Best Anti-Virus Program for Mac?

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I keep reading conflicting opinions about the best Anti-Virus program for macs. Any opinions?

Also, if you use Mcaffee, where did you find the program for Mac? I tried searching their site and can find articles about it, but only see two options for anti-virus that are both highlighted with "PC" all over it.

Thanks!

Shawn
 
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Personally I use the open source ClamX. I only run a system scan every now and again but its sentry option keeps an eye on my download folder

I find that it is unobtrusive, doesn't tax my system and above all its free
 
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Why do you want to run an anti-virus program on your Mac? There are no viruses to be protected from!
 

bobtomay

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... OS X ... is a good one.
 
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Why do you want to run an anti-virus program on your Mac? There are no viruses to be protected from!

Priceless point to be made:

"Once again, while the amounts of threats to OS X are few-to-none, you should bare in mind a few things. There are a large number of Word and Excel viruses on the Office platform that affect both Windows and Mac users, thus, threatening Mac users. There’s also the unknowing threat of a virus outbreak occurring right out of the blue. Who’s to say that a virus won’t be unleashed overnight and affect millions of unsuspecting Macintosh systems that are all without anti-virus software? Okay, that’s not likely to happen, but it’s not impossible.

Now which do you want to be? The guy that says he won’t need antivirus software and then ends up needing it, or the one who can sit back and relax because he has antivirus software, and say later down the line when a virus does hit, “I told you so”? I know which I’d rather be. "

My MBP has been acting up and I have no idea why. I also share a TON of Microsoft based files for school and work, and depend highly on my Mac for most things. So, I think I would be an idiot not to use something just to be safe. Free - $40 a month for an anti-virus that gives piece of mind.... worth it.

That's just me though.

s.
 

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Any virus that hits the wild and will be able to run on your Mac will not be found, nor stopped, by any of the current anti-virus software.

All of the available anti-virus software, including the ones that run on Mac's only find Windows viruses, which will not run on your Mac to begin with.

Free - $40 a month, for something that will do no good at stopping any virus that hits your Mac, is either a waste of your system resources, a waste of your money or both. And peace of mind - think again.

Now, on the other hand, if you're concerned about stopping any Win based virus you may have collected on your machine and would like to prevent passing it on to your Windows based friends, that may be worth something.
 
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Mac'sBack, I appreciate the concern about viruses, however, none of the anti-virus packages for OS X protect against viruses. There are none. Your quote is interesting in that it mentions MS Office macro viruses, but they don't execute on a Mac.
It is theoretically possible for an infected PC to send a MS Office macro to a Mac and then the Mac user send it to another PC user, but that requires an unprotected PC sending the virus and an unprotected PC receiving the virus. Installing an anti-virus package does nothing except satisfy the requirements of a company's IT policies and eat processor cycles.
As louishen mentioned, ClamX is a good choice for that.
 
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Thanks for all of the quick replies.

I am not as overly concerned about a "Mac" virus, as I am about one that will affect or harm any of my MS files. I have and use an endless amount of word, powerpoint, and excel files that I can't have corrupted by a virus, should one get on my Mac. It is my understanding that while it is HIGHLY unlikely that a virus would get on the Mac and damage anything Mac-oriented, it could get on and corrupt all of my MS files - that is what I need to protect against. If Microsoft based files are the vulnerability, and what I use is primarially MS files, wouldn't this make sense? Or am I wrong in my understandings? (I am not trying to be a smart-***, just trying to understand).

s.
 
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Even if you got a macro infected file from a PC it can not spread on your Mac. They just don't execute. Your files remain safe.
Hey, after all this, welcome aboard!
 
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If Microsoft based files are the vulnerability, and what I use is primarially MS files, wouldn't this make sense? Or am I wrong in my understandings? (I am not trying to be a smart-***, just trying to understand).

s.
Windows is the vulnerability. Not MS Office files on a Mac. Read the sticky thread I linked to earlier. Even if you have Windows installed on your Mac, the Windows virus won't affect your Mac on iota. It may damage your Windows installation, but it won't do a thing to your Mac.
 
