MacScan 2.9.3, is it good ?

I like it, but if you only have one App, I'd suggest Little Snitch, stops/alerts outgoing stuff...

http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html

Mac OS X versions 10.6.7 and later have built-in detection of known Mac malware in downloaded files. The recognition database is automatically updated once a day; however, you shouldn't rely on it, because the attackers are always at least a day ahead of the defenders. In most cases, there’s no benefit from any other automated protection against malware.

The most effective defense against malware is your own intelligence. All known malware on the Internet that affects a fully-updated installation of Mac OS X 10.6 or later takes the form of trojans, which can only work if the victim is duped into running them. If you're smarter than the malware attacker thinks you are, you won't be duped. That means, primarily, that you never install software from an untrustworthy source. How do you know a source is untrustworthy?

1. Any website that prompts you to install a “codec,” “plug-in,” or “certificate” that comes from that same site, or an unknown site, merely in order to use the site, is untrustworthy.
2. A web operator who tells you that you have a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with your computer, or that you have won a prize in a contest you never entered, is trying to commit a crime with you as the victim.
3. “Cracked” versions of commercial software downloaded from a bittorrent are likely to be infected.
4. Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must be downloaded directly from the developer’s website. No intermediary is acceptable.

Disable Java (not JavaScript) in your web browser(s). Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This setting is mandatory in Mac OS X 10.5.8 or earlier, because Java in those versions has bugs that make it unsafe to use on the Internet. Those bugs will probably never be fixed, because those older operating systems are no longer being maintained by Apple. Migrate to a newer version of the Mac OS as soon as you can.

Follow these guidelines, and you’ll be as safe from malware as you can reasonably be.

Never install any commercial "anti-virus" products for the Mac, as they all do more harm than good. If you need to be able to detect Windows malware in your files, use ClamXav — nothing else.

bbbrucebb wrote:

macscan 2.9.3 , is it good ?

Marginally. It's about the only thing available for detecting so called "spyware" which are things like key loggers and remote access tools which must be installed by physical or network access to your computer. In the beginning, that's all it did, but they also look for common Mac malware such as DNSChanger and several Trojans. There's a full list of what they detect on the web site. It doesn't run in the background like most other A-V software, but it will impact your CPU when doing manual scans. It also deletes tracking cookies, if something like that interests you, but there are ways to prevent them in the first place.

On the negative side, they only update their definitions once a month, so there is a delay in detecting new malware. It also has a propensity for false alarms due to the way it chooses to scan for signatures.

Full Disclosure: I am a beta tester for MacScan, but receive no compensation.

I have a niece who uses an iMac. I have been getting repeated "advertisements" from her/her computer for several months. Hername... my name and addrtess and the ad.... nothing persolnal just an ad. Is it lilkely she has a malware (I wouldn't suggest worms) and what should I tell her to do at this point

PS Macscan apparently is not in the Apple Apps store... why not?

Pete Kroner wrote:

I have a niece who uses an iMac. I have been getting repeated "advertisements" from her/her computer for several months. Hername... my name and addrtess and the ad.... nothing persolnal just an ad. Is it lilkely she has a malware (I wouldn't suggest worms) and what should I tell her to do at this point

Almost certainly not malware as there is no currently know out there that could cause this. See Someone is sending messages from my e-mail address!

PS Macscan apparently is not in the Apple Apps store... why not?

You will have to ask the developers at SecureMac. They have chosen to to submit it, either becuase they can't make it work under Apple's rules, or for some reason they don't have the resources to support it.

This thread is almost a year old and Thomas Reed has recently posted MacScan disappoints.

I like macscan, does the job right, however, I wonder whether it scans for evercookie.

canguy1 wrote:

I wonder whether it scans for evercookie.

Nope, not even close.