Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!
Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!
-
Congratulations SkipVought on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!
free anti-virus for macs
- Thread starter kentucky
- Start date
jimbopalmer
Programmer
Most Mac virus software look for PC viruses, which Macs can transport between PCs, and MS Office Macro viruses, which can be platform independant. If you do not use MS Office and do not transfer data to PCs, there are no OSX Mac viruses in the wild yet.
If you still use the Classic MacOS, there were 58 known viruses for it, but they would have a hard time spreading as it is a dead platform.
I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.
If you still use the Classic MacOS, there were 58 known viruses for it, but they would have a hard time spreading as it is a dead platform.
I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.
We run a small fleet of macs - have for many years - constantly connected to the web. We have never used any antivirus and have never had a problem.
If a mac virus or trojan ever gets into the wild, rest assured that the press will be all over the story.
Because of the basic setup of osx - requiring the admnistrative password to put something into the system - it's very hard to create an effective virus/trojan.
Using OSX 10.3.9 on a G4
If a mac virus or trojan ever gets into the wild, rest assured that the press will be all over the story.
Because of the basic setup of osx - requiring the admnistrative password to put something into the system - it's very hard to create an effective virus/trojan.
Using OSX 10.3.9 on a G4
I wouldn't worry about them.
Macs have only 5% of the computer market, so why would anyone want to waste their time making a virus that would little or no damage? Virus makers are in it for the ego trip, and on a Mac no one would notice their efforts. In other words, no applause, no virus.
Furthermore, all Macs before OS X, had proprietary OSs and proprietary chips (Motorolas) which are a totally different breed compared to the Intel chips and Bill Gates Junk.
Now that the OS X is based on Unix, I strongly suspect that modified Unix virii could easily be a problem for that platform. And with the Intel chips coming, there could be further compromising of security. All of that is too early to tell. However, until something becomes newsworthy about virii on Macs, I will continue running without any virus protection on my Macs (and never connect the other POS computers I have to the internet).
The bottom line is that the best protection against virii is to use obscure computers (read Macs), obscure OSs, and obscure browsers. And let the others fight a constant battle against virii.
mmerlinn
"Political correctness is the BADGE of a COWARD!"
Macs have only 5% of the computer market, so why would anyone want to waste their time making a virus that would little or no damage? Virus makers are in it for the ego trip, and on a Mac no one would notice their efforts. In other words, no applause, no virus.
Furthermore, all Macs before OS X, had proprietary OSs and proprietary chips (Motorolas) which are a totally different breed compared to the Intel chips and Bill Gates Junk.
Now that the OS X is based on Unix, I strongly suspect that modified Unix virii could easily be a problem for that platform. And with the Intel chips coming, there could be further compromising of security. All of that is too early to tell. However, until something becomes newsworthy about virii on Macs, I will continue running without any virus protection on my Macs (and never connect the other POS computers I have to the internet).
The bottom line is that the best protection against virii is to use obscure computers (read Macs), obscure OSs, and obscure browsers. And let the others fight a constant battle against virii.
mmerlinn
"Political correctness is the BADGE of a COWARD!"
This is missing something. Before OS X, there were plenty of viruses in Mac OS. That's why we all used Norton or Virex or Disinfectant.
OS X is still a proprietary OS. An Intel chip is just as proprietary as a Motorola chip. Perhaps a re-evaluation of the definition of proprietary would be appropriate.
![[bigsmile]](/data/assets/smilies/bigsmile.gif "[bigsmile] [bigsmile]")
If you are running anything before OSX, you should consider an anti-virus software. If you are running OSX, you do not need to worry about anything now - - but keep an eye out for the future. Some malware will appear someday, just as it has for every platform in existence.
See versiontracker.com for suggestions of anti-virus software.
ClamXav
OSX may be proprietary, but there is still BSD underneath. There were a run of CERT advisories regarding the Mac recently.
Additionally, with IM clients, and web browsing, and phishing scams being more prevelant than simple virii, you do have something to worry about.
feed://
Flash, Office, Java, Safari, QuickTime...
we mac users are far from "safe." Though there is a lot that can be done. don't enable anything you don't need. Be careful what you click. Don't let phishing scams fool you. Update your computer regularly.
Also, apple is lagging in updating the BSD portions of their OS by quite some time. so if you don't have a NAT device of some sort in your home, and your computer is directly on the internet, then you are subject to the exploits known.
Robert Liebsch
Stone Yamashita Partners
OSX may be proprietary, but there is still BSD underneath. There were a run of CERT advisories regarding the Mac recently.
Additionally, with IM clients, and web browsing, and phishing scams being more prevelant than simple virii, you do have something to worry about.
feed://
Flash, Office, Java, Safari, QuickTime...
we mac users are far from "safe." Though there is a lot that can be done. don't enable anything you don't need. Be careful what you click. Don't let phishing scams fool you. Update your computer regularly.
Also, apple is lagging in updating the BSD portions of their OS by quite some time. so if you don't have a NAT device of some sort in your home, and your computer is directly on the internet, then you are subject to the exploits known.
