![]() You will need Mac-specific antivirus software designed to work with the unique demands of macOS in order to protect that new Mac. However, malicious programs targeting Macs and MacBook Pros have not only become increasingly common, but also more potent. The macOS operating system is Unix-based, which is sandboxed so it can be challenging for viruses to do any real damage. Download the tips as a PDF you can read or a podcast you can listen to from this link.There’s an enormous potential target out there that is irresistible to hackers and cybercriminals considering the sheer amount of Mac and MacBook owners around the world. the Lee recommendations are aimed at preventing data theft. Many seem to be attempts to link dire warnings - the sky is falling in! - to sales of unneeded anti-virus software for Macs, but where there's smoke. I have read dozens of these over the last four years and still await an actual virus. This is a result of yet another warning from a security group, this time his own (Sophos). In Appendix A 'Security Checklist' page 112, Apple recommends various options for those running OS X server (like creating a digital signature and enabling security auditing) and concludes that users should install an antivirus tool and configure it to automatically download virus definition files.įinally, there are actually ten recommendations for Mac users doing the rounds - they are by Graham Lee, the senior software engineer at Sophos where he is technical leader for the Mac team. Intrusion Detection Systems are mentioned too, complete with a link for more information (Intrusion Protection Using Open Source Tools). There's a whole section on Mail Security on page 147. Apple says ".don't download or open content you didn't request, and never open a file sent to you by someone you don't know." It's obvious advice, but 'we're' (Mac users) only used to hearing it being offered to PC users. Romo stated, interestingly, that 78% of viruses were now targeted at the web layer rather than the application layer - a worry as more and more user tasks are carried out in the web layer by Google Apps etc.īut I must admit I deleted NAV after three months if it finding narry a sausage.įor the first time in ages, Apple also recommends not opening weird email attachments - for a while the only risk in these was in forwarding them to PC users, where they could do damage. Yeah.īut Microsoft Office 2008 dropped Macros, so. It was fast and much less intrusive than previous versions I had tried, and I actually interviewed Mike Romo from Symantec on NAV for Mac, and he said "we obviously protect against the (few) Mac viruses and Trojan horses out there, and we take care of Macro viruses as well, which can actually prove to be very annoying for Mac users". I personally installed the fast, unobtrusive iAntiVirus Mac beta to give it a whirl [It's by PC Tools - it's still free and seems to do the job, although it's found nothing in a month, but I also trialled the impressive Norton Anti Virus earlier this year, in January. Apple also lists CA AntiVirus r8.1 (retail), the free ClamXav [and the Norton-branded Mac offerings. Note that Avast needs a one-year, two-year (save 25%) or three-year (save 35%) payment one year costs USD$39.95, about $53. The PDF even mentions a link: "For a list of antivirus tools, see the Macintosh Products Guide at Look under the Networking and Security heading on the left - when I looked, 'avast! antivirus Mac edition 2.7.4' had been downloaded from the Apple site 16,744 times. These tools quickly identify suspicious content and compare them to known malicious content." ![]() In the downloadable PDF Leopard Security Config 20080530, Apple says (page 204) "Installing antivirus tools helps prevent infection of your computer by viruses, and helps prevent your computer from becoming a host used to spread viruses to other computers. It must be noted that the advice is not aimed at stock Mac users, but rather at those tech-types running Mac-based networks. OK, I was being flippant, but the times they are a changin' and even Apple has begun recommending anti-viral software for the first time in years. If it's viruses you want to avoid - don't get a PC.
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