The Official Mac AntiVirus and Firewall FAQ

[god0fgod]

How does an anti-virus work if there are no viruses? Makes no sense to me.

 

[cwa107]

How does an anti-virus work if there are no viruses? Makes no sense to me.

As I've said many times in this thread, AV software is useless if it doesn't have appropriate DATs. Typically what you're paying for with AV software is the constant work needed to maintain the DATs. Since there are zero viruses, and just a couple of trojans, there's nothing to update. So, for the most part, these products scan for Windows viruses (which OS X is impervious to) - and that's what you're paying them for.

And I agree, Intego's $80/yr is absolutely absurd. That fact that they can con people into paying that for a nearly non-existent threat shows that what PT Barnum said is true... "there's a sucker born every minute".

 

[god0fgod]

The answer to the question "Do I need anti-virus for my Mac?" is therefore "Only if you have Windows on the same machine and wish to clean that from viruses.", according to you.

But then what is this?

"Protects your Mac from all known Mac viruses and malware"

http://www.intego.com/virusbarrier/

It suggests that there are viruses for OS X and that it can protect your from them. Doesn't Apple patch any known virus or malware threats anyway?

 

[Robinthehood]

I've tried it and I think it's crap. $80 a year is just way too much for any AV software. The UI is kinda cheesy too. That NetUpdater is really fracking annoying too...

Well Intego may be listening about the price , cause I just recently renewed for 2 yrs. @ $45.00 US total. d
-- and again...it's all 'jic' I hit the yes response to something I shouldn't have...- it found 1 trojan initially, erased it all, and is there if I go down the wrong path again.:Blushing:
Cheers

 

[Kola]

Hi, can I just ask if the initial pros and cons are still current some 4 years later in 2009?

Or have loads or viruses been made for the mac in that time?

 

[cwa107]

Hi, can I just ask if the initial pros and cons are still current some 4 years later in 2009?

Or have loads or viruses been made for the mac in that time?

There are no and have never been any true viruses for Mac OS X.

There are a couple of Trojans, but they can be easily avoided simply by not downloading pirated software and/or downloading video "plug-ins" from untrusted sources (like porn sites). And that's pretty much the gist of it. If you want more specific information, it would be worth your while to read through the FAQ.

 

[Kola]

Thanks. Ok I have read the first 8 pages and get the gist. Personally I wont be using AV on my new mac. As a switchers this pleases me greatly!

My input on Norton PC AV trial that seems to come on most new PCs. Every half and hour or so if flashes up saying, your PC has been attacked blah blah. I remember turning this off all together and not using AV on my PC for a whole week. What happened, did the world end? no, Did my PC go into meltdown, uh uh, Well did my PC do anything wierd at all. Nope!! Not bad considering it was previously under attack and having to be saved by super dooper Norton trial.

OK, lets suit back and think, who is telling me my PC was constantly under attack? Norton.
Who benefits if I upgrade the free months trial to a years subscription. Norton
Are we seeing the picture here. I honestly think two things about the PC vs Mac/Linux where viruses come into play.
1 - There are far more virus's on the PC platform
2 - There are no where near as many viruses on the PC platform as th AV manufactures would have you believe.

It would seem the only people to gain from scare mongering on the mac is the AV companies. IMO it would not surprise to learn AV companies indirectly pay people t come up with Trojans and viruses on the mac to make billions of pounds worth of sales. Just food for though......

 

[investinchad]

My though's exactly. This is one of the reasons why I switched last week.

 

[carlyse_09]

As of my personal choice,yes,i would like to have both.Anti virus and firewall makes me feel more secure for my computer.As they say prevention is better than cure.Better have a shield than to make action after invasion.

 

[Ashaw201]

I've had my Mac for almost a year and never felt a need to have an anti-virus on my Mac but lately my Mac has been running slow and I'm wondering if this is due to being infected by something. I download music but I have never had a problem before now. Is an anti-virus a solution to my problem or is there something else I should try first?

 

[Kooler]

Thanks for that. A few questions

I noticed that my MBP firewall is not turned off. I think it must have come from the factory like that. With the Firewall and the MBP is it really a good thing to have on? I have read several articles on this and both said no but I will not get into why they said no. You probably have already looked at both sides.

In the past with a Windowez machine when I turned on a Firewall that came part of Microsoft's "help" in protecting one's machine. I noticed a decrease in power and I never knew why. I also was constantly being blocked or blocking sites or people that I did not want blocked. I realize it take a while to get it up to speed but will this happen with the firewall in the MBP?

Right off, it sounds like something should do. If it has no downside, just protection, than why not. If you are aware of any downsides, small or large, minor or major, could you list some? I was thinking about that because I am using a friend's wifi connection and supposedly he only allows 5 users on at once, but the users are in an apartment complex and I have no idea who they are. I was hoping the MBP had some kind of protection for people using a wifi set-up by a neighbor in an apartment complex which has not the best tenants.

I am already concerned how safe my personal stuff in the MBP is, but I still use it. it is all I have now, except for an Airport extreme Extreme and about 5 new Motorola modems that I kept getting every time I signed up for Comcast. They had a rebate going on where you would get the $125 back in a check so I needed the check more.

Since I am going to only be here for 5 months it is hard to find a service that will take me if I can only sign up for 5 months.

I am open for suggestions regarding the Mac Firewall. It would seem everybody should have them on so there must be some reason I do not know about, but I would like to know about so I can throw it in the mix and make a decision.

In other words I need more help in using or not using the Mac Firewall.

 

[cwa107]

I've had my Mac for almost a year and never felt a need to have an anti-virus on my Mac but lately my Mac has been running slow and I'm wondering if this is due to being infected by something. I download music but I have never had a problem before now. Is an anti-virus a solution to my problem or is there something else I should try first?

