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Hi ! I have a new 15inch MBP now I need some..

PinkSakura

PinkSakura

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 25, 2010
78
0
advice and suggestions like the kind of applications I should download for my MBP. This is actually my 2nd Mac.My previous one was a Macbook and my husband is the proud owner now :)
Any suggestions from the Mac experts here ? Also, what kind of AntiVirus should I download ? I already have the ClamXav.
Thank you so much and I appreciate any help.
 
spinnerlys said:
Links to Software Recommendation Threads

Btw, there is no real need to have AV software installed on a Mac.




MRoogle is a good tool to search these fora for already existing threads about questions you have. It might be able to answer you quicker than waiting for an answer.
Click to expand...


Hi and thanks.. I am just curious as to why there is no need for any AV for a Mac ?


I also want to ask if you have to shut down your Macs every time you don't use it or just close it without clicking sleep ? I need advice so I could assist my husband too. It's his first time to use Mac.. Thanks <3
 
Last edited:
PinkSakura said:
Hi and thanks.. I am just curious as to why there is no need for any AV for a Mac ?
Click to expand...

There are not traditional viruses for OS X, they are, however, trojans that rely on social engineering. These trojans have traditionally been added to install packages of pirated software so if you get all your software legit you should be okay.

If you share files between Microsoft Windows users you may want to run an anti-virus on your Mac to ensure they you don't infect them with Windows viruses.
 
Thank you for the quick response and also to you fishmouse :) I updated my question if you are interested to help.

Okay I get your response.But what if I check some adult sites. I know there's lots of weird stuffs there that just pops up. Should I be bothered ?
 
You have no need to worry :) I confess to watching the occasional adult video on my Mac and I never had any problems with my MacBook.

There are no viruses for Mac OS X TODAY. So you have no reason to worry.

And you can just close the lid, no problem! OS X puts the MacBook to sleep itself. One of the nice things with Mac's is that you can't do that much wrong!
 
PinkSakura said:
Thank you for the quick response and also to you fishmouse :) I updated my question if you are interested to help.

Okay I get your response.But what if I check some adult sites. I know there's lots of weird stuffs there that just pops up. Should I be bothered ?
Click to expand...

No. Read that Virus/Malware FAQ link I quoted to get a better understanding of what you can safely do and what not and hopefully come to the conclusion, that with common sense, there is no need for AV software, even when watching porn. Making it is another matter though, and AV protection is advised.

And yes, you can just close the lid to let the Mac sleep.

Also have a look at the following links to learn more about Mac OS X:

Mac OS X Basics

Helpful Information for Any Mac User by GGJstudios

"How to maximise your MacRumors troubleshooting experience" created by mad jew in 2006

MRoogle is a good tool to search these fora for already existing threads about questions you have. It might be able to answer you quicker than waiting for an answer.

​
 
okay thank you for all those links and help.
I still can't believe we don't need AntiVirus. It's just that we were so used to Windows computer and there have been many problems of spyware etc.. I just started using Mac on 2008 so not really a pro here :D

How about cool applications ?
Also, I read somewhere here about the application Vuze and I downloaded that and found an old movie I really really liked and downloaded it in my computer. I am worried that it might be infected or something and might harm my new computer.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; sv-se) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

Mac's are great your going to love it :)

Cool applications that's a though one, depends on what you want to do? Are you into photo editing etc?
 
fishmoose said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; sv-se) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

Mac's are great your going to love it :)

Cool applications that's a though one, depends on what you want to do? Are you into photo editing etc?
Click to expand...


I open my computer daily and use it almost everyday.But I mostly hang out on Facebook/Youtube,play the Yoville game there and I also love to surf.listen to music on Itunes, upload lots of pictures from my Iphone or from my digital camera to Iphoto,create videos on Imovie from time to time,check my emails,chat with my family using the messengers.. well, that is mostly what I do in the past few months to be honest. I used to create photos for my dog using Gimp but I got bored of it now.

I updated my previous posts by the way.
 
A good place to start is VLC and BetterTouchTool I think those are must haves.
 
PinkSakura said:
I am worried that it might be infected or something and might harm my new computer.
Click to expand...

Please read this:
GGJstudios said:
Mac Virus/Malware Info
Click to expand...

It explains to you in detail what you have to do to get infected with malware. If you are not brain dead, there is no need to worry, as malware requires you to install it yourself. Only a virus can install itself without your interaction, but as there are currently no viruses for Mac OS X, no need for AV software.
AV software can only look for what does exist, and as there is not much malware out there, installing AV software can be an act of installing malware itself, look at Norton and its ****** software.
 
spinnerlys said:
Please read this:


It explains to you in detail what you have to do to get infected with malware. If you are not brain dead, there is no need to worry, as malware requires you to install it yourself. Only a virus can install itself without your interaction, but as there are currently no viruses for Mac OS X, no need for AV software.
AV software can only look for what does exist, and as there is not much malware out there, installing AV software can be an act of installing malware itself, look at Norton and its ****** software.
Click to expand...

alrighty, so i guess there is no need to download Iantivirus that can be found on Apple website.
and what about the ClamXav that I just downloaded last night ?
 
PinkSakura said:
alrighty, so i guess there is no need to download Iantivirus that can be found on Apple website.
and what about the ClamXav that I just downloaded last night ?
Click to expand...

No need. Zero need.

And using more than one AV software on the same computer could seriously frell up your system. You have had a Mac since 2008, so why the sudden interest in AV software? It didn't seem to be a problem till now to not have an AV software.
 
spinnerlys said:
No need. Zero need.

