sharing ms office docs does this mean i should have anti-virus

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Level 1

4 points

sharing ms office docs does this mean i should have anti-virus

on my previous mac i had ran Norton anti-virus as i connected my mac to my employer's network sharing totally ms products. I will now only share ms docs etc with friends via e-mail, as my employer does not allow connection to their network by macs.

i note that on here the general opinion seems to be that anti-virus is not needed. Therefore, even though i will be sharing ms docs and running office 365 on my system, can i still get away without any anti-virus.

Mac mini, macOS 15.0

Posted on Sep 28, 2024 9:36 AM

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Answer 1

HWTech

Level 9

60,452 points

Sep 28, 2024 11:32 AM in response to johnsig

macOS already has great built-in security especially when combined with the user also practicing safe computing habits as outlined in this excellent article written by a respected forum contributor (even applies equally well to Windows users):

Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community

Anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software all interfere with the normal operation of macOS (of any OS) at a very low level, so these types of apps usually cause more problems than they solve. Many of these types of apps are also collecting & selling your personal information and many also have had security vulnerabilities themselves which actually makes your system much less secure.

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Answer 2

johnsig Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 29, 2024 10:03 AM in response to HWTech

Thanks for this, my understanding is, if i stick to downloading apps from recognised companies or the app store i should be ok. As far as MS docs they should be good if you trust the source.

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