It probably just needs some routine maintenance run on it. Give Onyx a try (run all of the maintenance tasks).

 

[cwa107]

I noticed that my MBP firewall is not turned off. I think it must have come from the factory like that. With the Firewall and the MBP is it really a good thing to have on? I have read several articles on this and both said no but I will not get into why they said no. You probably have already looked at both sides.

Yes, there are few circumstance under which you would want it turned off. If you ever use it on public networks, it's an absolute must.

In the past with a Windowez machine when I turned on a Firewall that came part of Microsoft's "help" in protecting one's machine. I noticed a decrease in power and I never knew why. I also was constantly being blocked or blocking sites or people that I did not want blocked. I realize it take a while to get it up to speed but will this happen with the firewall in the MBP?

Not sure what firewall you were using on Windows, but the built-in one will not block most out-going connections. Nor should it slow down your machine.

Now, if you were running something like McAfee or Symantec/Norton, that's a whole 'nother story.

Right off, it sounds like something should do. If it has no downside, just protection, than why not. If you are aware of any downsides, small or large, minor or major, could you list some? I was thinking about that because I am using a friend's wifi connection and supposedly he only allows 5 users on at once, but the users are in an apartment complex and I have no idea who they are. I was hoping the MBP had some kind of protection for people using a wifi set-up by a neighbor in an apartment complex which has not the best tenants.

In that case, you absolutely should have it turned on.

I am already concerned how safe my personal stuff in the MBP is, but I still use it. it is all I have now, except for an Airport extreme Extreme and about 5 new Motorola modems that I kept getting every time I signed up for Comcast. They had a rebate going on where you would get the $125 back in a check so I needed the check more.

Since I am going to only be here for 5 months it is hard to find a service that will take me if I can only sign up for 5 months.

I am open for suggestions regarding the Mac Firewall. It would seem everybody should have them on so there must be some reason I do not know about, but I would like to know about so I can throw it in the mix and make a decision.

In other words I need more help in using or not using the Mac Firewall.

Just turn it on, and put it in Stealth mode. You won't even know it's there on default settings.

 

[Kola]

I have a firewall built into m router and so never use the firewall on my XP PC so certainly wont be using it on my mac.

Mind im certainly no computer expert. I just always found software firewalls another pointless money making exercise made by sales people who tell you you neeeeeed one. You do need one, but as said I already have one in my router like 99% of routers do.

 

[Alenkiy]

what if I don't have "firewall" in my Sharing? I cannot find it! Is firewall is activated by default? I can't figure out how to check it...

 

[hookbill]

This is a statement, not a question. I'm currently running VMware and I have McAfee running as my virus protection on Vista. Still I think I would like to have virus protection for Mac....just in case.

I believe the solution for this, and please excuse me if this has been talked about, I didn't read the entire thread, is VirusBarrier X5. This virus protection is highly rated and protects both Macs and Windows.

I'm not going to purchase it until April of next year however when my McAfee subscription is up. But after doing a lot of research that's what I'm going to go with.

 

[cwa107]

This is a statement, not a question. I'm currently running VMware and I have McAfee running as my virus protection on Vista. Still I think I would like to have virus protection for Mac....just in case.

I believe the solution for this, and please excuse me if this has been talked about, I didn't read the entire thread, is VirusBarrier X5. This virus protection is highly rated and protects both Macs and Windows.

I'm not going to purchase it until April of next year however when my McAfee subscription is up. But after doing a lot of research that's what I'm going to go with.

That's a whole lot of money, for a whole lot of nothing. You could just leave it be and download a freeware AV for your Windows VM (I suggest Avira AntiVir, which was actually higher rated than most of the other AV suites, including McAfee).

 

[DanFlan]

Has there been any change in the world of Macintosh Viruses or Spyware? As far as I know there are no known viruses that effect OSX but I am most likely wrong. Anything a new Mac user should watch out for? If so, what should I do to protect my system?

 

[cwa107]

Has there been any change in the world of Macintosh Viruses or Spyware? As far as I know there are no known viruses that effect OSX but I am most likely wrong. Anything a new Mac user should watch out for? If so, what should I do to protect my system?

Viruses, no. There are a couple of Trojans, but as long as you refrain from downloading any pirated software or video player plug-ins from less than savory websites, you should be fine.

 

[basic.works]

The following is an article posted in "ZDNet Tech Update Today"


GENEVA — In a sign that cyber-criminals are investing more time and resources into attacks against Apple’s Mac users, a new malware affiliate program has been discovered offering 43c for every infected Mac machine. During an eye-opening presentation at the VB Conference 2009 conference here, Sophos Labs researcher Dmitry Samosseikko provided a glimpse into the “Partnerka,” a Russian network of spam and malware affiliates that have turned their attention to the Mac platform — using social engineering tricks to load fake codecs and scareware programs.

Samosseiko discussed the “codec-partnerka,” which is dedicated solely to the sale and promotion of fake Mac software.
[ SEE: Mac Attack: Porn video lures dropping DNS-changer Trojan ]
He pointed to a site called Mac-codec.com (now offline) which was offering $0.43 for each malicious install, a price tag that suggests the Mac platform is becoming more and more lucrative to online crime gangs.
The site was also offering various promotional materials in the form of MacOS video players, a sign that the investment is just more than tricking users into paying for fake security software.
In the past, we have seen the use of porn video lures to trick Mac users into downloadiing and installing DNS changer Trojans.
The DNS changer Trojans typically change the Mac’s DNS server (the server that is used to look up the correspondences between domain names and IP addresses for web sites and other Internet services). When this new, malicious, DNS server is active, it hijacks some web requests, leading users to phishing web sites (for sites such as Ebay, PayPal and some banks), or simply to web pages displaying ads for other pornographic web sites.