Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software
Better safe than sorry? Trend Micro Smart Surfing for Mac
Earlier this week, PC security app vendor Trend Micro announced a new product aimed at Mac users. Smart Surfing for Mac (US$69.95 per user per year) provides antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, and web threat protection, and also has a two-way firewall built in. This, of course, brings up the old debate for Mac users. On the one hand, our 10% of the personal computing market is virtually free of the virus and malware attacks that plague the Windows world. On the other hand, should you be concerned enough to consider purchasing protection that might be overkill?
Some of the features of Smart Surfing for Mac could be very useful for users who might otherwise be in danger of certain nefarious schemes. For example, it blocks visits to dangerous websites and has anti-phishing capabilities. While I know enough to check the real URL of links in emails by simply hovering my cursor above them, there are a frightening number of people who don't do this and who are at real risk of phishing scams. Parents might like Smart Surfing for Mac for their kids, as it restricts access by content categories, controls IM access, and also lets you block certain websites.
Are products like Smart Surfing for Mac expensive overkill, or are they cheap insurance against the remote chance of actually getting hit with a Mac virus, malware, or a scam? Let's hear your opinion in the comments section!
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Luigi193 said 2:52PM on 4-25-2009
I never have and never will install an OS X antivirus.
The end.
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Chris said 4:05PM on 4-25-2009
Ditto.
1st. Why would you use this for your kids when Leopard has the same parental controls built in?
2nd. Software firewalls are pointless if you don't have a hardware Firewall, IE your router.
3rd. Anti-Virus companies can't make good software that doesn't slow down PC's and cause more problems. What suddenly makes their Mac software any good?
If you ever listen to Leo Laporte's Tech Guy, many PC users call in saying their 2 year old PC is slow and isn't operating right. I bet %75 of the time Leo suggests turning off their Anti-Virus program to see if that makes a difference.
Right now I think security software for the Mac is snake oil for new switchers who don't know any better. We as an educated Mac community should be protect and educate these new users.
mark said 2:58PM on 4-25-2009
Clearly aimed at the ignorant Mac owner. Hope there aren't too many marks out there who are influenced by their infested Windows friends.
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Greg said 3:05PM on 4-25-2009
I will never pay for anti virus software. The only reason I used to have it on my PC was because it was free (AVG, ZoneAlarm, Spybot). But since there's no good free ones for Mac, I won't be getting any.
Besides, I don't need that bogging down my system.
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Kevin said 3:10PM on 4-25-2009
overkill, with OSX's built in firewall active and not using your password on installs that you don't trust. Plus there's free (and legal) anti-virus software ie ClamXAV which works just as well!
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Roger said 3:54PM on 4-25-2009
$69.96 per year does not seem like cheap insurance to me!
There is a free Mac antivirus called iAntivius.
For a story about it by Tech columnist Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle see:
http://is.gd/cYq9
Dwight writes columns about both the Mac & PC world. It's good balanced coverage IMO.
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Joey said 9:57PM on 4-25-2009
I actually use iAntivirus on my Macs. It's a nice lightweight solution though, as stated in the article you linked to, there's no good way to determine how well it actually works considering the lack of real threats. Even still, it's free with a nice clean UI and there's no perceptible performance hit so it's good enough for me.
Ryan said 4:04PM on 4-25-2009
Parents might also like an Apple blog that lets them know that web content and site blocking as well as IM access control is already built into OSX, and probably their routers as well.
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Howard Jeffrey said 6:30AM on 4-26-2009
I agree. I recently installed IAntiVirus myself with the rash of articles about supposed "new" malware "threats" to Mac and have notice no performance issues.
When I was a grad student a few years back, the school offered free Macaffee, and I used that for a while until one day I asked myself, "Why?" I suspect this new incursion of "security need" will go the same way....
jcwacky said 4:25PM on 4-25-2009
Due to the small chance of your Mac being corrupted by a Virus, I think it is a much more sensible thing to just make use of Time Machine. (It's free, and a external hard drive can be bought for less than the cost of a years subscription to the above). Then on the off chance that you are unlucky and get a virus, just do a simply restore. Obviously if the chance of catching a virus was greater then this could be a bit too much effort and a package like the above would be better, but at the moment, a good backup will do you perfectly fine.
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Eric said 6:21PM on 4-25-2009
Small chance? How about NO CHANCE. Point to a virus that is out for Mac OS X.
jcwacky said 6:30PM on 4-25-2009
I wouldn't say no chance, extremely low maybe, you never know what's round the corner! And don't forget the "iWorkServices" trojan for instance.
I'm probably sounding paranoid, yet I don't even have my OS X firewall turned on, so that probably tells you how unworried I am about my Mac getting infected!
Greg said 10:33PM on 4-26-2009
iWorkServices?
"Oh my god there's actually a trojan for OS X! If you download iWork! From a shady torrent site! And then install it! And give it your administrator password! And--"
Right.
beowulf1877 said 4:38PM on 4-25-2009
The PC Mafia is trying to inch into the Mac market, AV market is just like the Mob trying to muscle a small business for protection. No need on the OSX part of things. This is clearly aimed at the new Mac users, who just don't know any better.
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Jon said 4:51PM on 4-25-2009
Site blocking and phishing protection are built into Firefox and Safari, and I'm sure other browsers have them too.
There are so few threats to Mac users out there that all this product will do is drain your bank balance and CPU cycles with no tangible benefit. And as others have said, free alternatives are available.
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Ryan said 6:32PM on 4-25-2009
Chris you said "Anti-Virus companies can't make good software that doesn't slow down PC's and cause more problems", and that's pretty much nonsense. On my PC I have Eset NOD32 which has absolutely no effect on performance and causes no issues, it's also one of the best AV's you can buy. Another high performer is Bit-Defernder but there are more out there.
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maz said 5:56PM on 4-25-2009
I actually run Clam for OS X. Very light weight, and open source!
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Pete said 6:30AM on 4-26-2009
I use iAntivirus. Excellent app and it's free.
http://www.iantivirus.com/
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David Emery said 6:32PM on 4-25-2009
What proof this is both 'safe' and 'effective'? Hard to establish the latter in the absence of any known risks.
dave
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Stefan said 7:48PM on 4-25-2009
Hi there,
I find the response to this article quite telling and I become more concerned about security on the Mac there more threads I read that could be summarized as "Everybody that is concerned about Antivirus or Malware on the Mac (and pays for piece of mind) is a fool and only can't get rid her old stupid windows days habits".
Whist osx is by far one of safest computing platforms, it only requires one smart, social engineering attack or virus to attack a largely unprotected platform. Even self-proclaimed expert here say to educate new user NOT to protect their Macs. That type of "arrogance" will at some point cause someone to write a program and if it only brings up a popup "wasn't so safe afterall"
The whole, we are safe because Macs have worldwide a small market share is only half the truth as the people that DO have macs are more likely to be more interesting targets for criminals. Cheap cars get broken into more often (since there are more out there) but I am sure that the "returns" are higher from breaking into european cars.
So it is only a matter of time until this bubble bursts, either by professionals that target the users' false sense of security and higher average yields, or by some hacker that wants to show Mac users per se that nobody is safe.
Comments like the ones in this thread only foster the latter...
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