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has anyone used Norton Internet Security 4 for Mac® before?
- Thread starter tbluhp
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I disagree that we can simply dismiss the need for virus/malware scanning tools. I work in a corporate environment where almost every other machine is windows. In order to ensure that I do not infect other machines on the network I run antivirus on my mac. I currently am trialling the Sophos free software and it seems ok. I have not used the Norton solution but would be interested in peoples feedback of it.
Norton is loathed by many Windows users, along with McAfee, so I would assume it's not that great.
@Mav3067
How are you finding Sophos? Would your recommend it? I'm looking for an antivirus to put on my Mac laptop so that I don't infect my Windows machines on the network.
@Mav3067
How are you finding Sophos? Would your recommend it? I'm looking for an antivirus to put on my Mac laptop so that I don't infect my Windows machines on the network.
I use Micro Trend TITANIUM for Mac. Why? Well, one I receive free products from companies like Microsoft, Apple and etc to try and recommend to customers.
My thoughts on antivirus, site protection phishing, malware and etc. on the Mac? Macs are not impervious to getting corrupt files, viruses, and hacked. Yes, UNIX is a much better OS platform, but it is fallible to an extent. With that being said... It doesn't HURT to have the extra protection - considering the ever increasing growth of Macs. The more of a platform that exists the more encouragement for hackers and etc to focus more attention in bypassing OSX.
Also, most anti virus don't just protect from viruses... Malware/corrupt files and trojans become your problem once you type in the administrator password to install and etc. You may not even be aware that you have someone that enabled key logging on your Mac. Especially those who are frequent torrent users.
Bottom line - extra protection is better than no protection. The idea that "nothing" can happen or your Mac can't get into some trouble is asinine. It can.
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My thoughts on antivirus, site protection phishing, malware and etc. on the Mac? Macs are not impervious to getting corrupt files, viruses, and hacked. Yes, UNIX is a much better OS platform, but it is fallible to an extent. With that being said... It doesn't HURT to have the extra protection - considering the ever increasing growth of Macs. The more of a platform that exists the more encouragement for hackers and etc to focus more attention in bypassing OSX.
Also, most anti virus don't just protect from viruses... Malware/corrupt files and trojans become your problem once you type in the administrator password to install and etc. You may not even be aware that you have someone that enabled key logging on your Mac. Especially those who are frequent torrent users.
Bottom line - extra protection is better than no protection. The idea that "nothing" can happen or your Mac can't get into some trouble is asinine. It can.
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There are zero viruses for OSx. An anti-virus can't protect against something that doesn't exist. Products like Norton Internet Security are malware in my opinion; they hog resources, cause crashes, and are a waste of money.
I have to laugh at all these people trying to promote virus software on a Mac. I have had my Mac for well over three years and have plugged it into various networks as well as directly to a routable IP for a few months and not once did I get a virus. I was curious and plugged a Windows machine with no av up on the same network and by the end of the day it was infected.
Sorry, but there is little to no way for a virus to self install on a Mac. Sure, you can get malware but once again you are the one that has to approve it for install. Quit downloading torrents and garbage and yo uwon't have a problem.
FYI, none of my UNIX boxes at the office run av either. Of course, once the first "virus" hits then that will change but I'm not sure that we will ever see a virus for UNIX based systems due to the way that UNIX handles security.
Sorry, but there is little to no way for a virus to self install on a Mac. Sure, you can get malware but once again you are the one that has to approve it for install. Quit downloading torrents and garbage and yo uwon't have a problem.
FYI, none of my UNIX boxes at the office run av either. Of course, once the first "virus" hits then that will change but I'm not sure that we will ever see a virus for UNIX based systems due to the way that UNIX handles security.
You do know that most anti virus for Mac and PCs do more than just virus protection. They protect the user from phishing sites, malware, trojans and etc. - WHICH Mac users are capable of receiving just like anyone else... Including key-logging when using passwords and bank accounts and etc.
Think before you type.
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These are user problems, not computer problems.
Also, I'd like to see a list of malware that Macs can get. Or you are full of it.
I must be full of it. User problems become computer problems.
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There is no way to protect from user stupidity. People should not depend on an anti-virus suite to protect them from doing stupid things. Every computer user needs to have a modicum of computer sense and no program can substitute for that.
This may hurt a little . . .
Of course it does. It requires you to spend time thinking about viruses (which don't exist for the Mac) and other malware such as trojans and Windows viruses (which do exist for the Mac or at least can be propagated by the Mac). It requires time to install the software. It also puts your system at the mercy of an application that meddles with various low-level functions - who knows what it may screw up?
