Do you have a security soft on your mac?

[Super Real]

Do you have a security soft on your mac?
If so, which brand/model do you like/recommend?

Hi, I'm an eternal beginner and new to here.
Registered here to learn and acquire necessary knowledge to live safe with my laptop.

My first mac was a MBP Mid2009 model, bought it new in the very debut year and had used it exclusively until last week. Which mean that I had lived with an unsupported OS (OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan) for years not knowing how reckless it was until told so. I just didn't feel I'd need anything newer than it which still looks good enough, moves very fast with an updated 500GB SATA SSD, and this Opera browser seems still supported and works greatly on Netflix and YouTube. To add I prefer those old models with the deep non-butterfly keyboard and the small seesaw style trackpad.

AFAIC it was ridiculous to stop using this good one, so I'm gonna try the Catalina patcher later. But still needed another since I don't know if it goes well and next monthly payment due date was approaching.

So I just got my second MBP, a refurbished A1398 (Mid 2014) with the deep keyboard and the small trackpad:

- 15" Retina Mid2014
- 2.8GHz I7 Inter Quad Core
- 16GB RAM
- 512GB SSD
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M GPU
- OS11.4 Big Sur

The refurbished MBP originally came with Mojave, but couldn't stand the top right popup message to update to Big Sur (remember, I'm eternal beginner...). Clean installed it, and I haven't seen any issue with this notorious OS11...

Do you think I have to get a security soft on my mac?
If so, which brand/model do you like and would you recommend?
And should I go back to Catalina, Mojave, etc?

Thank you for reading.

 

[Super Real]

Btw, for now I have installed Sophos Home (free) on my "new" 2014 MBP, just like had done on my "old" 2009 MBP. What do you think...?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Btw, for now I have installed Sophos Home (free) on my "new" 2014 MBP, just like had done on my "old" 2009 MBP. What do you think...?

In my opinion, running apps like Sophos is unnecessary on a Mac. There are no Apple viruses in the wild and Apple already provides protection against Malware.

Protecting against malware in macOS

In macOS, malware defenses are structured using the followingApp Store, or Gatekeeper combined with Notarization, and XProtect.

support.apple.com

 

[Super Real]

In my opinion, running apps like Sophos is unnecessary on a Mac. There are no Apple viruses in the wild and Apple already provides protection against Malware.

Protecting against malware in macOS

In macOS, malware defenses are structured using the followingApp Store, or Gatekeeper combined with Notarization, and XProtect.

support.apple.com

Oh thanks for sharing the knowledge sir, I'm glad.
So which do you mean, you have installed NO security soft on your Mac or ONLY better one with greater functions than Sophos Home (free ver)?
The free Sophos had arrested a few criminals on my MBP Mid 2009 though...
I'd appreciate much if you could answer to this additional q! ?

 

[casperes1996]

So; Big Sur is IMO much nicer than Catalina, so I don't know from where you've heard it to be "infamous". Catalina is the only macOS I've ever skipped (development platform aside)

Second, I would agree with Apple_Robert. Apple's XProtect (built into macOS and invisible to the user) is plenty good enough to keep you safe. The best thing you can do to stay safe isn't about software like Sophos or other; It's about yourself. Don't fall for scam emails, don't give out your password, and try to use good passwords (Maybe even use a password manager to create you strong random ones, like Keychain).

If you absolutely do want security software, Sophos is a good choice. Though if it does find something 99% of the time it wouldn't have hurt your Mac anyway, cause it's a Windows-targeted bit of malware it finds

 

[iHorseHead]

I have Norton Security on my M1 MacBook Air, because I got it for free the last year. Once the subscription / yearly trial ends I'll delete it. It has scanned my Mac plenty of times and it has never found anything. It only sometimes blocks the 'attacks' from some questionable "Watch free tv series, movies" websites that I visit.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Oh thanks for sharing the knowledge sir, I'm glad.
So which do you mean, you have installed NO security soft on your Mac or ONLY better one with greater functions than Sophos Home (free ver)?
The free Sophos had arrested a few criminals on my MBP Mid 2009 though...
I'd appreciate much if you could answer to this additional q! ?

I don't use any third party anti-virus / Malware apps on any of my Macs. I see no point in it, when Apple (as shown) is already offering good protection with the OS. In my opinion, a lot of people don't know about the built-in protection as I shown. As such, they go looking for anti-virus programs like Sophos and end up running an app that isn't really needed and often uses more resources than it should.

