BenBoss45

Q: Can't Install antivirus on El Capitan

Hello, when I did a clean reinstall on my macbook (early 2011) of OS X El Capitan It keeps telling me that the software won't install correctly, and if I do continue the installation the installer says the software failed to install and when I open the anti virus apps (Norton Security 5) the software is severely crippled and won't run so I have to uninstall it. Any help?

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11), .

Posted on Oct 1, 2015 4:31 PM

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Q: Can't Install antivirus on El Capitan

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  • by NortonSupport,

    NortonSupport NortonSupport Oct 2, 2015 6:03 PM in response to BenBoss45
    Level 1 (91 points)
    Oct 2, 2015 6:03 PM in response to BenBoss45

    Hi BenBoss45,

     

    Sorry for the trouble. We have recently released an update for the Norton Security to support the MAC OSX 10.11(El Captain). To verify you have received the new update, from the Norton Security product, click on Menu, click "Norton Security" -> "About Norton Security". Please go ahead and make sure you have Norton Internet Security 5.8.0, Norton Antivirus 12.8.0 or Norton Security 6.3 available. Let me know if you need any help with the same.

     

    Thanks!

     

    Dinesh

    Norton Support

  • by BobTheFisherman,

    BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman Oct 2, 2015 6:45 PM in response to BenBoss45
    Level 6 (15,324 points)
    Oct 2, 2015 6:45 PM in response to BenBoss45

    Do not install Norton Anti Virus. If you do you will be back here asking us why your computer is having problems. Search this community for Norton Anti Virus  to see how often people posting here have had problems.

  • by Ziatron,

    Ziatron Ziatron Oct 2, 2015 8:02 PM in response to BenBoss45
    Level 4 (3,930 points)
    Apple Watch
    Oct 2, 2015 8:02 PM in response to BenBoss45

    Can I please have a real answer!?

     

    OK, this is as "real" as it gets.

     

    I've been using Macs since 1984.   I have purchased over 100 Macs.  I open email attachments with no concern of security.   I know dozens of other people who use Mac on a regular basis, both personally, and in their business.

     

    In all of this, I have NEVER seen a virus on a Mac, nor do I know anyone that has.   Having said that, the only issues I have ever experienced along these lines is when someone installs software willfully, and intentionally that messes with your system.

  • by jayv.,

    jayv. jayv. Oct 2, 2015 8:06 PM in response to BenBoss45
    Level 4 (1,290 points)
    Oct 2, 2015 8:06 PM in response to BenBoss45

    Hello BenBoss45.

    Looks Like norton replied already with a possible fix.

    When mentioning "antivirus" on these message boards you get a range of replies, some of which you have seen.

    It is undeniable there is malware out there for the Mac but some choose to stick their head in the sand when it comes to that, too proud or too stubborn to admit it I guess.

     

    While the latest versions of Norton Antivirus have much improved, their bad reputation amongst Mac users is hard to shake. Their malware detection rates on Mac are average, definitely not the best. Their firewall and *name other products in the package you have* really just slow you down. Especially with El Capitan which has been hardened malware infection should become even harder but time will tell.

     

    Use the antivirus if you must but there are better alternatives to Norton. ClamXav and Intego are amongst the best, Sophos has it's moments but tends to fall behind on definitions for the latest threats. Also try the free Malwarebytes adware scanner (previously AdwareMedic), it will catch and remove the vast majority of actual Mac threats out there. I run it once a week.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Oct 2, 2015 8:20 PM in response to Ziatron
    Level 8 (49,054 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 2, 2015 8:20 PM in response to Ziatron

    Ziatron wrote:


    ... the only issues I have ever experienced along these lines is when someone installs software willfully, and intentionally that messes with your system.

     

    Such as "anti-virus" software. 

