Any good virus protection for iMac?

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And for that very reason I'm surprised that we have not seen one yet. Imagine the satisfaction, recognition, ego boost, fame, thrill, (or whatever it is that motivates these people) someone would get by being the first to do this.
I would think there would be countless misfits out there trying hard to accomplish this.

Key word trying so far has not happened if so link please and a lot of mags missed a great cover story.
 

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This is true....However, the same way that the virus for OSX was going around the last time, and didn't need our root password to be installed, it took Apple too long to put out an update to protect OSX. I am betting that Sophos will discover it early enough, update my definitions, and I'll be protected.

Can I ask for a URL to this True virus for OSX?
 

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bobtomay

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Didn't know ya'll had those up in yankee land also?
 

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Didn't know ya'll had those up in yankee land also?


Hey - I'm from Virginia - may be geographically north (to you) but culturally ...definitely south :Angry-Tongue:
 
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Can I ask for a URL to this True virus for OSX?
Sorry, it was months back and I do not have a link. You can Google it though :) You must remember when there were one or two viruses out there for OSX about 4 or so months ago, one that supposedly did not need you to enter your root password to install. It was posted on many places on the web. Apple sent a SU to protect OSX against it, however, it was pretty far after the fact.

Ahhhh.....I just saw the "snipe hunt" link. The viruses I am talking about were talked about on most mainstream security forums. I do believe that they were true threats. Enough for Apple to update OSX to protect against them.
 

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Just having some fun with that link :) I think the point is - the 'viruses' you're referring to were not viruses at all - but 'malware'. Basically - slick front ends that you're exposed to if you happen across it on the web - designed to fool you into entering personal data - most notably, your credit card info. There really aren't any Mac OS viruses out there propagating right now - not to say that there can't ever be - but right now...none.

By all means - please cite your sources that say otherwise, because believe me, noone wants to know about a real Mac virus more than Mac users-and especially us nerdy ones. ;)
 
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Sorry, it was months back and I do not have a link. You can Google it though :) You must remember when there were one or two viruses out there for OSX about 4 or so months ago, one that supposedly did not need you to enter your root password to install. It was posted on many places on the web. Apple sent a SU to protect OSX against it, however, it was pretty far after the fact.

Ahhhh.....I just saw the "snipe hunt" link. The viruses I am talking about were talked about on most mainstream security forums. I do believe that they were true threats. Enough for Apple to update OSX to protect against them.

Googled it which turned up nothing if you find the link that has an actual
virus I bet the long term members here would very much like to have it myself included so in the meantime I say they don't currently exist.
 
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Sorry, it was months back and I do not have a link. You can Google it though :) You must remember when there were one or two viruses out there for OSX about 4 or so months ago, one that supposedly did not need you to enter your root password to install. It was posted on many places on the web. Apple sent a SU to protect OSX against it, however, it was pretty far after the fact.

Ahhhh.....I just saw the "snipe hunt" link. The viruses I am talking about were talked about on most mainstream security forums. I do believe that they were true threats. Enough for Apple to update OSX to protect against them.

As Brian has already stated, that was NOT a virus. While technically speaking, there are variants of viruses out there in general (trojan can be one), that was simply a pop up in the form of adware/malware. The term malware is broad in scope and in this case represented "adware". Those using Safari who had the "open safe downloads" box checked, were easiest to get to, while those of us using other browsers had to physically look in the downloads folder and then physically click on the download, then give admin privileges in order to run the more or less benign code.

They also had a variant that would download if you clicked on a particular image in Google's image database. But essentially, it was just a very rudimentary attempt to try and get credit card info from naive switchers.

But a self propagating, typical kind of virus it was NOT. Not by a long shot. I think it's important to understand the different types of "viruses" out there, and how they are spread and how they behave. Because once one understands those things, the easier it would be to understand why your average AV software is unnecessary for OS X.

I only ever ran AVG for Windows, and was just fine with that. I did of course run spybot, and other malware checkers, but that's because those sorts of things are a different animal. Surf safely, don't download from unknown sources, don't visit questionable sites and don't click on everything that says click me! Having a good firewall/router is more than enough after all of that. This is years of experience talking here, nothing more.

Doug
 
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Just having some fun with that link :) I think the point is - the 'viruses' you're referring to were not viruses at all - but 'malware'. Basically - slick front ends that you're exposed to if you happen across it on the web - designed to fool you into entering personal data - most notably, your credit card info. There really aren't any Mac OS viruses out there propagating right now - not to say that there can't ever be - but right now...none.

By all means - please cite your sources that say otherwise, because believe me, noone wants to know about a real Mac virus more than Mac users-and especially us nerdy ones. ;)
Here is a newly discovered Malware that is pretty Nasty. I would believe that Sophos, if installed, would take care of this, even though it is not a true virus. :)

Variation on Mac trojan disables built-in OS X malware protections

And no offense taken with that link....I have a very warped, but good sense of humor. :)
 

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I saw it this morning on CNET - doesn't really seem nasty to me considering how easy it is to avoid and remove. But - they're trying - noone's arguing that point.
 
