Virus and Firewall

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I have a new iMac G5 and I've just switched over from Windows. I have enable the Mac Firewall - is it any good or is it like the Windows one?

Also, do I need Virus software or not?

Thanks in advance,

J
 
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The firewall in Mac OS X is an outstanding firewall and much better than the one in Windows.

As for virus protection, I'm sure you'll have many on here saying don't bother since there are no Mac OS X viruses at the moment. I however see nothing wrong with using it and I personally run Norton AV for Mac on my Macs. The reason is simple and has two parts.

One: If you are on a network with Windows machines or plan to share data with Windows machines you can get files that have viruses on them. While they won't infect your Mac, you can be a good steward of the network by making sure you at least don't pass it on to another person with Windows.

Two: While there are no viruses or exploits for Mac OS X yet, I emphasize yet, I'm sure it's inevitable. I'd rather take preemptive action to prevent an infection.
 
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Biturbo V12 AMG

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I agree with the statement that you should use aintvirus if you network with PC's but personally i never used antivirus on any of my PC's almost all the programs suck and just slow your computer down for both pc and mac. For the antivirus software to work it has to know what its looking for and by the time the updates are out the virus has already hit many people(that might include you). just play it safe and dont download off site you dont know. the only time i ever got a virus on my PC was when i was using P2P applications to download stuff.
 
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For the record I have not noticed any performance decrease running Norton AV or Virex on any Mac that I own.
 
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I've used Norton since I got my Mac, no slowdown, it works great..
For the antivirus software to work it has to know what its looking for and by the time the updates are out the virus has already hit many people
Wrong, on my pc I use nod32, it catches many by advanced heuristics.. It's just good practice to run an AV on a pc or a Mac.
 
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J
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I always ran Norton on XP and it would regulary catch viruses. I will investigate one for the mac.
Thanks for the replies.
 
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I haven't used it but it seems to get pretty decent reviews from what I've read.
 
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I personally don't bother since the networks I connect to don't have any PC's in them, but I agree with Schweb's reasoning..
 
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mangoSharingan

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If enabling the Mac Firewall doesn't do anything to your iBook in terms of decreasing performance or something, but provides better protection, then you might as well.

Also, although there are no significant viruses on the Mac atm, once more people decide to use Macs, then it's likely a virus will come out one day in the future.
 
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Firewalls not only protect against viruses but also against an intruder hacking into your system and stealing data.
 
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Biturbo V12 AMG

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jram said:
I've used Norton since I got my Mac, no slowdown, it works great.. Wrong, on my pc I use nod32, it catches many by advanced heuristics.. It's just good practice to run an AV on a pc or a Mac.

yea i am sure norton has that also but a new virus can be written to overcome that and with my experience yes the anti virus will find the virus but its usually to late the damage has been done. it seemed like after i had uninstalled all the antivirus software on my PC i never had any more virus trouble... could this be that when you update the anti virus programs they send you a virus to make it seem like its working and entice you into buying a longer subscription?
 
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Biturbo V12 AMG said:
yea i am sure norton has that also but a new virus can be written to overcome that and with my experience yes the anti virus will find the virus but its usually to late the damage has been done. it seemed like after i had uninstalled all the antivirus software on my PC i never had any more virus trouble... could this be that when you update the anti virus programs they send you a virus to make it seem like its working and entice you into buying a longer subscription?

...or that there's nothing left to tell you that you have a virus.
 
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Biturbo V12 AMG

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yea but i never had stuff that didnt work like a CD drive or my computer wouldnt start up. after i uninstalled norton and i download alot of stuff off the internet and my friend also has the same set up his pc. removing the virus sometimes does more harm than good.
 
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Biturbo V12 AMG said:
yea but i never had stuff that didnt work like a CD drive or my computer wouldnt start up. after i uninstalled norton and i download alot of stuff off the internet and my friend also has the same set up his pc. removing the virus sometimes does more harm than good.
If you want to believe that, more power to you! ;)
 
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I downloaded Clamxav anti-virus about two weeks ago. Right after I noticed problems surfing the web, chief among them pictures loading very slowly or not all on certain web sites. I threw away Clam and the problem cleared up.
 
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When I picked up my Mini @ the Yorkdale Apple Store...I ask the sales if I need the Norton AntiVirus...

His response was, "Honestly, I don't know why we carry it?"

:D
 
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bembol said:
When I picked up my Mini @ the Yorkdale Apple Store...I ask the sales if I need the Norton AntiVirus...

His response was, "Honestly, I don't know why we carry it?"

:D
That's such a stupid and naive reply. In a way I can't wait for a virus for OS X to come out to show people who say things like that how dumb it really is.
 
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I use NIS, it doesn't slow me down at all. It already has caught 3 windoze viruses. The bad, it cost money, the good , only 3.95 to renew.. I just have it so not to spread a virus to my windoze friends.. I always here about why Mac has no viruses, they always say it's because there aren't enough users to bother with.. What a bunch of baloney, just think of the headlines a virus writer would get being the first to infect a Mac..
 
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bembol said:
When I picked up my Mini @ the Yorkdale Apple Store...I ask the sales if I need the Norton AntiVirus...

His response was, "Honestly, I don't know why we carry it?"

:D

unfortunatly, there are people like this out there who are so smug in their belief in OSX infallablility. even a friend of mine wont run an AV for the same argument. so i just sadly shake my head at his naivety and wait for the inevitable day when his mac will be infected with a mac virus. :blind:
 

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