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derek1984

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 5, 2008
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Never owned a Macbook before and I am planning on buying one in the next couple months. I have a couple questions that maybe someone can help me with: I have multiple gift cards. Can I use multiple gift cards online at the Apple Store? Do they expire? Also, how are Apple computers when it comes to viruses? I have gotten several different trojan viruses in the past from downloading music or clicking on something by accident on Dell laptops. Are their any programs I can buy for Apple computers that will help with getting rid of viruses? If I get a virus somehow, does the Apple Care Protection Plan cover that? Will the protection plan also cover a replacement battery if in 2 years from when I buy the Macbook the orginal battery doesn't work as good? Also, will a Logitech Wireless Mouse work on a Macbook or do I need to buy the Apple Mighty Mouse? Thanks!
 
Gift cards:

Don't know

Apple Care:

Don't know

Virusses:

As far as I know, there are no known virusses for OSX, except for one, which needs your password (if you have one) to install itself. No trojans that I'm aware of. This doesn't need that it is impervious against hack attacks if you visit promiscuous websites. Also, if you have servises running like FTP or SSH with user/password authentication, it is relatively easy to crack, no matter what OS you are running. For FTP, the damage is usually limited, but with SSH people can do some damage. If you want to configure SSH correctly, I suggest you contact me. If you don't know what it is, you probably don't need/want it......leave it turned off.

The fact that a virus cannot infect you, does not mean that you can't spread it to Windows computers.

Yes, there are anti-virus programs available for OSX. Most of them only slow down/destabilize the system. A friend of mine has been running Sophos for OSX very well for a year now. No virusses spotted yet, well.....no OSX virusses anyway. I guess that with the iincreasing market-share of Apple, it is only a matter of time.

Mouse:

Any USB/Bluetooth compliant mouse should work. So, if your Logitech mouse communicates wireless via it's own USB connector, it should work. Otherwise, you should configure it as a bluetooth mouse, which is pretty straight-forward. I really like the mighty-mouse, except for one thing....gaming. Battery life for the wireless mighty-mouse is excellent. I usually change them every 4-6 months and my iMac is turned on 24/7.
 
Yeah I have not heard of any known viruses that have affected macs ever thats why they are ao nice. I know you can use one gift card but not sure if you can use all of them you might be better off going to an apple store in person and buying it that way because you can probably use them all that way
 
Regarding gift cards...

You can use up to 4 gift cards on the online store. There's no set expiration date, but there may be certain rules depending on states.
For more info, http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/giftcards_faq.html

Regarding AppleCare...
Apple care extends the original warranty from 1 year to 3 years. More info, http://www.apple.com/support/products/proplan.html You can buy this when you get your Mac or anytime within 1 year of purchasing your Mac.​

Regarding the battery...
Apple may replace your battery if it is less than 80% health and under 300 charge cycles.​
 
Thanks a lot for the replies. So as far as using programs like Limewire or clicking something by accident, I shouldn't have to worry about getting a virus? Or would it be wise just in case to buy an anti-virus program?
 
Thanks a lot for the replies. So as far as using programs like Limewire or clicking something by accident, I shouldn't have to worry about getting a virus? Or would it be wise just in case to buy an anti-virus program?

Yeah it is safe to have anti virus I mean I dont know of any virus that can affect a mac but better to be safe than sorry and technology is getting better which means people will try to create mac viruses probably.
 
Thanks a lot for the replies. So as far as using programs like Limewire or clicking something by accident, I shouldn't have to worry about getting a virus? Or would it be wise just in case to buy an anti-virus program?

Don't download crap from dodgy sites, to start with. Second, don't waste your money on AV packages. Most of them will cause more system slowdowns and CPU usage than any virus (were there any in the first place). Trojans and other malware are a different story, but that's back to my first point.
 
Thanks a lot for the replies. So as far as using programs like Limewire or clicking something by accident, I shouldn't have to worry about getting a virus? Or would it be wise just in case to buy an anti-virus program?

I have never installed anti-virus software on my Macs. It just wastes resources. The only reason to have anti-virus software on a Mac is if you have an infected file, it will keep you from passing it along to PC users.
 
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