Three green bars...

[olivetreedesign]

keep popping up on my desktop. i recently installed anti-virus software. is this ok or do i need to be worried? thanks!

 

[simsaladimbamba]

keep popping up on my desktop. i recently installed anti-virus software. is this ok or do i need to be worried? thanks!

What redundant* AV software did you install and can you make a screenshot and attach it to your next post?

*
Currently there are zero viruses affecting Mac OS X in public circulation, but there are other kinds of malware existing, that can infect your Mac, but that can be avoided via employing the proper security steps without the help of any anti virus software.
To learn more about malware in Mac OS X and what steps can be taken to protect yourself, read the following F.A.Q.:

Mac Virus/Malware Info by GGJstudios​

 

[thundersteele]

Uh, that reminds me... recently I was visiting UF, and in order to access the uni network, they made me install some AV software. Worst software ever, slowed down the machine like hell.

And then, the mess of uninstalling it... terrible. Sorry I don't remember the name of that software, but it had a somewhat green-ish layout, and stuff kept popping up here and there when it checked every website and/or file for malicious code.


edit: The software is called Avast!

 

[Queen6]

Try reinstalling Avast, then uninstall it via it`s own installer this will likely remove it completely.

 

[GGJstudios]

keep popping up on my desktop. i recently installed anti-virus software. is this ok or do i need to be worried? thanks!

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

 

[RedRaven571]

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

Unfortunately, as far as I know, all universities require AV software be present in order to join the network. Although macs may not have viruses, they can certainly propagate windows viruses on the network, sort of a Typhoid Mary effect.

 

[ColdCase]

Unfortunately, as far as I know, all universities require AV software be present in order to join the network. Although macs may not have viruses, they can certainly propagate windows viruses on the network, sort of a Typhoid Mary effect.

Most of the well run university IT departments no longer bother with Macs, just too many complains and they don't work anyway. There, unfortunately, are some that are still in the dark ages.

The propagation of windows viruses via Macs is an urban myth propagated by AV software sales departments... dunno of any AV that cleans up those sales calls.

A virus has to first infect a machine before it propagates... which is pretty much the definition of a virus

 

[Weaselboy]

The propagation of windows viruses via Macs is an urban myth propagated by AV software sales departments... dunno of any AV that cleans up those sales calls.

A virus has to first infect a machine before it propagates... which is pretty much the definition of a virus

I believe by "propagate", RedRaven571 means the virus can be forwarded along the way by a Mac just like a Windows machine, without the Mac being infected.

If I receive an email attachment that contains a virus and forward that to a Windows user from my Mac, I have propagated the virus. Nothing urban myth about that. At my last job I would see two or three MS Word macro viruses float through this way a month. Now if a Mac user want to help put the brakes on this by running AV, that is up to him or her.

 

[Feed Me]

Unfortunately, as far as I know, all universities require AV software be present in order to join the network. Although macs may not have viruses, they can certainly propagate windows viruses on the network, sort of a Typhoid Mary effect.

You can easily uninstall the AV software as soon as the Uni network accepts your computer.

At my Uni, they only check for AV installations once a term, and I've discovered I can get around it by making a "Sophos" folder in my Application Support directory, hah.

 

[RedRaven571]

I believe by "propagate", RedRaven571 means the virus can be forwarded along the way by a Mac just like a Windows machine, without the Mac being infected.

If I receive an email attachment that contains a virus and forward that to a Windows user from my Mac, I have propagated the virus. Nothing urban myth about that. At my last job I would see two or three MS Word macro viruses float through this way a month. Now if a Mac user want to help put the brakes on this by running AV, that is up to him or her.

Thanks! That's exactly what I meant!

----------

You can easily uninstall the AV software as soon as the Uni network accepts your computer.

At my Uni, they only check for AV installations once a term, and I've discovered I can get around it by making a "Sophos" folder in my Application Support directory, hah.

I was wondering about that, I'll try it with my sons MBP. It currently has Norton AV for mac and it slows down the machine.

 

[outphase]

What redundant* AV software did you install and can you make a screenshot and attach it to your next post?

*
Currently there are zero viruses affecting Mac OS X in public circulation, but there are other kinds of malware existing, that can infect your Mac, but that can be avoided via employing the proper security steps without the help of any anti virus software.
To learn more about malware in Mac OS X and what steps can be taken to protect yourself, read the following F.A.Q.:

Mac Virus/Malware Info by GGJstudios​

AV software also serves a secondary purpose of preventing you from spreading Windows malware accidentally.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

AV software also serves a secondary purpose of preventing you from spreading Windows malware accidentally.

Yes, it does, and it might prove useful for people sharing lots and lots of files with Windows users. I do so on a weekly or monthly basis only, and I also assume, that a proper Windows user runs his or her own AV software and does not let others protect them.
While "it is his/her responsibility to protect her/his Windows based computer, why should I do it for them" may sound egotistic, why should I or other Mac OS X users ruin their CPU cycles with background sentry AV software?

I do not say, that one should not run AV software, but one can easily live without them, with some common sense and even visiting sites that are deemed shady like porn or torrent or many other sites.