  • by Philip Stearns,

    Philip Stearns Philip Stearns Oct 2, 2015 9:13 PM in response to BenBoss45
    Level 1 (40 points)
    Oct 2, 2015 9:13 PM in response to BenBoss45

    I regret to have to agree about Norton on the Mac. It's not great and can cause problems. In any case, uninstall it completely since it is not compatible with the new El Capitan software. Then, to answer your question in a way that may be more what you're looking for, download and install Sophos for Mac. It's free, it doesn't gunk up your computer and it will effectively block all the malware that comes riding in on spam email. Most of that malware is for Windows but occasionally you will see one that can infect a Mac. After installing it, you will have a menu icon at the top of your screen. Update Sophos from there so it has all the latest virus definitions loaded. Then, in the Sophos preferences, set it up to remove malware as it finds it. You will get notifications when it does. Also have it checked in zipped files.You can then run Sophos on your computer to do a scan for existing malware.

     

    Adware is a problem on the Mac. It COMMONLY gets into your system thru the browsers, especially Firefox. Flash and Java have to be kept right up-to-date because they are frequently used to access your Mac via web browsers. (I don't know if this is still true for El Capitan but it is in Yosemite). There is a great - and free - application called MalwareBytes (formerly AdwareMedic) that does a great job of finding and removing adware hidden on your computer. Google for AdwareMedic, download, install and run it. Then try to avoid the free movie sites, free music sites, etc. So many of those are just waiting for you to click on something so they can invade your computer. Malwarebytes will also seek out common hidden malware.

  • by Lightwind,

    Lightwind Lightwind Dec 23, 2015 5:51 AM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 23, 2015 5:51 AM in response to John Galt

    Thanks for this very helpful reply. I am a new Mac user (MacBook Pro / El Capitan) but I still (for the time being) have to use a Win10 Pro desktop PC in my business. I've been trying to find some objective advice about antivirus software for the Mac, as I'm so used to having to think about viruses and malware in the Windows environment - where these things are absolutely a real threat. It's good to know that provided I take sensible precautions (which I do), that I do not need to install any additional and unnecessary antivirus software. I've already installed Malwarebytes and DetectX on my MacBook (both of which are free) - but I'll now leave it at that. I use Bitdefender on my PC (which is excellent), but your advice has saved me forking out extra for the Bitdefender cross-platform antivirus software.

  • by JimmyCMPIT,

    JimmyCMPIT JimmyCMPIT Dec 23, 2015 6:09 AM in response to Lightwind
    Level 5 (7,486 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 23, 2015 6:09 AM in response to Lightwind

    supporting both macs and pcs in large corporations for getting close to two decades please take this with a grain of salt:

    As Mac OS is not Windows Mac AV is not Windows AV either. At this point Windows AV is so integral to Windows that MS is generally packing their own into Windows and not saying you shouldn't have a second opinion running just in case. Mac AV relies on the fact that it's a Windows requirement but hoping you don't figure out it's a money making scam on the mac at this point. Unless you have a mac providing potentially infected files to Windows computers you should avoid Mac AV at all costs. Most if not all Mac AV has been appeared to be the root cause of a host of problems on these forms and in almost all cases removing the AV alleviated the problem. The biggest threat against mac right now are fraudulent pop-up ads that try to lure you into the false notion they've discovered some damaging software on your mac and by downloading otherwise legitimate software and having some technical on the other side of the world monkey around in your system you will be protected after loosing several hundred dollars. Unforuntaly the mac doesn't really have con-artist protection but nothing but common sense works in this situation, but other than that most of the Mac protection comes in is from Apple releasing patches and keeping software up-to-date from legitimate sources. At this time no true mac virus has been found on the web, anything closely resembling them have been developed in labs as part of studying the possibility of an exploit.

    Stay informed by keeping on top of sites that know what they are talking about which means mainstream and cable news are about the most misinformed sources of information with computer security.

    I tend to like http://www.thesafemac.com/ for staying informed.

