Viruses:
One of the most controversial questions or Mac users is whether you need to buy anti-virus software for your Mac.
There don't appear to be any viruses that actively attack OSX but that doesn't mean that Mac users should come complacent about checking downloads and email attachemnts.
Just because there have not been any viruses as such does not mean that there will not be. Erring on the side of causation makes sense.
Rootkit for example can affect OSX just as it can Windows.
If you are concerned and would rather be safe than sorry then ClamXav offer a free virus check for Mac, you can download, install and run this and then remove it again if you like,
or you can leave it on you system and perhaps make a donation towards its development.
the number of viruses actively attacking OS X users is none. However, this doesn't mean we should get complacent about checking incoming email attachments or web downloads.
Firstly, there's no guarantee that we Mac users will continue to enjoy the status quo, especially as there is now a small handful of trojans for OS X, but more importantly, the majority of the computing world uses machines running MS Windows, for which an enormous quantity of viruses exist, so we must be vigilant in checking the files we pass on to our friends and colleagues etc.
For example, if you're a wise person and you've turned off MS Office's macro support then you're not going to notice that virus which is hiding inside this month's edition of Extreme Ironing.doc which your friend sent you. If you then forward that document to a less wise person who has not turned off the macro support, then you have most likely just sent him a shiny new Pandora's Box with a sign saying "Open this end"!
Flippancy aside, I'm sure you get the idea: check the file before opening and/or sending it on to someone else. This gives you the opportunity to avoid the file altogether or at least copy and paste any vital information into a new document and send that instead.
Don't forget, if you run VirtualPC or VirtualBox or use any other means to run MS Windows software on your Mac, you can still become infected within that environment and lose valuable data on your Mac. These programs will run almost any Windows application you tell it to - virus or no virus - it doesn't know the difference. Note that ClamXav can only protect you against malware which you download and check on the Mac, so you may still want to install other antivirus software within your Windows environment.
The simple answer is “no”, there aren’t any active viruses in existence that affect Mac OSX in any way. If there were they would be dealt with by Apple immediately, but the fact s that there aren’t any.
See why below.*
Viruses effect the Windows OS, that is all Microsoft Windows platforms are affected by viruses and it is imperative that all Windows users on the Internet maintain an up to date anti virus program. In saying that AVG Free Edition by Grisoft - http://www.avg.com.au/products/avg-anti-virus-free/ will give you a full year of all the protection you need free of charge fully updatable. The caveat is it is a license for 1 PC only but that is great for home users or even small business. The important thing is that it gets you protected. We recommend and sell BitDefender 2011 licensed for 1 year for just $Au22, or Kapsersky Internet Security 2011 - 1 year license of 1 PC $Au 45.
Why don’t viruses affect the Mac OS?
The Mac OS is written on what is called BSD (Berkley Software Development) the same as UNIX. Mac OSX does not allow software to self replicate within it, and that is exactly what viruses do, they self-replicate. As OSX does not allow this to happen at any level viruses cannot affect it.
There aren't currently any active Mac viruses and anti-virus software could cause unexpected problems. You might wonder why some anti-virus software manufacturers offer a Mac anti-virus and have lines like “will protect your Mac OS from all known active Windows viruses”. This information is misleading and may influence you to spend money unnecessarily. There aren’t any known, active viruses that affect Mac OSX, and so all that the anti-virus software wouldn't do anything besides potentially impeding the functionality of your Mac, as Windows viruses affect the Windows platform and wouldn’t affect OSX at all. Understandably such companies are only after increased sales or market share, do not be swayed, save you hard earned dollars and use them for necessary things. So don’t waste your hard earned dollars.
Most importantly, keep informed as to technological developments and keep up to date. Below are some links to up to date Technology related News sites.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it
http://www.news.com.au/technology
http://macmost.com/topnews
The latest word from Apple:
One thing a Mac doesn’t do: Get PC viruses.
Trojan horses, worms, email viruses. The digital world can be a scary place. Thankfully, a Mac isn’t susceptible to the thousands of viruses plaguing Windows-based computers. Mac OS X comes with built-in defences that keep you safe, without any work on your part. And when a potential security threat arises, Apple responds quickly by providing software updates and security enhancements you can download automatically and install with a click.
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