Best application for anti-virus for macbook pro

Hi I just recently bought a macbook pro and I was wondering what appliction is best for a anti-virus ??

OS X already includes everything it needs to protect itself from viruses and malware. Keep it that way with software updates from Apple. Ill-conceived third party "anti-virus" garbage products are the primary reason for Mac instability, crashes and related problems reported on this site.
A much better question is "how should I protect my Mac":
Never install any product that claims to "speed up", "clean up", "optimize", or "accelerate" your Mac. Without exception, they will do the opposite.
Never install pirated or "cracked" software, software obtained from dubious websites, or other questionable sources. Illegally obtained software is almost certain to contain malware.
Don’t supply your password in response to a popup window requesting it, unless you know what it is and the reason your credentials are required.
Don’t open email attachments from email addresses that you do not recognize, or click links contained in an email:
Most of these are scams that direct you to fraudulent sites that attempt to convince you to disclose personal information.
Such "phishing" attempts are the 21st century equivalent of a social exploit that has existed since the dawn of civilization. Don’t fall for it.
Apple will never ask you to reveal personal information in an email. If you receive an unexpected email from Apple saying your account will be closed unless you take immediate action, just ignore it. If your iTunes or App Store account becomes disabled for valid reasons, you will know when you try to buy something or log in to this support site, and are unable to.
Don’t install browser extensions unless you understand their purpose. Go to the Safari menu > Preferences > Extensions. If you see any extensions that you do not recognize or understand, simply click the Uninstall button and they will be gone.
Don’t install Java unless you are certain that you need it:
Java, a non-Apple product, is a potential vector for malware. If you are required to use Java, be mindful of that possibility.
Disable Java in Safari > Preferences > Security.
Despite its name JavaScript is unrelated to Java. No malware can infect your Mac through JavaScript. It’s OK to leave it enabled.
Block browser popups: Safari menu > Preferences > Security > and check "Block popup windows":
Popup windows are useful and required for some websites, but popups have devolved to become a common means to deliver targeted advertising that you probably do not want.
Popups themselves cannot infect your Mac, but many contain resource-hungry code that will slow down Internet browsing.
If you ever see a popup indicating it detected registry errors, that your Mac is infected with some ick, or that you won some prize, it is 100% fraudulent. Ignore it.
Ignore hyperventilating popular media outlets that thrive by promoting fear and discord with entertainment products arrogantly presented as "news". Learn what real threats actually exist and how to arm yourself against them:
The most serious threat to your data security is phishing. To date, most of these attempts have been pathetic and are easily recognized, but that is likely to change in the future as criminals become more clever.
OS X viruses do not exist, but intentionally malicious or poorly written code, created by either nefarious or inept individuals, is nothing new.
Never install something without first knowing what it is, what it does, how it works, and how to get rid of it when you don’t want it any more.
If you elect to use "anti-virus" software, familiarize yourself with its limitations and potential to cause adverse effects, and apply the principle immediately preceding this one.
Most such utilities will only slow down and destabilize your Mac while they look for viruses that do not exist, conveying no benefit whatsoever - other than to make you "feel good" about security, when you should actually be exercising sound judgment, derived from accurate knowledge, based on verifiable facts.
Do install updates from Apple as they become available. No one knows more about Macs and how to protect them than the company that builds them.
Summary: Use common sense and caution when you use your Mac, just like you would in any social context. There is no product, utility, or magic talisman that can protect you from all the evils of mankind.

Similar Messages

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    I transferred big files from windows to my macbook because I wanted to retire my old PC, should I install anti-virus on macbook pro because of those files I moved? Would you recommend? Or should I feel comfortable since I'm using OS X Mavericks? Anybody with the same case? Thanks.

    Files moved from a Windows machine may contain malware, but that malware would not be a threat to your Mac. Windows malware cannot infect a Mac.
    As for protecting your Mac against Mac malware, see my Mac Malware Guide.

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    I think I downloaded Flash Player Pro (non-Adobe product) virus.  What is the best anti-virus/malware removal tool to use on Yosemite?

