Sophos Free home edition anti virus protection

On 2000-03-28 some Macs in my area were infected by a macro virus

Back then - prior to Mac OS X - there actually were real viruses. None of those actually function these days, unless you happen to still be using Mac OS 9 or earlier. Today, there are no Mac viruses, period. I know it was posted already, but I'll refer you again to my [Mac Virus guide|http://www.reedcorner.net/thomas/guides/macvirus>. Much misinformation here could be avoided if people educated themselves on this topic before posting.

Please post this as a sticky...

stop it

I could have stopped installing protection on machines at any time between 2000 and the present.

I could remove all protection now, and start again in maybe 2020.

For the years in between: I find it easier to (a) gain some quiet peace of mind from the additional protection, than (b) follow the endless debates.

I've already got this as a user tip:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11461327&#11461327

AFAIK, it's up to the moderators to decide whether it gets "stickied" (don't you like how I invented a word there?) at the top of the forum. I will leave it to others to request (or not) this, as they wish, according to whether they find the information of sufficient worth. 🙂

Today, there are no Mac viruses, period.

Your online guide is valuable, but this topic is not limited to viruses alone. The opening poster asked more broadly:

Has anyone had an infected Mac? (+just curious+)

I'll quote a line from your guide, it could easily apply to the question above:

*There is no simple yes or no answer to this question. The answer will depend on many factors, the biggest of which is your own opinions on security.*

All: please don't ridicule people for expressing opinions — thanks.

Message was edited by: Graham Perrin

Your online guide is valuable, but this topic is not limited to viruses alone.

I never said it was. You were the one who claimed to have been infected by a virus, specifically claiming that it was not a trojan.

Has anyone had an infected Mac? (+just curious+)

I'll quote a line from your guide

That quote is completely out of context, as it was in response to the question of whether AV software is needed, not the question of whether anyone has had a Mac get infected. Further, this has no relation to your claims regarding being infected with a virus instead of a trojan.

The simple answer to the question asked by the original poster is yes - absolutely, people out there +right now+ have Macs that have been infected with malware. But there are no systems running Snow Leopard that have been infected with a virus, because there are no Mac viruses at this time.

All: please don't ridicule people for expressing opinions — thanks.

You did not express an opinion, you claimed to have been infected with a virus. You provided information to back this up as a fact, not an opinion. And you were correct, as far as it goes. Of course, you've got to expect to be laughed at when you try to apply this to Mac OS 10.6 at the same time that you admit that the infection occurred a decade ago, under a system whose viruses cannot remotely affect any Mac running any version of Mac OS X.

I have installed it to try it. After a full scan on one Mac it found a infected EXE file mistakenly downloaded on my daughters computer. I think this is more the issue Mac's have to worry about. Spreading Windows based Malware somehow through eMail and file sharing. As someone who uses both PC's and Mac's. I think both Windows 7 and OS X are very safe without Anti virus if you are a safe user and do not knowingly self infect your computers by randomly clicking. I would prefer a Web based Anti virus scanner for Mac's. It would bring peace of mind without having to install and program on your Mac. I use a netbook at times on the road and the online scan option is what I use. Netbooks are notorious for lack of CPU power so why run anything you don't have too? I use a online scanner with the Netbook at times and that works well.

I would prefer a Web based Anti virus scanner for Mac's.

There is zero chance that I would allow any remote or net based app have that kind of access to my computer.

Regards

TD

I would prefer a Web based Anti virus scanner for Mac's.

There is no such thing. I doubt there's any such thing in the Windows world, either. All of the web-based "AV scanners" I have seen are all social engineering designed to try to get you to download Windows malware.

OK, so I could accept that there are currently no viruses, and uninstall all antivirus protection from all Macs.

No longer allow antivirus software to receive updates once an hour.

Then what? Use a script that checks this topic once an hour, once a day for a change in the situation? Use a script that checks a guide once a day for a change in the situation?

I'm amazed by the arguments ...

Then what? Use a script that checks this topic once an hour, once a day for a change in the situation? Use a script that checks a guide once a day for a change in the situation?

If an actual virus were to appear, it doesn't matter what you do. You could have AV software or you could scan the news every five minutes, and nothing would make you safe. Note the documented three month delay between the earliest easily-found reports about the OpinionSpy "malware" and when it was actually added to the definitions in an AV package. See paragraph #3 here:

http://www.reedcorner.net/thomas/guides/macvirus/#needav

So, no matter what you do, you'll be unsafe for a period of time. AV software won't protect you.

Of course, the chances of a virus appearing are fairly low. First, because the Mac OS, which is based on Unix, is much more secure inherently than Windows. Unix has been around far longer than Windows, yet there are almost no viruses for Unix, and even those can only infect a server run by a doofus admin. Macs have the same level of security, though of course they have a greater chance of being run by a "doofus admin," which means it's slightly more likely that viruses may appear for the Mac... but still not likely.

Trojans, on the other hand, don't need to rely on any unpatched vulnerabilities or whatnot. They simply fool the user. As long as you don't allow yourself to be fooled, you don't need AV software and you don't need to carefully monitor the news.

Of course, if it makes you feel more secure to run AV software, do so. Just make sure you get good stuff, not something that will destabilize your system. I don't know anything about this free Sophos tool, but Sophos has a fairly good reputation here. [ClamXav|http://www.clamxav.com> is also a good, stable tool that won't mess up your system.

And, of course, if you do get AV software, don't put your entire trust in it, as it's proven to be fallible. You still have to think about what you're allowing onto your computer.

I'm not sure how to re-phrase this in a way that is acceptable - running software that does not, that CAN NOT do what it says it will do does not make you safer.

<Edited by Host>

So I've no idea what 'edited by host' means, but it is helpful if you tell people when you make edits, and perhaps some indication of why would be useful too.

Message was edited by: Whitecity

I'd have thought "Edited by Host" was fairly self-explanatory. You said something that violated the [terms of use of these forums|http://discussions.apple.com/help.jspa#terms]. It was only a matter of time, the way you've been going lately.

As to AV software not doing what it says, you have admitted on another thread that Mac trojans exist. AV software _finds and removes those trojans_. Period, end of story. What more needs to be said? The proper role and limitations of AV software are more than adequately stated in my guide and my last post. I'm not sure why you feel the constant need to try to input inaccuracy into the issue.

Thomas A Reed wrote:
As to AV software not doing what it says, you have admitted on another thread that Mac trojans exist. AV software _finds and removes those trojans_. Period, end of story. What more needs to be said?

As I've pointed out, the primary claim made by most vendors is that scanning finds and removes viruses. I don't know why you choose to ignore this. I have told you that I agree that av software can be used to remove trojans if you install them, my issue is that that is not the claim that is made by their vendors.
My point is that they are not fit for the purpose that they are sold. They are, as you point out, useful for other purposes.

Thomas A Reed wrote:The proper role and limitations of AV software are more than adequately stated in my guide and my last post. I'm not sure why you feel the constant need to try to input inaccuracy into the issue.

Your guide is very helpful, my comments are simply pointing out that your guide is in direct conflict with the claims made by the vendors. They are the ones constantly inputing inaccuracy here - I am baffled as to why you think that is ok.