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Ocho · Feb 20, 2007, 02:06 PM

i am a first time mac owner. my not so trusty hp laptop died and i didnt feel like fixing it for the 3rd time, so i opted for something entirely new. after a fair bit of reading and contemplation i decided i would pick up the MBP that i've had my eye one for a few months.

my question is this. how susceptible to viruses/trojans/spyware/malware is my lovely new machine? i use the interweb daily and visit many many sites (insert porn joke here) and possibly due to my years and years of pc useage there is this nagging feeling in the back of my head telling me to install an anti-virus program.

can my computer get infected in a rather stealthy manner without my knowing like so many other pc's i've used? anybody have any personal experiences with their MBP's or what have you getting infected? also, some recommendations on anti-virus software would be muchos appreciated.

again, i am a complete n00b in regards to anything macintosh. i have all of 3 days experience using a mac. staggering breadth of knowledge, i know.

Rumor · Feb 20, 2007, 02:16 PM

I converted late in 2005 and asked the same question. Basically the problem is non-existant. At least currently, as things are always changing. Just to date, nobody has successfully written a virus for OSX, to my knoweldge.

However, if you run windows at all, then you still face these issues. Though only for the windows partition, I think.

Big Mac · Feb 20, 2007, 02:17 PM

There are no known viruses or other malware targeting OS X at this time.

shabbasuraj · Feb 20, 2007, 02:34 PM

Steve said that viruses are all losers so OS X has none and will never have one as long as there is a man with the name of 'Choudri' who walks this planet.

fuzzball963 · Feb 20, 2007, 02:35 PM

There are no known viruses however NO operating system is 100 percent safe so eventaully I'm sure they will crop up. I think the underlying Unix nature of OSX makes it harder to get infected but still it is possible

Ocho · Feb 20, 2007, 02:36 PM

nothing at all? i have no doubt at all that this system is much more secure than what i'm used to, but there must be something. anything, minor or major. as soon as i started it up the first time there was 10 updates for my computer and i think 4 of them were security related.

Edit: i was replying to the first two people.

larrinski · Feb 20, 2007, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by Ocho

nothing at all? i have no doubt at all that this system is much more secure than what i'm used to, but there must be something. anything, minor or major. as soon as i started it up the first time there was 10 updates for my computer and i think 4 of them were security related.

Edit: i was replying to the first two people.

When I switched a few years ago, I installed ClamXav, but just forgot to use it after a couple of weeks. Most ( if not all) of the security updates released by Apple are for proof of concept exploits. You may now start to breathe easier...I couldn't believe it at first myself...

shabbasuraj · Feb 20, 2007, 03:17 PM

this thread = wrong forum....
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