    What, specifically did you do? Fake Adobe Flash Player update alerts are very common. However, unless you went to the linked page, downloaded the fake update and then opened it, it could not harm you.
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    It's more likely that this fake update would have been adware, which is not well-detected by Mac OS X or anti-virus software. If you are having symptoms of adware (ads being injected in sites that should not have ads, redirects to a different search engine than the one you usually use, etc), then you should be able to remove it by following the instructions in my Adware Removal Guide.
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    Hi All,
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    Welcome to Apple Discussions
    The Mac doesn't come with any anti-virus software as they don't catch colds
    Unless you plan to run Windows under Boot Camp or Emulation then you need not worry about this at all, if you do run Windows then install and use AVG or some other freeware protection.

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    None whatsoever. I'm sure that you've heard the line that "Macs don't get viruses"? That's almost true - Macs can be infected with malware, however, and can pass viruses onto PCs. See Thomas Reed's Mac Malware Guide. The only two virus packages that are usually recommended are both free - Sophos and ClamXav. If you feel that you need AV software, try one or both.
    Good luck,
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  • I Do I need an anti-virus for my macbook pro or not and which is the best anti-virus for it if needed and i can download it from which site?

    Hello everyone.I just wanted to know that do i need an anti virus for my macbook pro and if yes then which is the best anti-virus for it and i can download the anti-virus software from which site? Thanks for everyones help for my previous question..it really helped me.

    There's no know virus that can impact a Mac, but if you run Windows via Parallels or Boot Camp then you're just as vulbnerable as any PC user.
    If you want to scan your system to be sure check out the free utilities ClamXav and Sophos Anti Virus

  • Can anybody recommend an anti-virus for my macbook pro

    Can anybody recommend an anti-virus for my macbook pro
    I have started to get attachments to my fsmail account from known sites but when opened I'm greeted by a a sentence in French that has the words orange and virus in it. Unfortunately I cannot speak French so are unsure what it is. I believe that my email and possibly my computer has been attacked?
    Any views recommendations would be most welcome.
    Trevor

    This forum is for questions about the Communities themselves. You'll usually be more likely to get a quick and helpful answer if you post in the  forum dedicated for your product. Anyway, my standard antivirus spiel:
    At this time there have been no confirmed Mac OS X viruses (subject to the semantic debate about whether the old iChat exploit, now long since blocked, was properly classified as a virus or a trojan horse, and not counting the Word macro virus that can affect Office v.X or non-updated copies of Office 2004), very few trojans and no adware or spyware. I therefore do not feel that antivirus or antispyware software is necessary at this time as long as users are careful about what they download from the Internet or accept as attachments via email.
    The most common exploit is a recent outbreak of "scareware" that people are encountering while web surfing. This "scareware" pops up and claims that your system is infected with viruses, prompts you to download their "scanner", then tells you that you need to purchase their paid software to remove them. These fake applications, appearing by many names including Mac Defender, Apple Security Center, Apple Web Security, and many others, do nothing at all other than turn off the fake warnings once they have your money. DO NOT fall for these.
    Security precautions for Mac OS X mostly are common sense: don't download and run files from sites you don't know, don't fall for any "you have viruses" messages, don't double-click on attachments in emails you aren't expecting and/or from people you don't know, and make sure you password your system with a non-trivial password and keep that password secure. In addition, don't leave your system available in a public place and unattended where someone unauthorized could use it and potentially install malware (such a policy is also a precaution against theft).
    It is possible for a Mac user to inadvertently forward a Windows virus to a PC user though you'd have to do it manually so the above precautions would probably prevent such virus-spreading, and said Windows virus cannot infect the Mac.
    If you do decide you wish to run antivirus software, I think that the donationware clamXav should be more than enough. iAntivirus has also been recommended by others, though I have no personal experience with it.
    If you are running Windows on your system, either via BootCamp, Parallels Workstation or another solution, then that copy of Windows is subject to all the myriad exploits common to the Windows world, so you need to take full precautions, including running both antivirus and antispyware software.
    Regards.
    Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

  • What is the best mac cleaner and anti virus for mac pro.

    what is the best mac cleaner and anti virus for mac pro.

