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Virus Protection Questions

R

Robert4

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 20, 2012
646
30
Hello,

Relatively new iMac user, running High Sierra.
Also have installed Parallels, so I guess you can say there is a
Mac "side," and a W10 "side".

Have read a lot lately that Macs are certainly not immune to virus and Ransomware
threats. Perhaps less than a Windows pc, but it does, and has, happened.

So, am willing to spend a few more $$ and put in some good protection.

a. what do I want to use ? Who, also, has very good Ransomware protection,
besides just the virus protection?

Bitdefender
Avast
or,... ?

b. I guess I have to protect the Mac side and also the Windows side ?

Do I have to do this separately ?

One package do both ?

How do I handle this two sides "problem" regarding protection for both "sides" ?

Much thanks,
Bob
 
You only need it on your windows side. On the Mac side the only malware out there is a few Trojans that you can avoid by not pirating software and not typing in your admin password to open something you downloaded from a porn site.

The one reason you might want antivirus on the Mac side is if you transfer a lot of files that you download from the internet on the Mac side over to the windows side. I believe some Mac antivirus software will catch windows viruses and malware to prevent you from passing them on to windows users if you forward the email they are in.
 
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nambucca has it right in reply 2 above.

If you want AV software for Windows, run it "on the Windows side" only.
Don't worry about "viruses" (per se) on the Mac. None exist "in the wild".

But... DO download and install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware for Mac "on the Mac side", because there ARE instances of malware/adware on the Mac side.
Be aware that MalwareBytes will "prompt you to upgrade to the paid version".
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO THIS.
After the trial period is over, the app "automatically converts itself" into the free version (if you don't want the paid one).
The free version works fine.
The difference between "free" and "paid" is that the free version runs only when you tell it to.
The paid version runs all the time "in the background", monitoring the Mac.

MalwareBytes DOES work -- I had it discover (and remove) an instance of adware that got installed when I downloaded an app (I think it was a "Wondershare" app) that looked legitimate...
 
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nambuccaheadsau said:
Run AV on your Windows side only.

Despite what you have read there are no Mac OS X viruses, only AV companies who insist on calling malware viruses to sell their resource garbage.

Download and use Malwarebytes fore Mac and simply let it run for the thirty day trial when it will automatically continue with the free version.
Click to expand...
I second this--Malwarebytes for Mac is probably all you need. Just make sure your firewall is up and in stealth mode, don't open email links or download attachments from questionable sources, etc. Truly, the only people who have problems are people who get tricked into doing something, like downloading this or that update, downloading something from a sketchy porn site or pirating.
 
Eddie wrote in post 6 above:
"I have OS x Version 10.6.8. - should i update it due to security reasons?"

As Glockworkorange said in reply 7, if it's a 2008 it can only go to 10.7 (Lion) in any case. Both Snow Leopard and Lion are no longer receiving updates from Apple.

BUT

Most folks agree that Snow Leopard was a better version of the OS than was Lion.

SO... I'll ask you this:
- Does your current install of Snow Leopard do all that you need to do?
- Does it still run well enough without problems?
- Are you still able to go where you want to go on the web?

IF so, I'd suggest you "stay where you are", run it that way as long as you can, and be happy.

SOME MORE INFORMATION YOU MIGHT WANT TO GIVE US:

1. In the Utilities folder, open "System Profiler"
2. It should open with "hardware" selected (topmost selection)
3. To the right, look at "Hardware overview"
4. The SECOND line down is "Model Identifier"
5. You should see something like "MacBookPro7,1" (that's on my 2010 MBP, note that there is a COMMA between the 7 and the 1)
6. You need to tell us what YOUR identifier is.
Give us this info, and we can tell you what's the "latest version" of the OS you can run.

Or, do this:
- Find out your model identifier and WRITE IT DOWN on paper
- Open a google search and enter "everymac.com macbookproX,Y" (the X and Y will be replaced with YOUR numbers)
- This should give you a hit to the page at everymac.com for your MacBook Pro. You can check the full information, and it will tell you what OS it shipped with, and what's the LAST version of the OS it can run.
 
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I’ve used Intego Virusbarrier for many years and never had a problem with it. Recently got a deal on Bitdefender so trying that (but have had some false positives with it) and despite the higher rating seems to have less OS X features.

