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Antivirus - Do you use one?

akash.nu said:
A manufacturer / developer can sell their product in whichever way they prefer. There's nothing sinister about it.
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No problem... just not something I'm interested in participating in. Just as they can license their product as they wish (no software is "sold"), I can chose to purchase software licenses as I wish. Confused about why you think THEY can do as they wish, but I cannot. I am simply voicing my distaste for the never-ending money grab.
 
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I haven't used any antivirus in the past 4 years on my macbook and haven't had any problems.
Just always keep your mac updated.
 
Yes, I do. I don't care wether the malware affects me or not, I just don't want crap sitting on my computer. I always scan everything I receive from anyone.
 
dwfaust said:
No problem... just not something I'm interested in participating in. Just as they can license their product as they wish (no software is "sold"), I can chose to purchase software licenses as I wish. Confused about why you think THEY can do as they wish, but I cannot. I am simply voicing my distaste for the never-ending money grab.
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Yes you're right. It's only licensed and I wasn't attacking you as such. It kind of seemed that you were saying that there's a sinister motive behind the subscription model. That's why I just voiced my opinion. It's all good.
 
I don't use antivirus on my iMac but I have a problem; my iMac has slowed down noticably; Software is right up to date High Sierra 10.13.4 - I would appreciate suggestions.
 
akash.nu said:
If a business is not greedy they don't last too long.
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Do you consider a dentist's office to be a business? My dentist's office is open 3 days a week (used to be 4 days). He's doing well enough to satisfy his and his employees' needs. He's been in "business" for about 35 years. Seeing how most people work for 40 or so years, I'd say his business has lasted long.
 
Gregg2 said:
Do you consider a dentist's office to be a business? My dentist's office is open 3 days a week (used to be 4 days). He's doing well enough to satisfy his and his employees' needs. He's been in "business" for about 35 years. Seeing how most people work for 40 or so years, I'd say his business has lasted long.
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Yes private dentists are running business but are you seriously going to compare a small individual initiative to a multinational, multi billion dollars worth company?! If he’s happy with 3 days of work then that’s his personal choice. My local chippy is open everyday, what does that has anything to do with how these huge corporations work?! A bit naive of an argument to be honest.

Let’s also not forget, every business can’t operate with same business model. Especially given the fields of business is so varied. A software development business can’t operate with the same business model and infrastructure as either a dentist or a chip shop.
 
If you want to run A/V for peace of mind, by all means please do so. It is your machine and you are free to do with it as you please. Note though that when looking for protection, it is important to be clear on the language. If a piece of software claims to protect against computer viruses for your Mac, you ought to question their claims as no viruses exist. That said, various forms of malware do and if a developer is smart enough to know this distinction, then you can safely assume that they are at least informed about the Mac "malware landscape."

I can't recommend exactly any A/V as I don't use any. Consequently, my only advice would be to do some research before installing anything and choose from the recommend and reliable names like for example Bitdefender and Kaspersky. Try to cut through the zealotry on both sides and make an informed decision. You'll also want to weigh the pros and cons - is the added layer of possible security worth the performance hit?

As for the installation of software and the flaws that come with it, I'd encourage you to perhaps let that fear go. When you work with a computer, you're working with software (an obvious point about the inevitable). The best you can do is use reputable software and make regular use of the updating functionality built-in (if it's present).
 
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conamor said:
Hi,

I have been using Mac's forever and I always used an antivirus. I currently use Avast and from time to time scan with MB.

I sometime reverse engineer JS and other type of files and they are obviously infected. I move them to VM's to analyze them. I like to have my Mac tell me what happens and then I can whitelist depending on what I want to do.

Some websites, very regular, day to day website, I had Avast pop-up for webkit viruses.

Anyway, do you use one, which one and your experience on the findings!
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Be careful of which one you have claiming to be "Avast". it can act as proxy to hack your facebook account. Man-in-the-middle.

I don't see the need for software, users should know to protect themselves from websites anyway.. If we start trusting software 100%, then we can fool anyone right under their noses, and no one would learn a thing from it.
 
I wouldn't use most of the antivirus on a mac. They all tax your system. I have been playing with CylanceProtect and it very light on the system only one I would recommend.
 
This is a really difficult question to answer.

1-In this world we live in where everything is connected 24hrs with information getting in and out of the computer and everything s being tracked, stored, and shared its very hard to believe you are safe from viruses and malware as many people seem to imply here. There are literally people out there that make a living just by infecting people with bad software. Also, people who say you have to be smart and know which websites to visit and which files to download really limits your internet usage.

2-Some people say they have been using macs for a long time and never had a problem and Anti-Vrius software actually increases the risk of your computer malfunctioning, yet many people pay money for that kind of software. Do IT/Network admins not use AV software in work environments?

I will never know the answer which is best, especially when in this age where our whole lives are in file form on the computer including family pictures, finances, scanned documents, passwords, browsing history, emails, contacts...etc . One must be careful.

Best I found out is to have 2 computers, one where you play pretty safe with and your data is stored on there and another is your "daily driver" to browser and download files, and if it gets infected, so what? Nothing important is on there.
 
Scores virus got me back in 88. Stopped using anti-virus in 97. No problems beyond those that Apple immediately patches. One brush with Mac Defender. Never been terribly careful about my web destinations. Had to force quit browser and reboot a few times. I don't stock up on bells and whistles software, and don't click on ads very often. Haven't seen anything that wasn't a simple fix, not requiring antivirus, since before OS X came out.
 
For a while I took the blue pill and assumed my classic mac pro would not get viruses so I just ran a Bitdefender scan every 6 months. Now recently I have taken the red pill by reading this, and have installed a bunch of ad blockers, Javascript disablers and no-tracking extensions to my browsers. Whelp, its a real PITA sometimes because every frickin website uses Javascript. But after giving permissions to the sites I use most, it's become manageable. I would recommend reading the article to anyone who needs an update about Mac security.

I have also hardened my OS because it is old (OSX 10.8). I have no interest in flat icons and beachballs. I like my OS perfectly smooth and running months. The guide I used for this purpose is this: ERNW_Checklist_OSX_Hardening.pdf
 

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