mac anti virus software

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pmac

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peter
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just switched mac and wondering which anti virus software is best to run.

i know theres lots of talk about them not needing it,but i do download alot of tv show from the us so think it may be needed.

who uses one and which and also who doesnt.
thanks
peter
 
pmac said:
just switched mac and wondering which anti virus software is best to run.

i know theres lots of talk about them not needing it,but i do download alot of tv show from the us so think it may be needed.

who uses one and which and also who doesnt.
thanks
peter
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I have had a mac for the past 3 years and also do a lot of D/L's, but have never found the need for antivirus or had any problems with the mac software.
I did have a small partition of 20gb on bootcamp at one time with win7 on it but yes found virus's in it. So if you have a partition using windows I would advise antivirus for that only.
 
I installed and used CLAMXAV for a while but found it slowed everything down far too much. Probably more to do with the way I configured it than it being resource hungry.

Currently, not using anything but would be interested to hear how you fare with it if you give it a go, or if anyone else has any suggestions. Whilst I'm happy to accept that the risk of viruses is considerably smaller for OSX / Linux, the paranoid part of me feels rather exposed.
 
Sophistication has probably the worst detection out of all the AntiVirus
 
Bloody tablet corrections! Sophistication = Sophos
 
apart from sophos being poorer than some at detection prior to infection.
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On Windows surely? If they can't keep up with current Mac threats then find a different AV. :LOL:
 
I've just switched to Sky Broadband which came with a disk containing MacAfee for mac. I've been using a mac for 2 years and never even considered AV software. I always found that it slowed down any PCs that I had and don't really want that to happe to the mac if there isn't any need.
 
Cause unlike any PC i have ever owned the MAC has never slowed down, locked me out or died, ever.
 
Mac malware exists - it will continue to spread and mac users are more susceptible to new infections, many have the false belief that their systems are invincible to malware. Code runs just as well on Macs as it does on PCs ;)

Before this becomes the customary Mac v PC thread, (we haven't had one of those for at least an hour, so it's time for a new one surely?), it's down to the user to surf safely and avoid malware - not your OS or AV. The weakest link is always the user...
 
Yeah but you cant beat a good MAC Vs PC debate, especially when the PC users believe they have the superior machine
 
someguy201 said:
Mac malware exists - it will continue to spread and mac users are more susceptible to new infections, many have the false belief that their systems are invincible to malware. Code runs just as well on Macs as it does on PCs ;)

Before this becomes the customary Mac v PC thread, (we haven't had one of those for at least an hour, so it's time for a new one surely?), it's down to the user to surf safely and avoid malware - not your OS or AV. The weakest link is always the user...
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Extract from Mac Rumours forums :-

Very virus-proof, as none exist in public circulation for Mac OS X for ten years now.

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
 
There haven't been many, if any (maybe, I can't remember the last at least) viruses for windows recently either.

Malware is then future, why trash someone's computer when you steal their details and profit.
 
The reason there are none (doubt it) or not many is due to how many Macs there are. For every mac user there are 20 pc users. If you were to write a virus, would you look at the small Mac market or the larger pc market. It has been shown in various tests that a Mac is as vulnerable as a PC. The smaller market share means they aren't targeted.
 
swiftflo said:
Extract from Mac Rumours forums :-

Very virus-proof, as none exist in public circulation for Mac OS X for ten years now.

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
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Mac Defender is the most well known one mac malware, it so far has several versions. There are others - both active, in testing and proof of concept. Your source is not reliable - code is code and much malware can potentially run on Macs. The comments made on the Mac Rumours site are outdated. I don't usually work with Macs, so I don't keep that up to date on malware for them, but there are a couple of bits of malware in the wild for them. If you have a Mac, make sure you get frequent updates for the OS - currently Apple are trying to patch new vulnerabilities every time they are discovered.

If you were to write a virus, would you look at the small Mac market or the larger pc market. It has been shown in various tests that a Mac is as vulnerable as a PC. The smaller market share means they aren't targeted.
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They are targeted. Malware levels vary from country to country, in countries where Macs are more popular new malware is developed for them.


neil_g said:
There haven't been many, if any (maybe, I can't remember the last at least) viruses for windows recently either.
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In 2011.... several TDL4 varients, Volsnap malware, Whistler, around 4 new ZeroAccess varients, Fake HDD Diagnostic Tools, couple of million Fake AV 2011 programs, in the last few weeks many Fake AV 2012 usually bundled with the latest versions of ZA or TDL4 - occasionally both.

I'm not sure when the latest versions of ZA and TDL4 were created, but I've only seen them widespread in the last 2 weeks - at a guess probably around a month old.

Malware is then future, why trash someone's computer when you steal their details and profit.
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Most malware is designed not to trash the users computer, but one of the main sources of income is being paid just to get the malware on the computer - black market advertising.
 
