To Secure Mac or not to secure Mac??????

I am fairly new to Mac, switching over from PC, and one of the biggest hurdles that I have come across is protection of the computer. Is it advisable to get a protection for Anti-Spyware, Adware and Virus protection for this system. If so does anyone have any suggestions as to which are the best one to use.
When I ask at the Apple Store they always say that none of that is necessary and I was just wondering what the people out there that have been using Mac, think.
I figure that it can't hurt to have it, but if it is just waisted space on my computer that can possibly slow down the computer, then why have it if not needed.
I thank all of you in advance for help in this matter........Apps224

Welcome to Apple Discussions and welcome to Mac
While there are no known viruses that attack Mac OS X at the present time it is possible (though improbable) for other malware to get onto your Mac.
So I go to lenghts to protect my user. A hosed system can be replaced but a compromised user folder is compromised forever. Along with all your important data like bank records, credit cards, ... I.e. your "identity" stolen.
The best way to avoid that is by being a frustrating target. Use your built-in firewall which is industrial strength and/or a hard wired router, downloading only from "trusted" sites, installing all security updates and being careful about what you give administrative power to.
Don't use Limewire or any other P2P service to download your software, get it from reputable sources. In addition, always keep at least your users backed up, preferably a clone of your entire system on a separate disk. And put your sensitive passwords, bank accounts, credit card numbers in a "secure note" in a new keychain or in an encrypted folder.
If and when a Mac virus does appear it will be headline news and you can download the AV software then. If you feel you have to run an AV program I'd suggest ClamXav a mac friendly freeware app that is very stable with OS X. It will check for known virus signatures at any rate.
Hope this helps.
-mj

Similar Messages

  • I want to copy fotos to a mass storage external HD, but my emac only allow me to copy from the HD to the mac and not from the mac to the HD, how can I do it? thanks in adavance for your help

    I want to copy fotos to a mass storage external HD, but my emac only allow me to copy from the HD to the mac and not from the mac to the HD, how can I do it? thanks in adavance for your help

    The external HD might be set to Read Only on your eMac.  Try this:
    If the external HD shows on your desktop, single click the HD to highlight it.  From the Finder Menu bar at the top of the screen, click on File, pull down and click on Get Info.  At the bottom of window that opens, under Sharing and Permissions, you might see something like:
    System:  Read & Write
    Admin:  Read & Write
    User X:  Read Only
    User X being your user account.
    Good luck.

  • HT4436 I have a laptop Mac and an IPad, and would like to transfer pictures, videos, etc from the ipad to the Mac but not from the Mac to the IPad, how can I set up the iCloud in both devises to do so?

    I have a laptop Mac and an Ipad, and would like to transfer pictures, videos, etc from the ipad to the Mac but not from the Mac to the Ipad, how can I set up the iCloud in both devises to do so?

    Welcome to the Apple Community.
    Your best method would be to connect via USB and transfer that way, since videos are not transferred using photostream.
    However you can stop photos on your mac being added to photostream in the iPhoto preferences > photostream by unchecking the automatic upload box.

  • I can conect from my iPad to my Mac, but not from my Mac to my iPad whats up with that

    I can connect face Time from my iPad to my Mac, but not from my Mac to my iPad

    Register/Sync with iCloud on both your iOS devices and your Mac.
    Peter

  • Mac will not eject disc, mac will not eject disc

    My mac will not eject a Drive Genius 2 Disc and if you reboot computer it just pops disc menu back up and wont let you do antything.

    Five ways to eject a stuck CD or DVD from the optical drive
    Ejecting the stuck disc can usually be done in one of the following ways:
      1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the
          left mouse button until the disc ejects.
      2. Press the Eject button on your keyboard.
      3. Click on the Eject button in the menubar.
      4. Press COMMAND-E.
      5. If none of the above work try this: Open the Terminal application in
          your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter or paste the following:
            /usr/bin/drutil eject
    If this fails then try this:
    Boot the computer into Single-user Mode. At the prompt enter the same command as used above. To restart the computer enter "reboot" at the prompt without quotes.

  • I have a new keyboard and two of the keys are inverted when I use my Mac -- but not on the Mac at the Apple store. The @ is where the should be and visa-versa. That is, when I type the @ I get and when I type the I get @. I am in Français numérique.

    I have a new keyboard and two of the keys are inverted when I use my Mac -- but not when they put that keyboard on the Mac at the Apple Store. The @ is where the < should be and visa-versa. That is, when I type the @ I get < and when I type the < I get @. I am in Français numérique. Thanks

    Try a SMC reset, please do it 2-3 times.
    SMC RESET
    Shut down the computer.
    Unplug the computer's power cord and all peripherals.
    Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
    Release the power button.
    Attach the computers power cable.
    Press the power button to turn on the computer.
    PRAM RESET
    Shut down the computer.
    Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
    Turn on the computer.
    Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
    Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
    Release the keys.

  • My mac will not download security update u.6.0.2 from the server

    have tried several times to download-
    appears to connect to server-
    activity bar indicates full activity-
    nothing happens, just keeps running-
    osx is snow leapard-
    maybe the basic security system 6. needs to be loaded 1st?-
    is this something I do not need?

    Install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo
    That will re download and install the App Store for you which may help.
    It's ok to install the combo even though you are already running v10.6.8
    Restart your Mac after combo is installed, try downloading apps.
    Note... if you have Little Snitch installed that will prevent downloads. If you have anti virus software installed, disable that and turn off the Firewall in System Prefereces > Security.

  • Security Update Will Not Install on Mac Pro (Leopard 10.5.4)

    Hi:
    I am having some trouble trying to install the last security update on my MacPro. The process gets stuck on the “configuring installation“ part. Tried safe boot and the same thing happened. The progress bar continues glowing but there is no progress at all. Then I have to force shut down.
    Any ideas?

