used mac security concerns

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Hi all, thanks for the forum.

I just acquired a macbook from my brother, who's browsing habits are not very secure. I am going to use it for online banking and poker. If it were a PC I would definitely format it because I know he sometimes picks up trojans and stuff. I've heard those things aren't much of a concern with macs.

Should I wipe the machine and reinstall OSX before using it for sensitive tasks? Or is there an online virus checker I can use which can convince me that it's safe?

Thanks for the help!
junkanoo
 
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well you dont need to worry about that because there are 0 viruses for mac
 
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Your Mac's Specs
15" Macbook Pro, 2.16GHZ C2D,120 GB HDD 3GB Ram
formatting it may not be a bad idea. aslong as you backup what you want first.
formatting would get rid of everything so you only have what you want on it and not crap from your brother. old programs that he didnt quite get rid of etc.

and you can register OSX to you etc.

i suggest formatting it. but its up to you. it doesnt really make a difference

as far as i know there arnt any online checkers for mac as there are 0 viruses
 
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theres really no point.
 
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J
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Cool, thanks for the help everyone; it's good to know there are no viruses. What about key loggers? Is it possible there is a key logger which records my banking information and sends it afar?
 
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I just acquired a macbook from my brother, ... I know he sometimes picks up trojans and stuff.
I'm unaware of any wild trojans for OS X, so that is an extremely doubtful statement.

Anyway, doing a clean install on what is a new machine to you is a good idea. If nothing else, you then know there isn't extra crap that could affect the system, or something missing. And if the general knowledge of malware is flawed, then a clean format and install would clean it out.
 
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J
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I'm unaware of any wild trojans for OS X, so that is an extremely doubtful statement.

He picks up trojans and stuff on PC's; I see now how my phrasing was misleading.

You all have been extremely helpful, thank you very much. It is reassuring to know that macs are very much safe in this way. I will use it for the time being as is, and possibly reinstall later if I run into problems.
 
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I would just do a fresh start, if you're going to be using it from now on. You'll get to customize it to your needs, such as what programs to run, etc.

Also, there can be keyloggers, but I doubt he'd install it.
 
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i dont have no mac's
the only reason i would reformat is for the "new mac feel".

and so that it is completely yours and stuff like that
-chris
 
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If you are suspicious of your brothers habits, just create a new user and start fresh. This way, even if your brother has managed to infect with something bad, you are in the safe side.

Netbarrier X4 from Intego is a pretty good applications against trojans and the likes if you are concerned.
 
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todd51

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If it were me I would just do a clean install, I always like to start from fresh. Heck, back in my PC days I had been known to reformat and reinstall Windows just if I were bored. Of course I never had that much data and it was easy to back it up. This was before I even listened to music on the computer. I just used it for Internet surfing and chatting. Ahh..brings back memories of my very first desktop computer I was allowed to have in my room. Took a bit of convincing from the parents to let me have the Internet though. The computer was supposed to be for typing school reports, so I used the excuse "I need the Internet for research!"
 

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