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First time Mac user! Should I have supplemental security products?

Should I have additional security such as anti virus, etc, on my 2017 iMac, 27" 5K running Mojave? This is my very first Mac after 25 years of Windows ( where I was never w/o added security for a goor reason). I have had it for about 2 weeks.. But I have no supplemental security, other than a strong password, firewall, etc. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you.


P.S. Excited to be a new Mac owner finally!!!

iMac 27" 5K, macOS 10.14

Posted on Jun 2, 2019 2:00 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 3, 2019 4:13 AM

One of the simplest ones: Common Sense.


-Don't visit questionable sites.

-Never ever download anything you did not specifically ask for.

-Never install any app except from the MacApp Store or directly

from the app vendor.

-Set up a standard user account for everyday use and only use the

administrator account when required for system updates, app updates

or installing new apps.

-In System Preferences->Security and Privacy, set the "Allow apps downloaded from:"

to App Store only. If you need to install a known "safe" app, you can always

temporarily change that.

8 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 3, 2019 4:13 AM in response to bonesamon1

One of the simplest ones: Common Sense.


-Don't visit questionable sites.

-Never ever download anything you did not specifically ask for.

-Never install any app except from the MacApp Store or directly

from the app vendor.

-Set up a standard user account for everyday use and only use the

administrator account when required for system updates, app updates

or installing new apps.

-In System Preferences->Security and Privacy, set the "Allow apps downloaded from:"

to App Store only. If you need to install a known "safe" app, you can always

temporarily change that.

Jun 3, 2019 9:41 AM in response to bonesamon1

Well that is certainly clear enough! Thank you. A question. I understand and would not download app anywhere except the official Apple App Store, however, what about regular programs that you download from Safari, that there is no app available. For instance I recently added Nikon NX-i, Adobe PS/LR, and I even added a speed tester from Ookala.com. I only run mainstream household names. The speed tester is about as exotic as I get ( Im not a gamer or anything). Are these programs ( Windows vocab. if it applies here) a problem?

Thanks to everyone for your responses. And Woodmeister50 I will indeed set up a non admin user id. Thank you.

Jun 4, 2019 4:35 AM in response to bonesamon1

bonesamon1 wrote:

... For instance I recently added Nikon NX-i, Adobe PS/LR, and I even added a speed tester from Ookala.com. I only run mainstream household names. The speed tester is about as exotic as I get ( Im not a gamer or anything). Are these programs ( Windows vocab. if it applies here) a problem?....

If you downloaded them from the directly from vendor sites,

you are safe. However, as with any app on any platform, some

can be just poorly written and problematic to start with but

has nothing to do with security.

First time Mac user! Should I have supplemental security products?

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