I'm paranoid that Mac viruses will get more common!!

Wish_4_A_Mac · Wish_4_A_Mac #1 (**permalink**)

05-07-2005, 11:23 AM

Hello there. I'm fairly new to the Mac world. I have lots of PC experience but made the switch back in November and, of course, not looked back. I am aware macs seem to escape viri but it seems that macs are becoming popular with the advent of the iPod and that people may start to write mac viri if they haven't already.

I have been reading threads about AV software and it seems that Virex is to be avoided at the moment and ClamAV and VirusBarrierX are the favoured ones. I have a lot of questions...

1. Has anyone installed ClamAV on a 1.5 ghz PowerBook or similar spec?, Did its CPU usage cause significant slowdown of the mac? I connect with other PC laptops at home via ethernet and we share broadband internet connections both ways. They have Norton for PC but don't always update definitions (silly I know). So any advice on how good the above AV programs are at finding PC viruses would also be great!

2. The consensus at the moment seems that Virex is unstable, uses a lot of CPU and not too effective. Is this still true? I take it Mcaffee will eventually release a better build now that Tiger is released. (I don't have Tiger yet though)

3. I got a 60-day trial period of .mac yesterday but cannot see anywhere where to get Virex. Am I just not looking in the right place? Maybe this is only available to full subscribers? Or have Apple froze the availabillity of Virex until the new "Tiger" Virex build is out? It sounds like Virex isn't much cop at the moment but I trust that if Mcaffee have the backing from Apple/.mac they will work together to produce a decent version.

4. I was also wondering if you could use any of these programs to scan the PC drives over my network for viruses that their PC's can't find?

If anyone could help me with any of these questions I would be grateful...

meltbanana314 · meltbanana314 #2 (**permalink**)

05-07-2005, 11:42 AM

First of all, it's 'viruses,' not 'virii.'

I don't expect to see *any* viruses until we hit like 10% marketshare of the personal computing market. Macs are just too small to be noticed.

Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're after you.

schweb · schweb #3 (**permalink**)

05-07-2005, 12:37 PM

Just to further clarify the plural of the word:
http://dictionary.reference.com/help...e/v/virus.html

mynameis · mynameis #4 (**permalink**)

05-07-2005, 12:49 PM

I am not worried, I still don't worry about PC viruses though.

iMe · iMe #5 (**permalink**)

05-07-2005, 12:55 PM

I wouldnt worry about virus right now. Maybe in 10 years when Macs dominate the world....lol. Just make sure you have a back-up program and you'll be straight. We have a virus back-up system for our pc, and it works like a charm......

jram · jram #6 (**permalink**)

05-07-2005, 01:03 PM

I have been using Norton for over a year now, never had a problem.. So far it has stopped 3 pc viruses. I was told by Norton they couldn't hurt the Mac, but could be spread to my windoze friends, also could go back and forth between windoze programs if I had any.. It doesn't work with Tiger yet, at least auto protect doesn't.. There isn't any known os x viruses yet, but there will be sooner than later.. Better to be safe than sorry..

Wish_4_A_Mac #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Oct 10, 2004 Location: Liverpool, UK Posts: 28 Mac Specs: 17" 1.5ghz PB,1gb RAM,64mb ATI,80gb HD+PowerMac G4 867mhz,640mb RAM,60gb HD+AirPort xpress+15gb Ipod	05-07-2005, 11:23 AM Hello there. I'm fairly new to the Mac world. I have lots of PC experience but made the switch back in November and, of course, not looked back. I am aware macs seem to escape viri but it seems that macs are becoming popular with the advent of the iPod and that people may start to write mac viri if they haven't already. I have been reading threads about AV software and it seems that Virex is to be avoided at the moment and ClamAV and VirusBarrierX are the favoured ones. I have a lot of questions... 1. Has anyone installed ClamAV on a 1.5 ghz PowerBook or similar spec?, Did its CPU usage cause significant slowdown of the mac? I connect with other PC laptops at home via ethernet and we share broadband internet connections both ways. They have Norton for PC but don't always update definitions (silly I know). So any advice on how good the above AV programs are at finding PC viruses would also be great! 2. The consensus at the moment seems that Virex is unstable, uses a lot of CPU and not too effective. Is this still true? I take it Mcaffee will eventually release a better build now that Tiger is released. (I don't have Tiger yet though) 3. I got a 60-day trial period of .mac yesterday but cannot see anywhere where to get Virex. Am I just not looking in the right place? Maybe this is only available to full subscribers? Or have Apple froze the availabillity of Virex until the new "Tiger" Virex build is out? It sounds like Virex isn't much cop at the moment but I trust that if Mcaffee have the backing from Apple/.mac they will work together to produce a decent version. 4. I was also wondering if you could use any of these programs to scan the PC drives over my network for viruses that their PC's can't find? If anyone could help me with any of these questions I would be grateful... Apple: Why compromise? :mac:
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I'm paranoid that Mac viruses will get more common!!

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meltbanana314 #2 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	05-07-2005, 11:42 AM First of all, it's 'viruses,' not 'virii.' I don't expect to see any viruses until we hit like 10% marketshare of the personal computing market. Macs are just too small to be noticed. Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're after you.
	QUOTE Thanks

mynameis #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Sep 30, 2004 Posts: 3,378	05-07-2005, 12:49 PM I am not worried, I still don't worry about PC viruses though.
	QUOTE Thanks

iMe #5 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	05-07-2005, 12:55 PM I wouldnt worry about virus right now. Maybe in 10 years when Macs dominate the world....lol. Just make sure you have a back-up program and you'll be straight. We have a virus back-up system for our pc, and it works like a charm......
	QUOTE Thanks

jram #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Apr 08, 2005 Posts: 469	05-07-2005, 01:03 PM I have been using Norton for over a year now, never had a problem.. So far it has stopped 3 pc viruses. I was told by Norton they couldn't hurt the Mac, but could be spread to my windoze friends, also could go back and forth between windoze programs if I had any.. It doesn't work with Tiger yet, at least auto protect doesn't.. There isn't any known os x viruses yet, but there will be sooner than later.. Better to be safe than sorry..
	QUOTE Thanks

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