Enabling the Firewall and its Stealth Mode is excellent advice, and I wonder why Macs don't come with it enabled.

Your final advice of "...you'll need to install an antivirus application..." is not the best advice though, and is not endorsed by Apple. Every Mac Genius that I have talked with officially states that it is not necessary and may be an unnecessary burdensome application that could slow down the processing speed of other aps.

The current virus protection software for Mac merely checks your computer's email for Windows viruses so you don't become a carrier by forwarding an infected email to someone dumb enough to to be using a Windows PC. Personally, I do not forward such lame emails and I certainly am considerate enough to be sure what attachments I send my friends and family.

None of the computers in any of the 140+ Apple stores have any virus protection (go ahead and ask them!), and I am quite sure that none of the computers in Cupertino have any virus protection aps either.

When Apple themselves feel the need to virus protect the most highly hacker-targeted computers on the planet, then I will, too. But, until then, there is no need to burden yourself or your computer with the false FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) tactics of the virus protection software developers.

I never type in a post that has already been stated, but in this case...

You ruined a perfectly good article, filled with excellent tips, by claiming that all Mac users "need" to install anti-virus software.

Quote

aryugaetu wrote:
Your final advice of "...you'll need to install an antivirus application..." is not the best advice though

Actually, my point was that a firewall does not offer virus protection, and that if you feel the need to have some sort of antivirus protection on your Mac, you will have to install additional software. Many people confuse the two, I and see it as an important point to note for those that don't understand the difference.

By and large, I find virus protection applications to be cumbersom, clunky, and quite often the cause of poor Mac performance. I also know many Mac users that have to use Microsoft Word and Excel in their jobs, and need to use some sort of virus protection tool to remove macro viruses that are embeded in the documents their Windows co-workers give them. The infected files make the Office applications unstable on the Mac, and they usually crash.

Although it should never be your responsibility to police your co-workers files for infections, that responsibility seems to fall on the shoulders of Mac users far too often. Most Mac users don't need to even think about virus protection, but for those that do, they need to be aware that software is available for them.

Jeff

Sorry, but you lose creditability with the anti-virus suggestion. All you had to say is: Firewalls deter intrusion, but not the mythical MacOS X virus (nor unicorns nor evil fairies).

Suggesting someone waste a dime on anti-virus software is irresponsible. It was Symantic, after all, which developed the first Trojan Horse you actually have to pay for!

You failed to mention the fact that those who are on a private network, such as a router or wireless access point, and receive a private IP address, are also protected and a firewall may simply cause issues that an inexperienced user will be unable to recognize or fix. Good article but needs to be expanded as part of a broader discussion around security. I also agree with others with respect to the anti-virus software. I think that these cause issues, many of which have already been listed, and until a real virus threat attacts the Mac, have your Windows friends catch and destry their own viruses!

Please remember that there are cross-platform viruses, with various Microsoft application macro viruses being the most famous. Although the infected file may not damage your Mac, you could be acting as a conduit for spreading viruses to Windows machines.

Panther doesn't have the "Advanced" mode for the Firewall. As for being enabled out of the box, my iMac G4 came with Panther and the Firewall WAS enabled by default.

I have to wonder why some "writers" are continually expressing this need for virus programs.

Every time I read suggestins for this I wonder what are their connections with various software makers.

I have had Macs since 1984 - and never - I repeat - NEVER - have I had a virus - not even in system 9.

I give this "writer" not much credence - actually none..

C

TY, most helpful being a new user.

Just as a response to "aryugaetu"; It may be so that the Apple stores do not offer Anti-virus protection software (although I am pretty darn sure I saw some the last time I was in one), Virex comes free with a .mac account. That IS Apple offering free software to protect your mac, or to keep from passing a virus on to another.

The comment by the author here clearly stated that Viruses are not a full on threat to mac users today.

Personally, i think you are all being overly harsh on this guy. I just bought a mac book, and it's already acting funny. I didn't have the firewall enabled, so maybe thats the cause, but i'm willing to play the "better safe than sorry" game by getting some form of protection software. Anyone who's accustomed to the ever-crashing windows (which is why i just switched to the mac) can attest to the frustration and inconvenience that goes along with NOT having some protection. You claim that mac is virtually invinsible to viruses, I say it all depends on the sites you visit. Anyone who dabbles in the file sharing fields - music lovers for example - would probably be at a much greater risk for infection...don't you think? My job requires a little file sharing which sucks. The inconvenience of having a virus on my computer is FAR greater than the insignificant inconvenience of this "...burdensome application that could slow down the processing speed of other aps." called virus protection. This guy was a help to me, as were his intentions. You overly-critical people should be a bit more respectful and a lot more appreciative. After all, even your beloved mac can't stand behind their own product and give you the same "support" this guy just did without the purchase (sold seperately and expensively, of course) of an "Apple Care Package".

Your Macbook is acting funny - in what way? If you give us some of the symptoms, we may be able to help you.

And if you register, you'll know when your posts have been responded to, and we may be able to help you more.

hi recent to mac pc always used microsoft. i just swapped over to imac my question is... when downloading a file from bit tollerant site i always scan for viruses, on a imac pc the recomendation is that i don't need an antivirus programme my query is if i don't have a antivirus programme and i download a file from a tolerant site i could infect my mac pc. please can you advise me on a good antivirus programme compatable to my imac as i use bit tolarants alot regards

Hmm - it looks as though your computer has already been affected: your caps key doesn't work, and you can't seem to find your comma. Proof-reading your post would help the rest of us to read it more clearly. And it's "Bit Torrent".

I run a GPL Unix virus checker on my Macs called Clam. You can download it from here.

But, without starting up the usual flame war by Microsoft bigots and Mac bigots alike, there are no viruses in the wild for Macs. Pick an integer between -1 and 1 - that's the total. There have been proof-of-concept ones, and there are holes in the OS which the unscrupulous could get through; in the real world there are none.

I have been running Clam for the last year and, except for a couple of phishing links somewhere in a webbrowser cache, there have been no hits.

Nevertheless: practise safe hex.