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I wouldn't be surprised if all the hackers/virus programmers turned out to be employees of Apple in actual. LOL :)
 

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I wouldn't be surprised if all the hackers/virus programmers turned out to be employees of Apple in actual. LOL :)

I have it in good authority that it's really Steve Balmer writing all the OSX attacks! :D Grin

Only issue with that is I doubt Balmer can code to save his life unlike Gates.
 
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I saw it this morning on CNET - doesn't really seem nasty to me considering how easy it is to avoid and remove. But - they're trying - noone's arguing that point.
I agree that you can get rid of it.....And people who know what they are doing can avoid it. However, I just call anything bad put on your machine a "Nasty."

Sometimes I do use the words "Virus" and "Malware" interchangeably. I know there is a difference. But Sophos will update their definitions to cover known Malware. So, I see no harm in having it running while I'm surfing the web to protect me. :)
 

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I agree that you can get rid of it.....And people who know what they are doing can avoid it. However, I just call anything bad put on your machine a "Nasty."

Sometimes I do use the words "Virus" and "Malware" interchangeably. I know there is a difference. But Sophos will update their definitions to cover known Malware. So, I see no harm in having it running while I'm surfing the web to protect me. :)

Noone's arguing your right to run whatever AV you desire - by all means run several - the economy needs your money. We were only taking issue with the initial position you posted.

I was told by a Certified Mac Technician that there are viruses for OS X, and that you should run Sophos Free Edition. He is a very smart engineer, and he told me that Sophos was the best one.

No question people will continue to attempt to create increasingly nasty Malware for Mac OS, but thus far, Mac users are inherently protected by the structure of the OS and the core it's built on. That's been one of the great joys for me of switching - no AV - and hopefully it stays that way. :)
 
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Some of the slowdown problems that a few of my friends had was directly related to
downloading some AV for their Mac and after calling me to come look at it I promptly
uninstalled it and miraculously things returned to normal. I would explain to them a
good firewall and common sense with entering your password is currently all you need. If something needs an upgrade go to the source such as Adobe's website and check the url to make sure its not high jacked if the url looks suspicious it is.
 
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Interesting thread...

In my case I sometime transfer and/or back up files between a Mac and a PC. Some in my work network I share files with etc. I would like to clean my Mac for threats that might not be a threat to me but might be a threat to my business associates (since some of them are using PC). Obviously it would be very embarrassing if I was the reason their computer got infected. Recently it was an event in a different company where one connected to a internal network and spread a virus or malware (not sure which) and it was a big mess. Don't know if he used a Mac or a PC, but I don't want to be that guy...

SO...is there a AV software that can functions properly on my Mac looking for unwanted malware/virus++ hazardous to both Mac and PC so that I can with a clear conscience connect to their (or any other) PC's and network?
 

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Just consider for a second - if the anti-virus software your Windows users have couldn't detect it (likely because it was something new and there were no definitions for it yet), what makes anyone think an AV software on your Mac would catch it?

However, in a business setting, some folks are just not going to get that. I would probably bypass the free stuff out there and pony up for the pay version of either BitDefender (the current PC Mag editor's choice) or Eset.

See post #36 above.

For a free one, grab ClamXav - it's in the App Store.
 
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Just consider for a second - if the anti-virus software your Windows users have couldn't detect it (likely because it was something new and there were no definitions for it yet), what makes anyone think an AV software on your Mac would catch it?

However, in a business setting, some folks are just not going to get that. I would probably bypass the free stuff out there and pony up for the pay version of either BitDefender (the current PC Mag editor's choice) or Eset.

See post #36 above.

For a free one, grab ClamXav - it's in the App Store.

I don't think it's about "getting" it since I am sure a PC virus can find a way to hibernate in a Mac and spread from a Mac to a PC network if connected directly to its network and servers.

From the BitDefender site:

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac proactively protects Macs against the new breed of Mac viruses. Plus, it destroys Windows viruses (which don't affect Macs) so that you don't accidentally pass them on to your family, friends and colleagues using PCs.

----

My point exactly! ;)

Thanks for the tip about AV software. I'm going for BitDefender.
 

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I don't think it's about "getting" it since I am sure a PC virus can find a way to hibernate in a Mac and spread from a Mac to a PC network if connected directly to its network and servers.

You need to have executable code in order to do something like that - and if we're talking about a piece of Windows malware, then I don't see how that could happen. Malware is not magic, but it is greatly misunderstood - as is evidenced by your post (and quite a few others in this thread).

It's unfortunate, but the security companies have done a superb job of creating and spreading FUD in order to 'keep the sheep in the pen', so to speak. But if you understand even a modicum about how malware works and the realities of the inherent protection built into OS X, anti-virus software is largely ineffective and redundant.

Running anti-virus software for the sole purpose of protecting your Windows using co-workers is like buying car insurance for every driver you share a particular stretch of highway with.
 

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