o i need antivirus software if i am going to download office 365 onto my new imac?
Do i need antivirus software if i am going to download office 365 onto my new imac?
Do i need antivirus software if i am going to download office 365 onto my new imac?
Your Mac will protect itself. You do not need Anti-Virus aids. You can encounter malware if you drift around browsers while using parallels and Windows, and indeed you might get a virus that way but I believe it will relate only to the Windows element.
If you find this comment too long or too technical, read only sections 5, 6, and 10.
2. All versions of OS X since 10.6.7 have been able to detect known Mac malware in downloaded files, and to block insecure web plugins. This feature is transparent to the user. Internally Apple calls it "XProtect."
The malware recognition database used by XProtect is automatically updated; however, you shouldn't rely on it, because the attackers are always at least a day ahead of the defenders.
The following caveats apply to XProtect:
3. Starting with OS X 10.7.5, there has been a second layer of built-in malware protection, designated " Gatekeeper" by Apple. By default, applications and Installer packages downloaded from the network will only run if they're digitally signed by a developer with a certificate issued by Apple. Software certified in this way hasn't necessarily been tested by Apple, but you can be reasonably sure that it hasn't been modified by anyone other than the developer. His identity is known to Apple, so he could be held legally responsible if he distributed malware. That may not mean much if the developer lives in a country with a weak legal system (see below.)
Gatekeeper doesn't depend on a database of known malware. It has, however, the same limitations as XProtect, and in addition the following:
Apple has so far failed to revoke the codesigning certificates of some known abusers, thereby diluting the value of Gatekeeper and the Developer ID program. These failures don't involve App Store products, however.
For the reasons given, App Store products, and—to a lesser extent—other applications recognized by Gatekeeper as signed, are safer than others, but they can't be considered absolutely safe. "Sandboxed" applications may prompt for access to private data, such as your contacts, or for access to the network. Think before granting that access. Sandbox security is based on user input. Never click through any request for authorization without thinking.
4. Starting with OS X 10.8.3, a third layer of protection has been added: a "Malware Removal Tool" (MRT). MRT runs automatically in the background when you update the OS. It checks for, and removes, malware that may have evaded the other protections via a Java exploit (see below.) MRT also runs when you install or update the Apple-supplied Java runtime (but not the Oracle runtime.) Like XProtect, MRT is effective against known threats, but not against unknown ones. It notifies you if it finds malware, but otherwise there's no user interface to MRT.
Software from an untrustworthy source
Software that is plainly illegal or does something illegal
Conditional or unsolicited offers from strangers
Unexpected events
I don't say that leaving the safe harbor just once will necessarily result in disaster, but making a habit of it will weaken your defenses against malware attack. Any of the above scenarios should, at the very least, make you uncomfortable.
6. Java on the Web ( not to be confused with JavaScript, to which it's not related, despite the similarity of the names) is a weak point in the security of any system. Java is, among other things, a platform for running complex applications in a web page, on the client. That was always a bad idea, and Java's developers have proven themselves incapable of implementing it without also creating a portal for malware to enter. Past Java exploits are the closest thing there has ever been to a Windows-style virus affecting OS X. Merely loading a page with malicious Java content could be harmful.
Fortunately, client-side Java on the Web is obsolete and mostly extinct. Only a few outmoded sites still use it. Try to hasten the process of extinction by avoiding those sites, if you have a choice. Forget about playing games or other non-essential uses of Java.
7. Never install any commercial "anti-virus" or "Internet security" products for the Mac, as they all do more harm than good, if they do any good at all. If you need to be able to detect Windows malware in your files, use one of the free security apps in the Mac App Store—nothing else.
8. An anti-malware product from the App Store, such as "ClamXav," has the same drawback as the commercial suites of being always out of date, but it does not inject code into the operating system. That doesn't mean it's entirely harmless. It may report email messages that have "phishing" links in the body, or Windows malware in attachments, as infected files, and offer to delete or move them. Doing so will corrupt the Mail database. The messages should be deleted from within the Mail application.
A Windows malware attachment in email is usually easy to recognize by the file name alone. An actual example:
London Terror Moovie.avi [124 spaces] Checked By Norton Antivirus.exe
The ClamXav developer won't try to "upsell" you to a paid version of the product. Other developers may do that. Don't be upsold. For one thing, you should not pay to protect Windows users from the consequences of their choice of computing platform. For another, a paid upgrade from a free app will probably have all the disadvantages mentioned in section 7.
Thanks for the help but im still a bit confused,i have not set up the new imac yet and will be installing windows 365 soon,it's just i have a business database which is operated by windows access should i just run the security that i already have on it or should i not as it may slow the Mac down,just want it to be as safe as possible,thanks.
You can never be secure with Windows. Come to that, you are never absolutely secure with any computer but Macs are as good as you can get ... using the OS X system.
Is there anyway of using the access bit on my database without downloading 365 so i can just carry on without the risk of using windows?
Installing Microsoft for mac products like Office will not make your Mac vulnerable to Windows malware. That would only be a problem if you installed Windows itself on a partition, which you are not proposing, presumably.
lilyrose35 wrote:
Is there anyway of using the access bit on my database without downloading 365 so i can just carry on without the risk of using windows?
2 problems
Office 365 comes in Mac and Windows versions,
The Mac version has no compatible application for Access files.
Which version of 365 are you planning on getting?
Filemaker Pro Migrator will convert in Windows Access files to Filemaker Pro. Those files can then be used on the Mac version of Filemaker Pro.
So will LibreOffice, for free.
CSound, you sure about that? Have you tested that with all versions of Access?
Access 2007 and 2010, both work, reporting is different but has similar abilities. I have not tested other versions.
o i need antivirus software if i am going to download office 365 onto my new imac?