Is this even necessary? - Rogue

I think as more and more people move to OSX, there might be a be a increase in Virus/Trojan/Malware. ATM Windowz is still the most used OS in the world, so why make a virus that effects a very small market?

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Sunday, September 03 2006 @ 04:05 PM PDT

Is this even necessary? - sidetracked

I would argue that yes this is a good idea, if not 'necessary' for the following reasons:

1. Even if Macs (so far) have been tremendously virus proof, we can can be 'carriers' - unwittingly harboring them and passing them on to our friends and colleagues on Windows machines.

2. The very fact that Mac has been trumpeting it's virus resistance will make it an ever more tempting target for those wanting to prove themselves.

3. Unlike Norton (which I also had, and loathed) this is free, and I've never sensed that it slowed down my system in any way, besides the little time I spent learning how to use it, and it's first big sweep through my hard drive (during which it found 3 infected emails that Norton had missed). Since then it silently checks each incoming email and download, with no perceptible loss of speed.

I agree that there's a good chance I'd be fine without it, but given all the upsides, and lack of down, I think it's a worthwhile app.

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Sunday, September 03 2006 @ 04:50 PM PDT

Is this even necessary? - C.A.R.L

You must not have been in the graphic arts or service bureau profession in the mid 90's. We had a virus that destroyed volume directories , ultimately leading to disk crashs and loss of all data.

I cringe every time I see those new boastful mac ads..please stop calling out the bad element of the hacker world, Mac's are low profile for them lets keep it that way.

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Monday, September 04 2006 @ 07:52 AM PDT

Is this even necessary? - mcdowellde

It is totally false to even begin to think that Mac and Unix are invincible to viruses. It simply is not true. Is it harder for them to get viruses than PCs? That remains to be seen. The simple fact is there are so many more PCs out in the market compared to Macs and Unix machines that hackers find more fun attacking the PCs. There have been viruses in the past for Macs, at least one of which was very nasty. The good news was none spread all that fast and Apple responded very quickly to close the security holes.

Use an anti-virus software? I would hands down. There are trojan horses, and worms and such that attack software not related to the OS that work across platforms. Why put yourself at risk? Do you need a product like Norton? That's for each individual to decide.

I've been supporting PCs and Macs since they all hit the market and I always make sure things are protected.

Patrick

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Thursday, November 16 2006 @ 05:49 PM PST

Is this even necessary? - mcdowellde

It is totally false to even begin to think that Mac and Unix are invincible to viruses. It simply is not true. Is it harder for them to get viruses than PCs? That remains to be seen. The simple fact is there are so many more PCs out in the market compared to Macs and Unix machines that hackers find more fun attacking the PCs. There have been viruses in the past for Macs, at least one of which was very nasty. The good news was none spread all that fast and Apple responded very quickly to close the security holes.

Use an anti-virus software? I would hands down. There are trojan horses, and worms and such that attack software not related to the OS that work across platforms. Why put yourself at risk? Do you need a product like Norton? That's for each individual to decide.

I've been supporting PCs and Macs since they all hit the market and I always make sure things are protected.

Patrick

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Thursday, November 16 2006 @ 05:49 PM PST

Smugness is no protection against a punch in the face - anothersphere

Yeah so MacOSX has not had any credible virus worries - big deal. I would rather that I did not pass on to my Windows friends anything containing a viral load. I would also prefer to have an AV solution in place that t least gives me some chance should an outbreak occur. Obtaining and instaling an AV tool AFTER a virus outbreak is like going to the hospital to get a bird flu jab when your family are sick.

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Thursday, November 23 2006 @ 01:00 AM PST