Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Boesky

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 16, 2009
364
0
Good choice? Im not taking any chances. Regardless of what Apple says.
 
If you're that kind of 'I want my computer to be safe even if there aren't any viruses' type of person, that's great. Its good to be cautious.:)
 
norton antivirus slowed down my macbook like crazy. there are no viruses for mac. if you exchange files with windows users, i can understand an av program, but use a simpler one like iantivirus or clamxav. it's your choice, but ultimately you're making your computer worse.
 
Good choice? Im not taking any chances. Regardless of what Apple says.

Um, Apple never claimed that Macs don't get viruses, they said in that there are no known viruses on Macs and that IS true. That being said, if you feel the need for virus protection then by all means use it. Norton has had a bad history on Macs, I would've tried something else through.
 
Good choice? Im not taking any chances. Regardless of what Apple says.

IMO, bad choice, although, way to ask for a consult after the purchase/installation ;) Doesn't really matter what we think at this point I guess, heh...

clamxav would have done the same "job" but for free.
 
IMO, bad choice, although, way to ask for a consult after the purchase/installation ;) Doesn't really matter what we think at this point I guess, heh...

clamxav would have done the same "job" but for free.

Norton is doing its job for free as well. If you understand what I'm saying....
 
Never had a virus on a Mac. Had only two annoying viruses on XP, zero on Vista, and I do not use any anti-viral progs.
 
Norton is doing its job for free as well. If you understand what I'm saying....

This is one of the reasons why I hate it when people make ambiguous justifications for using torrents "legally" when people here are suspicious that they got software that costs $$$, for free. If you want to keep the respect of others on this forum don't hint that you are doing the wrong thing in terms of acquiring your software, you're just going to get people upset and be sorry they wasted their time helping you. :p
 
This is one of the reasons why I hate it when people make ambiguous justifications for using torrents "legally" when people here are suspicious that they got software that costs $$$, for free. If you want to keep the respect of others on this forum don't hint that you are doing the wrong thing in terms of acquiring your software, you're just going to get people upset and be sorry they wasted their time helping you. :p

although I doubt he is implying this, my school offers norton to its students for free
 
Norton is doing its job for free as well. If you understand what I'm saying....

When you install software obtained through other-than-ethical means, and then *wink-wink-nudge-nudge* crow about it... will you be surprised when you end up having installed software that does things you don't wish to happen?

Look up "irony". And "Karma". Pay particular attention to "karma". She'll be seeing you, so you might be ready to recognize her...
 
You also need to install anti-space-alien software, because when they come it will be too late - the first thing they will attack is places that sell this software!
 
Never had a virus on a Mac. Had only two annoying viruses on XP, zero on Vista, and I do not use any anti-viral progs.

How do you know you have never had a virus on a Mac? You can't know with 100% certainty can you. Not all viruses will present themselves with a "Hey, you're infected" pop up. Some can be quite stealthy and lay low with out any notice to the end user so I find your blanket response to be somewhat ignorant. No one can say this with 100% certainty if they have connected their system to the Internet and/or installed any software.
 
Good choice? Im not taking any chances. Regardless of what Apple says.

If there is one day a Mac virus, Nortons won't protect against it unless Symantec is aware it exists.

Nortons won't protect you against anything right now.

Also, Nortons will embed itself in your system and cause issues. On Windows it's even worse...
 
How do you know you have never had a virus on a Mac? You can't know with 100% certainty can you. Not all viruses will present themselves with a "Hey, you're infected" pop up. Some can be quite stealthy and lay low with out any notice to the end user so I find your blanket response to be somewhat ignorant. No one can say this with 100% certainty if they have connected their system to the Internet and/or installed any software.

You say "some are quite stealthy". You are referring to the existence of a number of Mac-specific viruses, that number being greater than zero.

Please provide reference to any documentation on the existence of any Mac virus. Let alone a "stealthy" one. Not a Trojan, but a Virus, as you claim.
 
Good choice? Im not taking any chances. Regardless of what Apple says.

Some years back, when I had 64 MB of RAM and a 185 MHz processor, the Norton slowed down my machine but that was my only complaint. But today anymore with most machines (Macs and PCs) with 2 gigs of RAM and dual Intel processors, I don't think most should notice any speed difference.
 
Norton has been universally awful of PCs since the beginning, so it isn't surprising in any way that the OSX version of this program is terrible. Norton has always done a terrible job with wasting system resources and being a general system hog, especially the business class versions of the program.
 
How do you know you have never had a virus on a Mac? You can't know with 100% certainty can you. Not all viruses will present themselves with a "Hey, you're infected" pop up. Some can be quite stealthy and lay low with out any notice to the end user so I find your blanket response to be somewhat ignorant. No one can say this with 100% certainty if they have connected their system to the Internet and/or installed any software.

Let me put it this way: if the virus is so "stealthy" that it has no impact whatsoever on anything that I do on the computer, then the virus is benign, and I could care less about it.

An ignoramus likely would contract a virus though...even with anti-viral programs installed.
 
While I am not sure if this is the right place to post this but my college "requires" that all computers have Symantec AntiVirus installed on them, even Macs. I don't want to install it as others have stated above, so my question is can they detect that I don't have it installed and if so can I spoof it?
I haven't been there yet with my laptop so I have never tried to connect to the internet.
 
While I am not sure if this is the right place to post this but my college "requires" that all computers have Symantec AntiVirus installed on them, even Macs. I don't want to install it as others have stated above, so my question is can they detect that I don't have it installed and if so can I spoof it?
I haven't been there yet with my laptop so I have never tried to connect to the internet.

I assume this is part of their network access policy. Its bull and they can't tell if you have it installed unless the computer is in their hands. now, if you have to take it to the tech dept for any reason, and they discover you dont have their crapware installed, they'll probably install it for you and state that it needs to remain on your computer.

You shouldn't have to do anything to a computer YOU paid for on a network YOU are paying for.
 
I have had my iMac since early 07. I also have a unibody 17" MBP. I have never had any viruses on any of my macs..zero...ziltch. I left those days of paranoia behind when I stopped using window's. IMO, antivirus for a mac is like wearing a rain coat in the shower...just silly!
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.