Antivirus for Mac & Windows

Question

Level 1

8 points

Antivirus for Mac & Windows

Hi!

So, I’m new to the Mac World. I’ve witnessed how great Macs are compared to PC’s, so I became obsessed and got me a brand new Macbook Pro. However, I still need some Windows-only applications so I opted for the drive partition with Bootcamp that allows me to run Windows XP.

Being a Windows user for years, I’m used to antivirus software, firewalls and so on. I have no problems with that.

My "problem" is this:

I was told long ago that you should only have one antivirus in your computer. However, since I have two operating systems on my MacBook Pro, should I get two antiviruses for each? I already have the option to have Norton on the Windows partition for "free" (I have Norton 360 for 3 optional equipments at home)…

Should I also get Norton for Mac or other antivirus software for the Mac partition? What do you recommend?

Will the laptop work properly with two antiviruses? Will they be able to interfere with each other?

MacBook Pro 15" 2.2, Mac OS X (10.5), Brand new

Posted on Dec 22, 2007 3:56 PM

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Answer 1

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Dec 22, 2007 4:06 PM in response to marlerf

Each OS. And BootCamp is just Windows OS.

Never, ever let Norton get inside your Mac OS though. 360 beta sounds good (NIS2008 was an improvement over 2007) so go with that.

Unless you have MacDrive (read and write to Mac HFS+ from Windows) the Mac side is... up to you if or what you need. I'd examine if you need AV, but I have a copy of Intego VirusBarrier (I like their NetBarrier for add'l firewall and network intrusion detetion).

Two would be running 360 and Avast AV.

Even if you were to run XP under a VM like Fusion, you would need AV for Windows - and maybe for Mac.

QuickTime, Javascript, Flash... plug-ins an "fake ads" etc are going to affect both platforms going forward.

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Answer 2

Dec 23, 2007 11:13 PM in response to marlerf

Treat the two operating systems on your MBP just as you would two separate computers. An anti-virus program running in one cannot scan the other because they are non-compatible operating systems. Each OS has its own need for protection without regard to how you are handling the other. The rule of thumb to only have one antivirus program on a computer holds, but you have in effect two computers co-existing in the same box.

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Answer 3

Dec 24, 2007 6:38 AM in response to Colin Barnhorst

Colin,

"An anti-virus program running in one cannot scan the other because they are non-compatible operating systems."

I have just installed Vista in a Boot Camp partition, with MacDrive 7.

I then installed Nod32 and did a scan with its default settings. It scanned the C drive fine..... then to my surprise started on the E drive (my MacBook Pro OS HD) which it could see because of MacDrive.

I quickly stopped it and set the E drive as an exclusion in Nod32. Then I thought, does it actually matter?...I still don't know the answer to that but I guess it probably doesn't do any harm.

Obviously no active protection from Nod32 for the Mac. I have ClamXav watching all the important stuff in the Mac, so for an occasional whole drive check maybe Nod32 run from Vista is a good thing....

Any thoughts

Mike

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Answer 4

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Dec 24, 2007 10:34 AM in response to Mike Boreham

The reverse happens if you use an NTFS package, OS X installers will now scan your NTFS and Vista volumes.

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Answer 5

Dec 24, 2007 3:15 PM in response to The hatter

Thanks,

Not thought of that but yes, I have NTFS-for-Mac which means Clamscan can scan the Vista partition if I wanted. Probably more useful than the other way round.

Question is, are there any dangers with cross platform scanning?

Mike

PS Any significance to your saying the "OSX installers will now scan NTFS and Vista..." puzzled about "installers" ...was it a typo or am I missing something.

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Answer 6

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Dec 24, 2007 3:27 PM in response to Mike Boreham

Tidbits editor discovered that installing x-y-z program would, when looking for previous versions, hang or try to scan NTFS volumes.

I've tested ClamXav and found it to be wanting. And use to hog cpu if it scanned more than a folder (and at one point my downloads were corrupt or would show duplicates) so I use VirusBarrier, if I use anything on Mac side.

I trust Norton 2008 or Avast with finding even those obnoxious ad-ware cookie monster trackers.

I had corruption of Vista data with NTFS ability from Mac side (there is a nedw stable, and a less stable performance enhanced version), and had to repair Vista.

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Answer 7

marlerf Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 27, 2007 11:13 PM in response to The hatter

So, for the Mac partition, what AV do you recommend?
I'm looking for an AV that has good detection rate and ability to scan selected files. Also, it must work with Leopard and not be a resource hog.

BTW, would an AV be enough or do I need Internet Security for Mac? In case of the latter, which ones do you recommend? Thank you!

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Answer 8

Dec 28, 2007 9:37 AM in response to marlerf

ClamXav is often recommended, and it is free. I use it but would not particularly recommend it. It is not user friendly to set up, but works fine watching designated folders. It does use quite a lot of CPU while doing a command scan, but no problem in normal use.

Previously I used Intego Virusbarrier, which was very user friendly and satisfactory. I only stopped because I found ClamXav and didn't feel it worth paying for virus protection for the Mac.

When I put ClamXav on and scanned the whole machine, it found some windows viruses in old email attachments which Intego had never found.

I have never used any other security software except the Apple built in firewalls. Never had a problem.

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Answer 9

Jan 7, 2008 4:36 AM in response to marlerf

Most anti-virus programs can scan for viruses that affect either Mac OS X or Windows, sometimes this entails turning on an extra setting. Sophos Anti-Virus for example can scan for both but you need to turn on a tick box in its settings.

I use Sophos Anti-Virus on both Mac OS X and Windows (i.e. I have the Mac version installed in Mac OS X and the Windows version installed in XP). While Sophos is not available to consumers (it is aimed at businesses) I regard it as being the best Mac anti-virus package available.

Norton has an appalling reputation on both Mac and Windows. For 'real' home PCs belonging to other people I have been suggesting the free version of AVG by Grisoft.

In answer to your question, you would have a single Windows anti-virus package installed in the Windows partition, and a single Mac anti-virus package installed on the Mac partition. You could have each scan both partitions.

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