And using more than one AV software on the same computer could seriously frell up your system. You have had a Mac since 2008, so why the sudden interest in AV software? It didn't seem to be a problem till now to not have an AV software.
Click to expand...

I don't know. .I guess I just want to be knowledgeable. Also, because I want to know what applications to download for this MBP and for my old Macbook which my husband is using now. He mostly use his computer to pay attention to the stock market like FX so I am just worried.

I guess I am off to delete the Clamxav.
 
Just a few more quick recommendations other than the links I already provided:

Perian
Flip4Mac
VLC
Handbrake
Plex

Carbon Copy Cloner

Adium
Skype

While you do not need AV for your Mac, there are a couple of things to consider:

1. There are trojans out there, but they require you to input your Administrator's password. The best defense is to use good common sense. Know what you are downloading and installing and only do so from reputable sources. There are no known viruses, but nothing prevents you from installing malicious software if you willingly give permission.

2. Your Mac is immune to Windows viruses, but it can be a carrier. You can pass on a virus to a Windows user via email or shared files. That is where ClamXav can be useful in scanning your files (you can set it up to be selective about what it scans I believe). If you share a lot of files with Windows users, they may appreciate you practicing safe computing and not spreading their viruses.

3. The best thing you can do to ensure your computer is safe is to have a good backup strategy. I use both Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner. They both have their strengths. Time Machine allows you to recover files from the past, but it is not bootable. A clone allows you to boot immediately should you experience trouble with your primary drive. Both can be scheduled for regular backups.
 
MacDawg said:
Just a few more quick recommendations other than the links I already provided:

Perian
Flip4Mac
VLC
Handbrake
Plex

Carbon Copy Cloner

Adium
Skype

While you do not need AV for your Mac, there are a couple of things to consider:

1. There are trojans out there, but they require you to input your Administrator's password. The best defense is to use good common sense. Know what you are downloading and installing and only do so from reputable sources. There are no known viruses, but nothing prevents you from installing malicious software if you willingly give permission.

2. Your Mac is immune to Windows viruses, but it can be a carrier. You can pass on a virus to a Windows user via email or shared files. That is where ClamXav can be useful in scanning your files (you can set it up to be selective about what it scans I believe). If you share a lot of files with Windows users, they may appreciate you practicing safe computing and not spreading their viruses.

3. The best thing you can do to ensure your computer is safe is to have a good backup strategy. I use both Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner. They both have their strengths. Time Machine allows you to recover files from the past, but it is not bootable. A clone allows you to boot immediately should you experience trouble with your primary drive. Both can be scheduled for regular backups.
Click to expand...


Hi, thank you for all those applications. I have some of the app already on my MBP like VLC and Perian. I was wondering about Handbrake, what is the simplest use of this if you can explain. And also Transmission. Is this a safe application ?
Thank you for any response.
 
PinkSakura said:
Hi, thank you for all those applications. I have some of the app already on my MBP like VLC and Perian. I was wondering about Handbrake, what is the simplest use of this if you can explain. And also Transmission. Is this a safe application ?
Thank you for any response.
Click to expand...

Handbrake - it transcodes (changing the codec) a video from one format using a codec into another format using another codec
About Handbrake

Transmission - Peer-2-Peer (p2p) application, helps you downloading torrents
About Transmission
And yes, it is a safe application, millions use it.
 
PinkSakura said:
Hi, thank you for all those applications. I have some of the app already on my MBP like VLC and Perian. I was wondering about Handbrake, what is the simplest use of this if you can explain. And also Transmission. Is this a safe application ?
Thank you for any response.
Click to expand...

Handbrake is good for ripping DVD's and converting video files for the iPhone/iPad and Apple TV. EDIT: Beaten to it.
 
okay thank you again.
As I am residing here in the land of the rising sun :D I want to know if it safe to download torrents using Transmission. I am scared to download to be honest. With all of the news about someone getting caught and paid a massive amount of money for illegaly downloading music really scares me.

So if for example I rented a dvd from a rental shop here and play it on my computer I could ripped it and keep it inside my computer using Handbrake ?

Sorry, im not sure if we are allowed to talk about these kind of things here.just let me know. thanks.
 
PinkSakura said:
okay thank you again.
As I am residing here in the land of the rising sun :D I want to know if it safe to download torrents using Transmission. I am scared to download to be honest. With all of the news about someone getting caught and paid a massive amount of money for illegaly downloading music really scares me.

So if for example I rented a dvd from a rental shop here and play it on my computer I could ripped it and keep it inside my computer using Handbrake ?

Sorry, im not sure if we are allowed to talk about these kind of things here.just let me know. thanks.
Click to expand...

Not really.

Warez/Serials/Keys.
Do not post software serial numbers or keys or refer people to specific websites, software, or techniques whose purpose is to break or bypass software licensing methods, distribute cracks, or obtain or use commercial software or media in violation of its license and/or for copyright violation. Do not ask for or give such help.

from https://macrumors.zendesk.com/hc/en-us#Things_Not_to_Do
Click to expand...
As you only rented the DVD, you can't legally make a copy of it, even though Handbrake does allow it.
 
PinkSakura said:
Hi and thanks.. I am just curious as to why there is no need for any AV for a Mac ?


I also want to ask if you have to shut down your Macs every time you don't use it or just close it without clicking sleep ? I need advice so I could assist my husband too. It's his first time to use Mac.. Thanks <3
Click to expand...

Close the lid and sleep
 
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