Hey people, I'm ordering a Mac Mini today and was wondering if I should buy Norton for it even though I've heard so much about how Macs never get Spyware, viruses, etc. Do you guys think I would need any type of security like Norton? Thanks so much!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Help - Easy Norton Question!
- Thread starter Afro1989
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I think Norton is a waste of money, a total gimmick for Macintosh's. I would say just get a free download of McAfee or something if you are really worried. I haven't had anti-virus on my Mac's since the late 90's. Classic had some malicious software, but OS X has very little to worry about.
Afro1989 said:
Not unless you run Windows under VirtualPC. There are no known adware or malware programs that impact OS X at this time. Safari will not allow a program to run on the host computer except through the standard channels (flash and Java) without your permission. You shouldn't have too many issues with this....
The principle vector for these programs is ActiveX. Which does not function on Macs. And even if you use a PC and you only use Firefox for browsing, you will find that adware becomes a 99% non-issue without additional software such as adaware.
Afro1989 said:
No. You wouldn't believe the number of "Norton screwed up my system" stories I've heard!
Do not buy Norton. If anything it will harm your system to put it on, by causing it to crash, slow down, etc. There is no need for such a program on the Mac, as there are no viruses, spyware, adware, etc. to worry about - it's one of the benefits of owning a Mac in the first place!
I hear that 4 out of 5 Mac users who purchase the Norton suite get attacked by ninjas within 30 days.
Definitely don't buy it. My school made me download Virex in order to use their network, and it used up every bit of my available processing speed - Usually about 75% of my CPU's power. Needless to say, Virex is no longer with me.
Chasealicious said:
Yes, and while it has never been clear who would win in a battle between Ninjas and Pirates, it is generally accepted that the average Ninja can beat the snot out of the average Mac user.
Norton Utilities and/or Norton SystemWorks has been known to cause problems on the Mac platform. I say this from my own experience. It's also not necessary. If you want to scan your computer once a week or so for viruses, you can use ClamXav. It's free and open source, and it works fine. Don't waste your money on Symantec's software until they actually pay attention and correct their own issues on the Mac platform.Afro1989 said:
How do you turn off Norton Auto-Scan?
My friend has a used iBook, that came with a copy of Norton installed on it. It will automatically try to scan everything that is mounted. Try as I might, I can't find a pref. panel or anything for it. How do you turn this off?
My friend has a used iBook, that came with a copy of Norton installed on it. It will automatically try to scan everything that is mounted. Try as I might, I can't find a pref. panel or anything for it. How do you turn this off?
mkrishnan said:Yes, and while it has never been clear who would win in a battle between Ninjas and Pirates, it is generally accepted that the average Ninja can beat the snot out of the average Mac user.
Muahahaa!!