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Minimal antivirus on a MBP...

J

jawzzy

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 13, 2007
155
0
New York
So I'm off to college next year with my soon-to-be lovely 2.2 Ghz Macbook Pro, and unfortunately, in order to connect to my college's network, they require anti-virus. I know, its really unnecessary, but it is not my rule!

Anyways, this is the quote from the website:

"If you are using a Mac, Pomona requires that you have some anti-virus software installed on your computer. We can provide you with a copy of McAfee VirusScan for OS X for free. Other programs are acceptable as long as they are updated frequently (at least every two weeks)."

Does anybody have any recommendations for a program that will take the least space, be the least intrusive, and slow down my computer the least? I other words, is there a program that can fulfill this requirement and nothing else? I don't even want a functional program, just something to get past this! I don't want to bugger up my computer with anti-virus software. I'm coming from a PC! I'm supposed to be past all this!

Thanks in advance!
 
Hmmm...I read up a bit on that on its site, and it says it might move files around? I also don't like that fact that you need a special engine uninstaller to uninstall it. Thats way too Norton-esque!

Do you have this on your laptop or know anyone who does? What kind of experience is it?
 
I'm fortunate enough to not have to use any antivirus. I've seen it recommended 'round here quite a bit though. Whatever you do, don't get Norton though! :D
 
I have it on mine. It's really non-intrusive. If you can just turn off the sentry, in particular, it's great.

The uninsstaller is just a fairly simple script. It's just there so that non-admin users can run an uninstall by providing an admin account, since the files go in areas outside the home directory.
 
O good! Is it possible to just completely turn it off, and then only enable it when they check?

I'm really trying to keep my system as clean and integrated as possible. I have so much junk on my Windoze box, I can't believe it still runs. One of the things that most appealed to me about Macs is that the operating system is really a complete package.

Would ClamXav get in the way of my wishes for a simple and clean system?

Does it spray files all over your system like others (ahem Norton!) do, or is it possible to confine all related files to one folder or location?
 
ClamX is totally unobtrusive. I just have it set to check mail, so that I don't inadvertently send something nasty to a Windows friend (even though the Macs are safe).

Oh, and it's useful for checking for Macro's in Word/Excel etc. Again, harmless to a Mac, but terrible for Windoze boxes.

Here's what it's using right now on my machine, as I've just opened it and told it to check my mailboxes. Negligible resources, no impact on the system at all.
 

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ClamXav is great. You totally can disable it whenever you want and just turn it on if they ever do check. You basically tell it to watch certain folders that you pick and you tell it when to scan. It's the easiest antivirus software for mac. And the uninstall is just as easy. It doesn't use up system resources like crazy and it doesn't throw files all over the place like Norton does.
 
jawzzy said:
O good! Is it possible to just completely turn it off, and then only enable it when they check?
Click to expand...

That's exactly how I run it. I turn it on when it amuses me to, and that's about it.

It's very straightforward where it puts files, and they're very unobtrusive when you're not running Clam. I've never seen any reason to believe that it's running hidden processes when it's not supposed to be, or that it is impairing system performance or stability in any way.

Regarding also your earlier question about it moving files... it has a few different options, but you can easily set it to only identify and not quarantine any infected files it does find (i.e. it's likely to find a Windows virus or two in your e-mail Trash or Junk folders if you haven't emptied them).

There's nothing I've experienced about Clam that's a cause for concern in terms of messing with the system the way some of the other systems do.

In fact, the only thing I have really seen that's problematic about Clam is that it really bogs down when scanning large files, especially large zip files and disk images and movies. But certainly that's a side issue, as you're mostly concerned about stability.
 
if you dont mind me asking, but how the heck would your school even know if you have an AV or not. Personally I'd just not get 1 I don't see how'd they ever know, and even if they did find out just say ya ok i will and never do.
 
Frosty1 said:
if you dont mind me asking, but how the heck would your school even know if you have an AV or not. Personally I'd just not get 1 I don't see how'd they ever know, and even if they did find out just say ya ok i will and never do.
Click to expand...

I know at my University we had a network scanner that would examine each computers security and traffic. If a computer wasn't protected, didn't have Windows update, or was sending out bad stuff, it was quarantined or blocked from the network.
 
So your school hacks in all your computers to see what software you're using?

I see you are in the US, can't you sue your school and claim a 1000000000$ for that?

I don't think there is a way they can check which software you are using remotely. so i would just don't get one, you don't need one.
 
blaaat said:
So your school hacks in all your computers to see what software you're using?

I see you are in the US, can't you sue your school and claim a 1000000000$ for that?

I don't think there is a way they can check which software you are using remotely. so i would just don't get one, you don't need one.
Click to expand...

You don't have to "hack" anything to check any of those things I've mentioned, it can all be monitored via network traffic and any sort of software that monitors security holes in computers on your network. Besides, in order to use the University network, everyone agrees to the Acceptable Use policy which covers exactly what the school can and cannot do, along with the user.

Most larger colleges and universities do similar things. It's the only way to prevent large scale outbreaks.
 
flopticalcube said:
I was assuming that the network scanner was looking to see if the machine had Windows Update running. If it didn't, and Macs wouldn't, they would block them. Was that not the case?
Click to expand...

The software obviously only scans machines that are recognized as having Windows. Any machine with OS X or Linux is not scanned for that particular qualification.
 
Sophos

If your computer is scanned, (My friend's isn't at his school. They only concentate on WINDOWS with Altiris.) try Sophos Antivirus for mac. It is good and takes very little space.
AND...
It's nothing like Symantec!
:)
 
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