 

[casperes1996]

I don't use any third party anti-virus / Malware apps on any of my Macs. I see no point in it, when Apple (as shown) is already offering good protection with the OS. In my opinion, a lot of people don't know about the built-in protection as I shown. As such, they go looking for anti-virus programs like Sophos and end up running an app that isn't really needed and often uses more resources than it should.

I will say though that if you're on a mixed network with Windows machines, you run life a bit risky with downloading a lot questionably legal material and you often file share said material with the Windows machines on that network - that's the one case where I can see something like Sophos being quite useful to run on the Mac - Not to protect the Mac, but to protect the Windows PCs before you send them something bad

 

[Apple_Robert]

I will say though that if you're on a mixed network with Windows machines, you run life a bit risky with downloading a lot questionably legal material and you often file share said material with the Windows machines on that network - that's the one case where I can see something like Sophos being quite useful to run on the Mac - Not to protect the Mac, but to protect the Windows PCs before you send them something bad

I agree. If one is in a mixed network and he or she is knowingly doing things that are illegal like using cracks etc., then he or she may want to use something in addition to what Apple provides. People in that group deserve lots of tech heartache, in my opinion.

 

[AZhappyjack]

Do you have a security soft on your mac?
If so, which brand/model do you like/recommend?

Hi, I'm an eternal beginner and new to here.
Registered here to learn and acquire necessary knowledge to live safe with my laptop.

My first mac was a MBP Mid2009 model, bought it new in the very debut year and had used it exclusively until last week. Which mean that I had lived with an unsupported OS (OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan) for years not knowing how reckless it was until told so. I just didn't feel I'd need anything newer than it which still looks good enough, moves very fast with an updated 500GB SATA SSD, and this Opera browser seems still supported and works greatly on Netflix and YouTube. To add I prefer those old models with the deep non-butterfly keyboard and the small seesaw style trackpad.

AFAIC it was ridiculous to stop using this good one, so I'm gonna try the Catalina patcher later. But still needed another since I don't know if it goes well and next monthly payment due date was approaching.

So I just got my second MBP, a refurbished A1398 (Mid 2014) with the deep keyboard and the small trackpad:

- 15" Retina Mid2014
- 2.8GHz I7 Inter Quad Core
- 16GB RAM
- 512GB SSD
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M GPU
- OS11.4 Big Sur

The refurbished MBP originally came with Mojave, but couldn't stand the top right popup message to update to Big Sur (remember, I'm eternal beginner...). Clean installed it, and I haven't seen any issue with this notorious OS11...

Do you think I have to get a security soft on my mac?
If so, which brand/model do you like and would you recommend?
And should I go back to Catalina, Mojave, etc?

Thank you for reading.

I have the free version of Malwarebytes installed on all of my Macs, but only launch/run it about twice a year... no antivirus software because, well, as others have told you, there are no macOS virus issues with macOS.

The key is to practice safe computing... no cracked software, no porn, no sketchy websites, don't open attachments or files whose origin is unknown to you, etc.

 

[GSWForever8]

Do you have a security soft on your mac?
If so, which brand/model do you like/recommend?

Hi, I'm an eternal beginner and new to here.
Registered here to learn and acquire necessary knowledge to live safe with my laptop.

My first mac was a MBP Mid2009 model, bought it new in the very debut year and had used it exclusively until last week. Which mean that I had lived with an unsupported OS (OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan) for years not knowing how reckless it was until told so. I just didn't feel I'd need anything newer than it which still looks good enough, moves very fast with an updated 500GB SATA SSD, and this Opera browser seems still supported and works greatly on Netflix and YouTube. To add I prefer those old models with the deep non-butterfly keyboard and the small seesaw style trackpad.

AFAIC it was ridiculous to stop using this good one, so I'm gonna try the Catalina patcher later. But still needed another since I don't know if it goes well and next monthly payment due date was approaching.

So I just got my second MBP, a refurbished A1398 (Mid 2014) with the deep keyboard and the small trackpad:

- 15" Retina Mid2014
- 2.8GHz I7 Inter Quad Core
- 16GB RAM
- 512GB SSD
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M GPU
- OS11.4 Big Sur

The refurbished MBP originally came with Mojave, but couldn't stand the top right popup message to update to Big Sur (remember, I'm eternal beginner...). Clean installed it, and I haven't seen any issue with this notorious OS11...

