I moved from Windows to Mac last year and aim to keep the Mac build as clean as possible. My app list ( from $ls /Applications command ) is as attached. Do others have extensive list of installed apps, and does it affect performance if you have many? Ta!
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How many apps do you run with?
- Thread starter piattj
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I am in the „no antivirus on Macs“ side of things. Others disagree though.
However, you got Antivirus for Mac as well as Bitdefender. Two AV solutions running in parallel is nothing I‘d do irrespective of operating system
However, you got Antivirus for Mac as well as Bitdefender. Two AV solutions running in parallel is nothing I‘d do irrespective of operating system
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Cheers. Yes I saw that when I listed the apps. I actually only installed Bitdefender for Mac. Just that one. That seems to be the way that Bitdefender is implemented on MacOS. If you open 'Antivirus for Mac' (eg via Finder) it opens the standard Bitdefender window. SO I believe they are the same app... 'apparently, 'Antivirus for Mac' is an Alias, not an App bundle... phew! just the one AV solution.
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Yes, I was (am) torn on the topic. I recognise that macos is relatively more secure than Windows but never fully understood how XProtect can be considered to be solid protection as it doesn't get updated swiftly like AV vendors lists. Isn't it the case that you could find yourself at risk from a vulnerability / exploit that XProtect isn't ready to deal with, given the infrequency of its updates? Genuine question - I never have seen a solid answer. Thanks!
I don't run any antivirus on my MacOS systems. I use the native Windows Security on my Windows 10 systems. By using common sense computing practices and adblockers on my browsers, my systems are safe and secure...and have been for years in spite of using these systems online 12+ hours a day.
Yep, if you're even a semi-computer-literate person you shouldn't need any anti-virus software on a Mac. I've been using OSX/MacOS for about 15 years and have never gone near anything like that. Used to work in a Mac Reseller, and a fair proportion of customers' issues would end up being related to installing unnecessary firewalls etc. Causes more problems than it solves in my experience.
Still checking... Isn't it the case that you could find yourself at risk from a vulnerability / exploit that XProtect isn't ready to deal with, given the infrequency of its updates? Genuine question - I never have seen a solid answer. Thanks!
Going back to my original posting, I'm interested in what number of apps forum members run with. Thanks for all responses thus far.
Going back to my original posting, I'm interested in what number of apps forum members run with. Thanks for all responses thus far.
To answer the question in the OP, I have 78 items in my "Applications" folder, though obviously a fair number of those are default OS apps. Quick count suggests I usually have at least 30 of those running pretty much all the time, running from small toolbar programs like Popclip and Amphetamine to bigger productivity stuff like Excel and Scrivener. Outlook, Messages, WhatsApp, Teams, Safari and Fantastic are always open in windows scattered around my desktop.
On a base 2018 i3 Mac mini with 8gb RAM and never really experience any slowdown or issues at all other than when accessing a NAS drive in Finder which sometimes slows down.
On a base 2018 i3 Mac mini with 8gb RAM and never really experience any slowdown or issues at all other than when accessing a NAS drive in Finder which sometimes slows down.
Of course. The same is true of any third party product. For me, it comes down to this...why would I expect a third party to be any better at security than the engineers who built the system? Who knows more about the detailed inner workings?
Plus: Any AV needs to access system level to do its job, hereby introducing an additional attack vector. Its a game of add one give one. Also true for Windows these days, btw.
I tend to just accumulate apps more or less at will. Some I use, most I don't. Some are things I've had for years and haven't bothered to trash. I also have kept things around for many many years if they were occasionally fun or interesting to play with. When I moved to Catalina I trashed all the 32 bit applications that wouldn't run anymore -- and I fully expect that some years from now I'll trash a bunch of things that didn't get updated to Apple Silicon and won't run anymore when they pull the plug on Rosetta 2 eventually.
Even with this admittedly packrat mentality, my Applications folder is only at 46 GB, which is hardly killing my drive space. I'm very careful with what's actually running at any given point, and I don't have things cluttering up my Login Items either.
As long as they're not actually running I don't think it particularly matters what's installed. Or does it? I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts on this actually.
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I accept that premise but isn't it the case that XProtect is not updated that often (with macOS updates??) compared with third party AV / antimalware products that get updated often many times a day? I'd love someone to explain to me how XProtect is as up to date / as 'prepared' as third party products, putting my mind at rest, and allowing me to uninstall my AV product happily!
I am solidly in the "NO A/V software" camp... I have Malware Bytes installed, but rarely run it.
And I'm also a bit of a packrat - accumulating software that looks "interesting" or "promising"... and then rarely using it once the novelty is gone... imagine my surprise when I check my /Applications folder and found:
