Internet Security and Virus Protection

I am brand spanking new to the Mac world. Just bought a beautiful 27" iMac last week. My question, Is there a need for virus protection/internet security software with macs?? I have long heard the possible myth that macs dont get virus'. Is this true?? If not, what is best that uses the least memory to run??
I have long loved AVG for windows

Is there a need for virus protection/internet security software with macs?? I have long heard the possible myth that macs dont get virus'. Is this true??
It is true that there are no Mac viruses at this time. There are a few trojans, but these are very rare and have threat levels ranging from low to none. See my [Mac Virus guide|http://www.reedcorner.net/thomas/guides/macvirus> for more details on this.
As to internet security, one never knows when a new exploit will be discovered, but Macs are pretty secure. I've never used any kind of internet security software and have never needed it. Just use that internet filter that's between your ears and you'll be fine. There are also a couple good general security documents linked to at the end of my virus guide that will be good reads for this purpose.

Similar Messages

  • Integrating Northon Internet security and virus protection

    How can I integrate Norton internet Security with Thunderbird?
    When I was using Outlook Express Norton was scanning the messages, sort the spam, removed the infected or malware messages and store them in different folders.
    Now even some my good messages are moved to "Junk folder" at random!
    Please help!

    You don't want to let Norton do that, it will sooner or later cause problems with Thunderbird. You'll risk your Inbox being quarantined, and your mail files being corrupted. This will ultimately result in messages getting lost.
    Check this article for more information about training your junk mail controls.
    http://kb.mozillazine.org/Junk_Mail_Controls
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  • Internet Security, Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware and Anti-Malware

    What is the best internet security, anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-malware software to use on a MacBook Pro 13' (Late 2011 model) on both Mac and Windows 7 (Parallel 7) without slowing down or effecting the operating system too much ? Do I need to get the free or paid version ?

    Although anti-virus software is not necessary on a Mac, you do need to be aware of what's out there and how to protect yourself against possible new threats. See my Mac Malware Guide.
    As for running anti-virus in Windows 7, that's a Windows issue. I personally put AVG Free on the Windows machines used by my family, but I'm no Windows expert. I'm sure different folks here will have different recommendations, and a few of those folks may even be Windows experts! (In other words, that may be a question better suited for other forums where a higher percentage of Windows users hang out.)

  • I'm trying to download internet security and an error of microsoft windows applications are not supported on OS x keeps coming up

    I'm trying to download internet security and an error of microsoft windows applications are not supported on OS x keeps coming up

    That's because you must be trying to download a Windows application, and they do not run on a Mac unless you are running Windows on the Mac.
    Helpful Links Regarding Malware Protection
    An excellent link to read is Tom Reed's Mac Malware Guide.
    For adware removal see The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Guide and The Safe Mac » Adware Removal Tool.
    Also, visit The XLab FAQs and read Detecting and avoiding malware and spyware.
    See these Apple articles:
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      OS X Lion- Protect your Mac from malware
      OS X Mountain Lion- Protect your Mac from malware
      OS X Mavericks- Protect your Mac from malware
      About file quarantine in OS X
    If you require anti-virus protection Thomas Reed recommends using ClamXAV. (Thank you to Thomas Reed for this recommendation.)
    From user Joe Bailey comes this equally useful advice:
    The facts are:
    1. There is no anti-malware software that can detect 100% of the malware out there.
    2. There is no anti-malware that can detect anything targeting the Mac because there
         is no Mac malware in the wild, and therefore, no "signatures" to detect.
    3. The very best way to prevent the most attacks is for you as the user to be aware that
         the most successful malware attacks rely on very sophisticated social engineering
         techniques preying on human avarice, ****, and fear.
    4. Internet popups saying the FBI, NSA, Microsoft, your ISP has detected malware on
        your computer is intended to entice you to install their malware thinking it is a
        protection against malware.
    5. Some of the anti-malware products on the market are worse than the malware
        from which they purport to protect you.
    6. Be cautious where you go on the internet.
    7. Only download anything from sites you know are safe.
    8. Avoid links you receive in email, always be suspicious even if you get something
        you think is from a friend, but you were not expecting.
    9. If there is any question in your mind, then assume it is malware.

  • I downloaded norton internet security and it says I need firefox 4 to opperate correctly. I went to your site and downloaded lateset version and Norton still doesn't work . How do I get version 4

    I downloaded norton internet security and it says I need firefox 4 to opperate correctly. I went to your site and downloaded lateset version and Norton still doesn't work . How do I get version 4 so that my computer and I are protected?

    How can I go back to version 3? Thanx.

  • Is apple working on a fix so it plays nice with internet security and filtering programs?

    Question is in the title.
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    None of us know, and you won't get an answer from Apple on here. We are users just like you. Although not everyone has problems with that, I know I didn't when I used iTunes on my PC.

  • How do I unistall avg cleaner and virus protection ?

    How do I unistall avg cleaner and virus protection ? I tried to re-install then unistall, and that did not work . any advise please.

    Uninstalling Software: The Basics
    Most OS X applications are completely self-contained "packages" that can be uninstalled by simply dragging the application to the Trash.  Applications may create preference files that are stored in the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder.  Although they do nothing once you delete the associated application, they do take up some disk space.  If you want you can look for them in the above location and delete them, too.
    Some applications may install an uninstaller program that can be used to remove the application.  In some cases the uninstaller may be part of the application's installer, and is invoked by clicking on a Customize button that will appear during the install process.
    Some applications may install components in the /Home/Library/Applications Support/ folder.  You can also check there to see if the application has created a folder.  You can also delete the folder that's in the Applications Support folder.  Again, they don't do anything but take up disk space once the application is trashed.
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    Some software use startup daemons or agents that are a new feature of the OS.  Look for them in /Library/LaunchAgents/ and /Library/LaunchDaemons/ or in /Home/Library/LaunchAgents/.
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        1. AppZapper
        2. AppDelete
        3. Automaton
        4. Hazel
        5. AppCleaner
        6. CleanApp
        7. iTrash
        8. Amnesia
        9. Uninstaller
      10. Spring Cleaning
    For more information visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on removing software.

  • General Mac Housekeeping and Virus Protection

    My MBP is my first foray into the world of Mac computing ever (well, not counting playing Oregon Trail back in 3rd grade on an ancient dinosaur of a mac haha) and so far it's been a positive experience. The CPU fan pretty much self-destructed, but it's being repaired as we speak, so no worries.
    My question is this. As a lifetime Windows user (and until getting my MacBook, proponent of it being BETTER than Mac OS... boy did I learn my lesson) I used to commonly have to perform a lot of general housekeeping tasks, such as running the defrag utility, virus scanning, spyware scanning, disk cleanup, etc etc, and so on. Is this necessary in the OSX environment? Especially the virus protection software?
    I neglected to purchase Norton Internet Security because it wasn't universal, but our PC's have always fallen pray to worms and viruses. I know Mac's are supposed to be amazing against viruses (a la the Mac vs. PC commercials) but is some virus and spyware protection necessary?
    Anyway, my question got a lot more long winded than I planned and I SHOULD be working now, but hey, State workers are SUPPOSED to slack off, right? =P

    OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility called Macaroni that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep.
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    I would also recommend downloading the shareware utility TinkerTool System that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old logfiles and archives, clearing caches, etc.
    When you install any new system software or updates be sure to repair the hard drive and permissions beforehand. I also recommend booting into safe mode before doing system software updates.
    Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is significant):
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    2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
    3. Deja Vu (Shareware)
    4. SuperDuper (Commercial)
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  • Trouble connecting playbook to windows PC when using AVG Internet Security and USB cable ?

    I have spent ages trying to get my PC (windows 7 64bit ) to talk to the Playbook. I found the following:
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    Elsewhere on the forums a solution was provided but it meant leaving the firewall set to "off" or "allow all" which really is a waste of time having a firewall at all.
    Please try this and see if it resolves your problems, It sorted it for me !
    Remove AVG Internet Security 2014
    Load AVG antivirus 2014 ( freeware) so now you are OK for antivirus protection
    Load Microsoft Security Essentials (freeware) so now you are  OK for firewall protection
    Playbook now talks and can be configured, also the contents of the playbook drive can be seen alongside your PC drives and DVD drives in the "computer" window of your PC  The playbook drive has now been allowed to be mounted where as it was blocked before
    I know how frustrating this can be I have spent ages on it ..so give it a try

    The USB-parallel cable needs a driver that supports Windows 7 x64 in addition to the driver the printer needs.  Additionally make sure the port settings are correct, usually the port will be something like USB001: or USB002: for the USB-parallel port. Some cables may provide a virtual LPT port such as LPT3:.  Check the documentation for your unit for details.
    The posts here list models of USB-parallel ports folks here have had success with in Windows 7.
    Bob Headrick,  HP Expert
    I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
    If your problem is solved please click the "Accept as Solution" button ------------V
    If my answer was helpful please click the "Thumbs Up" to say "Thank You"--V

  • MacBook Pro and Virus protection -Mac Newbe

    I have just recently switched to Apple and purchased a MacBook Pro for home use. I am somewhat lost concerning what virus protection is "the best" to run. As with PC's there seems to be several offerings. I picked a "well known" version with my PC; however, a virus(worm,spyware...something) was still able to defeat the anti-virus and mess up my OS.

