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 18:48:44 -0800
On Jan 5, 2014, at 12:00 PM, Chris Hart <email@hidden> wrote:
>
> Certainly, many of the points that you make are true, Randy. However, I can't agree that the best advice is to not equip your Mac with protection. Putting a anti-virus / security product in place is just a smart precaution. ... But, as I stated, I have been very pleased with Sophos in my professional Mac consulting work.
And how many pieces of Macintosh malware has it actually protected you from?
I have had anti-virus software installed on my Mac since the introduction of OS X. (2001) (Not because I think that I need it, I don't. But because, as an attorney, I have to be able to tell clients that I use AV software because they have heard about nasty infections of Windows computers and they don't know the difference.) In over a decade of downloading software with impunity, and surfing the Web and going where every I want, and sharing tons of files with others, I've never encountered a single bit of malware while using OS X that it had to protect me from.
> If it causes issues with system performance, then remove it and find another.
That may not be possible. I've heard of most of the major AV programs causing problems for users. Apparently they install at a low level and conflict with other software, but not in a consistent way. So you never know which AV program is going to conflict with which combination of software on an individual Mac. Using AV software is like bringing back extension conflicts from the days of the classic Mac OS.
>
> A day *will* come for Mac users,
Hmmm...how long have I been hearing that from Windows bigots?
Here's a fun article about how the press and others have been crying "wolf" about Mac malware for over a decade:
Wolf!
http://daringfireball.net/2011/05/wolf
> where something as ugly as CryptoLocker will hit the Mac. And Mac users will, for the most part, be caught with their pants down.
No they won't. They will rush out and purchase anti-virus software if and when they need it. (Assuming that Apple doesn't handle it first.)
> Infamously, Apple doesn't release security updates on a rapid release schedule
Hmmm...ignoring the lies and hysteria created by the press, please tell me which outbreak of malware for the Mac resulted in all of us (that is, real people that you actually know of firsthand, not "hundreds of thousands" of users reported by the press that apparently can't be located) becoming infected, thus proving that Apple is a laggard in releasing security updates?
> and there will be a window of time, where those who relied on Apple's 'security' methods will be the first victims.
Third party anti-virus software programs also can't protect you from as yet unseen malware, and they too will have a period between the release of a new bit of malicious malware and the date when they are updated.
Have you seen the press jump all over every report of Mac malware? When there is something to be worried about, we'll all hear about it almost right away, and then we can be really careful about our computing habits until and unless we decide that we need to purchase AV software.
Stop buying into, and worse, spreading, the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that Windows bigots, "security experts", and some anti-virus software companies love to spread. If you are a paranoid type, go ahead and purchase AV software, it's your money. But don't go around telling other Mac users that they "need" it.
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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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