    OS X already includes everything it needs to protect itself from viruses and malware. Keep it updated with software updates from Apple.
    A much better question is "how should I protect my Mac":
    Never install any product that claims to "speed up", "clean up", "optimize", or "accelerate" your Mac. Without exception, they will do the opposite.
    Never install pirated or "cracked" software, software obtained from dubious websites, or other questionable sources. Illegally obtained software is almost certain to contain malware.
    Don’t supply your password in response to a popup window requesting it, unless you know what it is and the reason your credentials are required.
    Don’t open email attachments from email addresses that you do not recognize, or click links contained in an email:
    Most of these are scams that direct you to fraudulent sites that attempt to convince you to disclose personal information.
    Such "phishing" attempts are the 21st century equivalent of a social exploit that has existed since the dawn of civilization. Don’t fall for it.
    Apple will never ask you to reveal personal information in an email. If you receive an unexpected email from Apple saying your account will be closed unless you take immediate action, just ignore it. If your iTunes or App Store account becomes disabled for valid reasons, you will know when you try to buy something or log in to this support site, and are unable to.
    Don’t install browser extensions unless you understand their purpose. Go to the Safari menu > Preferences > Extensions. If you see any extensions that you do not recognize or understand, simply click the Uninstall button and they will be gone.
    Don’t install Java unless you are certain that you need it:
    Java, a non-Apple product, is a potential vector for malware. If you are required to use Java, be mindful of that possibility.
    Disable Java in Safari > Preferences > Security.
    Despite its name JavaScript is unrelated to Java. No malware can infect your Mac through JavaScript. It’s OK to leave it enabled.
    Block browser popups: Safari menu > Preferences > Security > and check "Block popup windows":
    Popup windows are useful and required for some websites, but popups have devolved to become a common means to deliver targeted advertising that you probably do not want.
    Popups themselves cannot infect your Mac, but many contain resource-hungry code that will slow down Internet browsing.
    If you ever see a popup indicating it detected registry errors, that your Mac is infected with some ick, or that you won some prize, it is 100% fraudulent. Ignore it.
    Ignore hyperventilating popular media outlets that thrive by promoting fear and discord with entertainment products arrogantly presented as "news". Learn what real threats actually exist and how to arm yourself against them:
    The most serious threat to your data security is phishing. To date, most of these attempts have been pathetic and are easily recognized, but that is likely to change in the future as criminals become more clever.
    OS X viruses do not exist, but intentionally malicious or poorly written code, created by either nefarious or inept individuals, is nothing new.
    Never install something without first knowing what it is, what it does, how it works, and how to get rid of it when you don’t want it any more.
    If you elect to use "anti-virus" software, familiarize yourself with its limitations and potential to cause adverse effects, and apply the principle immediately preceding this one.
    Most such utilities will only slow down and destabilize your Mac while they look for viruses that do not exist, conveying no benefit whatsoever - other than to make you "feel good" about security, when you should actually be exercising sound judgment, derived from accurate knowledge, based on verifiable facts.
    Do install updates from Apple as they become available. No one knows more about Macs and how to protect them than the company that builds them.
    Summary: Use common sense and caution when you use your Mac, just like you would in any social context. There is no product, utility, or magic talisman that can protect you from all the evils of mankind.

  • Best Anti-Virus for Mac.

    My new MacBook Pro is getting delievered soon, I want a few opinions on what the best Anti-Virus for it will be. I know that Macs are more secure than Windows, but I still want to have an Anti-Virus on it as I've already had a virus on my current Mac. I have been using Trend Micro on my Mac as I got it free from a rep in my old job. I'm wondering if in the kast year that I've not been working with computers and Macs, has there been a better Anti-Virus made for them? I'd like one that also covers identity theft etc. A few answers would be good for this.... Thanks :-)

