[Closed] Anti-virus for Mac

ClamXav

ClamAV is OK, but to be honest I've deinstalled it now.

Sorry but mac OS x. Never bothered.

Don't bother.

I have had my MBP for 3 years and the only thing that has even caused an issue for me has been Tesco's website causing Safari to lock up.

I might be wrong but i think you will find that nearly all viruses are designed using Windows format and hence attack Windows machines.

Mac software works in a different way to Windows versions too.

I'm not an expert but do a bit of digging before you buy some software that you don't really need.

I just use anti-bacterial keyboard wipes now and again.

Because OS X requires permissions from the user before opening or installing stuff, provided you don't go OK to attachments you don't recognise then you shouldn't have any problems. There was an OS9 virus years ago that transmitted via infected Photoshop files; absolute bugger that was, you'd get an infected file from a client, clean it up and send a clean copy back, then the daft sods would promptly send you an infected copy back because they hadn't bothered to dump their corrupted original. 🙄

Closest thing to a virus I've found are those damned ads for mackeeper

MacDefender malware was the last threat I heard of, and Apple patched that though software update.

CountZero - Member

Because OS X requires permissions from the user before opening or installing stuff, provided you don't go OK to attachments you don't recognise then you shouldn't have any problems.

Doesn't help, what if malware is included in the installer for some software you want to install? Besides which the password protection doesn't protect the data in your own account i.e. all your important stuff.

Apple also have a poor record for security, publicly announced flaws remaining unpatched for weeks.

Doesn't help, what if malware is included in the installer for some software you want to install? Besides which the password protection doesn't protect the data in your own account i.e. all your important stuff.

Apple also have a poor record for security, publicly announced flaws remaining unpatched for weeks.

So what circumstances are likely to see that happening then? Getting 'ware from iffy sources, in which case it's always caveat emptor.

That's meaningless, people get tricked into clicking links, downloading things etc. Point here is there is no inherent superiority of OSX.

Have a read of this, there are some minor mistakes but it's broadly correct.
http://allthatiswrong.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/os-x-%E2%80%93-safe-yet-horribly-insecure/

And check out the Pwn2Own contest results for example.

I also have personally witnessed malware running in Safari from simply clicking a link, which was able to write to my user account, launch executables and alter my network settings. It went unfixed for at least a year despite reporting it to Apple & might still be unfixed (site hosting the exploit page now gone so I can't check).

The pwn2own contest takes MONTHS of preparation, by what might be considered the best security analysts/programmers in the world.

Yes, OSX can be exploited remotely - but the chances of it happening 'in the wild' is so slim, it's not worth paying attention to. And by exploited, I mean by a virus, not a human (like pwn2own).

Same applies to Linux (and probably *BSD).

Writing a virus/exploit for a mac would be for a particular [i]target[/i], not the general public. For all their efforts, it would get closed very quickly.

Perfect example of a 'target' virus is the Stuxnet worm.... amazing technical feat.

Paranoid? Use OpenBSD.

xiphon - Member
Yes, OSX can be exploited remotely - but the chances of it happening 'in the wild' is so slim, it's not worth paying attention to. And by exploited, I mean by a virus, not a human (like pwn2own).

Irrelevant if it's done remotely or from clicking a link (which I have personally seen exploit my Mac). [url= http://www.sophos.com/en-us/threat-center/threat-analyses/viruses-and-spyware/OSX~Inqtana-A/detailed-analysis.aspx ]However, worms do exist for OSX.[/url]

Writing a virus/exploit for a mac would be for a particular target, not the general public. For all their efforts, it would get closed very quickly.

Untrue. See:

[url= http://www.sophos.com/en-us/Search-Results.aspx?search=OSX&refine=1a1e9ea6979a493dba64e1b2ced03044 ]Clicky[/url]

Same type of generic shite you get on Windows. It's just normal PITA malware, sending out spam, mining bitcoins, generally being a nuisance.

Same applies to Linux (and probably *BSD).

Not according to the logs on my systems. Same generic shite from idiots looking to mess your stuff up and steal bandwidth/cpu.

Ruh-roh, nasty malware installed on half a million Macs.

Variations of the Flashback trojan have reportedly infected more than half a million Macs around the globe, according to Russian antivirus company Dr. Web. The company made an announcement on Wednesday—first in Russian and later in English—about the growing Mac botnet, first claiming 550,000 infected Macs. Later in the day, however, Dr. Web malware analyst Sorokin Ivan posted to Twitter that the count had gone up to 600,000, with 274 bots even checking in from Cupertino, CA, where Apple's headquarters are located.

We have been covering the Mac Flashback trojan since 2011, but the most recent variant from earlier this week targeted an unpatched Java vulnerability within Mac OS X. That is, it was unpatched (at the time) by Apple—Oracle had released a fix for the vulnerability in February of this year, but Apple didn't send out a fix until earlier this week, after news began to spread about the latest Flashback variant.

Once again made worse by a delay between Oracle fixing the Java vulnerability and Apple including the fix in OSX.

[url= http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57409619-83/more-than-600000-macs-infected-with-flashback-botnet/?tag=mncol;1n ]linky[/url]

Code to check if you're infected here:

http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/trojan-downloader_osx_flashback_i.shtml

sophos do one
http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition.aspx

+1 for sophos

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17623422

A Russian anti-virus suggests that about 600,000 Macs have installed the malware - potentially allowing them to be hijacked and used as a "botnet".

All I'll say is that, I'm not rushing to install A/V after this botnet thing, if it's that which has you worried, follow these instructions to determine if you're infected:

http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/trojan-downloader_osx_flashback_i.shtml

I've never used any security on a mac in over 20 years - can only recall a couple of worm viruses that caused issue. Save your money IMO

M6TTF - Member
I've never used any security on a mac in over 20 years - can only recall a couple of worm viruses that caused issue. Save your money IMO

Clam Xav is free (note that you need to enable Sentry and choose the folders you want monitored if you want real time scanning).

Another vote for Sophos here

+1 sophos. Ignorance is not bliss, it's ignorance. Still, it's not my information, so take your chances if you want.

I use Little Snitch rather than any A/V. Have done for years. It allows me to curtail any unwarranted outgoing connections, which solves the trojan prob, as well as the more mundane things like stopping apps constantly trying to update....*cough*google*cough*

....as an added bonus it makes trojans delete themselves as well according to the F-Secure site.