Of course it does. It requires you to spend time thinking about viruses (which don't exist for the Mac) and other malware such as trojans and Windows viruses (which do exist for the Mac or at least can be propagated by the Mac). It requires time to install the software. It also puts your system at the mercy of an application that meddles with various low-level functions - who knows what it may screw up?
OMG DON'T use Norton or Symantec. Macafee is only decent if you use their command line tools outside of the OS.
Anyone who thinks Norton/Symantec (same company, essentially the same product but Symantec has more features) has never worked in IT period.
Here is a typical day with Symantec:
1. You get notified that a virus has infected certain machines with certain IP addresses.
2. You see that Symantec on those machines has found nothing.
3. You scan with Symantec, still nothing.
4. The boss keeps getting the report that 500+ machines are infected.
5. A few of the machines say "Ooo! We found something! But we can't do anything to it we will just tell you we found it, but we wont tell you where.
6. You have to reimage the stupid machine because its much faster then manually hunting whatever Symantec thinks it found.
7. Next day, Symantec still thinks some of the machines you just reimaged are infected even though they aren't.
I've worked with Symantec and Norton for YEARS. Udder udder garbage. Its bad when even Symantec can't figure out why their products don't catch anything.
Anyone who thinks Norton/Symantec (same company, essentially the same product but Symantec has more features) has never worked in IT period.
Here is a typical day with Symantec:
1. You get notified that a virus has infected certain machines with certain IP addresses.
2. You see that Symantec on those machines has found nothing.
3. You scan with Symantec, still nothing.
4. The boss keeps getting the report that 500+ machines are infected.
5. A few of the machines say "Ooo! We found something! But we can't do anything to it we will just tell you we found it, but we wont tell you where.
6. You have to reimage the stupid machine because its much faster then manually hunting whatever Symantec thinks it found.
7. Next day, Symantec still thinks some of the machines you just reimaged are infected even though they aren't.
I've worked with Symantec and Norton for YEARS. Udder udder garbage. Its bad when even Symantec can't figure out why their products don't catch anything.
This!
Ever notice how nice and fast some Windows machines are straight out of the box? Then how not so fast they are after installing anti-virus?
As far as I see it until a virus for OS X is known about I will not install A/V software. As to the argument for protecting Windows users, should they not be protecting themselves?
With regards to phishing websites etc most modern browsers have some type of fail safe within them that warn you, I would resent having A/V software just for that.
Also, if you think about it, as Macs have become more popular the protection through obscurity argument now no longer exists. If a developer could create a virus that could infect OS X they could distribute it amongst the Mac community easily, but as of yet this has not happened.
With regards to phishing websites etc most modern browsers have some type of fail safe within them that warn you, I would resent having A/V software just for that.
Also, if you think about it, as Macs have become more popular the protection through obscurity argument now no longer exists. If a developer could create a virus that could infect OS X they could distribute it amongst the Mac community easily, but as of yet this has not happened.
I didn't know either product would give you credit reports. Are you sure about that. I just check once a year - you can get a free one once a year.
That said I run Norton on my Mac. The job makes it available for free. So far it has not caused any problems. And it is interesting to see how often my mac gets scanned for open ports. And how often I get infected email that is not filtered by spam mail filter. I'm not sure I'd pay for it, but as long as it does not cause me problems I'll keep it running . . .
My friend once forwarded email that infected a bunch of his friends machines, they were not happy, almost makes it worth scanning for PC virus.
One day the mac will get attacked. existing tools may not help, but they may. If you run with administrator privilege, and are not very very careful, it is just a matter of time before you infect your machine, maybe.
If you're in a corporate environment and they don't have anti-virus running on all their Windows PCs, they've got much bigger problems to worry about than getting a virus-infected file from a Mac user.
Before you discard the idea of running a Mac without AV running, read the link that ECUpirate44 posted, especially the section entitled "What about sending files to Windows users?" Running AV on a Mac is a very poor and ineffective method of protecting Windows users from malware.
The only way you can get a keylogger on a Mac is to install it yourself, or intentionally give someone access to your system, so they can install it. Both scenarios can easily be avoided, as can all trojans and phishing scams. Software isn't needed to protect against such threats.
Anti-virus apps don't generate credit reports.
Being scanned for open ports doesn't mean there's a malware threat.
Actually, they won't. There's not a single anti-virus app in existence that can detect a virus that doesn't yet exist, because they simply don't know what to look for.