    And btw if you got suckered into buying MacKeeper your credit card info may have been breached. They just keep giving don't they?

     

  • by Lightwind,

    Lightwind Lightwind Dec 23, 2015 6:15 AM in response to JimmyCMPIT
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 23, 2015 6:15 AM in response to JimmyCMPIT

    Thanks - and also for the link to http://www.thesafemac.com - I'll definitely keep that site bookmarked!

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Dec 23, 2015 8:07 AM in response to BenBoss45
    Level 8 (37,815 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 23, 2015 8:07 AM in response to BenBoss45

    First note that the word virus is NOT a catch all term. That word is malware (short for malicious software), and means any of the following as a group:

     

    Virus, worm, Trojan, adware, etc. That is, malware means any software you don't want on your computer.


    To date, there has never been an actual virus that directly affects OS X. The closest to that was Flashback, which officially has been classified as a Trojan. Which isn't really correct either. If you had Java installed and active in your web browser, it would automatically install on your Mac when you visited an infected site with no intervention from you. Pure virus behavior of the user not having to to anything to be infected. But as a technical description, it wasn't an OS X virus. It was a Java virus that used one of the many flaws in Java as an end-around to get on your Mac. If you visited an infected site without Java on your system, it would pop up your admin password box to try and get installed that way. Now it's a Trojan as it depended on your go-ahead to get installed. Flashback was blocked in OS X years ago, and is now a long dead threat.


    There has been one worm in OS X, Oompa-Loompa (also known as OSX/Oomp-A or Leap.A). It wasn't very successful. While there were likely more, the official reported number of infections was 50. It worked as both a worm and a Trojan. Once installed (usually along with illegal software), it would act as a worm and look for other Macs on its own through your iChat messaging software. Once it located someone in your iChat list of users who also had iChat up and running, it would cause the admin password box to popup on their end. Now it's a Trojan, waiting for that user to OK the request of an unknown process (if the user were dumb enough not to question why the admin box popped up from out of nowhere). Oompa-Loompa would then install on their Mac and become a worm looking for iChat users in their list.


    I mention those two old, and long extinct pieces of malware first because they are the only ones that are not Trojans, which virtually all current OS X malware is. YOU have to install it in some manner. It cannot get on your Mac by itself. Phillip made some good points earlier, but this statement is false:

    Adware is a problem on the Mac. It COMMONLY gets into your system thru the browsers, especially Firefox.

    Adware cannot install itself in any manner whatsoever. You need to install it. Unfortunately, it's everywhere. Lots of it is included with illegal software downloads. And that would be minor as such downloads also commonly contain the nastier stuff such as back doors and keyloggers. Never, never, ever download and install any software from illegal torrent or P2P sites. As an example, you download an illegal, cracked copy of Photoshop. It installs just what you expected. However, the crooks also put extra installer components in with it. Once you enter your admin password to install software, everything in that package gets installed, including the stuff you didn't know about. It doesn't have to ask you twice. The other common vector for adware is legitimate software aggregate sites such as C|NET's www.downloads.com and www.softonic.com. Most of the downloads you get from them also install adware. www.macupdate.com used to be clean, but they now also include adware with many downloads.


    So far, adware has proven only to be highly annoying, not destructive.

     

    I've been using computers since our first purchase; an IBM XT clone running MS-DOS 3.1. In all the versions of DOS, Windows and Mac OS's I've used, I have never seen a single piece of malware. I have only ever purchased AV software once. That was years ago for Windows 95. I used it for a year, realized it was a complete waste of money and have never again purchased such software.

     

    In short, use your head, not software. John Galt's points of do's and don'ts is all you need. There are times when you don't have a choice. Many businesses and colleges require you to have AV software installed in order to connect to the network. It's not hard to understand why since there are so many computer users who, even with years of computer skills, still click on every single attachment they get and launch yet another Windows virus into the network.

     

    For your own use though, common sense is all you need.

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