Travel Technology - Mac antivirus?

I have searched and could not find an answer.

There have been several posts about malware, spyware, virus software for PCs, several of which I have used successfully when I had a Thinkpad.

My wife and I switched back to a Mac this past summer. While many have said Macs don't get the same virus/spyware/malware as PCs, I feel uncomfortable leaving the computer "unprotected." Am I just being paranoid?

I put Norton Antivirus Corporate on our Macs, but when I was in the Apple Store, the Mac Geniuses recommended not using Norton, as it slows the computer down immensely.

What do the other Mac people use?

As an aside, what programs does anyone suggest for "cleaning up" my Macs so they run as fast as possible?

fuzz

HAHA!




sorry thought it was a joke

I have searched and could not find an answer.

There have been several posts about malware, spyware, virus software for PCs, several of which I have used successfully when I had a Thinkpad.

My wife and I switched back to a Mac this past summer. While many have said Macs don't get the same virus/spyware/malware as PCs, I feel uncomfortable leaving the computer "unprotected." Am I just being paranoid?

I put Norton Antivirus Corporate on our Macs, but when I was in the Apple Store, the Mac Geniuses recommended not using Norton, as it slows the computer down immensely.

What do the other Mac people use?

As an aside, what programs does anyone suggest for "cleaning up" my Macs so they run as fast as possible?

fuzz

I leave my Mac unprotected. Well, it sits behind a firewall, but that's all.

Sorry, couldn't resist (also been a late night for me)

There are two schools of thought about Mac AV... A) the unix underpinnings will protect you and b) macs dont get virisus...

I think the reality is somewhere b/t the two plus the third idea that 'safe surfing habits' will also help.

The bottom line is that right now (unfortunately) the mac is not a very attractive target for virus/adware/malware writers... but that is "security through obscurity" and its no way to sleep well at night...

The other thing we have going for us is the unix sub-system of OS X.... here's the 10 second primer...unix treats everything like a file, every file has permissions...some permissions are at the super-special "root" level and thus need a password to modify (the uber geeks are searching for my home address at this point)... the bottom line is this: the OS X system keeps its brains and guts at a more secure level than the user has access too...so any spyware/virus/malware also has to ask permission to modify these critical files...
The net result (sorry bad pun) is that you get asked for a password a lot, so thats a reminder...never the less the system wants to protect itself and will try to... its complex but slick!

the final solution is the most powerful protection... the social aspect. If you dont "click the monkey to win a prize" then you wont get the prize... the underlaying aspect still relies on you running windows (b/c its easier to hack the fake sandbox that IE pretends to exist in) but still...dont click the monkey!

For me, I dont run AV on my macs...but I don't click the monkey and I dont run as "root" either.

AV software has to run to work, right? And running means that something else has to take its turn for the processor... "Save the [processor cycles] save the world"

I don't use anything. I have a VPN, Firewall box at home and use Firewall on the mac itself. I have yet to get a virus, but the PC's on the network, well lets just say they come up with virisus weekly!

For those who need AV on OS X
http://www.clamxav.com/
Its free and good...a little slow thought...
If you run a sever on OS X its a must, otherwise.... see above ^^^

I've never used AV on my Macs.

I worked at probably the largest corporate network running exclusively on Macs. Since OS X, -no- computers that I am aware of (and my dept supported several hundred) ever has any malware/spyware/virus issues. Granted, it was Apple, but that goes both ways. There may have been lots of resources to keep the machines safe (and honestly, very little of the resources needed to mess with this), but also, it was a huge target.

There's no real need to "clean up" a Mac like one would a Windows machine. It won't degrade as files get shuffled and juggled. The important files can't get shuffled or conflict like they do on Windows. The only two things I would advise for cleanup activities: I've found that when really pushed to limits, having a bunch of files on your desktop (like 250+) will have an effect on the gui a bit. Also, OS X's mail application doesn't seem to like it when boxes get bigger than about 1.5 GB.