Robert Liebsch
Stone Yamashita Partners
wake up: there are viruses/trojans for the mac and there are new ones on the way.
We as mac users cannot afford to be laissez faire about this. Or take the attitude its just the windows people that get viruses, we can carry them too, and then they get sent on round the net, destroying software, and servers that also server us whther we are mac users or not.
At the very least take a look at the donation ware ClamXav for OS X
Being a responsible mac user is having virus protection, you do not have to pay for!
more answers can be found at:
We as mac users cannot afford to be laissez faire about this. Or take the attitude its just the windows people that get viruses, we can carry them too, and then they get sent on round the net, destroying software, and servers that also server us whther we are mac users or not.
At the very least take a look at the donation ware ClamXav for OS X
Being a responsible mac user is having virus protection, you do not have to pay for!
more answers can be found at:
SimonDavis
Technical User
Even given the relatively small proportion of users Mac has compared to PC's, I'm not sure it's particularly safe to assume virus writers can't be bothered.
The reality is that OSX (or its Unix/BSD underpinning) is a much tougher nut to crack than Windows.
There's not a lot of kudos attached to writing a Windows virus nowadays - it's not particularly hard to do, and how many thousands of them are out there?
The kudos for writing a virus that cracks what people say is famously uncrackable? 5% of all computers is still a very big number.
I'm still pretty sure that provided I pay attention to what I'm clicking, my Mac is reasonably safe, but I have no doubt there are a million spotty little basement dwellers out there who would like nothing better than to trash it
The reality is that OSX (or its Unix/BSD underpinning) is a much tougher nut to crack than Windows.
There's not a lot of kudos attached to writing a Windows virus nowadays - it's not particularly hard to do, and how many thousands of them are out there?
The kudos for writing a virus that cracks what people say is famously uncrackable? 5% of all computers is still a very big number.
I'm still pretty sure that provided I pay attention to what I'm clicking, my Mac is reasonably safe, but I have no doubt there are a million spotty little basement dwellers out there who would like nothing better than to trash it
johncurtis
Technical User
I think that the question of anti-virus software for OSX is largely dependent on where you're running it.
If you're in a mixed corporate environment (PCs & Macs) then it's wise to use av in case of macro viruses etc (see jimbopalmer's post). All our corporate Macs are 'protected' using Sophos, btw a product which I don't really like and wouldn't recommend.
At home, however, I don't have any av on my Mac. I have the (rock solid) firewall enabled and practise sensible surfing & email habits. There are no Mac viruses in the wild, and the clumsy exploits so far require a user to actively install something using an admin password. Also, imho, if a Mac virus\worm\trojan became a reality av software wouldn't offer any real immediate protection since the av companies would take an age to produce an av signature since they're obviously not experienced with Mac viruses. This point of view is shared by a friend of mine who's a big player at a well known av company.
Clearly in the future the situation may change so Mac users mustn't be complacent. I'll keep monitoring the state of play, but at present I'll stick to the policy above.
Just my 2 Eurocents.
John
I've got a stepladder. It's nice, but I wish I knew my real ladder.
If you're in a mixed corporate environment (PCs & Macs) then it's wise to use av in case of macro viruses etc (see jimbopalmer's post). All our corporate Macs are 'protected' using Sophos, btw a product which I don't really like and wouldn't recommend.
At home, however, I don't have any av on my Mac. I have the (rock solid) firewall enabled and practise sensible surfing & email habits. There are no Mac viruses in the wild, and the clumsy exploits so far require a user to actively install something using an admin password. Also, imho, if a Mac virus\worm\trojan became a reality av software wouldn't offer any real immediate protection since the av companies would take an age to produce an av signature since they're obviously not experienced with Mac viruses. This point of view is shared by a friend of mine who's a big player at a well known av company.
Clearly in the future the situation may change so Mac users mustn't be complacent. I'll keep monitoring the state of play, but at present I'll stick to the policy above.
Just my 2 Eurocents.
John
I've got a stepladder. It's nice, but I wish I knew my real ladder.
How do I put this politely? I don't think I can. The simplest: wake up! I've been a Mac user since the Mac SE/30. Mac users have for years said "no viruses here. only windows are affected by malicious programs". Maybe due to an increase in Mac users, or maybe due to the "challenge" to virus writers, but in recent weeks there have been nearly 80 security holes found in Mac OSX.
The only way for the Mac community to stay safe and secure is for us ALL to become proactive in our security measures and utilize both firewalls and anti-virus programs. If we ignore the threat, the day will come when we all fall victim to a mega-virus.
I'm still a proud Mac user. I wish to encourage Mac users to be smart and protect their machines. A false sense of security won't protect us from hackers and pernicious codes.
The only way for the Mac community to stay safe and secure is for us ALL to become proactive in our security measures and utilize both firewalls and anti-virus programs. If we ignore the threat, the day will come when we all fall victim to a mega-virus.
I'm still a proud Mac user. I wish to encourage Mac users to be smart and protect their machines. A false sense of security won't protect us from hackers and pernicious codes.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
- Question