martingrahamsmith

Q: What is the best and safest software to protect my Mac

What is the best and safest software to protect my Mac-OSX El Capitan 10.11.3? I have been bombarded by MacKeeper advertising recently claiming that my Mac has "serious"problems and offering big discounts whereas up until recently the MacKeeper has said my system was well protected and working well!

Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Apr 11, 2016 1:38 AM

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Q: What is the best and safest software to protect my Mac

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  • by Esquared,Helpful

    Esquared Esquared Apr 15, 2016 3:45 AM in response to martingrahamsmith
    Level 6 (8,415 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2016 3:45 AM in response to martingrahamsmith

    MacKeeper is considered malware: never install or use it. No website can scan your Mac for 'problems'. If your Mac isn't showing any peculiar behavior, there's no need for 'cleaning' operations whatsoever.

  • by Leopardus,

    Leopardus Leopardus Apr 11, 2016 2:44 AM in response to martingrahamsmith
    Level 4 (1,122 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 11, 2016 2:44 AM in response to martingrahamsmith

    This 'Bombardment' that you refer to, might be an indication that you have malware. It is recommended to manually remove it. There is a good appliction created by long time member of this community(formerly known as adware medic)

    https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/

    Or you can choose to use the steps in Stop pop-up ads and adware in Safari - Apple Support

     

    The best defence is common sense and the built-in protection of the Mac. Keep your Gatekeeper settings on 'Mac Store and Identified developers' in your Security & Privacy settings. Use the application firewall in Security & Privacy and enable the built-in firewall in How to enable the adaptive firewall on OS X Server - Apple Support

     

    Do keep away from suspicious sites, free downloads, torrents and the like.

     

    Leo

     

    Edit: This discussion will give you a lot more Re: How can I tell if CleanMyMac3 has hurt my MacBookPro? Look at the answer by Linc Davis

  • by pinkstones,Helpful

    pinkstones pinkstones Apr 15, 2016 6:17 AM in response to martingrahamsmith
    Level 5 (4,209 points)
    Safari
    Apr 15, 2016 6:17 AM in response to martingrahamsmith

    martingrahamsmith wrote:

     

    What is the best and safest software to protect my Mac-OSX El Capitan 10.11.3? I have been bombarded by MacKeeper advertising recently claiming that my Mac has "serious"problems and offering big discounts whereas up until recently the MacKeeper has said my system was well protected and working well!

     

    MacKeeper is garbage, and that's being as kind as I can be about it.  The reason you've been "bombarded" with MacKeeper ads is because you have malware on your computer spawning those ads.  You have two options for removing it:

     

    • Go to https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/ and download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware for Mac.  It was developed by a trusted and respected contributor here.  It's a simple, non- intrusive program that deletes known malware/adware from your hard drive.  That's all it does.  It doesn't add anything and it doesn't take away anything else.
    • Follow the directions in this Apple support article to remove it manually --> http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203987

     

    In general, Macs do not need "maintenance" applications like MacKeeper, MacCleaner, Memory Cleaner, TuneMyMac, CleanMyMac, CleanMyDrive, AVG Cleaner, CCleaner, or anything else like it.  It's all scamware — whether they're free or you have to pay for them, they don't do anything for your computer you couldn't conceivably do for yourself, and you don't need to any of it anyway.  The only thing you need to keep your computer in good working order is your common sense.  Don't visit torrent sites.  Don't download anything from aggregate download sites.  Stay away from XXX sites.  Don't go to any site that says you can do or download something for free that you know would otherwise cost you money.  Only download extensions/plugins/drivers/applications from either the developer's website or the Mac App Store. 

     

    If you follow those tips, and make sure Gatekeeper is set to "Mac App Store and identified developers" (System Preferences --> Security & Privacy), you'll be fine.

  • by JimmyCMPIT,

    JimmyCMPIT JimmyCMPIT Apr 11, 2016 7:05 AM in response to martingrahamsmith
    Level 5 (7,607 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 11, 2016 7:05 AM in response to martingrahamsmith

    the more research into this the more you will find the best defense is common sense. There is a terrible level of misconception put out by uninformed media on the subjects computer security that only serve to spread erroneous information to more people. The more you know about what is out there, why it works and how to prevent it you will always be one step ahead of the curve.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Apr 11, 2016 7:08 AM in response to martingrahamsmith
    Level 9 (50,511 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 11, 2016 7:08 AM in response to martingrahamsmith

    There is none that is safe, so best is out of the question

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Apr 11, 2016 7:35 AM in response to martingrahamsmith
    Level 8 (49,226 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 11, 2016 7:35 AM in response to martingrahamsmith

    martingrahamsmith wrote:

     

    What is the best and safest software to protect my Mac-OSX El Capitan 10.11.3?