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I'm running Virus Barrier Express from the App store. I haven't noticed a change in performance, but it hasn't found any viruses either (not that I was expecting it to!).
 
As a person working in IT industry... I cannot stress that enough...
You need to have AV software installed.
You can configure it to perform full scan on all drives overnight, or during periods of inactivity - this task MAY slow down your OLD PC or Mac.

But you need to have something to monitor your internet and email activity.

Download free AV like Sophos (mentioned in previous posts) or Avast (beta).

There may be not too many viruses for OSX, but malware and spyware that can intercept your personal data is available for all systems and platforms.

It costs you nothing, so protect yourself.
 
Also, please remember there is a significant difference between a virus, malware, spyware, trojan, phishing and other threats to your system.

There are plenty of articles available that will help you understand that viruses are not the only thing that you should be worried about.
 
You don't need to have anti virus running all the time, as long as you are sensible. If you enable automatic updating of your OS and browser, and don't download software from 'unofficial' sources, you are very unlikely to have problems.

I have an AV system installed, but it's not running all the time. Just use it to scan downloaded files on an ad-hoc basis....and run a full system scan once a week.

Gone are the days when you would plug a Windows XP machine onto the internet and it would be riddled with viruses before windows update had even run!
 
mid_gen said:
You don't need to have anti virus running all the time, as long as you are sensible. If you enable automatic updating of your OS and browser, and don't download software from 'unofficial' sources, you are very unlikely to have problems.

I have an AV system installed, but it's not running all the time. Just use it to scan downloaded files on an ad-hoc basis....and run a full system scan once a week.

Gone are the days when you would plug a Windows XP machine onto the internet and it would be riddled with viruses before windows update had even run!
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Yup, the fact that the majority of people are behind NAT firewalls built into modern routers helps immensely.

As an Apple certified professional I can assure you that Mac OS X has many features which combine to make it inherently secure, and combined with common sense will protect you. In 5 years of using Mac's, the only 'malware' I have ever seen on my machines was a webpage designed to look like a windows Vista desktop that was the usual 'Your PC has viruses, click here to download a tool to remove them!".

The only recent malware (Mac Defender) required the user to authenticate as an administrator before installing, and was easily removed and quickly patched by Apple. I had one customer who fell for this and the user, who was not 'technical' person, was able to remove it using the guide on the Apple support pages.

There is currently 0 virus out there in the wild that can infect Mac OS X. That's not to say that there will never be any, or that there have not been any, but it has been the case for many years.

So in summary, I would not, and do not, run AV or Internet Security software on my Mac OS X machines, and as a member of the Apple Consultants Network, my company does not recommend that you have to do so.
 
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mid_gen said:
You don't need to have anti virus running all the time, as long as you are sensible. If you enable automatic updating of your OS and browser, and don't download software from 'unofficial' sources, you are very unlikely to have problems.

I have an AV system installed, but it's not running all the time. Just use it to scan downloaded files on an ad-hoc basis....and run a full system scan once a week.

Gone are the days when you would plug a Windows XP machine onto the internet and it would be riddled with viruses before windows update had even run!
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That's quite simply not true, and is poor advice. On any Windows machine you should always have AV running. Common sense plays a big part in preventing malware, but that's not all there is to it.

Kasalic said:
As an Apple certified professional I can assure you that Mac OS X has many features which combine to make it inherently secure, and combined with common sense will protect you. In 5 years of using Mac's, the only 'malware' I have ever seen on my machines was a webpage designed to look like a windows Vista desktop that was the usual 'Your PC has viruses, click here to download a tool to remove them!".

The only recent malware (Mac Defender) required the user to authenticate as an administrator before installing, and was easily removed and quickly patched by Apple. I had one customer who fell for this and the user, who was not 'technical' person, was able to remove it using the guide on the Apple support pages.

There is currently 0 virus out there in the wild that can infect Mac OS X. That's not to say that there will never be any, or that there have not been any, but it has been the case for many years.
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Mac Malware is the future, it's now popular enough for professional malware makers to take interest. So far, the amount of Mac Malware in the wild has been low - this will change over the next few years, and in certain countries more mac malware exists than in others. No operating system is inherently secure, the first version of Mac Defender required admin access, the second version didn't as far as I remember. There is enough Proof of Concept code floating around that exploits vulnerabilities in OS X and can run without the user granting it permission.

To be honest, a fully updated Windows 7 system with an AV running is highly secure. The issue is that the malware targeting these systems is highly sophisticated. Mac malware is still in the late 90s compared, but don't worry - it only gets worse from here. ;)

The Mac community is easy pickings, your fundamental belief that Macs are inherently secure and malware proof will catch you out.
 
