I'm getting a Mac for the first time with OS X Lion and I was curious what, if any, security software is recommended. Is it possible malware or keyloggers can install in the background if I accidentally click a malicious website? Are there any HIPS type behavioral monitors I should install?
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OS X Security Software?
- Thread starter fss69
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For end user use? None.
Not really. MacDefender, though overhyped by a tech press jubilant that they could finally cite an example of Mac malware, was the biggest blip of that type, and its since ceased to be an issue since the fake security company that created it was shut down by authorities.
Again, not for end user use.
OS X isnt Windows. There arent threats lurking around every corner and under every floorboard.
100% Agree......
Went from a windows PC to my first MacMini 2011, asked the same questions about security, but after many months of web browsing and downloads, I have never had an issue..... Period. You really don't need any security software, but Lion does have a firewall if you want to turn it on....
Zumino Zufeilon
Gawd
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There are a few "Consumer" level security systems, but from my experience they are more of an issue then any actual virus/malware (at least ATM)
For various (really really) annoying reasons I had to run Norton AV for mac a few years ago, it was a giant PITA. (The IT guys on a research ship didn't actually believe that there wasn't a mac threat, so it was required for all mac users).
I spent more time uninstalling it, then I ever did actually using it.
For various (really really) annoying reasons I had to run Norton AV for mac a few years ago, it was a giant PITA. (The IT guys on a research ship didn't actually believe that there wasn't a mac threat, so it was required for all mac users).
I spent more time uninstalling it, then I ever did actually using it.
Well, i run the new versions of Symantec/Norton on mine. But then again it is supplied by my employer. Besides the auto-update subprogram, it's really not a bother. On the other hand, I get maybe one suspicious thing pop up once or twice a year. If that. (Like a port-scan detected once and a while, which is auto blocked.)
Alongside Mac Defender, there is the built in firewall, which is decent. Plus filevault2 for whole disc encryption.
Alongside Mac Defender, there is the built in firewall, which is decent. Plus filevault2 for whole disc encryption.
bonehead123
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Not a problem on OS X, but as with ANY computer, if you have the tools available, why not use them, like the built in firewall.......turn it ON along with the one in your router too. I've used macs since the OS 8 days and >NEVER< >EVER< had a single problem whatsoever with security, period.
And god forbid, DO N O T ever, ever under any circumstance, allow ANY NORTON's software within a 1000 miles of your mac, unless of course you enjoy fixing it more than you do using it been there, done that, too many times........
And god forbid, DO N O T ever, ever under any circumstance, allow ANY NORTON's software within a 1000 miles of your mac, unless of course you enjoy fixing it more than you do using it
been there, done that, too many times........indeed. this is the ONLY need for AV on a mac, so you don't forward an infected attachment or something to someone on a windows pc.
BUT, if you're not interacting on a network with PCs much, theres no need.
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I use littlesnitch too, mostly to monitor whats getting sent over the network and whos sending it
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nxcess
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Surprised no one mentioned little snitch.
Second.
Red Falcon
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Exactly, we did this at my workplace for a while before the administration finally realized the Norton AV was causing problems with 10.5 and beyond, then they scrapped it. Good riddance.
santaliqueur
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Just kidding? You were correct the first time. There are no OS X viruses.
ranviper
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Well...there areeee, but they are so few and far between it's essentially a moot point.
lollysticky
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Little Snitch is awesome. Each mac user should have it, just to be amazed how many connections each program makes :/
I do use MacScan to counter spyware; the only thing it ever finds are tracking cookies but hey
I also tried antivirus software but these things aren't necessary (imo).
No, there arent. There are a small handful of Trojans and the very rare piece of malware like MacDefender, but there are no OS X viruses.
heatlesssun
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Of course there are, just not in the wild. If OS X became the #1 desktop OS tomorrow do you honestly think that we wouldn't see viruses in the wild immediately?
Right, because it’s not like Apple isn’t selling Macs hand over fist, right? Just because OS X doesn’t have Windows’ market share doesn’t make it an unappealing target. If anything, virus authors would love to be the first to “bring down” OS X.
There are no OS X viruses. At all. No one has a secret code base that they’re just waiting to unleash in the distant future if OS X happens to surpass Windows’ market share. If they had an effective OS X virus, they would release it. They haven’t because they don’t.
Your entire made-up and baseless criteria for the release of OS X viruses is ridiculous. Get real.
heatlesssun
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You have no more proof that there aren't any OS X viruses than I proof to the contrary. The #1 rule of security is that everything is hackable and can be comprised. And the number of Macs isn't all that. Apple sold 5 million last quarter I believe. If that number where like PCs, in the 50 million range, yes, you'd see viruses instantly. Are you really saying that the world's best hackers can't and don't already do it? Are you saying that OS X is invulnerable to viruses?
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The difference here is that I’m not the one making the claim, therefore the burden of proof is not on me.
I’m saying there are no viruses on OS X. This is a fact. There aren’t any. Virus indexes maintained by AV companies do not list any OS X virus in the wild. They list a couple of Trojans that, frankly, are not very widespread; and they list the occasional piece of semi-clever malware like the now-defunct MacDefender. This is not a claim that OS X is impervious to viruses; this is not a claim that there won’t be viruses in the future. This is just a statement of fact that, as of this posting, there are no viruses in the wild that will infect your OS X installation. They do not exist. The Windows experience of booting up a new computer and immediately having it compromised by a slew of malware simply does not happen on OS X, therefore the “nothing is safe, everything is corrupted” mentality that some Windows users carry over to OS X is wrong as of this post. That’s all I’m saying.
This is not a blanket statement of OS X’s divine superiority and invulnerability to anything and everything that may seek to corrupt it. OS X does have security holes—but the distinction there is that they are security holes in the OS, not innate susceptibility to drive-by virus installations. In the context of this thread, which is whether or not one needs security software (read: anti-virus software), this is irrelevant. The OP does not need anti-virus software, because it won’t scan for anything OS X-related, as there is nothing to scan for.
This thread happens every couple of months and it usually unfolds the same way.
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heatlesssun
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All I'm saying is that there are plenty of OS X vulnerabilities, Apple patches them all the the time just like Microsoft and people have exploited those vulnerabilities, they do it all the time at Black Hat.
No, there aren't any OS X viruses in the wild, but the vulnerabilities in OS X exist to make them possible. It's illogical to conclude that with all of the people hacking computers out there that someone has the capability. This is completely logical and from a security standpoint the correct assumption.
Security is not the law. Once you have the proof you've been compromised, you're screwed.
Thanks. That was the only program I had been considering. I guess buying that should be more than enough.