I think you got some giggles, because your questions had a sort of "fresh off the boat" quality to them. ;) Just keep in mind that as a rule, you shouldn't have to "tend to" a Mac like you do a Windows machine. So when you feel the impulse to think for the computer or take an extra precaution or whatever, try stopping yourself and see if the computer responds on its own. When you do this enough, you'll discover some of the efficiencies in the OS and UI.

have fun with your new machine!

I think you got some giggles, because your questions had a sort of "fresh off the boat" quality to them. ;) Just keep in mind that as a rule, you shouldn't have to "tend to" a Mac like you do a Windows machine.

Translation: There are not enough Macintosh computers out there to attract the attention of many hackers. In the unlikely event that hackers do become interested, the effects will be similar to what a virus does to a monoculture crop :D

However, history says "don't worry", Macs will never reach that critical mass. That is not Apple's marketing strategy.

The only antivirus software on my mac is installed on the windows partition in boot camp. You don't need it YET.

Translation: There are not enough Macintosh computers out there to attract the attention of many hackers. In the unlikely event that hackers do become interested, the effects will be similar to what a virus does to a monoculture crop :D

However, history says "don't worry", Macs will never reach that critical mass. That is not Apple's marketing strategy.


Actually, I was more referring to the bit about having to clean up a computer after using it for a certain length of time.

Honestly, I don't buy the security by obscurity argument for a couple of reasons:
- Macs have somewhere between 5-10% of the userbase, but only something between 30 and 50 viruses have ever been created for OS X since it was released 6 years ago. None of these viruses have propogated. Linux has about 5% of the user base, and thousands of viruses have been created for it. Windows has about 90% of the user base, and scores (hundreds?) of thousands of viruses are running loose for it. So the proportion of Mac viruses is basically nonexistent compared to those for Windows or Linux. Linux is just, if not more obscure than OS X, and yet it has not been as secure.
- The fact that no virus has propagated on Macs running OS X would make it a more desirable target for those authoring malware. I would imagine that there would be lots of geeks wanting to be the first to penetrate MAC OS X.

I tend to believe that the default security settings and the easy to use software updater help to cut down on vulnerable systems. The objective of a successful virus is spreading to lots of machines. OS X doesn't make this easy.

As an aside, what programs does anyone suggest for "cleaning up" my Macs so they run as fast as possible?

fuzz

Nothing. I haven't used any AV since John Norstad wrote Disinfectant for system 7 and 8. Norton is awful. Remove it. If you start futzing with things you are more than likely to remove something you shouldn't. Macs just don't need the same sort of 'cleaning up' that PCs do, no registry etc. If you reeeeeally have to fiddle buy Spring Cleaning but I've not even used that in 5 or 6 years. It's more for doing things like finding duplicate programs that are installed by more than one program. Don't bother defragging the hard drive either. If you must defrag use iDefrag. Be behind a firewall. Get PithHelmet to block ads in Safari.

But above all buy a copy of Disk Warrior.

As indicated by others, don't really need AV software. Make sure firewall on, don't open up spam or unrecognized emails, attachments, usual common sense things and you should be fine...REALLY.

However, suggest you do the following to keep Mac running smoothly.

1. Periodically check for updates. But before you install, go to versiontracker.com and see what they recommmend. Often upgrades result in more problems.

2. Most important, anytime you install new software or upgrade, after completion, open up utility app and do 'repair disk permissions'.

Other suggestions: buy disk warrior from alsoft.com, install (that is run it) to check your mac. And of course, cardinal rule: BACKUP, BACKUP, and again, make sure you BACKUP :)

Thanks, everyone. I guess it's the past few years of PC usage that was making me so uncomfortable about not having all the same security programs!

I have removed Symantec Antivirus and speed did improve.

Thanks for the suggestion about Pithelmet. I will look into it.

I am generally careful about surfing habits.

I was not aware of the inherent security benefit of the Unix base.

fuzz