Do you think I have to get a security soft on my mac?
If so, which brand/model do you like and would you recommend?
And should I go back to Catalina, Mojave, etc?

Thank you for reading.

Don’t get anything. At most Malwarebytes.

 

[Jack Neill]

I get Sophos Home Premium as a perk form my company, I think it does well on Windows, it doesn't seem to be a resource hog on Macs so I run it on machines that are not supported anymore and on my main Macs.

 

[KaliYoni]

OP: I think what you do depends on how you use your computer. Some things that would lead me to install an anti-virus package include:

• Sending or receiving files with Windows users
• Regular downloading of file types that often are virus vectors, such as .pdf, .jpg, .doc, and .xls .
• Any business use of your machine
• Frequent use of public Wi-Fi networks

I've used Sophos for many years. While I can't recall it ever finding a virus, the web address filtering function has saved me from potentially dangerous URL typos and search engine clicks many times.

If you're dead set against installing anti-virus software, you can at least run downloads you think are risky through VirusTotal, assuming you have good upstream bandwidth.

www.virustotal.com

----------

Here are some suggestions for managing privacy and security on your computer:

Level 1 (foundation)

• Anti-virus (I use Sophos)
• Anti-malware (I use Malwarebytes)
• Firefox browser with ad blocking and Javascript blocking add-ons (I use AdBlock Plus and NoScript) for general web browsing. I keep Safari relatively stock and only use it with a very small number of trusted websites.

Level 2 (good to have if you don't mind the convenience vs. security tradeoffs)

• Little Snitch (monitor outgoing Internet connections, essentially a reverse firewall)
• RansomWhere (anti-ransomware monitor)
• SilentKnight (utility for easily checking Apple's own security measures in macOS for updates)

----------

Finally, my Mac security strategy is centered around risk management, not predictions of bad actors' behavior. I prefer spending some time up front–and money if justified–to minimize the possibility of having to deal with the fallout of an attacker putting viruses or malware on my computer. I view anti-virus and anti-malware software as a form of insurance. Yes, it sucks that I need it but I feel that having it lets me sleep better than not having it.

Also, we are all human and we make mistakes, especially when we are in a rush, distracted, or tired. Relying on constant vigilance as sole protection requires perfection. I don't think any of us can reach that standard very often, especially with something that is constantly changing and morphing.

 

[synicalx1]

Personally I don't bother with an AV or similar on my Mac, I take a bit of a different approach in general to this kind of thing. If I notice anything weird I might run a Malwarebytes scan or similar, but I never trust an AV program to rid me of anything it finds so if it did find something my first step would be to nuke the whole computer and start again.

I treat all my devices like cattle and have no data that is unique to any one device, so something being wiped (or ransomware'd) isn't a big deal. The most I would lose is a Steam library which I can just download again - nothing important.

Having said that it's been many many many years since I've had any malware-related issues as I tend to not do anything that would introduce malware to any of my devices.

 

[bousozoku]

I used the free Sophos for years but I'm using Malwarebytes on macOS, Windows 10, and Android.

 

[Super Real]

Thank you all for the comments, suggestions and advices, I really appreciate. But sorry, I still am uncertain of making decision.

I asked the same question years ago (“Mac users also have to install a security soft to their Mac computers”), and there were, roughly speaking, 2 major types of answers like (A) and (B) below:

(A) “No. Mac computers are more resistant to virus, malware, etc, and in the first place its market share is not big enough for cybergangs.”

(B) “Yes. The number of Mac users is on the rise and it’s natural to think some cyber-criminals see value in bank accounts held by owners of those pricy Apple computers. “

These 2 stances seem to remain largely unchanged as I google search though, I’m a little surprised that most people in this forum would take (A).

I really don’t know which opinion I should support though, might have been more on (A) before since I have no habit to open emails from unknown senders and never go to porn website (yeah I’m henpecked). I kept using the unsupported 2009 MBP, it’s not only because I was so ignorant but because I might have placed too much trust in Mac’s tolerability.

However, I think Apple seemed strange during the past half decade; the long winding road of the butterfly keyboard issue, and then those bug problems with OS Big Sur (case closed?).

And no matter how reliable in virus/malware resistance you think your Mac is, still you have no means of knowing how clean it is then with out a soft. No matter how healthy you think you are, you’d better get a check up.