Does anybody else ever stop and think about how ridiculous it is that we have all just taken virus and virus protection as part of everyday computing?

The fact that multi trillion pound industry, something that big business, governments and 99% of the western world relies upon for everything, is so easily open to manipulation and destruction from external parties?

Thank god we have all of these wonderful companies able to sell us expensive anti virus software every 12 months. Where we be without them, eh?

I would go as far to say its negligent. If Microsoft/Apple can't make a product that is safe to use, and remain safe to use than the product has failed. But, we all buy it and use it, because theres no other choice.

Back to discussion about mac antivirus, the best thing you can do is not download apps from an untrustworthy source, and never use an admin account as your every day account, although that's the same for windows.

The unix underbelly of OSX will not allow installation of apps/trojans/spyware unless you enter an admin password. And if you do, it's your own fault you've got a virus!
 
Malware isn't the responsibility of Microsoft or Apple.

If Microsoft/Apple can't make a product that is safe to use, and remain safe to use than the product has failed.
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That statement isn't true, it's impossible to make any security system 100% secure, it's impossible to account for every possible combination of software that might be installed on a system.

The real reason malware spreads on so many machines? People are idiots. Windows 7 is a very secure OS, if you run an updated AV as well the system is very secure, and if left to it's own means there is a very very low risk of getting infected.

No matter how well a system is designed, the weakest link is the user who doesn't bother to update their system, doesn't bother to look at what they're downloading and doesn't bother to educate themselves about the threat of malware. Microsoft and Apple try their best - hence UAC and other security measures, but as much as they try they cannot be expected to protect the computer from everything.

The unix underbelly of OSX will not allow installation of apps/trojans/spyware unless you enter an admin password.
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Also not true. Most Mac OS X software injects code into existing program stacks. Malware is sophisticated code deigned to circumvent system security and it is constantly updated to circumvent new security measures.

And if you do, it's your own fault you've got a virus!
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99% of the time it's your own fault you've got a virus anyway.
 
iamchrisphoto said:
The unix underbelly of OSX will not allow installation of apps/trojans/spyware unless you enter an admin password. And if you do, it's your own fault you've got a virus!
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You might want to learn what a root exploit is. They are not that uncommon in the unix world.
 
Spend your money of you want to, if it makes you feel better, but a bit of common sense is probably the best AV software for a mac.

I've used macs since 1993 and so far so good, without any AV ever installed, although the phone call this afternoon from Microsoft telling me I had a virus did worry me, amazing, how do they know ;);) Wonder if it's the same virus I've already had 3 times this year?
 
Everyone to their own. I know I have never had a problem and neither has a good friend who has also been using a mac for many years without AV.
I personally am prepared to follow his advice, which is that AV for a mac is a waste of money.
 
For me... not having AV software on your PC/Mac that handles not only yours but also customers data... is like hoping that you won't catch cold standing naked in the snow.
You might be lucky, but it's... stupid?

You can get a very good AV software for free, it won't slow down new and decent machines, I can't see a single reason for not using it.

One example from Sophos website: http://youtu.be/RTeSYmQS820
 
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I've used macs since 1993 and so far so good, without any AV ever installed
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In the 90s, none of my Windows machines never got malware either. This is a rapidly progressing "business" sector - new malware variants come out every day, and they only get more sophisticated. Mac Defender is the first widespread professionally made malware out there, as said - it only gets worse from here.
 
My last virus was on Windows Me which I stopped using 11 years ago. As a home user I haven't paid for antivirus etc. for 10 years. Microsoft have cleaned themselves up with regards to holes in their software (did a big shake up with XP's SP2) and their software is now very secure and most viruses/malware etc. requires a large slab of user stupidity/gullibility.

Microsoft do free antivirus which is extremely good and out performs most if not all free AV and quite a few paid for AV. It is also very good performer.

Has it stopped something? Found something? No. I have done scans with other AV online software and I don't have any viruses, malware etc. By being sensible I basically have no need for antivirus, but just I case at home I use antivirus software.

Microsoft recommend you run as a none admin user, this stops things happening without your permission, UAC will also inform you when software is trying to do things.

So OSX and Windows 7 are secure, its the user who is the security risk on any system.
 
So you are 100% sure that you will never be a subject to hacking, that you will never have a virus that Microsoft won't know about?
For my (and my customers) data safety and for my own peace of mind I will be using all available security software to make sure I did my best to protect my data.
And if it's free, I still don't see any reasons for not using it.
 
By being sensible I basically have no need for antivirus
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...and one of the sensible ways of protecting your computer is having AV. There are a wide variety of threats - some come from legitimate websites through malicious action making us all at risk.

I don't think there is anything else for me to say here, this is dragging on.
 
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