Anti virus program?

[Jonzjob]

I have been running Comodo anti-virus program for ages now. Nothing found but it's for my peace of mind and I know what folks say about there's no viruses for Macs. As Macs get more popular so will the wish of the thugs to invade our systems.

It operated fine until I upped to Yosemite and now it fails. I have had a look at the Comodo forum and it would appear that it hasn't worked since Yosemite appeared with threads going back over a year.

My question is, what is the best freebee anti-virus program for Macs please?

 

[lclev]

Well I use to recommend ClamXav - and it is the best of the "if you must" ones that is recommended the most on this forum. Unfortunately it is no longer free and cost $29.95 to purchase. If that is not a problem I would go with that.

It took me a year when I first came over from a Windows environment to decide to get off the anti-virus merry-go-round. Apple has built in anti-malware already. I have found the biggest issues tend to be with malicious pop-ups that can be eliminated using Adblock Plus and Ghostery.

But I do understand the desire to "make sure." A free option is Malwarebytes for Mac. It use to be AdwareMedic but it is excellent for a quick scan.

Lisa

 

[macgig]

I had clamxav on my system, when the free protection ran out, I deleted the program. id like something to replace it just in case... but I'm unable to find something I like that runs in the background and stays out of my way. ive used macs 25 years and i've always had free AV protection installed. Never had a virus that I've been aware of. better safe than sorry is how I feel about AV protection on macs.

their is something called bitdefender virus scanner that seems pretty decent. perhaps give that a try.

 

[RadDave]

Agree w/ Lisa, ClamXav is the usual recommendation here if you feel the 'need' for an AV app - there is a 30-day 'free trial' but the program is no longer free, as mentioned.

I purchased the app to occasionally scan my wife's iMac - she exchanges lots of emails (many w/ attachments) w/ her Windows friends, so I'm mainly checking for malware that she could pass onto them unknowingly - I have no concern about her own computer since there are currently no known 'viruses' in the wild that affects OS X; and I do not run the app on my MBPro. Dave

 

[harryb2448]

Think about this. There are no Mac OS X viruses. All your AV software downloads is the data base of Windows viruses. Is it any wonder it never finds anything as the Windows viruses cannot load on the Unix based OS X.

Most senior Mac users just follow sound browsing guidelines and use strong passwords.

 

[bobtomay]

... ive used macs 25 years and i've always had free AV protection installed. Never had a virus...

That sums it up pretty well.

 

[RadDave]

That sums it up pretty well.

Hi Bobtomay - LOL!

I'm sure a lot of our long time Mac users could say "I've used Macs 25 years and have not ever used AV protection, and never had a virus!" Dave

 

[macgig]

Ive done that as well. I'm careful about what I click on, what I download, and I use strong passwords for any site dealing with money or credit cards like my bank, paypal, ebay, etc.

I get their are no osx viruses. But what about other malware or trojans? Trojans do exist on osx.... from what i've read. they are rare but they are out there.

Most senior Mac users just follow sound browsing guidelines and use strong passwords.

 

[harryb2448]

Malware go to Malwarebytes.com and download the Mac version (formerly AdwareMedic) which will look after your iMac. Never ever download anything from softonic or CNET.



https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/

 

[rosario1990]

Don't use any of it you listed. I use free anti-virus Avast for long time. And it's serve good I know. Happy to use this one.

 

[chas_m]

I'm in the camp of "you don't need anything but common sense," but it seems that is in short supply these days (and getting shorter -- being an election year!), so here's a concise summary of my little guide to avoiding malware.

1. Don't pirate stuff, or go on pirate sites. Never download any "codec" or "program" from a porn site.

2. There are exactly three sites that are certain to be safe to download a program from for a Mac:
a. The program developer's own site
b. The Mac App Store
c. MacUpdate.com
All other general download sites (apart from Steam and perhaps well-known bundle deal sites) are to be regarded as unsafe.

3. If you are ever asked to download something or put in your admin password and you aren't 100 percent certain why, don't.

4. Don't click URL links in emails. Copy the URL into a browser and check to see if it is the same one it said it was. It probably isn't, which is a sure sign of a scam/identity thief/etc.

5. Ignore all popups that ask you to take an action. Quit (or force quit if necessary) your browser -- if the pop-up remains, take a screenshot and post it in a question to us if you're not sure what to do.

6. Keep your software up-to-date, particularly your browser and OS. If your machine is so old it can't run a newer OS and you stopped getting updates for it from Apple, disconnect it from the Internet and start saving for a newer machine.

7. One last one -- on the off chance that despite following these guidelines you do get suckered into some adware or endless pop-up thing, the MalwareBytes program that used to be AdwareMedic is free and recommended.

 

[macgig]

download(dot com) or cnet... cant recall which, but I downloaded something from them once on my windows machine. not a good move, so I avoid all those sites even when Im on the mac.

malwarebytes on the pc is a must have program. one of my favorite pc programs. just got the mac version, now that my OS can run it. thanks.

 

[Jonzjob]

Blimey folks!!

There is a **** of a load to think about there and thank you all for your time. I realised that I have ClamVax on my MBP. I must have put it on before I discovered Comodo and I think that it will be pressed back into service. I shall also get the Malwarebytes for Mac.

It's quite funny talking about possible scams. We bought some stuff from a well known US health site. We have been using the site for several years but the first time to buy from it. I had an e-mail asking for all sorts of did we pay with paypal, if not the last 4 numbers of the card and CVV code. I immediately saw SCAM and sent them an e-mail asking if it were genuine. I had a reply this morning telling me that it IS genuine and the order is on hold until we supply the info. What kind of prats think that any sane person is going to send their CVV number over the 'open' e-mail systems! On a secure site, OK, but e-mail?

 

[Rod]

Hi Bobtomay - LOL!

I'm sure a lot of our long time Mac users could say "I've used Macs 25 years and have not ever used AV protection, and never had a virus!" Dave

I would have to join that queue myself.

 

[harryb2448]

Avast is crapware loaded with a litte extra malware and a resource hog to boot. Be careful.


http://www.thesafemac.com/avast-installs-adware/

 

[macgig]

I've used avast on the PC. the mac version was too intrusive for me. seemed like it was slowing the finder down when it downloaded the updated definitions. was too annoying for me on the mac.

Don't use any of it you listed. I use free anti-virus Avast for long time. And it's serve good I know. Happy to use this one.

 

[pm-r]

... ive used macs 25 years and i've always had free AV protection installed. Never had a virus...

That sums it up pretty well.

See how well it worked.

I'm not sure what was used before OS X though… ;D

 

[harryb2448]

On OS 9 and earlier most of us used Peter Norton's great utilities. When he sold out to Symntec the wheels fell off everything Nortons.

 

[Slydude]

I used Norton for a while as well. Before Norton' AntiVirus for Mac (NAM) made its debut I ran a program called Disinfectant. This was a great program until the proliferation of Office macro viruses made it impossible to maintain. AFAIK not many of these made it to the Mac but many could have due to the similarity of the programming language.

The only "hits" I ever got from Disinfectant was for something which I believe turned out to be corruption of a certain Finder file.

 

[pm-r]

Ahhh yes!!! That was it — good ol' Disinfectant!!!! Thanks for jarring my old brain.

I sometimes ran it just to get the big foot animation along with the Monty Python music I think it was for a kick and the squishing sound at the end.


EDIT:

For those to young … close, but maybe my old Mac's speakers were better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFL8j3ALGM