Re: AUGD: Protection on the interwebs
Re: AUGD: Protection on the interwebs
- Subject: Re: AUGD: Protection on the interwebs
- From: "Randy B. Singer" <email@hidden>
- Date: Sun, 05 Jan 2014 01:05:56 -0800
On Dec 29, 2013, at 12:00 PM, Gary Kampel <email@hidden> wrote:
> Here in the USA many ISP's provide free (well, its part of the paid
> service) protection packages.
> Here in south Florida Comcast gives a copy of the Symantec Norton Suite
> (its like 360 lite).
> I have discovered that many people don't know their ISP is giving this
> service / feature.
And it's probably just as well. I hear from Mac users all the time who are experiencing nasty slowdowns, rotating beachballs that won't go away, and other flaky behavior, which after much arduous troubleshooting turns out to be due to their anti-virus software. Conversely, I *never* hear from Mac users who have experienced problems due to malware. (The only Mac users who ever even mention viruses are recent Mac converts who are so used to malware for Windows that when they experience any sort of problem with their Mac they immediately assume that it is due to having a virus. It never actually is.)
http://www.macattorney.com/rbb.html
Assuming that your Mac is running Mavericks, and you keep it up to date with Apple's latest security updates, there is currently no malware that you have to be afraid of. Recent versions of OS X have anti-malware software built-in called "Gatekeeper":
http://www.thesafemac.com/mmg-builtin/
http://www.macworld.com/article/1165408/mountain_lion_hands_on_with_gatekeeper.html
And all of the major Web browsers have software built-in (licensed from Google), that keeps users from visiting malicious Web sites, called "Safe Browsing":
http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/safebrowsing/
Also, unlike Windows, which literally has well over a million pieces of malware written for it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7340315.stm
there is only a handful of malware for the Mac, and just about all of it presents very little or no threat:
http://www.thesafemac.com/mmg-catalog/
Until there is a malware threat that is prevalent, substantially malicious, *and* which Apple doesn't deal with via a security update, third party anti-virus software for the Macintosh is unnecessary, and likely to be more trouble than it's worth.
If you would like to learn all about Macintosh malware, here is an excellent comprehensive and continually updated Web site on the topic that you might find illuminating (the site is from someone who isn't a "security expert" and who is not trying to sell you anti-virus software, so they aren't biased):
http://www.thesafemac.com/
___________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
___________________________________________
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