Hi , Jennifer, Stephen, and Marcus, If you are running the current versions of macOS and keep your systems updated with Apple software updates and security updates, and sensible with NOT clicking on links in emails, going to suspect websites, downloading movies etc from illicit websites. In my opinion you don’t need Anti-Virus software.
Before is an extract I copied awhile ago from MacWorld UK but unfortunately I didn’t copy the link. How Apple protects your Mac from malware Apple goes to great lengths to protect you from malware by making it almost impossible for you to download it in the first place. The company has built anti-malware protection into macOS. For example, before you can open a file, your Mac will check it against a list of malware, and even if there is no reason for concern it will not allow you to open an application from a developer that it hasn’t already approved. The Mac's malware scanning tool, Xprotect, works invisibly and automatically in the background and requires no user configuration. Apple has a list of malicious applications that it checks against when you open downloaded applications. Updates happen invisibly too. This is similar to having antivirus software from another software developer running on your Mac, with the bonus of being written into the operating system and therefore it doesn't hamper the speed of your Mac. If you download and try to open files contaminated with malware, you may see an explicit warning that the files will "damage your computer", along with a reference to type of malware. You should delete the file immediately. In addition, macOS blocks downloaded software that hasn't been digitally signed - a process in which Apple approves the developer. This leads to the familiar error message when you try to use or install unsigned software: "[this app] can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer." The system at work here is called Gatekeeper and can be controlled via the Security & Privacy section of System Preferences - in Security & Privacy select the General tab and choose from the options underneath Allow Applications Downloaded From. The options include App Store or App Store and Identified Developers. There used to be an option to disable the feature by choosing 'Anywhere' but this option is no longer available. This doesn't mean you can't open apps that haven't been approved by Apple though - it just means that you will have to tweak some settings in order to do so. (Here's how to open an app from an unidentified developer). Setting this option to App Store and Identified Developers is the best plan. All software downloaded via the App Store is signed, so you'll only see Gatekeeper warnings with a minority of apps you've downloaded manually. You can bypass its protection when needed - assuming you're sure an app or installation package is safe, just hold down Ctrl, then click it and select Open. This will mark it as being trusted. Software that is approved by Apple is also Sandboxed, which means apps do only what they’re intended to do. App sandboxing isolates apps from the critical system components of your Mac, your data and your other apps, so they shouldn't be able to access anything that could allow them to do any damage. There's also anti-phishing technology in Safari that will detect fraudulent websites. It will disable the page and display an alert warning you if you visit a suspect website. You'll also notice that plug-ins such as Adobe Flash Player, Silverlight, QuickTime and Oracle Java won't run if they aren't updated to the latest version - another way of ensuring your Mac is safe. In addition to Gatekeeper, which should keep malware off your Mac, FileVault 2 makes sure your data is safe and secure by encrypting it. How Apple responds to security threats Despite the security measures Apple has in place, from time-to-time there are threats to the Mac. Apple has its own security research team, but it depends on users and independent researchers to help by reporting any flaws they find in Apple products. To this end, Apple has an incentive program that rewards such discoveries with payments of up to $200,000, depending on the seriousness of the flaw. But it was the last major tech company to set up such a scheme. (Microsoft set up its own bug-reporting incentive programme in 2013, and was itself criticised at the time for leaving it so late.) On 4 August 2016, Apple security boss Ivan Krstic announced the Apple Security Bounty Program. "We've had great help from researchers in improving iOS security all along," Krstic said. "[But] we've heard pretty consistently... that it's getting increasingly difficult to find some of those most critical types of security vulnerabilities. So the Apple Security Bounty Program is going to reward researchers who actually share critical vulnerabilities with Apple." The top reward is $200,000, given to those who discover vulnerabilities in Apple's secure boot firmware components; for less critical flaws the bounties drop through a series of smaller figures to a bottom tier of $25,000. We imagine most Mac users will be pleased to hear that Apple has an incentive programme to encourage more widespread reporting of its vulnerabilities. Incentivising security researchers to let Apple know about a flaw instead of passing it on to hackers makes Apple products safer for everyone. Why you should keep macOS up-to-date On the basis that Apple addresses flaws and vulnerabilities with the Mac by issuing updates to the Mac operating system, it is important to keep your Mac up to date. We advise checking regularly for OS updates remains a key part of a sound security strategy. You can set your Mac to automatically update as soon as a new version of the operating system is made available. Follow these instructions to set that up: Open System Preferences Click on App Store Tick the box beside Automatically check for updates. You can choose to download the newly available updates, if you want them to install automatically though you need to make sure the box beside Install macOS updates is checked. If you'd rather not let your Mac automatically update, you should periodically check to see if there is an update to your version of MacOS by visiting the Mac App Store and clicking on Updates. Alternatively, you can follow these instructions: Click on the Apple logo to select the Apple menu from the top left of your Mac screen. Click on About this Mac. Click on Software Update, this will take you straight to the Mac App Store. You may need to restart your computer once the update has downloaded. You can expect a typical 460MB download to take about 8 minutes (during which time you will still be able to work) but for a large update you will have to restart and install and that could take as much as 20 minutes, bringing the total install time to about 25 minutes in total. Is antivirus software necessary for a Mac? As we've explained above, it's certainly not an essential requirement to install antivirus software on your Mac. Apple does a pretty good job of keeping on top of vulnerabilities and exploits and the updates to the MacOS that will protect your Mac will be pushed out over auto-update very quickly. Beware that due to the fact that people are so concerned about malware threats on the Mac there have been cases of malware actually disguising itself as an antivirus app. Back in 2011 one of the biggest Mac malware infections was a fake antivirus app called MacDefender. Another Mac antivirus company that is often thought of as unscrupulous is MacKeeper.” Cheers, Ronni Ronni Brown’s iPad Pro 12.9-inch 256GB > > On 17 Apr 2018, at 2:26 pm, Marcus Harris <cryptodo...@me.com> wrote: > > Well, this is interesting as I haven’t used antivirus since buying my first > Apple Mac in 1986. > I thought the regular security updates from Apple were enough. > Presumably if one wasn’t SPAM aware a virus or similar could corrupt the > system, otherwise do we really need AV? > Marcus > > Marcus Harris 74 iPhone7 >> >> On 17 Apr 2018, at 1:43 pm, Stephen Chape <chap...@bigpond.com> wrote: >> >> Hi Jennifer >> >> I have used Intego Virus Barrier and Net Barrier for many years. >> As far as I am aware the only one made specifically for Mac. >> Doesn’t have any noticeable effect on performance either. >> I believe all the others are offshoots of Windows software. >> >>> On 17 Apr 2018, at 10:02 am, Jennifer Lefroy <lefroy.jenni...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>> >>> I was told by mu server - Zettanet - that I should have antivirus software >>> installed. What is the latest recommendation, please/ >>> >>> Kind regards, >>> Jennifer Lefroy >>> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- >>> Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> >>> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> >>> Settings & Unsubscribe - >>> <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> >> >> >> Regards, >> Stephen Chape >> >> >> Ronni Brown’s iPad Pro 12.9-inch 256GB Ronni Brown’s iPad Pro 12.9-inch 256GB
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