so no need for antivirus for mac?

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Hi

I know this question has been asked already but the answers i'm seeing are not absolute, there are mixed answers.

so what is the definitive answer?

Is it true because mac doesn't have registry hence no need for anti-virus/wares as it means it will never get infected? Or is this an urban myth?

Surely it can get infected via other means? (USB maybe? or simply through browsing ad/spy/mal-war- able websites? (e.g. torrents/porns/gambling etc..)

thanks in advance
 
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If you stay away from pirated software your safe, there are no known viruses to infect the OS X, there are a handful of Trojans but the user has to install the Trojan by supplying their password. An example would be if you downloaded a song that had a Trojan installed it would ask for a password, you would know something is up because songs don't ask for passwords. Anything that can change the OS asks for your password, just use common sense.
 
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first, sorry for the wrong forum, totally did not know there is a specialised antivirus forum for macs.

secondly, thanks for your reponse. I think i understand you but my only concern is what happens if i donwloaded a rar file of a music album that requires passwords to extract? does that count as trojans?
 

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You shouldn't be downloading music anyway unless it is from an authorized and legitimate source. If it is from a legitimate source, you have nothing to worry about.
 
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very true indeed.

To be honest, in reality most people do it, no matter how much effort we try to clamp down on pirate downloading, the trend is that more & more people going to download from unauthorised source

and there's nothing people can do about it
 

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and there's nothing people can do about it
They could stop?

Honestly, if you're this worried about getting a virus or trojan from downloading content from unauthorized sources, then don't do it. The best way to protect yourself is to prevent partaking in activities that will open you up to threats.
 
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chas_m

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secondly, thanks for your reponse. I think i understand you but my only concern is what happens if i donwloaded a rar file of a music album that requires passwords to extract? does that count as trojans?

No, because they are not asking for YOUR password (as in admin password), they are asking for A password (that they created).

But I echo the sentiments above. Don't steal music -- not when its so cheap on iTunes particularly!
 
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chas_m

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PS. You wanted a definitive answer to your original question, so here it is:

NO. There are NO viruses for the Mac. That's definitive, factual and documented.

It is extremely unlikely there will ever be a real virus for the Mac, because viruses by definition have to be able to do things to the system WITHOUT user permission, and that's pretty much impossible on a Mac.

We'll probably see continued examples of "trickware malware" and Trojan Horses, since that's all the poor PC script kiddies can figure out to do, but actual virus threats? Nah.
 
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To the common user, virus = malware, regardless of type. The average computer user is not going to distinguish between a virus, a trojan, or probably even spyware.

They just refer to them as viruses.

I mean we can play the symantics game all we want by picking apart what a user posts regarding malware and the Mac, but I think we all know what the intent of their question is.
 
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If you searched and saw there were mixed answers before, what leads you to believe there will be a definitive answer now, just because you would like one?
 
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Ahh well Jim Boy ~ Pirates be Pirates and they run the risk!!
 
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To the common user, virus = malware, regardless of type.

Or, perhaps malware = virus

"mathematically" the same, but linguistically different
 
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Or, perhaps malware = virus

"mathematically" the same, but linguistically different

Thank you for proving my point about being overly concerned with semantics. :p
 

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It is extremely unlikely there will ever be a real virus for the Mac, because viruses by definition have to be able to do things to the system WITHOUT user permission, and that's pretty much impossible on a Mac.
Anything is possible especially when it comes to computer software. I'm sure a virus will be written at some point that can circumvent user privilege restrictions. If people can devise the operating system, they can devise a way around it.
 
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To answer the OP's question--No, you do not need antivirus, and here's the reason why. All of the current antivirus software out there scans for Windows viruses only. There is no antivirus software out there that scans for OS X viruses (because there aren't any).

If you install antivirus software, you will simply be scanning for viruses that your OS is immune to. That's like putting sunscreen on immediately before going to bed each night.
 
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chas_m

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To the common user, virus = malware, regardless of type. The average computer user is not going to distinguish between a virus, a trojan, or probably even spyware.

They just refer to them as viruses.

Then its up to people like you and me to educate them. That's like saying people will just refer to any vehicle with four wheels as a car and we should just let them.

Sorry, but that's not why I help people with Mac problems -- so that I can help them get dumber. I want them to learn the right terminology for a variety of reasons, not least of which is because it really helps when they come to a text-based forum looking for help and can articulate more accurately what's going on.

I mean we can play the symantics game all we want

It's "semantics," and I think my case is made. :)
 
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Then its up to people like you and me to educate them. That's like saying people will just refer to any vehicle with four wheels as a car and we should just let them.

But educating them by being a semantics nazi and not addressing their question when you know what they're really asking is not productive.

Sorry, but that's not why I help people with Mac problems -- so that I can help them get dumber.

You don't seem to be very nice with anyone who disagrees or you feel is "dumber" than you, that's not the attitude of someone who claims to want to help people :p


It's "semantics," and I think my case is made. :)

Actually it wasn't. :)
 
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To answer the OP's question--No, you do not need antivirus, and here's the reason why. All of the current antivirus software out there scans for Windows viruses only. There is no antivirus software out there that scans for OS X viruses (because there aren't any).

If you install antivirus software, you will simply be scanning for viruses that your OS is immune to. That's like putting sunscreen on immediately before going to bed each night.

If you work in a mixed environment frequently and share files with Windows computers then it still may be worth running one to stop from sending an infected file that you received from someone else. That is exactly why I run one.

But if you rarely share files with a Windows machine, I would agree with you.
 
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Thanks guys. The reason i asked because i don't know and as i said i keep getting mixed answers before. I was hoping maybe an apple expert may come out with a definitive answer by stating it..

Also, i'm used to using windows before hence not so good with Mac OSX.

Thank you for all replies. At the end of the day i'm sure some of us learnt something valuable :D
 

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