Just joined. Any Advice?

[bradfordpoole]

I just purchased a 13" MacBook Pro and Im loving it so far. I am big into Web Design. I am not so familiar with the Mac interface. What are some of the best ways to protect against viruses? Are there any programs that are highly recommended for new Mac users?

Thanks

 

[TattooedMac]

Welcome and most of all enjoy your new Mac. Spend some time playing with it and get to know your new baby.

As on the virus thing. DONT WORRY ABOUT IT.

As it stands today there is know known viri out there to affect your Mac. Have a read of The official Mac antivirus and firewall FAQ

Its a good read and written 5yrs ago but still pertains to today. You will only need AV if you want to run windows on your Mac and then only need it on the windows side.
Just use the search function at the top of the forum to find out about everyones favourite Apps as there is a plethora of them out there
but ill put in a few

Adium : Multi client chat
Handbrake : Video and audio converter
VLC : can watch and listen to basically any video or audio codec
But there is a lot on your Mac as well that people tend to over look so as i said play with it and see what you have
TM

EDIT Wiki : list of Mac Apps

 

[the8thark]

I would like to recommend 2 apps for you.

Mactracker
http://mactracker.dreamhosters.com/
That is an encyclopedia (often updated) of every Apple product ever released. With specs on them all too. Very nice to have when you need help on your mac you can use that to tell us information about your mac so we can help you more efficiently. Plus I think having all that information at hand is really cool.

Onyx.
Titanium Software
That is one of the best Mac system maintanance tools out there. But there are 2 little points you need to know about it.
1. Make sure you download the version of Onyx that works with your version of OS X.
2. Read the documentation with the App and on the website very well. So you know what you are doing with the app.
Then you can use the application to make sure your Mac is in peak fitness all of the time.

 

[chas_m]

For serious web design, you probably already know about Dreamweaver, but if you'd prefer an alternative check out Flux.

Viruses = non-issue. Don't even waste any time thinking about them. There aren't any.

In addition to the fine suggestions already made, I'll add Flip4Mac WMV Player and Perian for making sure you can play any audio/video codec you want, and SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner to supplement Time Machine.

 

[toMACsh]

No viruses for Mac. Really. Take our word for it. They don't exist.

#1 Tip: Forget what you know about Windows. It doesn't apply. Learn how the Mac OS works. Trying to make it work like something else is futile.

 

[p3ezi(moto)]

hey the first major Mac attack would probably go down in history...

 

[sau124]

hey the first major Mac attack would probably go down in history...

+1

Don't worry about any viruses and pop ups for the time being; welcome to the group and as everyone else mentioned some apps really help everyone here to help you just in case. It is a nice sound investment and hopefully you get your stuff done... Good luck bud...