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Mac needs an anti-virus?

G

Global Delight

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 1, 2009
9
0
Hi

Do Macs does not have Virus/ Trojan issues? Is it really that you don't need to buy an anti-virus? I know, it's a PC culture but what about a person surfing the net all the time (or like me who doesn't switch-off the net connection unless there is power supply issues)
 
Global Delight said:
Hi

Do Macs does not have Virus/ Trojan issues? Is it really that you don't need to buy an anti-virus? I know, it's a PC culture but what about a person surfing the net all the time (or like me who doesn't switch-off the net connection unless there is power supply issues)
Click to expand...

NO ANTIVIRUS NEEDED EVEN IF YOU SURF THE NET 24/7. they are trojans however they will only invade your mac if you install they personally i.e accept the application and write your password
 
u49aa2 said:
NO ANTIVIRUS NEEDED EVEN IF YOU SURF THE NET 24/7. they are trojans however they will only invade your mac if you install they personally i.e accept the application and write your password
Click to expand...

What he said.

Don't go around installing apps you downloaded from torrents or new codecs for videos on adult-themed sites, and you should be fine. Before you give the admin password to anything, make sure you know what app, where you got it, and why it needs it.
 
I know what you're saying. I felt odd about not having antivirus software on my Mac. But it is true. You don't need antivirus for your Mac. :cool:
 
Its always better to be safer then sorry.

Yes, Mac don't have the issues like PC's have. But Macs are not virus free. Just you don't need to worry like you do with PC's all the time.
 
Got 2 macs, none running anti virus. i checked for viruses/trojens the other day, just out of curiosity.... there was nothing! Very reassuring.
 
miles01110 said:
Technically what he said isn't incorrect. Viruses can exist on Macs, they just won't do anything. They can still be passed onto PCs though, so if you exchange a lot of files with PC users anti-virus software is useful.
Click to expand...

But they are only in the form of .exe so yeah they will work on PCs but they are not 'mac viruses' so to speak.
 
Never, Not In A Million Years, Absolutely Not, No Way Hosé, No Chance Lance, Ner, Negatory, Uhum, Na-ah, Uh-uh, and my own personal favourite of all time, man falling off a cliff...

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..................poof!
 
miles01110 said:
Technically what he said isn't incorrect. Viruses can exist on Macs, they just won't do anything. They can still be passed onto PCs though, so if you exchange a lot of files with PC users anti-virus software is useful.
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It is incorrect.

There are NO viruses for OS X. NONE.

But yes, you can copy a Windows virus onto a Mac, it just won't do anything. Windows software cannot run on anything but Windows.
 
Duff-Man says...how many "mac virus" threads do we need to have this week....people...please search before posting - as I said a couple weeks ago - do you really think you are the first to ask about a virus on a Mac? This topic has been beaten to death a million times over and there's no need to have it throttled over yet again....oh yeah!
 
student_trap said:
What about in OS9 though, any risk there?
Click to expand...

No, Windows viruses can't run on OS 9.

There are a few viruses for OS 9 and earlier, though (specific to those versions.)

They can't damage OS X if they are run in the Classic Environment, as OS X is UNIX, and OS 9 is not, so the virus wouldn't be able to affect OS X.
 
miles01110 said:
Technically what he said isn't incorrect. Viruses can exist on Macs, they just won't do anything. They can still be passed onto PCs though, so if you exchange a lot of files with PC users anti-virus software is useful.
Click to expand...

+1

My thumbdrive at work gets infected constantly and windows, being windows, cant ever show me the file (yes system folders and hidden files are set to show) so I plug my drive into my mac and delete the file/folder of whatever infection I know I have that symantec on the windows machines sees but can never delete (yes, settings are configured correctly in symantec).

I love my mac :D

Jethryn Freyman said:
No, Windows viruses can't run on OS 9.

There are a few viruses for OS 9 and earlier, though (specific to those versions.)

They can't damage OS X if they are run in the Classic Environment, as OS X is UNIX, and OS 9 is not, so the virus wouldn't be able to affect OS X.
Click to expand...

