need a good anti-virus application

Because he says so, and he believes he's an authority on the matter. Avast is no better nor worse than the other commercial AV products out there, but you really don't need it.

Those so opposed as these two are simply are mimicking one another and others who cry about the horror of commercial AV software. The reality is that there is one person who has experimented with all of these products, and although he doesn't believe any of them are any better than the other, he does state that none of them are particularly great. Of all that he has tested the one he concludes is best is a free one called ClamXav 2.7.5.

I suggest you do like in the fairy tale and try not to listen too carefully to those who cry wolf at everything like LD and some of his ardent followers. They are mostly full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Then you are speaking without evidence or authority. Just because your good buddy LD rants against it doesn't make him or you right.

I take offense with your suggestion that LD is my good buddy.

As well you should. You do yourself wrong by repeating him like he's your authority on these particular matters. The two of you almost sound like a rehearsed duo. I am not a great fan of commercial AV software, but one can't simply classify them all as crap like LD does, and you'd be wise not to be supportive. Were it not for the nature of these forums such wholesale and unproven remarks could be deemed libelous in a different venue and context.

I apologize if I offended you.

Hi. I would carefully consider what Linc is trying to get across and the others. I used Avast free protection for years in Windows. It has more pop ups than my Internet Explorer did. ClamXav is included in most Linux Distributions and Open Source. As Linc's documentation shows, there is no reason for them to upsell you or include there own upsell pop ups like Avast. Simply disabling preview pane in Email and other things will help to reduce risk. Let's face it, if a hacker wants to "break" into your computer, they will. I think they have bigger fish to fry. Macs are more worry free of viruses. Just software based Anti Virus will not protect you alone. Avast as well as Norton can and will block some of your everyday Apps, tasks and consider them a threat. In my case, simply inserting an install disc to install software was blocked by Avast. Settings that were activated just by installing their "free" antivirus. Avast will also report to you about unused programs, bad settings, etc. If you follow through, Avast will break your system. I know. These guys have given you some very sound and accurate advice. I did not think twice. I do not run AV on my Mac. If I would choose to, it would be ClamXav. I used it in Linux. Cheers!

I am sorry to have to tell you this but you are wrong about him being my authority on anything. I tend to avoid reading the vast majority of what he writes. If we sound the same I am completely surprised by that because I have been reading from sources elsewhere on the web beyond ASC.

Thanks for the apology. I appreciate that.

Sungroupie wrote:

Well, I'm going to give a try for a week or so. If my Mac blows up I'll let you know.

Reference this site authored by a knowledgeable ASC participant on these matters:

http://www.thesafemac.com/

He tests them himself and reports what he finds.

Ciao.

Lengthy but some great points.

If you visit dodgy sites (torrents etc) and feel that this is what you need an AV for, install windows/linux or something on a virtual machine and use that for browsing.

This will (assuming you don't use root as a shared folder) almost guarantee that your mac is safe as any malware etc as it will be contained within the VM.

Thanks for the link Ogelthorpe. If what the Safe Mac author says is true about Avast interfering with the SSL certificates then that's a game-changer for me. I'm going to run the tests he suggests and uninstall Avast if what he says pans out.

If you visit dodgy sites (torrents etc) and feel that this is what you need an AV for, install windows/linux or something on a virtual machine and use that for browsing.

Huh? If you're visiting sites loaded with virus infestations then the thing to do is install the OS most at risk from these things (Windows)? Really? Just a wild thought but how about not visiting those sites, or if you do, using an OS that these nasties don't work on at all?

It not based on any experience with it on my Macs.

It is based on all the users who had it on their Macs and asked me to help them solve the problems it caused for them.

The OS is irrelevant to my point. What is relevant is, if you visit dodgy sites, then do it in a sandboxed environment isolated from your file system.

ClamXav is a good free program to use.

So I followed the link in Ogelthorpe's message to the Safe Mac site and then from there to another link which checks to see if your browser recognizes an insecure SSL certificate. Sure enough, Avast had placed itself between my browser and the target site (an insecure certificate). The problem with this of course is that my browser would not warn me of an insecure site with Avast playing "man-in-the-middle."

I have now uninstalled my copy of Avast and am relying on my Mac's own security to protect itself. Hopefully that will be sufficient as the Black Hats ramp up their efforts.