MAC Anti virus

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nigel cross

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Any mac users running any anti virus software?
Has it slowed your Mac Down?
Is it worthwhile?
 
I use sophos. Its never in 4 years popped up or picked anything up mind.

No noticeable difference whatsoever.
 
Which OS are you using on your Mac ?
 
Never used one on OSX Tiger (10.4.11)
 
I use ClamXav - never picked up on anything though. So it's either rubbish or OSX is as sturdy an os as Apple claim!
 
I don't have any AV on my Mac. My Windows machines on the other hand are jam picked full of AV, Spyware protectors etc
 
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Any mac users running any anti virus software?
Has it slowed your Mac Down?
Is it worthwhile?
I use Intego. It is highly rated for Mac users. I have used for the past 2 years and it has not slowed the mac down. Please see the link if it helps.

Intego - Leading Security Software for Mac OS X

Not cheap but has lots of options you can use and is user friendly.

One not to use is Norton. Its rubbish on Windows and just as bad on Macs.
 
When I worked in the apple educational institute, we ran Sophos on around 1000 endpoints. No noticeable change in performance.
 
My house is full of Macs, non have AV.

My daughter's school has Macs and they use Sophos, it seems to be working well.

many people choose to leave their Macs without AV, yes there are viruses for Mac OS, but in very small number compared to PC, and in reality if you don't go to dodgy websites you chances of catching a virus are very small.

So it's a question of personal preference.
 
Really?

Sophos Anti-Virus For Mac [Review] | Cult of Mac

AFAIK as of this date there are no Macintosh OS X Viruses. There are Trojans but they require user input to install & activate. So they are not "Viruses" and they are no risk unless the user chooses to authenticate and install them

I see your point.

Technically both you and the guy at cultofmac.com are correct, regarding the distinction between a virus malware - and to be precise it has to be said that:

Virus - replicates itself to infect other computers

Malware, Adware, and Spyware - software you download and install unwittingly - or installs itself on your computer from accessing a dodgy website - but does not move on its own between computers on a network.

However... I think that the generic use of the term 'virus' to cover all of the above is quite common and not unreasonable, especially since most anti-virus software these days protects against all equally.

I suppose it is a bit like the use of the term 'shock absorbers', we all know its wrong and the dampers do not really absorb any shocks, yet the term has found its way in common language and in this sense it is useful.
 
Really?

Sophos Anti-Virus For Mac [Review] | Cult of Mac

AFAIK as of this date there are no Macintosh OS X Viruses. There are Trojans but they require user input to install & activate. So they are not "Viruses" and they are no risk unless the user chooses to authenticate and install them

I'm afraid Cult of Mac isn't really partial... nore up to date...

I used to work for Symantec, so I'm not really partial either... (but I'm keen to point out I don't work for them anymore)

OSX/Leap-A springs to mind; admittedly, it isn't recent (2006 iirc) but it is/was a worm that would auto-spread.

A few others would be:
OSX.Inqtana.A ( Worm )
OSX.Inqtana.B ( Worm )
OSX.Leap.A ( Worm )
OSX.Macarena ( Virus)
OSX.Tored@mm ( Worm )

I'm sure that there are newer threats, I just haven't been "in the circle" in a while... I've installed Win7 on all my macs bar one (one of the 8-core mac pros) as it just feels like a more finished OS... but now this will turn the debate into an OS war... so I shouldn't have said that... :p

And while admittedly, these are old threats... if you're not running any AV that doesn't really make much of a difference (unless the virus exploits a hole in the OS which apple subsequently patched... and you installed the patch, yada yada. You get the idea).

M.

EDIT: Just had a look, here's one from 2010: boonana.

A new Trojan horse malware that affects Mac OS X has been uncovered by Macintosh Security site SecureMac. The Trojan is called “trojan.osx.boonana.a” and is being disguised as a video and distributed through social-networking sites like Facebook.
The Trojan horse appears as a link on people’s Facebook pages that may have the text “Is this you in this video?” in the link. When the link is clicked, the Trojan will run a Java applet that will download other files to the computer and run an installer automatically.

Admittedly, a trojan as it requires a user to click a link... but after clicking that link, there is no more user interaction needed... so quite a high level trojan... almost wormlike you could say ;)
 
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I think that the generic use of the term 'virus' to cover all of the above is quite common and not unreasonable
It is unreasonable because it obfuscates

OS X is a UNIX OS so users are kept separate from the system & cannot damage it. Unless the user escalates his privileges (for example by authenticating as an administrator) he cannot screw anything up

Early Windows systems could (and would) be compromised when infected email attachments were opened. User interactions like that in OS X are not permitted to modify the OS

If users install things they don't understand, or are tricked into doing so, then you can infect an OS X system. AV software can't prevent stupidity so is fairly pointless on a Mac

Nick Froome
 
Early Windows systems could (and would) be compromised

Current windows systems can and are ....

Years and years legacy of .... Poor systems services design. Poor application design. P*ss Poor configuration and setup out of the box. Lack of transparency. Over complicated, misunderstood, and underutilised core OS security.

Early macs weren't too good either. Shift to Mac OS X helped massively.

As you say - still vulnerable to users doing silly things - but they have to be more proactive about letting things in.
 
This is all quite right.

All the PCs we maintain are in business/organisational environments, and users never ever have admin permissions to their own PCs. This dramatically reduces (though not eliminate completely) all type of infections. viruses/malware/spyware/adware etc.

Home PC users would typically have admin permissions, and even with the latest restrictions included on Vista and Win 7, these PCs are more often then not a hotbed of infections.
 
Home PC users would typically have admin permissions, and even with the latest restrictions included on Vista and Win 7, these PCs are more often then not a hotbed of infections.

Took my sis in law through setting up her new W7 laptop - wot she got from Santa.

As always those IMBECILES AT MICROSOFT prompt for a user name and password during the brief setup which she - like any other non-technical PC owner - would set up as their personal account - had I not been there - meaning they were normally logging in with admin priviledges. Shocking.

The UAC boxes MEAN NOTHING to the average user. They just click them to make them go away.

The main account being setup as an admin account is like having a house is basically left unlocked with the doors and windows open while MS provide some UAC stickers to put up on the windows saying 'please please pretty please don't enter and burgle this negligently unlocked and unprotected house'.
 
numpty here, are you saying that one should only log in via restricted accounts?

does that mean you set up an administrator account but then don't use it unless its needed?
 

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