Sophos Free home edition anti virus protection

Steer clear of all this crappy malware - you don't need it, it will cause you problems.

Agreeing 1000% with WhiteCity.

There are no viruses that run on OSX. None. Zip. Zero.

If you're running Windoze on your Mac, that's the same as running it on a PC, so it needs all the same anti-everything stuff you'd use on a PC.

There is some "malware," such as Trojans, for Macs, though. But (unlike viruses that can get onto your system without your knowledge), you must approve their installation (via your Admin password) and/or operation (via the "This application was downloaded from the internet ..." prompt).

Appropriately enough, some of these Trojans are included in pirated versions of Apple software, such as iWork!

For the gory details, see Thomas Reed's [Mac Virus Guide|http://www.reedcorner.net/thomas/guides/macvirus].

Pay Attention wrote:

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

I have used ClamXav for years now. In that time it twice detected a Windows virus in my email folder (in emails I had received from a Windows user). No Mac virus or malware has ever turned up. None!

I just got this info from my University about a weird email I received: Please help

"Entered on 11/05/2010 at 09:08:11 PDT (GMT-0700) by Miller, Don:
Wendy, it looks like your email address was forged as the sending address for some spam messages. From the bounce message the originating ip address was 118.69.34.248, which is located in Asia and is not a Microsoft system so it does not appear your account was compromised. Spammers routinely use legitimate addresses as the sender just in case the message bounces it might be delivered to the sending address as well. This gives them more readers of the message. It also causes confusion about where the message originates. Unfortunately there are not a lot of options for controlling this. Microsoft has information available to remote systems about how messages are routed from their servers and it is up to the receiving company to properly check for this information and discard messages instead of bouncing them. We do recommend you make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date and your system goes through a full scan."

Yikes! Would your "ClamXav" be recommended for me?

Ahoneywell wrote:
. . .
*"it does not appear your account was compromised."*
. . .
Yikes! Would your "ClamXav" be recommended for me?

It won't hurt, but your Mac was NOT infected, hacked, or touched in any way.

Somebody simply got your email address from +*SOMEWHERE ELSE+* and used it as a sending address.

It's as if I picked your name and address out of the phone book and wrote that as the return address on an envelope, and sent some nasty snail mail to someone else.

Not to worry. 😉

Thanks, I did download the ClamXav - Version 2.0.8 (236). Makes me feel better anyway. Thanks Again Wendy

You know, I guess at some point you just have to stop telling people and let them do what they want. Here it is again though:
1. Someone (probably on a windows machine) who had your email address on their computer got infected, and sent out emails with your address spoofed into them.
2. You are not vulnerable to this attack, since you are not on a windows machine.
3. At best, running an anti-virus on the Mac is a waste of time. You should not feel better about doing this.

Has anyone had an infected Mac?

Yes, my Mac and others nearby were infected.

The developer of the antivirus software that we used at the time provided first a workaround, then an officially distributed detection for the variant.

That is a good one since so far there has not been a virus that is capable of infecting a Mac.

If it was infected with a Trojan then you deserve what you got for being dumb enough to fall for their phishing scam.

_________________

Allan

We were simply unlucky: the virus protection that we used at the time didn't have protection for the (then) very recent variant that bugged us.

If it was infected with a Trojan then you deserve what you got for being dumb

It wasn't a trojan.

Dumbness was neither in our area (where Macs were infected) nor in the developer area (from where we swiftly received an interim method of detection and disinfection), but thanks for the sentiment — someone, someday, affected by malware will truly appreciate the addition of 'dumb' to 'glum'.

How many times does it have to be pointed out? You were not infected by a virus. No 'virus protection' scam will protect you, because there is no current threat from viruses.

So far the only malware that can infect a Mac is a Trojan. Those you must invite in to harm you and are not detectable by anti-virus software.


___________________

Allan

Well, to be fair, much of the anti-virus software will detect the presence of Trojans, but the biggest giveaway has to be that you installed the stuff yourself.

The opening poster asked:

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

I replied:

Yes, my Mac and others nearby were infected.

Whitecity wrote:

You were not infected by a virus.

On 2000-03-28 some Macs in my area were infected by a macro virus then identified by an antivirus software vendor as W97M/Proverb. According to notes from the time, protection that was both limited and not through the usual channels became available on 2000-04-07. Some technical knowledge was required to install that limited protection; the workaround was not scripted.

Protection that was greater, and through the usual channels, came at a later date.

In my experience there's some peace of mind in adding third party protection against malware.

An alternative for the present is to rely on the very basic protection that Apple integrate in the OS, then follow the debates re: whether threats exist.

Beyond the present: if/when a threat exists you're unlucky enough to suffer from malware — and if you opted to be without additional protection — then you should be prepared for the possibility of your situation being less happy than those who opted for the additional protection.

Hope that helps,
Graham

Seriously? You're talking about something that happened ten years ago? That is a Word 97 macro virus, that doesn't even run on Snow Leopard. I don't even think OSX was out then - this must have been OS9, right? Honestly, stop it already.