    The last time I used a virus scanner on Mac OS was about 12 years ago. It only produced one false warning. The threat of viruses on OS X is much, much lower than in Windows, due to the fact that there's no real working virus for OS X yet, as far as I know. There are some concept 'viruses', but they all require user interaction to install, and with the new security features in Leopard it's very likely that you will notice when something fishy is going on (e.g. your Mac warns that you're opening a program when you have double-clicked something that was supposed to be an image).
    I think that at the current time, it is more useful to maintain good security practices (enable your firewall, don't download and run any 'dubious' programs, check software update regularly and install security updates immediately,) than to install a virus scanner, which will only stress your system unnecessarily.
    There are some situations where it's useful to install a virus scanner in OS X, though. First, if you use Boot Camp or Parallels (but then again, it may be more useful to install a PC virus scanner in your Windows partition). Second, to detect PC viruses, so you can tell if someone's PC is infected and prevent the virus from spreading to other PCs.

  • What internet security/anti-virus programs are good for macs?

    Should I install Norton Internet Security on my Mac?

    Please don't. You really don't need anti-virus software. Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on anti-virus software and malware. Also, see Viruses, Trojans, Malware - and other aspects of Internet Security.
    If you must use such software then use ClamXav 2.2.2.

  • Norton internet security and IE 64 bit

    Hi guys                              HP Touchsmart 300-1125uk win 7 64 bit
    2 Questions for you !
    The first is, i have norton internet security 2012 installed, so why does it not cover touchsmart, version 4 no norton shows on the screen.
    2nd Question internet explorer 64 bit you cannot get any toolbars, well saying that i know of only 1 google.
    The problem being when you install google toolbar 64 bit, it takes over everything else, when you go back to IE 32 BIT.
    Its taken over that too and resets your homepage to google on 32 bit.
    1 More thing youtube for touchsmart, we don't have it.
    Any help would be most welcome
    Thank you
    wob

    You are correct about IE 64-bit having limitations, there is no solution, that's why Win7 also has a 32-bit Internet Explorer with it for compatibility. Personally? it's a lot safer to run IE-64 and not have any toolbars which IMNSHO are 99% crap.
    If Norton shows in the system tray of WIndows it's installed, it doesn't need to do anything special to also protect the Touchsmart applications, it's not another OS, just an application.

  • DSL - Firewalls and Virus Protection

    Tonight I am going to try to hook-up DSL to our new G5. (My old iMac used dial-up) First, I hear about firewalls, but don't really know what they are. All I know is that they keep out the "bad guys". What are they and do I need one? What about virus protection? If needed what program is recommended? Any other pointers that you think I will need for setting up the DSL is appreciated.
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    Mandy: A. Firewall = yes; B. Virus protection = no.
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  • I have a problem with my Internet Security and the new Firefox, where can I get the previous version which I had before my system crashed?

    Hi I use CA Internet Security Suite which checks ALL pages and searches, but it does not work with this version, also I wish to use Goggle Toolbar which ALSO does not work with this version where can I get the previous version? As my harddrive crashed I have had to install windows 7 and this version doesn't seem to allow me to change my homepage, why is this? Cheers Ernest

    You can get the latest version of Firefox 3.6 from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-older.html
    Mozilla are working to prevent Mac users with non-compatible systems from getting the notification about Firefox 4, and also not displaying the "Download Firefox 4" button on http://www.mozilla.com

  • Any protection required iPad like Internet security anti virus, Any protection required iPad like Internet security anti virus

    I have iPad 4 but I feel my iPad becomes slower and sometimes it takes time to open a program  I wounded if iPad can be affected by virus and other kind of spyware when I I use the internet and if any which software that I should use to protected my iPad and keeps it work fast

    No, there is nt effective antimalware apps for iOS, and you don't need it. The sandboxed structure of the iOS and the fact that you can't install anything on it except via the App store protects it as well as any anti virus sofware could.
    A couple of things you can do:
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    Check the amount of storage that is currently available on the iPad (Settings app > General > Usage. If you are getting close to the limit (say a GB or less), try deleting some content and freeing up space.
    Make sure you are running the most current version of iOS 7.0.6 as of this writing).

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