internet security

I am about to purchase my first imac (always used pc and windows)on my windows pc I always had upto date internet security installed,I have heard lots of tales saying this sort of software is not required on Macs,is this correct if not any advice on the software best suited to Macs.
regards ray

Are there any viruses in the wild currently for Mac? None to speak of. Will this always be the case? Probably not. Basic av software is probably a good idea just to be a good net citizen, and not to accidentally pass along a virus infected file to a Windows user. You can enable the built in firewall to protect against incoming threats. Otherwise, for most folks, the Mac is a fairly secure system right out of the box.

Welcome to Mac-Forums benrymnd

Start with a read of this sticky in the Switcher Hangout:

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/sw...-official-antivirus-malware-firewall-faq.html

HTH
- Simon

Steer well and trul\y clear of AV software. You are not using a PC. There are no Mac OS X viruses and in the decade OS X has been released, none have emerged despite doomsayers telling us it will happen.

EvenStranger said:

Basic av software is probably a good idea just to be a good net citizen, and not to accidentally pass along a virus infected file to a Windows user.

Click to expand...

I don't mean to start an argument, but I strongly believe that the concept of Macintoshes spreading viruses to Windows users (the Typhoid Mary argument) is more or less a myth propagated by Windows bigots. With just the slightest amount of care, there is just about no chance that Macs will be spreading any viruses to Windows PC, and no AV software is necessary to avoid this.

[beginning of rant]

Windows viruses usually show up in one of two ways on a Macintosh. First, they can show up as an e-mail attachment to a message sent out by a Windows virus on a Windows computer. In this case, the attachment won't run on your Macintosh and it will open (if at all) as just a mess of code in a text editor or word processing program. It can't do any harm to your Mac. Since a Windows virus can't run on a Mac, it cannot re-e-mail itself out from a Macintosh (i.e. it cannot be self-propagating once it is on your Mac). Such a virus will be easy to spot and just trash. There is little to no chance of spreading such a virus to a Windows-using colleague.

The second common way to get a Windows virus on your Mac is to receive a Word or Excel macro virus as part of a Word or Excel document that someone sends you. You should have "Macro Virus Protection" turned on in the preferences of both of those applications, which will keep any unidentified macros from running. Documents with unidentified macros should never be sent to others.
What is Microsoft Word's macro virus protection tool, and how do I activate it? - Knowledge Base

So, if a Mac user exercises the slightest amount of care, the likelihood of a Mac user accidently infecting a Windows-using colleague with a virus is ridiculously low. No virus detection software is required to protect Windows-using colleagues.

Not only that, but, in general, Macintosh anti-virus software isn't designed to identify *all* Windows viruses. Even the best Macintosh anti-virus programs only identify the most common Windows viruses.

In any case, any Windows user who isn't running good, meticulously updated anti-virus software to protect _themselves_, frankly, has only themselves to blame if they become infected. There are literally hundreds of thousands of Windows viruses!
Welcome to the New McAfee Global Threat Intelligence Website
Windows users shouldn't have to rely on Mac-using colleagues to use AV software to protect them from the miniscule possibility of receiving a Windows virus from a Mac user. Windows viruses are a huge problem for Windows-users and Windows-users should take responsibility to protect themselves.

[end of rant]

___________________________________________

Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
OS X Maintenance And Troubleshooting
___________________________________________

Agree Randy. Just another way of marketing a product that is not needed.

Thanks every one for your replies and especialy for the link,read all posts on the link and am more at ease with every thing now.
The mac I am intending to purchase is as follows,
IMAC 21.5" screen. 3.06 GHz i3 processor with 4mb level 3 cache supports hyper threading,4gb 1333MHz DDR3 SDRam,500gb hd,blue tooth,ATI Radeon hd4670 256mb GDDR3 memory.
Intend getting final cut express 4.0, but will have to see if this mac is powerful enough to run it before I buy it.
Regards Ray

Yes it will run just fine on your iMac.

Be sure to come back regularly eh?