Anyway still don’t know if I should have a virus soft on my Macs, but been thinking about getting a soft like CleanMyMac and Onyx which a guy recommended me at Apple Store yesterday. Of course I don’t know which is better… (sighs)

Once again, thank you all for all your help.

 

[iluvmacs99]

Thank you all for the comments, suggestions and advices, I really appreciate. But sorry, I still am uncertain of making decision.

I asked the same question years ago (“Mac users also have to install a security soft to their Mac computers”), and there were, roughly speaking, 2 major types of answers like (A) and (B) below:

(A) “No. Mac computers are more resistant to virus, malware, etc, and in the first place its market share is not big enough for cybergangs.”

(B) “Yes. The number of Mac users is on the rise and it’s natural to think some cyber-criminals see value in bank accounts held by owners of those pricy Apple computers. “

These 2 stances seem to remain largely unchanged as I google search though, I’m a little surprised that most people in this forum would take (A).

I really don’t know which opinion I should support though, might have been more on (A) before since I have no habit to open emails from unknown senders and never go to porn website (yeah I’m henpecked). I kept using the unsupported 2009 MBP, it’s not only because I was so ignorant but because I might have placed too much trust in Mac’s tolerability.

However, I think Apple seemed strange during the past half decade; the long winding road of the butterfly keyboard issue, and then those bug problems with OS Big Sur (case closed?).

And no matter how reliable in virus/malware resistance you think your Mac is, still you have no means of knowing how clean it is then with out a soft. No matter how healthy you think you are, you’d better get a check up.

Anyway still don’t know if I should have a virus soft on my Macs, but been thinking about getting a soft like CleanMyMac and Onyx which a guy recommended me at Apple Store yesterday. Of course I don’t know which is better… (sighs)

Once again, thank you all for all your help.

Well, I will share with you choice "C"; having worked with people with real life experiences BEING infected while using a Mac and running the best security software and that I no longer associated with them.

You see with security software; it all comes down to this simple rule. "What you do on to others, others will do on to you". Most of us here don't intentionally hack and expose other people's business or dealings maliciously or intentionally and expose them either privately or publicly. Likewise, if you have nothing to hide or nothing to protect, you wouldn't install a state of the art security system and fortify your house like Fortknox. This is what you see with very wealthy people who live in gated communities and hire top notch security firms to protect them from outside people stealing or damaging their properties. But it all comes down to this -- "What you do on to others, others will do on to you".

I used to work for a recycling I.T firm that support people, journalists, who go out there to expose certain shady dealing with corrupt governments, agencies and corporations. And as such, they attract retributions and retaliations from these entities which includes personal threats and hacking on their computers which included the latest Macs running the last software and even set up by top notch I.T firms. So you can see that despite having fortified their computers, running VPNs and using the Tor network, they are still being identified, targeted and intimidated. The lengths these entities go beyond to intimidate and hurt people can go beyond what you think is possible or capable. If you mess with the NSA or any entities that are equivalent to the NSA, then choice "C" means you. You are the best security for your computer; not any security software because ultimately, how these people hack your machines is not a direct frontal attack as they know your computer is fully fortified, but through your friends, families and colleagues which do not run a sophisticated security software as you do and they are the ones that will let down your guard. Many journalists thinking they can simply get away by exposing government dealings will usually end up being hit through retaliation. When I examined her Macbook Pro from one of the journalists that I was helping with; it was simply amazing how these people were able to hack and caused so much damage to her computer despite having the best security in place. Her Proton Mail account, which is an encryption email based service, also got hacked.

There were current hacks like that were done on Colonial Pipelines and Quanta Computers; but observe for yourself that while they had employed the best security with more money than you and I can afford and even with that, they still got hacked.

So what is the best security software. It is you. What you do to others is important in determining what others will do to you. What comes around goes around. There is no such thing as a perfect security software and OS. Most people who offered opinions and advice are themselves not out there to intentionally hack people's privacy or expose shady businesses. We are just enjoying what modern computing has to offer. But if you go beyond that and start doing nasty things to other people, then asking for the best security software is simply telling yourself; yes I can hurt someone but I don't want someone to hurt me and many security software and I.T firms give this implied theoretical belief that they could provide that top notch security; that you wouldn't get hurt even if you hurt someone. In my experience, that never works, because what comes around goes around. Nothing happens just out of chance and bad luck. There's always a reason behind any hacks and usually it has an origin coming from the user being hacked.

Hope this helps.

