New MBP but performing really slowly

Well sounds like you have an HDD which is slow in general but maybe that combined with a virus? What sort of things have u been downloading through BitTorrent?

 

Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released over 12 years ago. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which can be easily avoided by practicing safe computing (see below). 3rd party antivirus apps are not necessary to keep a Mac malware-free, as long as a user practices safe computing, as described in the following link.

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Read the What security steps should I take? section of the Mac Virus/Malware FAQ for tips on practicing safe computing.

If you're having performance issues, this may help:

Performance Tips For Mac OS X​

 

Great post, and well said. It is a common misconception that "Macs dont get viruses" and its just not true. Sure specifically to the OS not as of yet I have heard of one in the past year but nothing since. However, anything that uses Java(which is pretty much everything) is prone to get a virus, especially links in emails, facebook, and more commonly in torrents. I suggest if you're gonna download anything make sure it's from a reputable source or scan it first to make sure.

 

Yes, it is true. Macs can get viruses, but they don't, since none exist in the wild.

The Java exploits, email attachments and torrent malware you're referring to are trojans, not viruses. Read the FAQ I posted to learn the difference.

 

Yeah I know I was just using in general terms, for me trojans rootkits, backdoors, malware, all just fall under my general term of virus. It's much easier when explaining to people when they're like what is a rootkit? So I'm just like it's a type of virus, easy way out.

 

I understand that many do that, but the accurate term is malware. Viruses, trojans, worms, etc., are all various forms of malware. It helps to learn the accurate terms so you can educate others who don't know better.

 

Before the brilliant tech wizards around here have you do a clean install, buy a SSD, upgrade your RAM (while throwing salt over a shoulder)...

...first, and at the risk of insulting your Mac prowess, when did you reboot last?

...secondly, what do you have running at log in? (System Preferences > Users & Groups > Log in items). You obviously have something consuming all that memory and most likely CPU resources. Might be worthwhile to create a new account to see if the old "pep" is back under that account.