+1 The way a virus works is it looks for certain system files and folders and hijacks whats inside, modifies registry keys, etc.

Mac does not have those files and folders so the virus can do nothing. Theres more to it then that but thats the gist.
 
miles01110 said:
Uh, that's not what I said. Please re-read the quoted post and my response. You can have a virus on any machine and any operating system. Whether or not it does anything is a different issue.
Click to expand...

Yes, there wasn't really any point in saying that, since it's fairly obvious, and it would only confuse newbies.
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
arguing semantics is against forum policy...
Click to expand...

Not if it has actual implications. Just because a virus can't affect your computer doesn't mean that you can't pass it to others, making the issue of malware on any machine relevant. Saying "There are no viruses for OS X" and "You cannot have viruses on OS X" are completely different things.

Jethryn Freyman said:
Yes, there wasn't really any point in saying that, since it's fairly obvious, and it would only confuse newbies.
Click to expand...

chrono1081 said:
My thumbdrive at work gets infected constantly and windows, being windows, cant ever show me the file (yes system folders and hidden files are set to show) so I plug my drive into my mac and delete the file/folder of whatever infection I know I have that symantec on the windows machines sees but can never delete (yes, settings are configured correctly in symantec).
Click to expand...

Err, so you would argue that the less information one knows, the better one is equipped to protect against the spread of malware? Am I missing something here, or are you just really shortsighted?
 
miles01110 said:
Not if it has actual implications. Just because a virus can't affect your computer doesn't mean that you can't pass it to others, making the issue of malware on any machine relevant. Saying "There are no viruses for OS X" and "You cannot have viruses on OS X" are completely different things.
Click to expand...

Not to most people they aren't, unless you are back to arguing semantics again.

miles01110 said:
Err, so you would argue that the less information one knows, the better one is equipped to protect against the spread of malware? Am I missing something here, or are you just really shortsighted?
Click to expand...

I would argue that encouraging people to believe there is a need to install a virus checker on your Mac to protect you against viruses is foolish,a s there aren't any. Look at the original message, the OP wasn't asking about protecting PC users, he was asking about protecting himself. To which end, he doesn't need a virus checker. You can argue that he should get one as an altruistic act,as you did but the folks who say you need one are simply, wrong. and if they disagree perhaps they could respond with the names of, say 3 Mac viruses that a mac virus checker would protect against?
 
Tumbleweed666 said:
Not to most people they aren't, unless you are back to arguing semantics again.
Click to expand...

So again, you are arguing that the less people that know that Macs can spread viruses (even though they won't be affected by them), the better? Hmm.

I would argue that encouraging people to believe there is a need to install a virus checker on your Mac to protect you against viruses is foolish,a s there aren't any. Look at the original message, the OP wasn't asking about protecting PC users, he was asking about protecting himself.
Click to expand...

Yes. Good thing I wasn't responding to the OP then, right?

Report my post if you want, if the mods decide it's not adding to the discussion then I'm totally fine with that. The fact is that knowing Macs can be a host to viruses is very relevant.
 
miles01110 said:
Report my post if you want, if the mods decide it's not adding to the discussion then I'm totally fine with that. The fact is that knowing Macs can be a host to viruses is very relevant.
Click to expand...

The topic is "Mac needs an anti-virus?"

They don't. Windows computer do.

say 3 Mac viruses that a mac virus checker would protect against?
Click to expand...

There aren't any OS X viruses.
 
Jethryn Freyman said:
The topic is "Mac needs an anti-virus?"

They don't. Windows computer do.
Click to expand...

You know, this is what makes me think people a) can't read and b) have their heads so far stuck up their fanboy you-know-whats that they can't see the light of day.

You can NOT say something like "Macs do not need anti-virus software" without knowing anything about the situation. It's already been mentioned that Macs can host viruses of any kind and can pass them along to Windows computers, making virus software on your Mac quite useful and relevant, especially if you share files with Windows users. Furthermore if you run Windows "on your Mac" then you will need virus software.

"Macs do not need antivirus software" is an incomplete statement at best, comically wrong at worst.
 
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