 

[Queen6]

Same question, same rhetoric;

There are several reasons to run antivirus/malware on OS X especially if you are dealing with a mixed environment passing on malicious code even inadvertently does you no favours in the profesional world, let alone family and friends. What does not hurt your Mac & OS X may bring a PC to it`s knees.

You do need to be careful on the choice of application; ClamXav is extremely light and only looks in realtime at what you specify and it`s free. The sentry is presently utilising 0.2% of CPU consuming just over an hours worth of CPU time over several weeks and this is on a machine over four years old. Does anyone seriously still believe that running ClamXav on todays modern hardware impacts performance! The paid for packages I agree are a waste of $ offering little more than a placebo with a heavyweight user interface. ClamAV the parent of ClamXav protects numerous servers globally, which is a pretty good tip...

ClamXav will have no impact on a modern Intel based Mac. To have a free, low headroom, accurate scanner that offers a lot of flexibility and not utilize it seems somewhat stubborn at best. The retorts of AV being a resource hog, boils down to one thing, research; ClamXav will not bog your system down, if it does you have some other inconsistencies that need addressing, or your hardware is so old it`s well and truly time to upgrade, on my Early 2008 MBP ClamXav is simply invisible, there is absolutely no degradation of performance, as for the Late 2011 i7 2.4 MBP & Mid 2012 Retina it`s completely transparant.

I have literally decades of work on my systems, I have no intention of losing any data, ClamXav is but one tool in a multilayered safety net. Lets face it, if and when OS X is compromised it will spread like wildfire as many fundamentally believe that OS X is invulnerable. I am not entirely sure posts that overly renforce this sense of security are helpful to the average user, even Apple recognise the threat, however the updates are too slow to be considered a preventative measure...

I have never had a positive hit in all the years I have run ClamXav equally OS X is gaining traction and it`s simply a matter of time before someone figures it out, thinking otherwise is simply naive. ClamXav cost me nothing monetarily nor time in productivity, this is a safety net that costs little more than five minutes of your time.

Virus/malware gains traction by exploiting vulnerabilities on unprotected systems. I don't believe for one second that CalmXav is the single security solution for OS X, it is however the de-facto standard for many mail servers globally (ClamAV), and the app is rapidly updated.

Apple has included ClamAV with OS X server since 10.4, ClamXav is transparent on a Intel based Mac, adds another level of protection at zero cost. Apple clearly list Calmav-137-1 on their 10.7.3 Open Source page (http://www.opensource.apple.com/release/mac-os-x-1073/) admittedly it is not implemented in the Lion client release, equally I would not be surprised if it was quietly implemented in a forthcoming release of OS X as was XProtect implemented in Snow Leopard. Apple may simply choose to integrate ClamAV into Xprotect and the vast majority will never know the difference. As of OS X 10.6 your Mac is running anti malware like it or not

There are many compelling reasons to run ClamXav and few if any not too, personal choices aside I fundamentally believe that suggesting that OS X is safe to all and does not need such tools is very much a step in the wrong direction; not all are technically minded, neither do all users who may have access to machines follow the same rules and guidelines. The vast majority simply point and click to get to where or what they want ClamXav simply serves as a barrier to protect those that are unaware and some cases unconcerned, ultimately such safeguards protect the community as a whole.

Install, dont install it`s down to you now...............

 

[simsaladimbamba]

I have never had a positive hit in all the years I have run ClamXav equally OS X is gaining traction and it`s simply a matter of time before someone figures it out, thinking otherwise is simply naive. ClamXav cost me nothing monetarily nor time in productivity, this is a safety net that costs little more than five minutes of your time.

I understand where you are coming from, but just for viruses, there have been several dozens of them (real viruses, not trojans and other malware) affecting Mac OS 8 and 9. Mac OS 8 and 9 had much less users due to the lack of iPod, iPhone and iPad support (probably because they haven't been released yet).

Mac OS X is more widely used than Mac OS 8 and 9 ever was, but still the viruses affecting Mac OS X haven't appeared yet and the malware affecting Mac OS X is limited in numbers.

I just post that, since that "Macs are getting more and more marketshare, thus there will be more malware and viruses written for them" moniker gets thrown out a lot, but as of now, it hasn't come true yet.

 

[Queen6]

I understand where you are coming from, but just for viruses, there have been several dozens of them (real viruses, not trojans and other malware) affecting Mac OS 8 and 9. Mac OS 8 and 9 had much less users due to the lack of iPod, iPhone and iPad support (probably because they haven't been released yet).

Mac OS X is more widely used than Mac OS 8 and 9 ever was, but still the viruses affecting Mac OS X haven't appeared yet and the malware affecting Mac OS X is limited in numbers.

I just post that, since that "Macs are getting more and more marketshare, thus there will be more malware and viruses written for them" moniker gets thrown out a lot, but as of now, it hasn't come true yet.

Not yet, I agree the chances are slight, equally ClamXav doesn't cost, so why not. The fewer systems spewing out malicious code the better, even if that code wont harm yours...