[cwkmacuser]

Are there viruses targeted at the mac? Do I need to take any special precautions?

[ghporter]

No. There are trojan horses, but these require YOU to allow them to install. And they're both pretty rare and pretty easy to avoid.

Precautions include "safe surfing" and not letting just any old site install software on your computer. As far as I know there is no possibility of a web page just arbitrarily installing anything on a Mac in any way, like those stupid "cursor magic" things that haunt Windows users. So basically, unless you find yourself irresistibly drawn to click on something that offers something you haven't paid for or otherwise shouldn't have (hot celebrity pr0n, anyone?), you're safe.

[Andy8]

You could cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze, or wear a mask. That should keep your Mac virus free for now.

[olePigeon]

Don't download and install pirated software. That's how the trojans are spreading.

[JKT]

Run your day-to-day account as a Standard account user, rather than as an Admin, as well if you want an extra level of security. This will stop anything from installing into /Applications or /Library without the permission of an Admin username/password combo. To do so, create a new Admin user account, then convert your current one into a Standard account.

This limits the potential for any damage occurring (should it ever happen) to just your own user folders even further. However, anything you input an Admin username/password for, such as a trojan, will still be able to do as much harm as it likes.

It is also sensible to install ClamXav (freeware anti-virus software) and set it up to monitor three folders: (a) your Downloads folder, (b) your Mail downloads folder and (c) your iChat downloads folder (if it differs to your Downloads folder).

[cwkmacuser]

By "Mail Downloads Folder" you mean the application "Mail". If so, that doesn't apply, as I don't use it. I don't ever use iChat either. Is ClamXav a very annoying program? Does it slow things down, show messages, etc.?

[JKT]

You're using Postbox right? Then whatever the equivalent folder would be - Downloads and the other two folders are the commonest ones for files to arrive at from the internet on your Mac, but if you have chosen other locations then point ClamXav at those instead.

ClamXav is very basic and it is the least annoying anti-virus programme I've ever used because of it. It will only scan when you initiate a new download, assuming you tell it to monitor your Downloads folder (this is CPU intensive, so if you have a single processor Mac it will cause some slow down while the scan is running, but for a dual processor Mac, not really).

Alternatively, you can set it to scan locations of your choice at designated times of the day.

[JKT]

Btw, it doesn't run a constant monitor of all your folders (unless you set it to do so), so there are no slow downs during the normal use of your Mac.

[squeabs]

iAntivirus is an excellent virus protection app for mac. It targets only mac viruses. It doesn't use near the amount of system resources that clamx does. I've been using for almost a year now with no slow down on system speed.

[besson3c]

You would also be trading off a very well known and supported anti-virus engine for what may be a relatively unknown one. You don't want to gain convenience and performance at the expense of having a potentially ineffective or incomplete virus engine that would not be up to the task of keeping up on the latest threats.

ClamAV is pretty widely used open source software that is often used in conjunction with many SMTP servers for virus checking inbound mail. I would be surprised if its user base wasn't many times larger than iAntivirus.

[CharlesS]

^ That, and the fact that it's a good thing to be able to detect Windows viruses. It's not surprising that iAntivirus doesn't use much resources, since I'm not sure what it even does, since there aren't exactly a lot of OS X viruses running around in the wild.

[TETENAL]

Maybe it's a good thing to detect Windows viruses, but ClamAV doesn't detect Mac trojans (which do exist and are a threat), and that makes it kind of absurd. I would argue that running ClamAV on a Mac makes it even less secure then no anti-virus at all since it gives you a false feeling of security.

[besson3c]

Tetenal: how do you know it doesn't cover Mac trojans?

[TETENAL]

I know because I encountered one that is not detected (see private message for link). I therefore looked at the ClamXav forum and found threads that claimed it was difficult to get Mac trojans included into the ClamAV signatures by the ClamXav author. Some kind of ego issue on the the ClamAV team side allegedly.

This is supposed to be fixed by now, but not in my experience.

[besson3c]

Hmmm... interesting. I take it that iAntivirus detects that DNS changing virus you sent me?

BTW, my computer is now infected with that virus, thanks a lot!!



.... just kidding.

[besson3c]

The one weird thing that has been happening with my computer recently is that for some reason I see double quote buttons towards the bottom of my posts. Do I have a virus?

[TETENAL]

I don't have iAntivirus. I looked at the package contents using Pacifist and the contents looks like the DNS changer trojan.

I only sent you the link because I consider you smart enough to handle the file without getting actually infected.

[jasong]

The only viruses targeted at Mac OS X are threads like this

[cwkmacuser]

What's that supposed to mean?

[chabig]

That there are no Mac viruses.