Antivirus for MacBook Air?

If you search throu the community, nearly ALL say you dont need an AV for a mac

No, the forum members ALL state that AV on a mac causes more problems.

No AV for windows cant be used on a mac as they are to completely different systems.

If you would like to see what others have said, on the right side of the screen there is a box labeled More Like This that will link you to those discussions.

I'm sorry, but I cant answer that as I will ONLY ever run a Mac OS on my mac computer. You might need to wait for one of the more experienced forum users can answer that question.

You do not neet AV on a Mac but if you really insist ClamXav is ok. Do NOT install proprietry AVs such as MacAfee or Norton or the much advertised MacKeeper.

I run Windows 7 under Parallels on my iMac and find Kapersky works fine.

However the best method of all is to practice safe computing.

There are no known viruses that infect OS X. Do not install any third party anti-virus software on Macs, it will only cause problems. Due to the methods in which they function it can be especially difficult to un-install such programs.

currently I am using a Windows OS laptop. I have been using Antivirus for several years.

Of course you have.

If you run Windows on a Mac with Boot Camp or Parallels, the need to conduct routine anti-virus chores to maintain your Windows Experience is a requirement. However, the Mac cannot be infected by those viruses. Just allow Software Update to do its job and the Mac is maintenance-free.

The Mac is a different world. Learn about it: Mac 101. Forget Windows.

OS X security: http://www.apple.com/macosx/what-is/security.html

Look at the link I posted for answers to your questions. Also look at the More Like This box to the right of these posts for a lot more information.

Yeah, your Macbook Air will connect to any WiFi just like a Windows Laptop. Just click the WiFi "fan" at the top right and select the network you want to connect to. Right now my Macbook Air is connected to my home's Netgear router just like my old Latitude D830 did. If you have a password, might have to dig it out somewhere if you don't remember it.

Actual "viruses" for the Mac are for all intents and purposes, non-existent.

That is not to say that there is no "malware". Every so often, there is a Trojan or two that one must be watchful for. Any competent security software, such as ClamXav is somewhat adept at keeping older Trojans at bay, and newer ones as they update the malware definitions.

But Trojans, by and large, are equally defended against by user vigilance. By definition, "Trojans" are malware inserted into, or masquerading as legitimate software wherein the user allows installation. Fortunately, OS X places a step before installation or execution of any new software, which requires the admin to verify by administrative password. This is to hopefully prevent the unintended installation of any code, be it malicious or otherwise. "Hopefully", because it depends on the user to decide what is trusted versus untrusted software.

It comes down to this... If the user is "savvy" enough to avoid installing any software that might be infected (which is quite rare, by the way), then anti-malware software is a simple redundancy at the expense of the "baggage" that the security software brings along with it. Obviously, it takes up space. It consumes memory, when activated. It consumes CPU resources. But the real issue is all the "little" annoyances, such as compatibility with legitimate software, and even the OS itself. The reported instances of these are much greater than the number of "success stories" evident. Especially for the experienced user, who sees little need for occasional hand-holding that an AV software affords. In fact, I would put it that it affords just as much a false sense of security, as it does real security. If you rely on security software, you may become complacent, and install software you might otherwise not do, and even the AV isn't going to be overwhelmingly effective against new Trojans for which definitions are not yet integrated into the protection scheme.

Opinions on this matter vary widely. And while I think a case could be made for the inexperienced user to install an AV, for me I find it wholly a unnecesary step that just consumes time, effort, and resources I would not want to allocate. Yeah, I know people want to harp on Clam's rather low usages, in relative terms. But until Apple shows any inclination to propose an need, I feel just fine without it.

I have used Intego VirusBarrier for the past few years on my various Macs and have never had an issue with it nor experienced any slow down as a result. It currently lives on my 2010 Macbook Air 13" and my older 2008 MacBook Pro (before that a Core Duo iMac, etc). I only use the Mac version, though they offer a Dual Protection (Mac/Windows) virus scanner as well which I believe is for people using Parallels type software.

Most people don't use one for the reasons listed above, but I always felt more comfortable having it around. It also has some other features - like firewall, network bandwith, etc. To support the others statements I don't believe its ever caught a virus in all the time I've had it.

Again, most people will disagree with me and probably use nothing, but I personally have used VirusBarrier for several years (from X4 up to the X6 version now) and have never had any issues with it.

No, the forum members ALL state that AV on a mac causes more problems.

This is simply not true. As others have, rightly, pointed out, some antivirus programs have caused significant issues, with Norton coming immediately to mind. However, even those who argue that an antivirus isn't needed usually concede that ClamXav is the one program to install if you want an antivirus. I've used it for years, with no issues, to scan incoming mail and downloads. As posted, others have had success with Intego, although I have run across a situation where it caused an issue and had to be uninstalled.

darrengbl wrote:

May I know what ClamXav can do - it works just like other AV? Can the ClamXav be use for - Blocking virus, Real time safeguards, Two-way firewall, Scanning the system, etc?

ClamXav uses the cross-platform clamav scan engine which is almost exclusively a signature based anti-malware system. It does have some heuristic analysis capability, primarily in the phishing area for e-mail and web sites. ClamXav also has an optional real-time watch application called Sentry built into the full version available for download from the web (as opposed to the more limited AppStore version). It is not plug and play in that most options default to off, so you do have to do some minor tayloring at installation time to meet your particular needs. There is no firewall (OS X has it's own one-way). Lion OS will take care of all the blocking you need. Scanning is limited to files you have read access to, each user must scan their own files (home directory) and there are a few systems files (most in the underlying unix sub-system) that can't be scanned. Manual scanning can be initiated via the app or using a contextual service menu. There are also scheduled scanning and definitions updating options. Found malware can be automatically quarantined or deleted, but that's not recommended if you choose to scan e-mail content for malware and phishing. That's generally true for any AV (A-M) software as it will generally damage your mailbox index or worse.