What's the best virus protection for 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 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” copies 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 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. Upgrade to a newer version of OS X 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 the free software ClamXav — nothing else.

See my Mac Malware Guide.

If you choose to install anti-virus software after reading that, I recommend either ClamXav or Sophos.

deac2001 wrote:

What is the best virus protection software for mac?

You don't need any. MacOS X comes with antivirus software. All that third party anti-virus software does is scan for Windows viruses just in case you decide to e-mail them to your friends.

MacOS X comes with antivirus software. All that third party anti-virus software does is scan for Windows viruses

Mac OS X comes with basic protection against trojans. It is utterly useless against about 85% of the Mac malware that has appeared thus far in 2012, which used Java vulnerabilities and social exploits to install behind the back of the built-in anti-malware protection. And third-party anti-virus software certainly scans for Mac malware in addition to Windows malware.

Note that none of this means that you should necessarily use anti-virus software, but false statements such as those must be addressed, lest the reader be fooled into a false sense of security and not take appropriate precautions.

Technically I guess you are correct. MacOS X doesn't come with any antivirus software since there aren't any MacOS X viruses at all. But I like to avoid such minutiae and just call them all "viruses" since that is what most people are doing anyway. In fact, the antivirus protection in MacOS X is but one part of Apple's security solution. Mountain Lion also includes systems to automatically prevent both Java and social exploits.

I have to use antivirus on my work computer. I have top-of-the-line, enterprise class security software. Guess what - it doesn't even work on Mountain Lion. They expect to have their anti-virus software running on Apple's current operating system sometime in "Fall 2012". With all of Apple's marketing and hype, these antivirus companies didn't even know there was a new operating system being released. How they are supposed to detect viruses that don't have worldwide marketing campaigns? These are the companies you want to trust to stay on top of the latest virus threats? If you want to trust someone, trust Apple. Apple delivers proactive security solutions.

Mountain Lion also includes systems to automatically prevent both Java and social exploits.

No it doesn't. It simply doesn't include Java by default, and disables Java if it is installed and then left unused for a certain period of time. That does not equate to a system to protect against Java exploits.

You are more likely to be infected by antivirus software than any other kind. New converts to Apple are especially vulnerable, since they believe their computer needs virus protecion. This weakness itself is what attackers target.

I have never had virus protection and don't recommend it to anyone, it's simply a non-issue for Macs. However, you should be still be careful running applications and scripts downloaded from dubious sources.

That's a PC mindset where there is no protection but constant scanning. It is like a home security system where all the doors and windows are open and you hire someone to constantly go around and check each one. Apple's solution is to just close and lock the door.

Now you're putting words in my mouth that I never said. I'm simply correcting the factual errors you keep making, not recommending for or against anti-virus software.

I never said anything about what you said. I was refering to how you think. You are just parroting what the blogs are telling you. You need to step it up and challenge both what you read and your own prior assumptions.

My experience above is a good example. I had erroneously given the antivirus industry too much credit. I assumed (like you still do) that some antivirus products are better than others. I had one that seemed to work well but only because I had still been running Snow Leopard on one machine.

These antivirus companies know nothing about the Mac. They don't know when the PowerPC gets dropped. They don't know when Apple comes out with 64-bit chips. They don't know they shouldn't corrupt backups. They don't know how how to deal with a multi-user operating system. These are basic things. All these companies know about are Windows. They should not be trusted on a Mac. Apple has a vested interest in making sure that its users are protected against malware. Apple doesn't just scan viruses after the fact. Apple actively updates their operating system to protect it from attacks before those attacks are created. Nobody does Mac security better than Apple.

You know nothing about how I think, as evidenced by your statement that I am "just parroting what the blogs are telling [me]." I have actually tested much of what I write about, with actual malware. Have you actually tested any significant fraction of the malware that exists for the Mac? Have you actually had any conversations with people in the anti-malware community? Clearly not, based on your factually inaccurate and clearly biased claims.

I believe much of what the obvious experts on this page are telling me, but I've learned from six years of post-PC experience that Macs aren't as immune to corruption by uninvited files as many experts keep saying. Therefore even the excellent reply from Linc Davis is of limited usefulness. It advises that I follow four instructions which assume I'm (1) computer-intelligent, (2) immune now and forever to the rascals' many online come-one, and (3) working on a hitherto untouched Mac where no bad files reside, and to which no such files will be transferred. Maybe the question should be "Is it possible to protect a much-used Mac from viruses, malware and that new scourge, the "redirector"?" Or are all anti-virus software writers and companies dead in the head and their products no better? Then if the answers are what I've just read, should you just give up and let the redirectors run your Mac for you -- just as they do already?

mpersky wrote:

Macs aren't as immune to corruption by uninvited files as many experts keep saying.

It isn't that Macs are immune to anything. It is that pound for pound, antivirus software causes fare more trouble for Mac users than malware. Also, as you indicate, most problems that Mac users encounter are with quasi-legitimate "adware" that most antivirus software will complete ignore because it isn't a known Windows virus. And to top it all off, if you did manage to get a redirector or adware installed on a Mac, it is very easy to remove.

Are you sure about your first assertion, etresoft? Because Kaspersky has certainly found a wide assortment of malware on my iMac. As for getting rid of redirectors, I've got a primary target and a secondary one that I'd like to evict, and will accept your help with delight and gratitude.

mpersky wrote:

Are you sure about your first assertion, etresoft?

That Macs aren't immune to anything? Yep. Pretty sure.

Because Kaspersky has certainly found a wide assortment of malware on my iMac. As for getting rid of redirectors, I've got a primary target and a secondary one that I'd like to evict, and will accept your help with delight and gratitude.

You are wasting your time and money with that antivirus. I suggest you start your own question and describe exactly the problem you are having.