Hi,
I am getting my new MacBook Air with the new M1 chip very soon and wanted to check if ...
a) I need a malware/anti-virus program and
b) if there is already one out there running natively on the new M1 machines?
any recommendations?
thank you very much
martin.
Yes, malware, adware, scareware, and ransomware is out there in the wild attacking Macs. Most of it is not terribly dangerous but more annoying. Mac's are not immune to these threats but if you observe common sense safe practices it is unlikely to be a problem.
Exercising some caution in regards to phishing emails and text / social media messages as well as noticing those pop-up advertisements that attempt to convince you that you are infected and to install fake anti-malware tools, etc. goes a long way to protecting you. The rest is a matter of the following:
[Edited by Moderator]
So, what are you doing to maintain a safe existence these days? All of us Team M1 early adopters are essentially Live Lab Rats for APPL in this new ecosystem.
Me? I'm using all best practices as far as settings the M1 OS offers, using my head and not going places I shouldn't go and not opening the door and inviting the obvious usual suspects to camp on my system.
And.......running Malwarebytes as a safety net.
This has been blown way out of proportion. The new malware isn’t anything special and has absolutely nothing to do with which CPU is being used. The code is a universal binary that will run on either Intel or M1 machines. It is not reliant on the CPU. M1 owners are no more vulnerable to this than Intel owners and it still take user action to install it on one’s Mac. You have to be tricked into downloading and installing it, just like all the other malware out there.
This made the news because it’s the first that recompiled to run native on M1 machines, nothing else.
And Apple is already taking measures to squelch it.
I think there is a lot of posturing and conjecture in this thread.
It is true that apple's platform security architecture is robust. It is also a fact that this is no guarantee of safety. No one will disagree that hackers and nation states are actively finding, exploiting, and remaining private about system, browser, and cryptographic technology vulnerabilities.
May I encourage some levity?
Threat protection software is often marketed as malware/anti-virus software because "endpoint security" does not make sense to the average consumer. Whether or not malware and viruses are prevalent on MacOs, what the original poster and most people who have this concern are asking for is software that puts up additional guardrails around their computer usage, either because they know their behavior could invite exploitation, or because they know they have no idea.
Apple recognizes that different individuals and organizations may have different standards or needs for throttling behavior. To that end, Apple has included an API in Catalina and later for independent software vendors to do exactly that (literally called "Endpoint Security"). Additional mechanisms can be utilized that have not traditionally been native to most of Apple's core operating system offerings (e.g. more informative inbound/outbound connection monitoring, ad/popup suppression, javascript execution monitoring, and content signature scanning).
Software that leverages these APIs or takes extra measures to alert and protect customers is not useless.
I mean there is no need to get an anti virus for Mac because there is already built in anti virus systems and any anti virus will just slow down your Mac. All you need is common sense to not download random stuff. Even if you really need ant virus, you would need bitdefender however the latest version of Mac OS is full of anti virus software already.
That's going to stir up a hornet's nest!
There were recent cases of malware showing up on thousands of the new M1s, although the experts couldn't figure out what it did, and I did read that Mac malware is now more prevalent than Windows for the first time ever.
Some people will violently disagree with this. I'm no expert, so they may be right. A very helpful Apple tech support guy did suggest to me installing Malwarebytes free version on my machine and running a scan once in a while.
I guess a lot of it depends on what apps you want to install and the kind of website you visit too!
BTW, if your MacBook Air is as good as my Mini M1, you've made a good choice. The M1 is absolutely fantastic.
I have had issues with Bitdefender (mac book Air M1) worked well until Big Sur software update to 11.5.1 than rendered many aps unable to open, and could not complete downloads of app's from app store. Apple tech support who helped me to remove Bitdefender stated they use Malwarebites
Still looking into this myself. Be aware that some corporate/business users are REQUIRED to have antivirus/anti-malware... software installed by their auditors, insurers and/or government entities. Planning a move from Intel to Apple silicon at home in the next year or two. Retired after 36+ years in IT (some of the years before there was a mac or pc). More concerned about malware and ransomware, especially from advertisements on technical and investment websites, which have occasionally been problematic in the past. Also, infrequent very-well crafted emails (although I rarely click on links in emails, or even sites like this).
Did notice that Microsoft has Mac M1 native support for endpoint security. Some others still require Rosetta 2.
Native or non-native Malware/AntiVirus software will do more harm to your Mac. MacOS already does a very good job dealing with Malware. No OS is 100% secure and most AV/Malware is not worth the headaches.
My 2-cents at today's market rate.
You need this: 🧠 and no other tools, save for possibly the free Malwarebytes if you inadvertently install malware. Everything else is crapware and will not do what it advertises…
@KiltedTim
A good antivirus is a very good complement and it is worth paying for it. At least if you have and work with material worth protecting or in any way work with customers exchanging files. You can receive a word document with a macro virus in it, and send the infected document on to your customer. That would ve good for your reputation and your company :) That you could maybe prevent with a decent antivirus software. At least the known ones...
And there are now a lot of viruses that are not good even if you use a mac. More users on a platform generates more interest and effort from the virus makers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS_malware
Why mention Kaspersky and Russia? I see the antivirus discussion in general. I would not use crypto software from China, Russia, US and a couple more... I prefer, but do not require to have the source code to look at. You must make your own decisions from where you buy your software. No difference if it is antivirus software, crypto software or any other software.
Common sense and general IT knowledge is just one part of it, but you obviously 100% rely on it.
You are out on deep water here :)
The ‘experts’ wouldn’t recommend any of them. And again, those ‘shiny new M1’s’ have NOTHING to do with anything. It’s not the hardware that malware takes advantage of, it’s the users who fall for installing it. I ran AV software for years and the ONLY thing it ever detected was Windows executables which, of course, would not run on a Mac.
Same here. I have a Mac Mini M1, MacBook Pro M1, IPad Pro 11”, iPhone 12 Pro Max and Watch 6. I like that they all work seamlessly together. And I use Bitdefender on appropriate devices. No performance impact and provides a peace of mind.
Malwarebytes is also currently in development for M1 solution. Malewarebytes is an equally if not better option in comparison to the others and also offers VPN.
Antivirus? We don’t need no stinkin’ antivirus.. we have the M1 to protect us! 😂
Apple M1 Chip - native Malware/Anti-Virus App