    You tried this via Software Update or standalone?
    http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate2008005intel.html
    I think it can even be applied from your your backup clone.

  • Mac Mini not visible in Mac network (shared drives, remote desktop)

    Hi,
    I got the following problem since a few months and can't figure what the problem could be.
    My Mac Mini in not visible on my other macs in Finder oder Path Finder.
    With unsing Apple + K shortcut I can connect to alle Mac Mini drives.
    - Both machines have 10.8.4. installed
    - Router is a Time Capsule
         -> MBP connected via WiFi
         -> Mac Mini via LAN cable
    - IP Adress will be set via DHCP (static IPs won't help, tried that of course)
    - Remote Desktop und Sharing is activated on both machines within preferences
    - MacMini sees my MBP und my GFs MB
    - MBP is able to see my GFs MB, but not my MacMini
    - No Firewall acticated on both machines
    - rights have been checked and repaired with the harddrive tool
    Anybody an idea what I can try next?
    Thanks!

    Error resolved. It's was obviously my fault...
    I changed the plist to deactivate multicasts a long long time ago
    http://blog.tsunanet.net/2010/02/how-to-disable-bonjour-on-osx-106-snow.html
    After deleting the entire line my mac mini is visible again.

  • BootCamp XP recognizes internal Mac Volume not the Firewire Mac Volume!

    BootCamp 3.1 / XP only recognizes the internal Mac Volume, but not the FireWire 800 external Mac drive!
    Do I need MacDrive software in order to see the external FireWire drive or is there better software than the MacDrive?

    BootCamp will only install Window's on an "Internal" drive with no more then 2 partitions.
    You would need a 3rd party "Drive Software" to install it on an EXternal drive. I don't know which ones work but they have been mentioned in these forums so maybe do a search for something like: "Window's external HD install?"
    Good Luck....

  • Pc to mac or not pc to mac

    Can you view and edit photos when loading a lightroom2 backup folder for windows, onto a mac?

    Hi. I've tried linking the file to the folder's location, but I have still had no luck in viewing the actual pics...only the original file numbers with emptu boxes.

  • Print Crash on Intel Macs but not on PPC Macs

    I have two MacBooks exhibiting the same problem. When I try to print from nearly any application over the network, the application quits when I try to print. I restart the application and it usually prints. The printer I try to print to is an HP Deskjet 6540 that is shared from a G5. The G5 has no problems printing to the same printer; it never crashes. The log has been unhelpful -at least to me. I have already reset the printing system and manually installed the printers from scratch a couple of times to no avail. Any ideas would be apreciated!

    Hi there,
    You may have a compatibility problem with PowerPC and Universal applications and drivers.
    Your MacBooks are Intel-based. Most of the supplied applications are written in Universal Binary, meaning that they will work on Intel and PowerPC Mac's. But there are still a lot of applications and drivers that are written just for the PowerPC chip and to work on the Intel they have to use an emulator called Rosetta.
    If the driver that is installed for the HP is PPC, then sometimes that can cause spooler errors, especially ones written in Universal. The workaround is to get a Universal version of the driver or to make the application run using Rosetta.
    Now, given that the HP is shared by the G5, this may be causing the problem also. The HP driver on the G5 will be PPC and if you have added the printer on the MacBooks by just connecting to the share, then you may have PPC drivers installed instead of Universal but more of a problem is that you will have version differences. I have seen this cause the most amount of problems for shared printers.
    Check HP's web site for the latest version of driver for the printer. If they have a Universal version, then download this and install it on all Mac's so that you are using the same version on all three. (You may find this driver is already installed on your MacBook's so if you can get the same version for your G5 that would help heaps).
    Regards,
    Paul

  • Why my mac is not reading my mac osx install dvd ,,and it keeps ejected automatically??!!

    hi ,, i want to do a disk repair throgh my mac os x dvd ,,but when i hold on (( C )) at the start up it keeps ejecteing the cd ??
    what should i do ?? and what is the problem ??
    thx guys

    thx ,, alot bro
    and no i cant read any dvd ,,i tried to read the ilife dvd and it didnt
    can i that my apple superdrives is broken forever or what ??
    all i want for now is just to fix disk (( from disk utility )) ,,anyway to do it ??
    thx a lot bro

  • How can i reset my answer of security question? not remember

    Help!! How can i reset my answer of security question? not remember

    Reset Security Questions
    Frequently asked questions about Apple ID
    Manage My Apple ID
    If all else fails:
    Go to: Apple Express Lane
    Under Product Categories choose iTunes;
    Then choose iTunes Store;
    Then choose Account Management;
    Press Continue;
    Now choose iTunes Store Security and answer the bullet questions, then click Continue;
    Sign in with your Apple ID and press Continue;
    Under Contact Options fill out the information and advise iTunes that you would like your security/challenge questions reset;
    Click Send.
    You should get a response within 24 hours by email.

  • In system settings 15 item are not accessible, get the message: cannot open it, is not possible on intel based MAC. Items like security, i cloud user and groups network and more

    in system settings 15 item are not accessible, get the message: cannot open it, is not possible on intel based MAC. Items like security, iCloud user and groups network and more.
    Genius bar told me to erase the harddisk and install OSX Maverick again. This has not changed the problems with the system settings

    You need to Repartition the drive as One partition which will erase all data from it and then reinstall OS X. then with the initial setup system you chose the language on the first screen that comes up. That sets the language for the whole system.
    There is no other way of completely removing certain information created by a previous owner. this hold strue whether you are selling or give a Mac to someone.
    To do the repartitioning you need to use the Online Internet Recovery system, if the Mac came with Lion 10.7 or above, or from the original system reinstall discs that came with it when it was new.

Maybe you are looking for