 

[casperes1996]

Thank you all for the comments, suggestions and advices, I really appreciate. But sorry, I still am uncertain of making decision.

I asked the same question years ago (“Mac users also have to install a security soft to their Mac computers”), and there were, roughly speaking, 2 major types of answers like (A) and (B) below:

(A) “No. Mac computers are more resistant to virus, malware, etc, and in the first place its market share is not big enough for cybergangs.”

(B) “Yes. The number of Mac users is on the rise and it’s natural to think some cyber-criminals see value in bank accounts held by owners of those pricy Apple computers. “

These 2 stances seem to remain largely unchanged as I google search though, I’m a little surprised that most people in this forum would take (A).

I really don’t know which opinion I should support though, might have been more on (A) before since I have no habit to open emails from unknown senders and never go to porn website (yeah I’m henpecked). I kept using the unsupported 2009 MBP, it’s not only because I was so ignorant but because I might have placed too much trust in Mac’s tolerability.

However, I think Apple seemed strange during the past half decade; the long winding road of the butterfly keyboard issue, and then those bug problems with OS Big Sur (case closed?).

And no matter how reliable in virus/malware resistance you think your Mac is, still you have no means of knowing how clean it is then with out a soft. No matter how healthy you think you are, you’d better get a check up.

Anyway still don’t know if I should have a virus soft on my Macs, but been thinking about getting a soft like CleanMyMac and Onyx which a guy recommended me at Apple Store yesterday. Of course I don’t know which is better… (sighs)

Once again, thank you all for all your help.

Run something if it makes you feel better. But let me ask you this, why should some other anti-malware program be perfect either? I mean your logic is valid; Apple can't protect you against everything. But why should Sophos or Malware Bytes be able to?

The answer is obviously that no system is un-breachable. Run something if it increases your confidence level, but there's never complete security

 

[KaliYoni]

I still am uncertain of making decision.

If you feel stuck, here are some suggestions for thinking about what to do:

• Focus on how you use your computer. Your daily activities and habits are more important than your hardware specifications when you make security decisions.
• Do what you feel is best for your situation and workflows. None of us here are as familiar with why you use your Mac, where you use your Mac, and what data is stored on your Mac as you are. And if something ever goes wrong, none of us have to face the consequences of a successful attack on your Mac. Don't worry about pleasing a bunch of anonymous people on an Internet message board.
• Try viewing privacy and security measures as a type of insurance. Insurance helps protect you if something bad happens. Insurance doesn't take the place of good habits, such as eating healthy foods, driving safely, locking the doors to your house when you go out, or installing smoke detectors in bedrooms. Similarly, staying vigilant when reading emails and downloading files is complementary to security software. Layers of security work better than a single barrier. Things can happen to you that are outside of your control.
• Take your personality into account. Are you an extremely conscientious and detail oriented person in all aspects of your life? Or are you somebody who likes to be spontaneous? When you're faced with stressful situations, how do you feel and react? How do you approach making decisions? This is similar to retirement planning. Some people have the personality traits to plan and manage their retirement savings and investments on their own. Other people are better off working with a professional advisor.

Remember, security decisions usually are not binary. You have the ability to do nothing, do some things, or do a lot of things. You can do things in stages or over a period of time. You can uninstall software or cancel subscriptions. So try not to overthink this stuff. Do what feels comfortable to you, at a pace that you feel is right.

 

[||\||]

You should not install any active monitoring software. It is unnecessary and will only cause problems. It adds no benefit. I use the Malwarebytes free version and my head when I am online. I've never had malware on my machines. A manual scan every week or month or whenever you remember should be sufficient. The best defense of all is to just be aware of where you are and what you are doing. Treat links with a healthy does of skepticism. Don't become a sucker.

 

[Super Real]

Sorry for not getting back sooner...
I as an eternal beginner have had so much to learn to understand your comments, and sorry still don't have enough vocabulary to properly answer/ask to each post.
However I could say this much; I'm less concerned about it than I was before receiving your comments.

I haven't change anything yet; still use Firefox and Opera keeping Sophos (free) on my Macs, since still have time before next online payment date.

I'm probably gonna to change my current banking browser to Brave or Tor...
If you can also help on the topic, please come to the thread:

Best browser for online banking/shopping?

Brave vs Firefox vs Tor vs Opera vs… Which do you think is the best desktop browser for online banking/shopping? Please forget about antivirus softwares for now, just let me know which browser(s) you think best or better for online banking/shopping. Thank you in advance. Some recommend...

forums.macrumors.com

Thank you all for your valuable time, sharing your knowledge and opinions.
I really appreciate.