Unlike the folks above, I personally subscribe to the better safe than sorry camp. I’ve never had an issue with performance hit and never had a problem with it. To each their own, but you never know what tomorrow might bring. Chance favors the prepared.
 
IF tomorrow brings anything the AV companies will be blasting it long and loud as they are fed up to the back teeth with the Unix operating base system not have viruses. They are missing millions from Mac users. That is the reason adware and malware suddenly appeared as 'viruses'.

Answer this. There are no Mac OS X viruses so what is the point of paying them to download Windows virus data bases and searching your Mac for viruses that cannot execute or replicate on the Unix system?
 
nambuccaheadsau said:
IF tomorrow brings anything the AV companies will be blasting it long and loud as they are fed up to the back teeth with the Unix operating base system not have viruses. They are missing millions from Mac users. That is the reason adware and malware suddenly appeared as 'viruses'.

Answer this. There are no Mac OS X viruses so what is the point of paying them to download Windows virus data bases and searching your Mac for viruses that cannot execute or replicate on the Unix system?
Click to expand...

This is sort of random, and definitely not at all the same, but I literally just read an article on the whooping cough. Apparently it’s making a mini comeback and one study in 2015 found the vaccines effectiveness over the years while protecting the vaccinated person wasn’t always stopping transmission of the virus to someone else who was suceptible.

In some cases maybe you will catch a Windows only virus in an email attachment or file and prevent passing it along to others even if you aren’t impacted. Never had that happen myself, but I think the scenario is at least plausible.

This topic brings out a lot of strong opinions and I’m just not that passionate about it. I tend to think that no system no matter how good is fully immune forever. Maybe it’s a waste of money, I’ve had my AV on OSX for at least the last 10+ years and never found anything. Maybe that means I’ve wasted money...but I still keep it running.

Somebody long ago was the first person to get a new STD...and it hadn’t happened before. But that didn’t stop it from happening one day.
 
Last edited:
Let's play the what if game...

So, tomorrow we awaken to the Mac apocalypse and there is a true macOS virus replicating and infecting in the wild
NO, I repeat NO current Mac AntiVirus will have that in their database so the current AV is useless for it, until a solution to the virus can be found and an update issued

If you are already infected, the update will do you no good, unless it includes a removal tool
If you aren't already infected, you will be able to get the AV antidote and install it when it becomes available to protect yourself

AV will protect you from viruses that are already out there and have been identified, but there are no Mac viruses, hence no protection needed
If one ever arises and we need AV, it will only protect from known viruses, not new ones... until an update comes

That's why Windows AV is out there... because of the plethora of known Windows viruses still out there
It protects from those, not new ones that spring up... those need an update as well
 
Well in theory there are signature based that would indeed lag, but heuristic types of scans could help I suppose - though I’m not sure if that even exists on the OS X products at present to be honest.
 
Fishrrman said:
Eddie wrote in post 6 above:
"I have OS x Version 10.6.8. - should i update it due to security reasons?"

As Glockworkorange said in reply 7, if it's a 2008 it can only go to 10.7 (Lion) in any case. Both Snow Leopard and Lion are no longer receiving updates from Apple.

BUT

Most folks agree that Snow Leopard was a better version of the OS than was Lion.

SO... I'll ask you this:
- Does your current install of Snow Leopard do all that you need to do?
- Does it still run well enough without problems?
- Are you still able to go where you want to go on the web?

IF so, I'd suggest you "stay where you are", run it that way as long as you can, and be happy.

SOME MORE INFORMATION YOU MIGHT WANT TO GIVE US:

1. In the Utilities folder, open "System Profiler"
2. It should open with "hardware" selected (topmost selection)
3. To the right, look at "Hardware overview"
4. The SECOND line down is "Model Identifier"
5. You should see something like "MacBookPro7,1" (that's on my 2010 MBP, note that there is a COMMA between the 7 and the 1)
6. You need to tell us what YOUR identifier is.
Give us this info, and we can tell you what's the "latest version" of the OS you can run.

Or, do this:
- Find out your model identifier and WRITE IT DOWN on paper
- Open a google search and enter "everymac.com macbookproX,Y" (the X and Y will be replaced with YOUR numbers)
- This should give you a hit to the page at everymac.com for your MacBook Pro. You can check the full information, and it will tell you what OS it shipped with, and what's the LAST version of the OS it can run.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your tipps and i think i will stay where i am and one day maybe i'll go out there and buy a new mac :)
 
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