[Veltliner]

I just discovered that my Firewall was off.

I don't know how long this has been off. I just got a new main hard drive, and migrated with the migration assistant. Maybe the migration assistant does not turn on the Firewall when it was on on the old computer.

Turning on the Firewall was always the first thing I did on a new Mac.

So, I may have collected some internet junk.

Would this software be good to check my Mac, or is there better one out there?

MacScan - Mac OS X Anti-Spyware Security and Privacy Protection Anti-Malware for Macintosh

[angelmb]

SecureMac (MacScan) were the ones saying Koobface trojan horse was 'critical', which it wasn't. I guess SecureMac wanted you to downloading their remove utility.

If you're going to pay for Mac security software, go with Intego VirusBarrier.

[Veltliner]

Thanks for the tip, angelmb

[Veltliner]

Intego includes firewall. I wonder why. There's a firewall built into OS X. Do they think they can do better than Apple?

[besson3c]

First of all, if your machine is behind a router, you are already behind a firewall, so I wouldn't worry about this as much unless your router has been configured to forward traffic (they aren't by default).

Secondly, if you aren't running network services or event regardless it is far from a given that your machine has been compromised.

Firewalls provide good protection against denial of service attacks (which can be used as a means of compromise), and in compromising network services that should not be exposed to the world but are. I know that this is complicated for most people to understand, but the take home message is that a firewall is not just something you flip on and it magically makes everything secure. A firewall is not something that automatically makes using the internet safe either.

[Spheric Harlot]

IOW, don't worry about it.

If you feel paranoid, turn it on, that's it.

[Veltliner]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

First of all, if your machine is behind a router, you are already behind a firewall, so I wouldn't worry about this as much unless your router has been configured to forward traffic (they aren't by default).

Secondly, if you aren't running network services or event regardless it is far from a given that your machine has been compromised.

Firewalls provide good protection against denial of service attacks (which can be used as a means of compromise), and in compromising network services that should not be exposed to the world but are. I know that this is complicated for most people to understand, but the take home message is that a firewall is not just something you flip on and it magically makes everything secure. A firewall is not something that automatically makes using the internet safe either.

Very interesting information.

And, by the way, I had all the remote control options unchecked. I use a Linksys wireless router, so I'm sure everything is fine.

That internet security paranoia is like digital malaria. It comes and goes...