Dear Aunt TUAW: Should I buy anti-virus software for OS X?

I work at a place which manages several schools. One of the schools is completely Mac ran. I can tell you that we have gotten several MAC viruses. So just fyi. BTW Sophos does wonders (that's what we use on the macs)

I think that i need to protect my Mac against viruses so i use Protemac NetMine for this purpose.

My company - a $12 B Fortune 250 - has finally seen the light and letting people get Macs, if it can be "justified." To digress, my 13" MacBook was cheaper than a similar Dell, and it has built-in PDF creation and virtual memory encryption.

Anyway, I had used 2 MacBooks previously, that I bought myself. So we are talking about 5+ years of working - albiet prudently - but sans anti-virus.

Once I transferred files from TimeMachine to the new MacBook, I dutifully installed Symantec anti-virus. It churned for a few hours examining the 800,000+ files.

Guess what - no infection, no viruses, no spyware, no Trojan horses.

Just this afternoon I tried to install the corporately required Symantec antivirus software on my new MacBook Pro. The poor MacBook is now at the office writing a disk image for a backup (I'd transferred my account over from the old Powerbook G4) so I can do a system re-install tomorrow. I haven't had a Mac crash that thoroughly since well before OS X came out.

I think I'll try to avoid the corporate requirement, and leave the antivirus program off once I've got my system back up....

I've been running Virusbarrier since X3 and it has never caused an issue (actually runs very smooth). Since their new X6 is expire-ware I'll look into ClamXav next year when my virus updates run out.

I'm not worried about Mac viruses, but the day will come sooner or later that we'll all see something out in the wild. Like others have stated, keeping our heads in the sand may get you bitten in the butt if you are not overly careful.

I guess I just like the piece of mind knowing I have something watching my back, just in case...

Why has no one mentioned iAntiVirus yet? It's free, unobtrusive, auto-updates, and has active file monitoring. It only scans for mac viruses, so it uses very little resources. It's been quiet and unassuming the entire time I've had it installed and never once had a problem with it. I'm sure some will argue that it isn't the right solution for a mixed home network of macs and PCs, but I use a top quality AV solution on my PCs (ESET's NOD32). I think these two AV solutions, as well as using smart internet practices (including OpenDNS filtering through my Tomato router), covers all my bases.

How is stopping P2P gonna help? Yea there is a lot of trash out there, but with that logic you might as well not even open your browser. Like stated before, use common sense.

As a security expert I would recomend installing AV.
Mac viruses and spyware are becomming more common.
It only takes one time, one time to loose sesitive information. One time to have your system go down. One time to possably have your idenity stolen. Ask your self if it's worth it. The time and money you might have to invest to rebuilt, or recreate files you lost, or clean up your credit report? Over all it's your call but I see the potential risk being to big not to install anti virus.

I run the symantec av and have not had any issues with it.

To my knowledge there are currently no viruses in the strictest sense of the term for OS X. There are however a number of trojans, worms, and spyware/malware threats that have arisen since OS Xs release, but these have mostly been mitigated by Apple software updates.

The lack of threats for OS X comes from two factors; first is that its built on a UNIX base which uses different security protocols with regard to user/system permissions, memory management, and the execution of code when compared to Windows. Second is market share, most attackers primarily focus on achieving the maximum effect with a minimum or effort, writing malicous code targetted at a minoroty of users is rarely beneficial to their goals.

But the unpopularity of Vista and the success of the iPhone have turned many people into OS X users and with increasing numbers of users it becomes a more tempting target.

OS Xs biggest threat is that its users have become the weakest point in the chain. OS X may be very good at preventing unauthorised code execution, but when it comes to a user initited and authorised action, the system has little option but to comply. Attackers are well aware of this and are gaining access by exploiting a users lust/greed/naievity/stupidity.

So is an OS X Anti virus needed? No, not if the user is educated on how to spot and avoid the types of seciruty threats that they themselves are vunerable to. Emails from strangers, websites offering something for nothing or things you dont really need, programs from oscure or unofficial sources, and the long held belief that Mac users are invunerable from harm.

hi guys-
So, I'm Mike Romo, I work as the product manager for Symantec--I make Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security.

(ducks, pauses for a few seconds, emerges)

So, I think the question itself needs to change. Like, there are no REAL viruses for the Mac. We know that. I mean, there have been a few, but none have really made it into the field..viruses are just not the big problem. This is true, totally.

We *are* seeing more malware on the Mac than we have before. You may have seen press releases from other security companies telling everyone about it every time one is found (we don't do that, I liken it to Microsoft sending out a press release whenever some successfully prints a document). We have even seen cross-platform pieces of malware out there..so, most virus products also protect against malware as well.

But those are just a few vectors, just a few kinds of threats, in a whole landscape of 'em out there. Our products protect against vulnerabilities as well--you know, the kinds of vulnerabilities you might find in browser plug-ins or applications, "holes" in code that allow malicious users to inject code onto your machine without your knowledge. These don't get talked about as often, but if you look security updates that get released from Apple and other companies, they are certainly issues they take very seriously. Again, just another avenue to watch and protect.

Our biggest focus right now is making sure your identity is safe. Our whole mission is to make sure that when you surf on the Internet, when you share files, when you shop...you are safe. I think that's the most real threat out there, and, for the most part, this is a platform agnostic threat. People need to make sure they have strong passwords. They need to make sure they are skeptical when clicking links in email. They need to do some research when shopping online to make sure the vendor is legit. They need to make sure they know what they are sharing on social networking sites. These are the threats that we are concerned about, and yes, we make software that helps protect you against many of these threats. And yes, viruses and malware--we protect against them. Of course we do. But that's...it's not 1995, you know? I mean, even if we could, we wouldn't put antivirus on an iPhone. Doesn't make any sense. I would love to provide better phishing protection for it, though, that's for sure. I would love to use our technologies to let you know whether or not an online shop is safe or not. Hopefully we'll see something at WWDC that will let us do that kind of thing.

Whenever I talk to the press or to customers, I encourage them to use ClamAV, to scan their machine once in awhile. But I also encourage them to make sure they are running Software Update (and applying those updates) at least once a week. If they are interested in more features and more comprehensive protection, I point them to our products, I point them to Intego's products, I point them to Trend's products...there are a lot of great solutions out there and more are coming--Windows stalwarts BitDefender and Kaspersky are both bring Mac products to the market, which I think is pretty interesting.

(Another thing that's interesting? The first version of Norton AntiVirus was actually the Mac version...made over 20 years ago. We were here first, and we're not going anywhere.)

I have been a Mac user since 1985, so I know the healthy skepticism people have about virus and security software. I also know that as a Mac IT guy I had to run Disinfectant many, many times when the Hong Kong virus was impacting my office. I remember when Berkeley Systems accidentally propagated a virus with the After Dark screensaver installer. Of course, these were awhile ago, but when people say that the Mac never gets viruses? Well...

So that's my 2¢. Do Mac users need antivirus software? It's a great question, but it's just one question in a much longer conversation. My position is that if a Mac user wants to run a security product, I know that my team and I are going to work hard to make the best product we can.


I hope you don't mind me chiming in. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at mike_romo@symantec.com. I'll also check back here, too.

thanks!
mike