     

    Update OS X to version 10.11.4. To learn how to do that read How to update OS X and Mac apps.

     

    Then, read Effective defenses against malware and other threats.

     

    Don't install third party junk that claims to "protect" your Mac. Most of them are outright scams that seek to defraud you. Others will cause operational problems such as data loss or degraded performance. The rest are merely worthless.

  • by Kurt Lang,

    Kurt Lang Kurt Lang Apr 11, 2016 7:55 AM in response to martingrahamsmith
    Level 8 (37,837 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 11, 2016 7:55 AM in response to martingrahamsmith

    Such ads are almost always the result of adware. This is typically installed with something else you downloaded. And of that, most of it comes from aggregate web sites such as www.downloads.com and www.softonic.com. Currently about the two worst places to download otherwise legitimate software from. Plenty of it also tags along with illegally obtained software from torrent or known pirate sites.

     

    pinkstones provided a link to MalwareBytes for Mac. While the author has started to add the ability to look for malware (viruses, Trojans, worms), its main use is to look for known adware and offer the option to remove it. It doesn't remove anything until you say okay.

     

    Like all such software, it can only remove known junk. Something new will be missed. The authors of this junk also keep changing what it installs and where to help avoid detection. Overall though, it is very good at removing adware and is highly recommended by many users on these forums, and even at the Apple Store and Apple's phone support.

     

    It is considered by some to only remove such junk manually. It's a good idea in that it forces you to be more aware of what is on your computer and learn how computers work instead of treating your Mac like a toaster (you turn it on and hope it works). However, manual removal of such software has the same problem as an automated tool. You can't know what to remove if something new, or some known malware/adware has changed and gets on your drive. You don't know what to look for any more than a tool such as MBAM does until someone figures out what it is and where its pieces get installed to so you know what to remove.

     

    My preferred method would be to run MalwareBytes for Mac first and have it remove anything it finds. If you still have problems after that, then you have something new or altered which needs to be hunted down.

  • by martingrahamsmith,

    martingrahamsmith martingrahamsmith Apr 15, 2016 3:46 AM in response to Esquared
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2016 3:46 AM in response to Esquared

    Thank you for your help.

     

    Martin Smith

  • by martingrahamsmith,

    martingrahamsmith martingrahamsmith Apr 15, 2016 3:50 AM in response to pinkstones
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2016 3:50 AM in response to pinkstones

    Thank you very much,

     

    Martin Smith

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Apr 15, 2016 4:07 AM in response to martingrahamsmith
    Level 9 (50,198 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2016 4:07 AM in response to martingrahamsmith

    The best Software to keep protect your Mac is the gray matter between your ears.

    The reason being is that all of the programs that claim to protect you are just looking for known signatures. They will never detect new malware before it has infected your computer. Taking simple care to avoid making contact with that "new" malware will work even if you don't know the malware exists. You may not be able to avoid it all, but you will certainly do a better job avoiding it than a dumb program algorithm just searching for matching bits.

    The OS already has a mechanism to block known threats. It is updated automatically by Apple as soon as a new threat is detected/isolated.

     

    There are several articles in the User Tips section that describe the behaviors you should adopt to make yourself safer on the internet.

    Effective defenses against malware and other threats

    How to install adware

    Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pages

  • by martingrahamsmith,

    martingrahamsmith martingrahamsmith Apr 15, 2016 6:20 AM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 15, 2016 6:20 AM in response to Barney-15E

    Thank you very much for all the advice

     

    Martin Smith

  • by pinkstones,

    pinkstones pinkstones Apr 15, 2016 6:45 AM in response to martingrahamsmith
    Level 5 (4,209 points)
    Safari
    Apr 15, 2016 6:45 AM in response to martingrahamsmith

    martingrahamsmith wrote:

     

    Thank you very much,

     

    Martin Smith

     

    You're very welcome.