I have read somewhere, it is dangerous to have the Mac hard drive scanned for anti virus. Is this the case as I have just installed a programme and don't want to damage the Mac in the process.
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.3)
It's not dangerous in and of itself. But many antivirus programs, particularly those that have automatic background scanning, cause performance issues. And not all antivirus programs are constructed well and may cause other problems, such as misidentifying valid files as being malware which can cause applications or the system itself to malfuntion.
I have found little need for antivirus programs since are no confirmed viruses or worms and only a handful of trojan horse programs which are fairly easy to avoid. If you feel the need for antivirus protection, the freeware ClamXav should be sufficient.
Regards.
Thank you, Varjak Paw. But now you have raised a further issue or two. How can the Trojan horse be avoided and is Comodo a suitable anti virus for iMac.? Please bear in mind I have come from Windows XP and everything was covered by internet security, so this one is a new one to me.
Basically you avoid trojan horse programs by not downloading files from sites you don't trust, by avoiding apps that claim to be p0rn viewers or pirated software (both popular vectors for trojans), and not opening attachments from emails you aren't expecting.
I'd never heard of that antivirus program until you mentioned it, and it seems to get iffy to poor reviews, at least fo the Mac version, so no, I can't recommend it. Again, the freeware ClamXav should be all you need.
Regards.
LoobyfromLismore wrote:
... Please bear in mind I have come from Windows XP and everything was covered by internet security, so this one is a new one to me.
More Information here > Antivirus Discussion
And Here > http://www.reedcorner.net/mmg/
Trojan's can also be easily avoided by keeping your system up-to-date by running Software Update daily. Apple does an excellent job of updating it's security settings, many of these are done in the background when the system does it's daily, weekly and monthly maintenance. Leave your system on 24/7 and when not being used put the display to sleep. When you do the system should perform well for years.
Thank you, one and all. I shall heed your advice. Remove the Comodo and try again to install the ClamXav. I will convert to daily updates. I don't know what will hapen if I click on the ''this helped me'' incon or ''this solved my question'' icon. I don't want to have just one indication that one person has put my mind at rest. But you all have.
Mostly it's just rather impolite to mark your own post as the one that solves your question unless indeed you provide your own solution. If you want to reward someone who helps you, you should mark the "helpful" or "solved" link under their reply.
Regards.
Your welcome....
can an anti virus programme scan the mac hard drive
