell them that if they are careful what they install, they don't need antivirus software to protect them. Installing pirated software is not being careful about what you install.

I'll repeat my earlier statement, which is completely true:

No viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any, since it was released 10 years ago.

And the 2nd sentence:

The handful of trojans that exist can be easily avoided with some basic education, common sense and care in what software you install.

It's really not that hard to understand.