Apple Mac advice please

[verytalldave]

My son has just bought one for music creation and I was wondering.........

The machine does not have pre-installed antivirus software. He was told Mac's dont need it.
Is that true?
Also, the pre-installed browser is Safari.
Can he download Firefox on the Mac?
There are probably dozens more questions that will raise their heads over thw next few weeks, but for the time those two will do. Thanks.

BTW...........I am very impressed by the quality and performance of the machine.

Makes my old PC look positively ancient.

 

[timwood2000]

I am a Mac convert - no need for ant-virus. Can't fully explain why, but you just don't need it - I've never had a problem and I've never heard of anyone else having had one either.

Safari is really good, once you have got used to it. Not sure what Firefox would bring to the party that Safari doesn't already do.

Welcome to the Mac club - you (or your son) won't regret it!

 

[agatward]

Sorry timwood2000, I disagree with you on this - Antivirus on a Mac is just as important as on a PC, even though there are currently less 'viruses' around. Antivirus these days doesn't just protect against viruses, but also a number of web-based attacks, and most good ones will also provide some level of protection against ID theft.

Safari is the low-hanging fruit on the Mac platform - it is the application that most malicious web sites will attack, because it is the most common web browser in use on the Mac. Yes you can use Firefox, and you can get it from the same place you get the Windows one, their web site should detect you are on a Mac and give you the right one.

Similarly all the other useful PC apps are available - MS Office, MSN messenger, Skype, etc. Also check out apps like Adium (MSN messenger clone, much better), Cyberduck (secure FTP client, useful for web site admin), and of course VideoLAN (media player, much superior to Quicktime).

Of course if you still find the need to run Windows, Sun's VirtualBox product is very good, and free!

 

[Spinal]

As agatward says - you should have an antivirus. McAfee has a fairly good Apple offering.

Browser you can get FireFox (or Camino, another Mozilla spawn... slightly faster too).

M/

 

[verytalldave]

Just read this................

Does The Mac Need AntiVirus? | PCMech

So it seems some thought needs to be applied here............

 

[Sp!ke]

You should use AV on a mac. Ignore any article that says otherwise.

 

[Satch]

The only thing that kept a Mac secure was a relatively small population and Windows/Vista attracted the most attention from evil doers. However very far from being immune and running without some form of AV is bonkers.

The new OS X Snow Leopard incorporates quite a few new security features (why would they be there then?) but even so very far from comprehensive

Apple sneaks malware protection into Snow Leopard ? The Register

 

[Swozza]

Sorry gents I would disagree and say that you don't need anti virus for a MAC.

I'm an ICT Manager for a large firm of architects in the north and we are 100% mac based 150+ users. In my 10 year term I have not seen a single virus on any OS version as early as 7, in fact I'd get excited if I did.

Antivirus for Mac is overkill and is an acceptable risk..

 

[Sp!ke]

If you dont have any AV poroducts installed, how would you even detect you have a virus?

No wonder you've not seen any.

How do you know that all your 150 macs arent all working as mac botnets?

 

[Swozza]

They are other methods.

 

[bbradley]

Good idea to run an antivirus if not for your own protection but for other users on your local network or anybody you send or forward an email too.
Macs os 10 is a unix like operating system and by its very nature is more difficult to infect but that does not mean you cannot harbour nasties that you can then pass on to Microsoft users and there are a few nasties out there that effect unix/linux so for the good of the world and your own peace of mind run AV

Best Wishes

 

[Satch]

The Mac Os x site cr@ps on about how wonderful and secure it is and that is fair enough, but only up to a point.

However, tucked away at the fag end of the page is this, no doubt drafted by a lawyer:

Security Advice

"The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box. However, since no system can be 100 percent immune from every threat, antivirus software may offer additional protection"

Apple - Mac OS X - Security - Keeps safe from viruses and malware

Bit like unprotected sex really: everybody knows that nice people do not have nasty viruses.

http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/comment/is-apple-s-security-reputation-under-threat--1563

"It's ironic that Apple, a company that has spent so much time and money railing against Microsoft for its security issues, was forced to release 18 security fixes to ensure its own operating system isn't exploited. On one hand, Apple should be lauded for releasing those security updates. After all, if it failed to address security issues that would put users at risk, it could only mean that Apple simply isn't doing its job. But it did patch those security issues, so perhaps it is.

But it's not the fact that Apple fixed its operating system that some might take issue with. Instead, it might be important to consider the fact that by perpetuating the myth that Mac OS X is extremely secure, it could lead to many more issues for Mac OS X users. In the process, it could cause Apple, a company that has historically stayed tight-lipped on security, to admit that Mac OS X just isn't the secure operating system some people think it is.

Security is a numbers game. The more people using an operating system, the greater the opportunity for malicious hackers to capitalize. That's one of the main reasons why Windows has been such a target. In the security space, more exploits mean more victims, which mean more cash. In essence, malicious hackers want to target the pool with the highest return. Historically, that has led them to Windows. Going forward, it will continue to be Windows, given its dominating position in the operating system market.

