11-02-2008, 01:18 PM

Hello all. After using PC/Windows for the last 12 years, I decided to make the switch over to the Mac world to see what it's like. I bought the new Macbook Aluminum 2.0 GHz yesterday, and so far am loving it. I just had a few questions for all of the seasoned Mac users to help me transition into my new life.

1) Are a firewall and antivirus necessary on my new Mac? I've heard that Leopard is so much more secure than Windows, but since I've been trained for years that antivirus and firewalls are a must to keep safe in the "wonderful" world of windows, I'd like to know if I must continue this habit with Macs.

2) This questions is regarding downloading and watching videos. I torrent a lot, and was wondering if you all had suggestions on a good torrent client for Macs. Also, I was using windows media player with the K-Lite codec pack to watch all of my videos before on windows. Is there something similar on Macs that I can use as a universal media player that will be able to handle all different types of formats (anime, tv shows, etc.)

3) Last question is regarding the hard drive. My Mac Alum came with the 160 gb hard drive. The actual size is about ~148 gb (I assume this is right?) but the actual space I have is closer to 131 gb. Does iLife and Leopard really take up THAT much space?

Thanks for helping a new Mac convert out!

11-02-2008, 01:25 PM

The firewall is still necessary to prevent unauthorized access to your Mac.

The antivirus software is not needed. The viruses you are concerned about are Windows based applications which make harmful changes to the configuration of the Windows OS. Since Windows based applications cannot be run on OS X, there is no need to be protected against them. If you were to intentionally download a virus onto your Mac, you would not be able to open it.

11-02-2008, 01:33 PM

on the space issue, there is quite a bit of space taken by things like garage band, printer drivers, and multi-language support, so your numbers could be completely normal.

i remember saving a couple gigs using a program called delocalizer to remove language support i knew i'd never need when i got my macbook a couple years back. i also moved all the garage band samples to a DVD which saved me lots of space - albeit i never really used GB, so i didn't miss them.

11-02-2008, 02:23 PM

first off, you should always have your firewall on. the firewall prevents other actual users from entering your system, the operating system is usually fairly irrelevant. but you should only really use anti-virus if you connect to a windows network, while you may not be able to infect your system, the virus could move along your network to a windows machine.

as for torrenting, i recommend transmission it is very lightweight and efficient.
Transmission 1.34 - MacUpdate

for the video, there is a very lovely little player (for windows as well as os x) called vlc, it will play pretty much anything.
VLC Media Player 0.9.5 - MacUpdate

11-02-2008, 02:53 PM

And yes a 160GB HDD after formatting comes in at about 148, and Leopard etc runs to about 17-20 GB's so all is normal. If you are going to install Windows XP under Boot Camp or some such suggest running a free anti-virus such as AGV just for Windows.

11-02-2008, 06:36 PM

Thanks for all the help guys! In regards to the firewall, I noticed that in the security panel of Leopard, the OS already comes with a firewall. Will enabling the default firewall be sufficient? Once again, thanks for helping a mac newbie out!

11-04-2008, 07:58 PM

Funny enough Im in the seame position.

Being used to not trusting Microsofts built in firweall I have used (Windows based) Zonealarm or ESTNod security suite.

Is the built in Mac firweall enough or should we be looking at a different application?

Many thanks

From Windows Pro to Amateur Mac ;/

11-04-2008, 11:08 PM

The Leopard firewall is more than adequate. There isn't really a need for third party applications.

11-05-2008, 07:10 PM

Ok I understand your point.

My concern is how do I stop an application from accessing both inward and outbound traffick?


There only seems to be 2 options allow of stop inbound.

I may be missing something but being a novice user to both Mac and its op systems Im a little confused.

Appreciate any guidance, help or links that can put it in simple 'non technical' terminology.

Thanks and appreciated /

11-12-2008, 06:27 PM

Awesome thread I am in the same position and was about to ask the same questions....*very very very windows head on*...and its taking me a while to adjust to mac.

Can I also ask a question is because I've always used windows I'm used to using WMP (windows media player) for macs i know there is iTunes but is that the player you use to listen to your music? and most of my music is mp3 format if i was to import my mp3 music does it automatically convert to iTunes or do I need to manually do that?

11-13-2008, 10:52 AM

If you already have a hardware firewall (like a router) then there is really no need to turn on the OS firewall.