Can I get a virus on my Mac running OS 10.10.5 simply by visiting a website or clicking on a link?
Do I need to have virus or malware app to defend/detect against this type of stuff?
iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), 3.06 Core 2 Duo, 12GB RAM, 500GB HD
Although it's technically correct you can't get a virus, I suspect you're concerned about security threats in general - and that answer to that is yes, indeed, if you download any 3rd party software - which, of course, you can easily do inadvertently or otherwise with a click on a website.
The biggest threat in your case comes from the fact that you're running on Yosemite. There are security holes in Yosemite that will never be fixed and which malicious processes can easily take advantage of even if you don't give them admin privileges when you install (and anything which asks for admin privileges to install should be avoided like the plague on any version of macOS).
The answer to these problems is not more 3rd party software but an OS upgrade. Get off Yosemite as a priority if you can. Ideally you want to be on 10.12.4 or higher. If your machine won't support Sierra, get up to 10.11.6.
Avoid all security software. A great deal of it is junk and made by the very people you're trying to avoid, and none of it will protect you from the vulnerabilities inherent to Yosemite and earlier versions of El Capitan.
Most importantly of all if you can't upgrade your current machine, plan to buy new hardware as a matter of urgency.
Although it's technically correct you can't get a virus, I suspect you're concerned about security threats in general - and that answer to that is yes, indeed, if you download any 3rd party software - which, of course, you can easily do inadvertently or otherwise with a click on a website.
The biggest threat in your case comes from the fact that you're running on Yosemite. There are security holes in Yosemite that will never be fixed and which malicious processes can easily take advantage of even if you don't give them admin privileges when you install (and anything which asks for admin privileges to install should be avoided like the plague on any version of macOS).
The answer to these problems is not more 3rd party software but an OS upgrade. Get off Yosemite as a priority if you can. Ideally you want to be on 10.12.4 or higher. If your machine won't support Sierra, get up to 10.11.6.
Avoid all security software. A great deal of it is junk and made by the very people you're trying to avoid, and none of it will protect you from the vulnerabilities inherent to Yosemite and earlier versions of El Capitan.
Most importantly of all if you can't upgrade your current machine, plan to buy new hardware as a matter of urgency.
No, you cannot get a Mac virus from visiting a website. Easilly dealt with alware/adware Yes, but not viruses.
The real danger is in using anti-virus programs. Apple generally keeps ahead of fake anti-virus apps, but in general stay away from any downloads that promise to protect or speed up your Mac.
Treat the internet like New York in the 1970s. Yes you can get viruses, but you're far more likely to get your money stolen via social engineering (con artists).
problem is most users don't really understand the difference between a virus and malware or addware or even a popup claiming they have a virus and should type in their appleID password and creditcard to fix it
1. No.
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Can I get a virus from visiting a website?
