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.
Virus/Malware program recommendations? [MERGED]
- Thread starter vjicecool
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Ehmm, MacOS 13 Ventura builtin protection . . .
I've been using Macs since 2008 and my computers never got infected.
Serious question, how do you guys get viruses ?
Serious question, how do you guys get viruses ?
Last edited:
First, for protection against malware, I think Malwarebytes is a good utility. But for more comprehensive protection, I believe it's important to also use anti-virus software.
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. There are some things I don't like about it, such as the need to be connected to the Internet to manage settings and the kludgy workaround that was required to get it to run on Monterey after upgrading directly from Mojave, but my spouse's employer requires Sophos so that's what all the machines in my household run.
Another anti-virus resource is 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 the anti-virus and Web Protection modules of Sophos Home)
- 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)
Another action you can take is to set up a non-Admin user account for daily use. Then you only need to log-in as an Administrator when you are actively doing troubleshooting, installations, or maintenance tasks (see: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...n-administrator-account.2327558/post-30700893).
----------
Have a look at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/security-protection-on-mac-how.2308465/post-30660294 and https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...curity-suite-for-macosx.2310577/post-30375113 for more info on X-Protect and MRT, Apple's built-n macOS security software.
Last edited:
I appreciate your well laid out thought process!
The Sophos Anti-virus in your foundation already includes Ransomware protection. The other product Ransomwhere is redundant. Layers may sound like a good idea, but it's not good idea to have more than one 'Anti-Virus' product installed at a given point-in-time.
Oh I didn’t know it had a build in real-time antivirus engine. Odd, as it didn’t pick up the windows viruses I had that bitdefender found no problem.
I’ve never had a live macOS virus. But unfortunately get plenty of Windows viruses from my “windows friends”.
I've gotten malware from time to time, but nothing that was more than an annoyance to me. For all I know, I've been pwned the North Koreans but I've never felt like purchasing antivirus software my Mac.
i've only gotten infected just once, even on Windows, and that was in the early days of XP.
still, anti malware is pretty much a must. even Apple has several counter measures pre-installed in their OS that are getting updated frequently.
they're just trying not to make such a big deal out of this, since they like to keep the image of an impenetrable super OS to the general public
still, anti malware is pretty much a must. even Apple has several counter measures pre-installed in their OS that are getting updated frequently.
they're just trying not to make such a big deal out of this, since they like to keep the image of an impenetrable super OS to the general public
Does it actually have an antivirus engine and signatures? Even if you can’t be infected yourself, being a carrier and passing it on to others is just as bad. That causes serious reputation damage as a minimum and could lead to loosing a job and damages for those using their machines professionally.
No actual antivirus means you won’t pass our conditional access requirements. And that is nothing unusual, standard practise against NCSC and NIST configuration standards.
it does, but as already stated, only for things that could affect Apple products
i know, but that's seemingly not on Apple's agenda at all.
who knows, maybe they're even happy that these show how supposedly immune a Mac is, compared to a PC that got actually got infected by the very same threat
That’s true. I should have mentioned that I don’t use Sophos‘ ransomware tool. That’s why I use RansomWhere. Thanks for catching that!
Malwarebytes. You can either use the free version for all eternity or the paid version for real-time scanning.
Thanks for your replies. I am going to try with just malwarebytes. Going to have to get antivirus regardless for the windows laptops.
Unfortunately when I tried on M1 Max on Ventura, it demolished my battery life. I will try again to see if it makes a differenceBitdefender works very well, don't even notice its there and running. And has picked up some gifts from Windows users already
Just for antivirus I tend to use clamav on mac and linux.
Since apple software is usually distributed from trusted sources and signed (e.g. via appstore, brew or macports), the threat is much less than with your average windows that constantly gets binaries from various websites, usb sticks and CDs.
And if you need to analyze dubious disks, sticks, images etc., there are more specialized forensic tools.
Since apple software is usually distributed from trusted sources and signed (e.g. via appstore, brew or macports), the threat is much less than with your average windows that constantly gets binaries from various websites, usb sticks and CDs.
And if you need to analyze dubious disks, sticks, images etc., there are more specialized forensic tools.
BlockBlock is all you need https://objective-see.org/products/blockblock.html. And it's free.
It's famous for detecting more malware than other antivirus products for Mac.
It's famous for detecting more malware than other antivirus products for Mac.
I should have said I also use BlockBlock as @johannnn just mentioned. Great little app.
EDIT Ooops! I have KnockKnock by same author.
Last edited:
Malwarebytes uses almost no resources. Bitdefender is a massive bloated hog that sucks up resources. It's garbage compared to the Windows version. But even on Windows it's become bloated. I used to really like it. Also, Malwarebytes takes about 5-10 seconds to scan.
Codswallop, so easy to say but perhaps back it up with evidence… And naturally compare it against Malware bytes premium as the free version doesn't do half of it. I have nothing against Malware byte Premium or Total Antivirus etc. But it is simply not true that Bitdefender is a bloated hog, it is a proper Mac silicon app and its resources barely register. It has some of the best results on the controlled tests in finding the latest viruses and one of the few that actually scans email attachments before opening/access…
It's not codswallop. It slows down the computer. It may not be taking up computer resources in activity monitor, but the ransomware functionality can make certain apps cease to function properly. I've been using Bitdefender for years on Windows and Mac. I'm not some kind of anti-Bitdefender angry person. I've been a loyal customer for years and it's gotten very bad. And yes, I'm aware it finds the most malware, but it's become a pain.