AntiVirus For Mac? What???
 

I was at the office supply house earlier and saw an antivirus product for the Mac. I was under the impression that Macs didn't need antivirus? Any of you Mac users have an antivirus product on your Mac?

A common misconception is that there are no virii for the Macs. In ye olde days there weren't but that's been years ago.

Nowadays, the OS's are also vulnerable, however a LOT less than Windows machines.

i know many mac users, my two best friends only use mac,... never heard of any of them getting a virus, every single pc user i know, has spyware and trojans though ;)

Well they are still going to offer it because you can make money duh

I have 2 macs and never got a virus or needed a progrom. The sell anything for anything. Dont sweat it Dean. Just smile, and relax nothing is gonna happen.

Yes Macs get viruses and ad ware and Trojans etc just not anywhere near as much as the PC. People who write viruses, ad ware and Trojans don't target Macs due to low amounts of use, as Macs get more popular except more scumbags to write code to fuck em up.

my theory is: like 90% of the world uses windows, so if i'm going to write a virus/malware and i want to hit as many stupid users (not saying y our stupid) as i possibly can, i'm going to make it for the windows platform and not linux/unix/mac/beos etc however it is entirely possible to write virii for these platforms, even mac os classic had viruses.
i support several firms (all art and or marketing) that are running mac only shops and i dont have av on any of them because i'm not too worried about it. but this may change one day as mac's grab more market share.....and people in general feel they are safe, so it may become a very easy target...one day

new flash, this just in, etc...... I use wintel and have never had a virus or trojan or spyware ;)

are you on crack? :1orglaugh

kidding, every shit have viruses, problem is cover

no virus scanner on my macbook

Actually, a common misconception is there ARE viruses for macs. However there is not. Try to find one, research, and post back results. Feel free.

There is malware for macs, malware is malicious software. The user must install the software. There is no magical self-installing "virus" for macs, that just isn't how a unix based system works, it's simple architecture.

In order for any of the so-called "viruses" out there for OSX, the user must download, open/run, and enter their password to install the software. Thus, it is not a virus - it is malware.

Seriously, you people work on computers all day. You should know the basic understanding of unix's system architecture.

as per the thread title/op

- You see that because more and more people are buying OSX. Not simply those who are computer literate. So you have morons who will install and do anything to their system. Thus, some of these morons might have downloaded and installed something which wasn't what they thought it was. These people might need an anti-virus.

well besides the fact that for every 1 mac there are 20 PCs. If you were a hacker which one would you go after? Security through obscurity is not security. Or to offer an anology. A high % of people that has had sex has gotten some sort of STD. Very few if any virgins do. So using Machead logic virgins are immune from STDs.

lol you got part of the myth right. :winkwink:

:thumbsup as I have posted a few times here, most who bash macs here have never owned one. :error

Intego Virus Barrier X5
http://www.intego.com/virusbarrier/

No, no, no....it can't be that easy!


Can it? :winkwink:

yes it is. I shoot 5k of pics in a week and i cannot afford to get a virus or have any of my 2 Macs go down. I have the money to spend on whatever it takes to not go down and i do not have a virus protection software.


I know my shit and i have a thorough understanding what would happen if you got a virus or a crash due to virus. Loosing a photo set would cost us a lot and also cause serious embarrassment when having to explain to a client why the photo set is not in on time.

With all of the above in thought, i still do not have a virus protection software. Why?? Because there are no Mac Viruses, just Malware that you will see coming a mile away with no software needed.


Trust me on this one, you are fine and have nothing to worry about. Go make pretty pictures.lol:thumbsup

I love my MacBook Pro

Yea - me too :thumbsup

Since December I've replaced 2 desktop windows machines and a laptop with all Mac equipment (Mac Pro, iMac & 17" MacBook Pro ....and I couldn't be happier. Because I had no idea how Mac's work, I picked up a couple of educational DVDs from Lynda.com on Macs. The "essentials" and "beyond the basics". As soon as I started watching those DVDs, I immediately saw the benefit over the Macs. How quickly and efficiently that you can get things done is mind-boggling to me. Trying to convince a long-time PC user that Macs are far superior for a creative person....is almost impossible so I don't even try anymore. But for myself, I'm 100% convinced the Mac system is the way to go for me :thumbsup

And big thanks to some of my buds who are regulars here who've been available for me when I needed advice or guidance with the Mac. You know who you are :winkwink:

The fact that it needs user interaction at the first move doesn't mean it's NOT a virus.

Take a look at Leap.A
Sure, the user has to open a file, but guess what: so do a lot of windows users. Remember the good old emaill attachments they had to click?

One could argue wether it's a virus or a worm but it's both.


BTW: I'm bashing Macs. If I was running a Mac, I also wouldn't run any antivir.

Dean you too realized what I did about 2 years ago when I switched. Let me address your security concerns.

While Macs are not 100% immune to security issues, they are inheriently designed more secure and as of right now there are no known exploits in the wild. There also has been no confirmed viruses on OSX. While they do make antivirus products for the Mac they are considered as not-needed at this time.

The best practices to do is is keep your system software updated with apple's built in software update. And keep 3rd party software updated as well. If they don't have update functionality built in, checkout a app called AppFresh that will help you keep your 3rd party apps updated. I would also make sure your firewall in enabled on your machines, especially if your not behind a router.

I don't have to have herpes to know I don't want it.

I asked a few people this same question. I found out that Macs can not get any virus's that will effect the machine or the software. You can however become a host for certain viruses and Trojans. If you send emails to windows comps, or upload files to the internet these files and emails may be infected and cause the receiver issues once they catch the virus.

don't have a Mac yet! hahaha!

I knew Mac has AV, but I never find someone who owns it...