    This is a very contentious issue, that you will always get different points of view.
    IMO, antivirus software is not essential at this stage, however, this does not mean that you should blindly 'surf the net' without a care in the world.
    The most recent exploit attempts have used flaws in Java, so the first thing I do is not use Java. Apple does not install it by default, so if you have a new install, then you won't have Java installed, so you cannot be effected by this these types of exploits.
    If you do have Java installed, then make sure you have the latest updates from Apple installed, as they introduced features to protect you from these exploits, but also turn off Java if you have not used it after some time.
    Java is not used much these days in Web sites, so unless you need it specifically for a site you visit, you probably don't even need it on you Mac at all.
    Another recent flash exploit used a default setting in Safari to bypass OSX security settings, this being 'Open "Safe" files after downloading'. Go to Safari > Preferences > General and untick the setting at the bottom of the window, so this exploit cannot be utilised on your Mac.
    With Flash, only download it from the Adobe website, and if you get notified by a site that you need an update, I personally go to Adode's web site myself and download updates manually
    Other tools you can use to make you Web safer, is to install to extensions to Safari, which are quite good.
    WOT - Web of Trust. This is a safety rating of a website to indicate if they are trustworthy or not, Green has been rated as safe, Red not. It is not perfect, but at least gives you an idea if the site is safe or not. As a rule, I don't go to Red sites.
    Click to Flash - This prevents Flash from automatically running on sites, and you need to actually click on it on the page to download the Flash. This has two effects, it doesn't load anoying flash onto sites, unless you want it and two, if there are any exploits out there using flash, they can't automatically load.
    Ad-Block - Blocks many anoying web ads, if you don't like them.
    To install Select Safari > Safari Extensions and search for your desired extension
    If you feel you want an Anti-virus application, ClamAV sounds like it is good and it's free without over resoursing your Mac. Remember though, that any AV application is only as good as its database, so if something new comes out it may not protect you anyway. From what I read, many of the AV apps only protect you from Windows viruses anyway, which don't effect Macs in the first place, so seem quite redundant to me.
    Also in the background, Apple have a Blacklist of known issues, which they can update to you automatically when new threats are found. If you attempt to install something from one of these, you are notified by a promenent Red message warning you of the issue, allowing you to abort the installation, before it become an issue.
    Your biggest AV is you, don't install applications your not sure about. One good thing about the OS, is that to install any app, you need to give your password. If you are not trying to install something at the time, don't give your password over and the app cannot install and cause you any harm.
    Don't install MacKeeper if you come across it, its not what it appears, has no ethics and is basically unnecessary.
    One thing I also do is use 2 web browsers. I use Safari for my normal everyday browing, and I use FireFox for secure sites such as Banking etc. Firefox I have set to record no history, passwords etc, so there is no record on my computer of this type of information for anyone to access. This protection is more if anyone get physical access to my computer, which in my world, that is entirely possible.
    The link AnaMusic posted is a great wealth of knowledge and deffinetly looking at.
    As I said, it a contentious issue and there are many different opinions, so I not saying that everything I say is gospel either, just my opinion.
    A

  • Anti-virus for Windows on my Mac Pro

    I have recently purchased my Mac Pro and would like to install VMware Fusion in order to put Windows Vista on my system. (Have a lot of old PC storage I want to bring in.) What is a good anti-virus program for this type of installation?
    Thanks,
    3D Dad

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    What is the best way to back up my MacBook Pro (OSX 10.9.5) before taking it in for service?

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    <https://www.bombich.com/>

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    THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY, I DOWNLOADED HANDBRAKE BUT WOULDN'T LET ME USE IT BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE VLC WHICH I DID. WHEN I FINALLY GOT HANDBRAKE TO WORK I SELECTED THE DVD FOR SOURCE AND IT STARTED SCANNING. A HALF HOUR LATER IT SAID NOT RECOGNISE SOURCE. TAKE IT IS ENCRYPTED.
    <Edited by Host>

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    I have an old Toshiba laptop which still uses Windows XP. What are the sites for the best free anti-virus for Windows XP SP2?
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    Hi,
    Please check the following list:
       http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388652,00.as​p
    Sorry I can't work out this question: "My computer is windows xp but i have recent downloads for windows 8 is this right??????"
    Regards.
    BH
    **Click the KUDOS thumb up on the left to say 'Thanks'**
    Make it easier for other people to find solutions by marking a Reply 'Accept as Solution' if it solves your problem.

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    What best free anti-virus for imac?,

    There are no viruses that can affect Apple OS X, but Trojans are a different matter.
    Please read on:
    You may find this User Tip on Viruses, Trojan Detection and Removal, as well as general Internet Security and Privacy, useful:
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-1848
    Regarding MacScan, First update the MacScan malware definitions before scanning. You can also contact their support team for any additional support - [email protected]
    Security of OS X generally:
    http://www.apple.com/macosx/security/
    http://www.nsa.gov/ia/_files/os/applemac/I731-007R-2007.pdf
    Security Configuration for Version 10.5 Leopard:
    http://images.apple.com/server/macosx/docs/Leopard_Security_Config_2nd_Ed.pdf
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