 

[Javi74]

Do you have a security soft on your mac?
If so, which brand/model do you like/recommend?

Hi, I'm an eternal beginner and new to here.
Registered here to learn and acquire necessary knowledge to live safe with my laptop.

My first mac was a MBP Mid2009 model, bought it new in the very debut year and had used it exclusively until last week. Which mean that I had lived with an unsupported OS (OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan) for years not knowing how reckless it was until told so. I just didn't feel I'd need anything newer than it which still looks good enough, moves very fast with an updated 500GB SATA SSD, and this Opera browser seems still supported and works greatly on Netflix and YouTube. To add I prefer those old models with the deep non-butterfly keyboard and the small seesaw style trackpad.

AFAIC it was ridiculous to stop using this good one, so I'm gonna try the Catalina patcher later. But still needed another since I don't know if it goes well and next monthly payment due date was approaching.

So I just got my second MBP, a refurbished A1398 (Mid 2014) with the deep keyboard and the small trackpad:

- 15" Retina Mid2014
- 2.8GHz I7 Inter Quad Core
- 16GB RAM
- 512GB SSD
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M GPU
- OS11.4 Big Sur

The refurbished MBP originally came with Mojave, but couldn't stand the top right popup message to update to Big Sur (remember, I'm eternal beginner...). Clean installed it, and I haven't seen any issue with this notorious OS11...

Do you think I have to get a security soft on my mac?
If so, which brand/model do you like and would you recommend?
And should I go back to Catalina, Mojave, etc?

Thank you for reading.

I installed Bitdefender and I'm happy about it. It detected a virus when installing Utorrent-web from the oficial website.

 

[The Hammer]

Thank you all for the comments, suggestions and advices, I really appreciate. But sorry, I still am uncertain of making decision.

I asked the same question years ago (“Mac users also have to install a security soft to their Mac computers”), and there were, roughly speaking, 2 major types of answers like (A) and (B) below:

(A) “No. Mac computers are more resistant to virus, malware, etc, and in the first place its market share is not big enough for cybergangs.”

(B) “Yes. The number of Mac users is on the rise and it’s natural to think some cyber-criminals see value in bank accounts held by owners of those pricy Apple computers. “

These 2 stances seem to remain largely unchanged as I google search though, I’m a little surprised that most people in this forum would take (A).

I really don’t know which opinion I should support though, might have been more on (A) before since I have no habit to open emails from unknown senders and never go to porn website (yeah I’m henpecked). I kept using the unsupported 2009 MBP, it’s not only because I was so ignorant but because I might have placed too much trust in Mac’s tolerability.

However, I think Apple seemed strange during the past half decade; the long winding road of the butterfly keyboard issue, and then those bug problems with OS Big Sur (case closed?).

And no matter how reliable in virus/malware resistance you think your Mac is, still you have no means of knowing how clean it is then with out a soft. No matter how healthy you think you are, you’d better get a check up.

Anyway still don’t know if I should have a virus soft on my Macs, but been thinking about getting a soft like CleanMyMac and Onyx which a guy recommended me at Apple Store yesterday. Of course I don’t know which is better… (sighs)

Once again, thank you all for all your help.

I've heard quite often that CleanMyMac is crap. But haven't used it myself.

 

[HDFan]

Anti-virus (I use Sophos)

RansomWhere (anti-ransomware monitor)

Doesn't Sophos look for ransomeware?

There is another aspect to security - your network. My Comcast security monitor was telling me that it was denying access to some devices on my network - NAS devices - from places all over the world. After configuring them to only accept local network connections the warnings ceased. Don't remember if I ever got an alert about a Mac Problem. Just be aware that even if your Mac is safe there might be another device on your network that serves as an entry point.

You also don't want your network to be seen - i.e. respond to ping requests. One common testing site for this is:

GRC | ShieldsUP! — Internet Vulnerability Profiling

GRC Internet Security Detection System

www.grc.com

Setting your gateway to the highest possible level of security is another thing that you can do, if it doesn't break anything. Some of my programs won't work if I set it to highest security, so I have to set it to medium.

 

[Javi74]

I've heard quite often that CleanMyMac is crap. But haven't used it myself.

My experience: what Bitdefender found, Cleanmymac didn't.