Need Mac antivirus software

Soldato
Joined
11 Feb 2004
Posts
4,532
Location
Surrey, UK
I should install some antivirus software on my mac.

What should I get? Don't mind paying but if there are good free alternatives I'd love to hear about those too :)
 
Why should you? Providing you have your security set up correctly and don't open weird files and click dodgy ads you should be fine! I don't think there are many AV suites out there for Macs. Norton and/ or Macafee have one out but I'm not sure. Have you searched on the App Store?
 
I became panicky yesterday after clicking on a link included in a mail message from a friend. It turned out to be potentially malicious (something I've determined since he never sent it).

Schoolboy error !

There's nothing worth downloading for av on the App Store. Maybe something to detect as opposed to prevent might be necessary? Or I could just roll with it.
 
Sensible behaviour > any a/v.

This everyday of the week; AV for mac always seems to end in a bit of an argument thread but I've never used AV on my Macs and never had a problem. Anything else is just a resource hog.

My opinion and experience.

(I give the same answers to friends when they panic sayign they can't find ant -virus for their iPad/iPhone :rolleyes: )
 
Acknowledged :)

I'll give it a miss. Thanks for all the replies.

Dismissive replies with little or no discussion aren't doing you any favours.

Whether you would benefit from running antivirus software is actually quite nuanced with regards to Macs, and a lot depends on your circumstances - details of which nobody has really bothered to ask you.

Do you handle high volumes of unsolicited mail? What is the potential impact of your computer getting infected e.g. business critical? What sort of Mac do you own; has it got plenty of memory and fast storage or is it a bit spec starved? What operating system are you running i.e. is it still fully supported by Apple?

It may very well turn out that running antivirus software would be of negligible benefit to you. But I am sure you would want to reach that conclusion after a considered evaluation of your particular setup, as opposed to putting your faith in accepted wisdom and ham fisted opinions.
 
I recommend just making an Admin account that you only use for installing software then using your normal non admin account for everything else. This way your safe from anything to harmful. Anti Virus is not needed for day to day things but can help if someone every decides to attack your personally, given most users don't use any sort of protection I could see someone getting in and out pretty easily which is sightly worrying.
 
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