But Mac OS X is starting to gain some ground. Although Steve Ballmer has consistently said that Apple's gain in the OS space isn't important, hackers don't agree. They see an opportunity. They realize that Mac OS X is largely untested and thus probably quite vulnerable to security issues. They understand that there are few anti-virus and anti-spyware programs available to protect Mac OS X users. Most importantly, they realize that the culture that has been cultivated by Apple and its supporters makes Mac OS X an ideal target."

 

[Chris Akabusi]

i found this site useful when i first got my mac
My First Mac - Help Buying and Getting Started with Your New Mac

 

[219]

I've NEVER bothered with anti virus software and have never experienced any problems either , and I've been using Apple computers since before they were Macs !

What I DO NOT do is to install any Microsoft software on any of my machines as I have always suspected virii seek out users of certain apps .

Yes , you could download Firefox , but why would you want to ?

Likewise , Quicktime is an accepted industry standard : iMovie will output your edited movies in this format , Final Cut Pro works with Quicktime files , JVC have just introduced a semi-pro HD camcorder that shoots natively in QT format specifically for this reason ( the GY-HM100 JVC Professional Europe - JVC's GY-HM100 Microsite ) and , of course you can originate your own with Quicktime Pro , so it is much more than a media PLAYER .

But then , that's the beauty of the Apple system - everything is integrated to work seamlessly , unless you succumb to the temptation to start trying to 'patch in' 3rd party apps or accessories .

It is a bit like buying a Mercedes then deciding you really want to rip the engine out and fit a Perkins Diesel - sure , you could , but WHY ???

 

[219]

--

 

[JoeMerc]

i agree saying you dont have to worry so much about anti virus. it's generally harder to crack a mac and although possible, in the last 10 years there have been far fewer viruses to worry about compared to windows. sure, windows is the more popular OS, therefore most hackers will aim for windows but i generally feel that i'm safe on mac rather than windows.

to be honest, i run windows and mac on my antique MacBook Pro and i've already had to reinstall Windows 3 times due to spyware and viruses. OSX has not had one problem. go figure. The only reason i keep windows is due to my girlfriend not understand OSX and preferring Windows...

 

[timskemp]

It's not harder to crack or exploit a mac, but there's just less incentive due to the smaller userbase.

Best thing to do is stick it in the studio with the music gear and never connect it to the internet...

 

[bolide]

None of my clients has AV software on their Macs and none has ever had a virus*

I'd strongly recommend buying an external hard drive for backup and either running Time Machine for backups or using Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) to clone the boot drive

As he's working with music software I'd do this:

* use an external drive to store all work (music files, samples, etc)
* use a second external drive to backup the work drive
* take a bootable clone of the Mac startup (internal) drive so you can revert to it in minutes if he screws something up

If he's using samples he may fill the internal drive quite quickly. So use a big external firewire 800 drive like a Western Digital 1 TB drive for all work

The process of cloning makes an exact duplicate of a drive. So once you have all your music software installed & working nicely, make a clone in case it breaks later. Reinstalling software is time-consuming...

Final suggestion is to make the day-to-day user not an administrator. So the day-to-day user lacks administrator rights and you create a second admin user who has administrator rights. That way you are forced to authenticate before you install anything & forced to think before you do anything stupid - like install dodgy or cracked software. Musicians love cracked software as they are cheapskates...

This is important is because UNIX computers (including OS X) restrict what users can do. Non-admin users can run software but not install it or modify the system. This means that it is normally impossible for a non-administrative user to screw up the system in any way. They can screw up their user settings but not the underlying system. Most of the attacks on OS X rely on getting the user to install something malevolent. If you can stop the user from doing stupid things, or at least slow him down and make him think before he does, you're better protected

I doubt you'll have any problems but it's always easier to clone back a system than rebuild it. CCC is very straightforward to use

Nick Froome

* If you use Word it's possible to catch the Word Macro Virus (Google it) but it's defeatable by locking the Normal template. It's not an OS X virus, it's an infection of a Microsoft template

 

[Spinal]

Sorry gents I would disagree and say that you don't need anti virus for a MAC.

I'm an ICT Manager for a large firm of architects in the north and we are 100% mac based 150+ users. In my 10 year term I have not seen a single virus on any OS version as early as 7, in fact I'd get excited if I did.

Antivirus for Mac is overkill and is an acceptable risk..

I run (until Friday) a schools network, a grand total of almost 800 mac's this year, 200 up from last year.

We run McAfee, and routinely get alerts of malware coming in... It tends to be trojans and malware type things rather than worms or virii... just as bad at the end of the day if they get into a large network though...

Not running an AV on a corporate system is really looking for trouble should anything happen.

The other thing to remember is that even though the virus may not affect you as an Mac user, it may affect your clients, who potentially run windows.

Immagine the publicity you would get if one of your architects forwarded an email with a virus, and this wiped your clients data off their machines...

M.

 

[Dryce]

Antivirus for Mac is overkill and is an acceptable risk..

This is my view.

And with extra software comes extra risks. A proportion of the glitches/hassles seen on PCs are down to AV software not playing ball.

However Spinal works in an educational environment and these definitely seem to act as a breeding ground for any nasties out there. So he has a point. If the OP's Mac is going to end up having materials exchanged with other educational users then the balance of the decision IMHO shifts towards putting something on your Mac.