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This might be worth a read.

This Mac-site post is interesting:
The long answer is that the Word macro virus threat isn't that great; unless you use or get documents created in very old versions of MS Word or Excel for Windows or Macintosh, you can't be affected nor can you spread the macros. They can also infect templates; if you use old MS software that's usually how they spread.

The Excel viruses come in 3 flavours; all non-destructive (do not affect data). One changes the title bar in Windows from "Microsoft Excel" to "Microsofa Excel". Seems quaint in today's world of worms and trojans ;-). Another adds a benign workbook; the third will overwrite any macros you've created. Next July, it will be 10 years since the newest Excel macro virus was released.
Bolding mine.
 

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What DB said. Any of these macro viruses require Windows in order to execute.

If you're running the Mac version of MS Office, it will not be affected by these.

If you've installed Windows (either through BootCamp or a VM) and are using the Windows version of MS Office then you'll need the virus protection the same as any other Windows machine.
 
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Thanks for the replies.

Those references do help. Like was stated in one of them: "The [MS] Word [viruses] are a bit meaner; they can cause data loss in Word documents on Macs and Windows," That is what I am mainly worried about. I have read numerous times that they can get on through older versions of MS Office and target your files (I have no idea the versions that the people who send me docs use, or when the files originated) - which is why I am concerned. However, I went ahead and installed clamXav -even though I'm not too sure of its use. I have read that that only defines the infected file, it doesn't remove it.

None-the-less, I didn't start this thread to debate the superiority of Macs and their resistance to viruses (after all, I bought it with this reason in mind), but rather to find out what people who use AV software prefer.

Thanks for all that have replied and the info.

Shawn
 
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Those references do help. Like was stated in one of them: "The [MS] Word [viruses] are a bit meaner; they can cause data loss in Word documents on Macs and Windows," That is what I am mainly worried about. I have read numerous times that they can get on through older versions of MS Office and target your files (I have no idea the versions that the people who send me docs use, or when the files originated) - which is why I am concerned.
Well, the "older" versions of the apps they are talking about are indeed OLD. Like Mac MS Word version 4... circa 1992... as in that version of MS Office for Macs won't even run on a Mac made in the last 10 years so you really have nothing to worry about.
 
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On the topic of Mac viruses, what should we make of reports like this?

http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2006/02/macosxleap.html

I appreciate that the author of the article works for a security firm, and may therefore not be unbiased, but the article itself and the Mac Virus Timeline down the side of the page, suggests that there is an element of risk (albeit very small), and it's best not to be complacent about Mac security.

Perhaps the best defence is just to be well informed?
 
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On the topic of Mac viruses, what should we make of reports like this?

http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2006/02/macosxleap.html

I appreciate that the author of the article works for a security firm, and may therefore not be unbiased, but the article itself and the Mac Virus Timeline down the side of the page, suggests that there is an element of risk (albeit very small), and it's best not to be complacent about Mac security.

Perhaps the best defence is just to be well informed?
Sophos is a company that deals with security software. They want to sell that software.
Therefore, they will tout how great their products are at defending your system from it.
Protect your Macs with Sophos

Sophos protects all Macs, whether standalone, mixed network or Mac network. Try our products for yourself with a 30-day free trial.
...
Sophos customers have been automatically protected against the worm since 12:25 GMT, 16 February 2006.
...
Leap-A is not, was not and never will be a virus. It was also never "in the wild". It was a proof of concept malware.

http://www.macobserver.com/article/2006/02/16.3.shtml

So, they of course sensationalize things that really aren't that sensational. Every now and then a new Mac user digs up these types of articles, all of which are 2-3 years old. Nothing ever came from this "virus". There aren't any viruses for OS X and there hasn't been any in the 8 years since its original release.
Could it be possible? Sure it could. Is it likely that it will happen? Not really.
 
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Many new users ask about virus and firewall

Virus and extra firewall(most cases) totally uneeded and just a waste of time and resources
 

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