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Newbie with a question
- Thread starter snerkler
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There are currently no viruses for Mac OS X in public circulation, only a handful of trojans and other malware, which have to be installed manually via entering the administrator password.
The only anti-virus you need to protect your Mac is education and common sense.
Also know, that the term "virus" is often used to refer to other kinds of malware, but there are differences, which you can find out by reading the following:
Mac Virus/Malware Info by GGJstudios
The only anti-virus you need to protect your Mac is education and common sense.
Also know, that the term "virus" is often used to refer to other kinds of malware, but there are differences, which you can find out by reading the following:
Mac Virus/Malware Info by GGJstudios
Five Mac maintenance myths
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Helpful Information for Any Mac User
Portables Fast Start: The New User's Guide to Apple Notebooks
You don't need any 3rd party antivirus app to keep your Mac malware-free. 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 10 years ago. You cannot infect your Mac simply by visiting a website, unzipping a file, opening an email attachment or joining a network. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which cannot infect your Mac unless you actively install them, and they can be easily avoided with some basic education, common sense and care in what software you install. Also, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion have anti-malware protection built in, further reducing the need for 3rd party antivirus apps.
You don't need to defrag on Mac OS X, except possibly when partitioning a drive.
About disk optimization with Mac OS X
Five Mac maintenance myths
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Thanks. So I guess the Mac warns you if you're entering an untrusted or unknown site , or if you're trying to open a potentially dodgy file? I don't use torrent sites anyway, so not prone to problems from them
No, it doesn't warn you when you visit a site, but you can't infect your Mac simply by visiting a site. The only Mac OS X malware that exists in the wild requires the user to install it.
- Make sure your built-in Mac firewall is enabled in System Preferences > Security > Firewall
- Uncheck "Enable Java" in Safari > Preferences > Security.
- Uncheck "Open "safe" files after downloading" in Safari > Preferences > General
- Be careful to only install software from trusted, reputable sites. Never install pirated software. If you're not sure about an app, ask in this forum before installing.
- Never let someone else have physical access to install anything on your Mac.
Thanks. On windows 7 it flags up if it thinks a program or bit of software I'm trying to download is potentially harmful so I'll have to remember Mac doesn't do this. To be fair though, I don't tend to download many programs/software from the net.
Is it common practice on a Mac to have to enter your admin details when downloading apps etc, or if it asks this can you assume it's dodgy?
Most trojans (there are very few and encountering them is quite rare for the average user who doesn't pirate software) require the user to enter their admin password during the installation process. There's no way you can install one and not know you installed something. Also, with Snow Leopard and Lion, they will detect most known trojans. Your chances of having to deal with malware is extremely remote. Extremely! Most Mac users run for many years and never encounter an instance of malware. If you don't pirate software and you don't install software without thinking, you'll likely never see any.
It WILL warn you on some sites... just don't rely on it as common sense will be a much more useful tool.
You will need to enter your info every so often if you're frequently installing apps, so just pay attention and you should be good.
Cool, thanks. I'm sure I'll be fine. I've not had a problem (touch wood) with PC's for years and years so should be absolutely fine with a Mac.
I'm not running Lion, so I can't speak for that, but isn't it Google that warns you about sites and not Mac OS X? I've never seen a warning from Leopard or Snow Leopard about malicious sites... only from Google.