Mac Viruses

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I've been hearing for a while that viruses pose virtually no threat to Macs. I have friends who are so adamant about this that they actively disdain to install antivirus software on their Macs, claiming it is a waste of money. Is this true?

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Type: Discussion • Score: 14 • Views: 6,306 • Replies: 58

[+4] - panzade - 08/11/2010Ironically, Microsoft offers a free anti virus program for PC's that is so good I stopped using other anti virus programs. Every day when you get online it uploads new definitions and you can set...

@Shapeless,

I've used a Mac for about 5 yrs, and have known others who've used them much longer. I've never heard of anyone having a virus on their Mac. I haven't installed any anti-virus or any other program on mine, whereas I had all sorts of anti-programs on my PCs.

They also don't crash like PCs - it's the software - so very reliable. If you google, you can find user groups that discuss these things.

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@Shapeless,

i've been using a mac now for almost three years, and i got six months of a fully functioning mac anti virus program last year, i used it, and ran weekly checks, and came up with nothing, and i download lot's of stuff (both legal and some not so)

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I've been problem-free since switching to Mac (about four years ago) as well. I'm just surprised about it. Even if it was the case that virus-makers didn't waste their time with Macs, I can imagine a hacker nowadays wanting to create one just for the sake of saying it's finally been done.

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@Shapeless,

it seems to be a case of quantity over quality, more windows users, so they get targeted, plus folks seem to have a real hatred of microsoft, as apple increases in popularity who knows what we might see

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To my knowledge, every Apple computer has its own anti virus software that
is already installed. With regular upgrades, the anti virus gets upgraded automatically.
I've used MACs for good 20 years and never had a virus.

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Do u all agree that Mac is the best way to go ?

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I think Robert has written on a2k that Macs are vulnerable to viruses. I sort of cringe when I see them getting more popular, thus becoming a larger target. But .. it's been about fifteen years now and so far so good.

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@ossobuco,

there have been some mac specific viruses, but nothing near the amount of the windows

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@OmSigDAVID,

they're very reliable machines, and seem to have longer shelf lives than pc's, ie they aren't obsolete by the time you get home, they do have disadvantages, they are not a great gaming machine, the number of games playable on pc's is much larger

you can also run windows on a partitioned hard drive (you do need a full copy of the windows program, not an upgrade), and you can get microsoft word for mac if your familiar with that program and want to continue to use it if you switch platforms

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@ossobuco,

Quote:

I sort of cringe when I see them getting more popular, thus becoming a larger target.

That's what I'm thinking. It's gotta be a matter of time, if it's not already now. Not that I'm rooting for it. I do get the sense in general media and culture that antagonism toward Steve Jobs is starting to kick in.

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Ironically, Microsoft offers a free anti virus program for PC's that is so good I stopped using other anti virus programs. Every day when you get online it uploads new definitions and you can set it to automatic scans.

Microsoft Security Essentials

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@Shapeless,

Shapeless wrote:

I've been hearing for a while that viruses pose virtually no threat to Macs. I have friends who are so adamant about this that they actively disdain to install antivirus software on their Macs, claiming it is a waste of money. Is this true?

While it's possible for Mac's to get "Viruses" just like PC's, the functional reality is that there are far fewer attempts being made by hackers to infect them, so they almost never get hit. Also, the newer Mac systems are a variant of Unix which is inherently more secure in design than Windows. So again, it's less likely that a Mac will get infected.

But it should be understood that a "virus" is just a computer program, and since Mac's and PC's are both designed to run programs, they can both run (catch) viruses as well.

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@panzade,

I've switched to MSE as well. Free, highly rated, seamless integration with the operating system; what's not to like?

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@Shapeless,

Zeus Trojan steals $1 million from U.K. bank accounts

Quote:

While more than 280,000 compromised computers were running some variant of Windows, there were about 3,000 Macs running the exploit kit that were part of the botnet, along with about 300 PlayStations and seven machines running Nintendo Wii, the report found.

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@DrewDad,

Good lord... having been out of the video game loop for a few decades now, I didn't realize game consoles are susceptible to attacks too!

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@engineer,

makes you wonder if Gates has been dragging his feet all these years, engineer

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@panzade,

I just downloaded and installed MSE from your link! Took 2 minutes...thanks, Pan!!!!!

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@Shapeless,

Quote:

Even if it was the case that virus-makers didn't waste their time with Macs, I can imagine a hacker nowadays wanting to create one just for the sake of saying it's finally been done.

The problem is how to get that virus to a MAC in an efficient manner.

If 90% of the machines are immune to the virus then the ability to transmit it is greatly reduced. It is really hard to make inroads even if you have the perfect virus for Macs.

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@Irishk,

You're welcome...you wouldn't believe how many 'puters I've fixed with that program

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