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Am I going to catch something?

M

MTShipp

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 25, 2009
900
254
Raleigh, North Carolina
Most of you are not aware that I am a recovering PC-holic. I've never owned a Mac before but have my first one on order (w/ 4850...but that's another thread).

Is it true that antivirus software is not really needed with a Mac? I do not do pron sites but do go to TPB some but mostly for videos but not apps.

So, if I need AV, what are the good (cheap) ones? What about spyware/malware?
 
DNS Changer trojan is a risk, especially at porn sites. Click on a malicious button there and the trojan loads on your Mac, changing your DNS entry to point to a 3rd party, who can then view what you enter such as credit card account information and passwords.

There are some free DNS Changer checker software for Mac that can be easily downloaded to identify if it exists on your machine.
 
MTShipp said:
So, if I need AV, what are the good (cheap) ones? What about spyware/malware?
Click to expand...

I use Norton Antivirus. Do I really need it? Probably not. Although lately it keeps warning me "Portscan" which I think (?) is someone trying to get into my Mac? But, I don't really know if the program keeps people out or just tells me something that I really don't have to know.

However, the number of "Portscan" warnings in the last two weeks is more than the whole last year or two or even three!

If anyone can explain this all to me, much appreciated.
 
Even for PCs I see anti-virus programs as kind of a joke. I mean virus profiles are only updated after the virus hit.

I don't think anti-virus software is as needed as people say. Smart computing practices are really all one needs.

I would say that no you don't need an anti-virus program. I would just regularly clean the machine, deleting cache and cookies. So far the only real threat has been from the trojan that was attached to porn videos. So I would think as long as you never enter an admin password to watch porn, you should be ok.

If you do go for an anti-virus program stay clear of Norton anti-virus. Norton on Macs seems to cause more problems then any virus could do.
 
MTShipp, I am in the same boat. 1st time Mac owner for a week. No AV software on it.

If you are really paranoid, invest in a home firewall with web filtering and a/v scanning. Checkpoint make one, as well as Fortinet. There are lot's of other companies that make these type of devices.

While not a security expert, I have done IT security before and can tell you that as long as you keep you OS updated, are vigilant about what you do (as in no one will send you $1m bucks if you click here) and use one of these home firewalls on top of the OS X f/w chances are very low that you'll catch anything IMHO.
 
My view of OS X is that you really have to actively work at doing something that will cause problems.

Root permissions are well maintained and there are far fewer exploits in the OS due to its UNIX roots.

If you are a total devil-may-care person who is going to go galavanting around the Internet clicking whatever you like, running random scripts and loading random applications that claim to be shareware, you might have a problem.

If you don't do those things you probably won't.

This is in contrast to the Windows world, where an unprotected computer can often be infected even if you are essentially doing nothing.

In a column I read a couple of years ago someone installed Win XP and connected the machine to the Internet and let it run for 24 hours before applying any updates, virus software, etc. They didn't do any browsing, they just let the machine sit there.

It wound up being infected with about 25 different things.
 
You can get yourself ClamXav and use it for scanning external or USB media - if you feel you just can't help yourself ;) I understand you well as I am a recent ex-PCholic too. :cool:
 
Dezlboy said:
I use Norton Antivirus. Do I really need it? Probably not. Although lately it keeps warning me "Portscan" which I think (?) is someone trying to get into my Mac? But, I don't really know if the program keeps people out or just tells me something that I really don't have to know.

However, the number of "Portscan" warnings in the last two weeks is more than the whole last year or two or even three!

If anyone can explain this all to me, much appreciated.
Click to expand...

How do you like Norton Antivirus for Mac? I thought about getting it but I've read the comments on the Apple website - they don't seem very positive.. :confused:
 
Jackintosh said:
DNS Changer trojan is a risk, especially at porn sites. Click on a malicious button there and the trojan loads on your Mac, changing your DNS entry to point to a 3rd party, who can then view what you enter such as credit card account information and passwords.

There are some free DNS Changer checker software for Mac that can be easily downloaded to identify if it exists on your machine.
Click to expand...

I use OpenDNS for this threat. Basically, you hard-code your DNS entries to the OpenDNS servers and it detects and makes sure your TCP-IP connections are not hijacked. Here's the link: https://www.opendns.com/start/
 
Don't go off and install something like Norton on your machine. If your really paranoid, Or download stuff from "friends" then it would be good practice to use ClamXav and scan your downloads folder whenever you get a new file.

Other than that just use common sense, like say you get a movie and try to open it then it asks for your admin password. That's pretty much a hugh red flag that something is wrong.
 
jmpage2 said:
In a column I read a couple of years ago someone installed Win XP and connected the machine to the Internet and let it run for 24 hours... It wound up being infected with about 25 different things.
Click to expand...
24 hours? Try 10 minutes.

I built an XP PC for my parents a couple of years ago. I installed Windows from an official install disc (not a dodgy one that might have already been infected with something), connected to the net and immediately downloaded and installed the ZoneAlarm firewall/antivirus. It took less than 10 minutes, as soon as it was done I did a virus scan, and it picked up 9 pieces of malware.
 
in arguement against clamxav for a second.. sure it warned me of anything dodgy coming in from USB sticks n whatnot, but whenever it logs stuff it logs stuff in large proportions i got annoyed and deleted it.. trouble is console doesnt seem to think so, i often get a log up saying that clamxav has finished its scan.. its not even on my HDD anymore!! ;) my 2 cents..

i dont use AV software on either of my 2 macs.. i havent had any issues :)
 
I come from the Dark Side and tend to be a bit paranoid. You can get some good and not so good advise here. I happened to use Clam-X at present on my Macbook, but that is a passive application. I did get a copy of Intego VirusBarrier X-5 as part of one of those packages from MacUpdate. The whole package cost less than the software.... I am going to install it on my BTO iMac that is due some time this month.

I will try iAntiVirus on my Macbook but I see it is a PCTools product and I had some problems with their PC anti malware products in the past. It is similar to their PC free Anti Virus program which is new also. I have not seen any reviews on that yet.

For a real unbiased look at protecting your Mac, Macworld October 2008 issue covered this in depth. They also have a PDF book based on this issue called MacSecurity Super Guide which cost $9.99 and gives you a great overview of how to protect your Mac from all kinds of security problems. They do review anti virus programs as well as show you the ins and outs of OSX firewall and review the third party applications. It is a good read and worth the money in my opinion.
 
MacAndy:

I haven't had any problems with Norton Anti-virus. I guess it's working. Can't say it ever said I had a virus. Only those recent (started a month ago) Portscan notices - about one or two every other day. Don't know why all of a sudden after five years, they start showing up.

thx for asking,
Scott/Dezlboy
 
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