Q: Antivirus

Mac computers are not vulnerable for Windows viruses. You do not need any antivirus software on your machine.

The OnGuard Online seems to be pervasive across some business, education,

and miscellaneous industry; but I won't bite. Sad if or when they can block you

because you don't buy into an untruthful premise; & require you pay to play ball.

https://www.onguardonline.gov/

https://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/protect-kids-online

Since the premise is there are tools that can stop a viri in the wild that hasn't been

invented yet, is why it isn't likely. I'd suspect such a demand since it isn't valid.

Next thing we'll be forced to buy may be an alien 'flying object detector' to satisfy

the new reality; a detector may be real enough, but false proof isn't reason to buy.

The only article at OnGuard Online.gov that comes up in a search of site, is

https://www.onguardonline.gov/articles/0011-malware as result of entering

'antivirus and Mac OS X 10.11' into their search box. You can get better info

from a few methods & sites mentored by ASC members and contributors.

I was unable to see where they say outright that antivirus software is required.

But that could be a detail on the user-side where a student or business partner

that accesses a service online on a regular basis, is required to play the game.

There are no antivirus applications that can detect on a preventative basis problems

that have not been already causing problems. And to see something that suggests

it may be able to, makes me consider how the criminal element can trick people to

install something that weakens already great security, for another purpose.

Can you provide a sample of the demand from the school that antivirus is required?

You may be able to submit a question to Apple Legal, or at least a Feedback inquiry

that may get a rise out of someone there, regarding this kind of request to conform.

• Apple Legal: For legal questions, please go to apple.com/legal/contact and select

from the drop-down menu provided. Online technical support may (or not) be helpful.

Apple Feedback:

• Support Feedback

• Product Feedback

It appears the basic fact of the matter, may involve finding out which products the

school and this OnGuard online service forces you to get. Like health insurance;

that doesn't include life, accident, or prevention. Like, I'm going to want that, Sure.

The opinion of the IT person (even if we generously assume that she knows something about Macs) is the opinion of a person responsible for masses of linked computers on their network and conservatively is taking no chances. Wrong probably in your daughter's case but fair enough.

So the interesting question becomes what antivirus program is least likely to slow down or otherwise distort your daughter's computer. I have flirted with Clam Xav which seemed OK but otherwise I have no experience. Maybe others here can contribute. You can certainly search these communities for "best antivirus program for macs" without the quotes. Same with searching with Google or whatever. Here is a link to one journal article. There are plenty of others.

Good luck,

dick *******

<Personal Information Edited by Host>

The main issue would be to find out what brand names they demand

a user of a recent model Apple computer running OS X 10.11.4+ is

supposed to purchase in order to continue their studies or conduct

business, on these web site portals.

https://www.internetsafetyproject.org/wiki/onguard-online fails to impress.

To search online: only opens up the door of popularity or that of business

and advertisement driven false-popularity, as those can be bought so as

to appear truthfully the Best. -- That's too much like searching for products

such as 'cleanmymac' and hope it really is good, only because of the number

of times in each search result page the nonsense and false claims, appear.

Does it pay to be popular, or does popularity pay? Either way it costs too much

if the product is false and drags the performance down so low that other false

products get promoted in marginal offers to 'clean' or 'make it faster' adverts.

There are a few items in the Mac App Store, which may or may not qualify as

a practical and prudent method of securing the OS X from untoward attack...

Since the qualifier is not necessarily that a product perform beyond a doubt.

{And the measure of doubt, is enhanced when performance is hampered;

the actual operating system itself is damaged by these posers of truth.}

Even using different search engines can change the results; plus modifiers

such as bolean and other custom means to alter the search results. My

first choice is 'duckduckgo' since it doesn't track; however word order and

other text can be required to obtain other desired results; & hopeful 'facts'.

In any event, the odds are factual protection will have a limited ability to do

more than act like a filter; those tend to obstruct &/or damage the new OS X.

{On the other hand, there are a few items that are helpful, free; such as

etrecheck.com, https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/ & etc.}

While I can see there is an alleged desire to prevent issues from becoming

greater than they may otherwise could be, if nothing is done at all, a matter

of practical importance is dumped on our collective doorsteps by a demand

we use a new 'blanket approach' to Solving a Problem. The built in one is OK.

And better when people know how to harden their own computer's OS X.

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, you should never install any AV or "Internet security" products for the Mac if you have a choice, as they are all worse than useless. If you're required by a (mistaken) institutional policy to install some kind of AV, pick one of the free apps in the Mac App Store—nothing else.

A free AV product from the App Store may serve a purpose if it satisfies an ill-informed network administrator who insists that you have some kind of AV application. It won't modify the operating system; in fact, it won't do anything unless you run it. It's harmless, as long as you don't make the dangerous mistake of thinking that it actually protects you, and that you don't let it delete or move any files. Ignore any warnings about "heuristics" or "phishing." Those warnings, if they're not merely false positives, refer to the text of email messages or to cached web pages, not to malware. Also ignore any attempts to sell you a paid version of the product.

Malwarebytes was developed by one of our own colleagues here in ASC. It gets rave reviews and is about the most proven anti-malware software for Mac. It is the only AV software that has been recommended by Apple. See this topic...

Getting rid of Trovi adware

Apple's general statements about malware protection are here and here, and here are its instructions for removing the most common types of ad-injection malware. Those statements don't mention any third-party "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" product.

Hi Johnnybgud:

Have the school provided you with a list of acceptable AntiVirus software.

Or are they letting you choose whatever you want.

When I first got my MacBook Pro I came from a Windows background where you always needed a AntiVirus program to be running.

I used the free Sophos AntiVirus software for about a year. I did not find that it slowed down the computer too much and it was easy to get rid of.

Some AntiVirus software is easy to install, but you can never seem to get rid of it.

Here is a link in case you are interested. https://secure2.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-ho me-edition-legacy/free-download.aspx

Kim

Safety tips for handling email attachments and content downloaded from the Internet

 

Distinguishing legitimate and malicious applications

 

Where you got the file is the most important indicator. Only download and install applications from trusted sources, such as well-known application publishers, authorized resellers, or other well-known distributors. It is also advisable to use antivirus software to scan any files before installation. A selection of third-party products may be found at the Macintosh Products Guide.

 

Last Modified: Mar 27, 2015

Safety tips for handling email attachments and content downloaded from the Internet - Apple Support

A link has been posted to an obsolete Apple Support page. That page, in turn, links to a "Macintosh Product Guide" where you can supposedly find "anti-malware" products endorsed by Apple. The product guide hasn't existed for years. I suggest that you follow that link and see what happens. If it leads to "malwarebytes," then by all means, use it.