What is the best anti virus software for Macs?

[libertybrewcity]

I have a Mac and it has been running slowly lately so I want find an antivirus program to put on. I would prefer one that I can download for free online. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
LBC

[TheDriver]

I have a Mac and it has been running slowly lately so I want find an antivirus program to put on. I would prefer one that I can download for free online. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
LBC

Going out on a limb here....
but..


The only reason your mac would be running slow is you're running out of space.

Clean up some RAM and space.

[Kotin]

Pretty sure macs don't get viruses..

[libertybrewcity]

Going out on a limb here....
but..


The only reason your mac would be running slow is you're running out of space.

Clean up some RAM and space.

my internet is running slowly. can't macs get viruses? they sure have a lot anti virus programs out there..

[TheDriver]

my internet is running slowly. can't macs get viruses? they sure have a lot anti virus programs out there..

I've had a mac ( a few of them) for 10 years and never caught a virus.

My comp runs slow when I download too much video. Actually, is doing it now. :o

[specsaregood]

Going out on a limb here....
but..
The only reason your mac would be running slow is you're running out of space.
Clean up some RAM and space.

You don't think macs are immune to being exploited do you? They are, apple knows it and has been fixing them silently when they find out about them.

for example:
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2010/06/18/apple-secretly-updates


HellRTS, which Sophos products have been detecting as OSX/Pinhead-B since April, has been distributed by malicious hackers disguised as iPhoto, the photo application which ships on modern Mac computers.

If you did get infected by this malware then hackers would be able to send spam email from your Mac, take screenshots of what you are doing, access your files and clipboard and much more.

Unfortunately, many Mac users seem oblivious to security threats which can run on their computers. And that isn't helped when Apple issues an anti-malware security update like this by stealth, rather than informing the public what it has done. You have to wonder whether their keeping quiet about an anti-malware security update like this was for marketing reasons. "Shh! Don't tell folks that we have to protect against malware on Mac OS X!"


If your mac is exploited and being used as a bot to send spam, that would certainly slow it down.

[TheDriver]

You don't think macs are immune to being exploited do you? They are, apple knows it and has been fixing them silently when they find out about them.

for example:
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2010/06/18/apple-secretly-updates


If your mac is exploited and being used as a bot to send spam, that would certainly slow it down.

All right.. .Dr Doom! :p

[GunnyFreedom]

You don't think macs are immune to being exploited do you? They are, apple knows it and has been fixing them silently when they find out about them.

for example:
http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2010/06/18/apple-secretly-updates (http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2010/06/18/apple-secretly-updates)


If your mac is exploited and being used as a bot to send spam, that would certainly slow it down.

It is, however, far less likely for a mac to get infected because the UI demands a willful operation on the part of an admin user with the admin password in order to install such a beastie. This is not an Apple innovation, it comes as a part of being POSIX-compliant, which is also why Linux and Unix don't have as much of an issue with virus propagation either.

[libertybrewcity]

well, i have downloaded a few movie watching programs lately and i have been watching a lot of movies from free sites like watch movie .net and solarmovie. that could be it. i just went through my music and things seem to be running alittle more smoothly.

hey specsaregood, if i did have a spam bot how would i get rid of it? any recs? thanks

[TheDriver]

Go to your activity monitor in finder under applications and see how much free space you have.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1342?locale=en_GB



Just check your memory, ram etc. before you start a "wild goose chase."

[specsaregood]

It is, however, far less likely for a mac to get infected because the UI demands a willful operation on the part of an admin user with the admin password in order to install such a beastie. This is not an Apple innovation, it comes as a part of being POSIX-compliant, which is also why Linux and Unix don't have as much of an issue with virus propagation either.

It requires that if it is a valid program. An exploit would require no such user approval. :) That's kinda why it is an exploit.

Lots of malware writers are saying that osx is much more vulnerable nowadays than vista, 7, etc. Primarly because of all the work MS has done over the years battling it. for example:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9072959/Mac_easiest_to_hack_says_10_000_winner


The security researcher who walked away with $10,000 yesterday by hacking a MacBook Air in less than two minutes said he chose to attack Apple Inc.'s operating system for one simple reason.

"It was the easiest one of the three," said Charlie Miller, an analyst at Independent Security Evaluators (ISE), a Baltimore-based security consultancy. "We wanted to spend as little time as possible coming up with an exploit, so we picked Mac OS X."


or
http://www.osnews.com/story/21171/Miller_on_Mac_OS_X_Chrome_Firefox_Economics


Miller repeated his claim that Mac OS X is easy to exploit. He makes a clear distinction between the browser and the underlying operating system, stating that for example while Firefox on Windows is very hard to crack, Firefox on Mac OS X is easy, because Mac OS X lacks all the anti-exploit features Windows has built-in. "The things that Windows do to make it harder [for an exploit to work], Macs don't do," Miller says, "Hacking into Macs is so much easier. You don't have to jump through hoops and deal with all the anti-exploit mitigations you'd find in Windows."

As an example, he takes his winning exploit. "With my Safari exploit, I put the code into a process and I know exactly where it's going to be. There's no randomization. I know when I jump there, the code is there and I can execute it there. On Windows, the code might show up but I don't know where it is. Even if I get to the code, it's not executable. Those are two hurdles that Macs don't have." He added that all browsers have holes, but that writing exploits for those holes is harder on Windows than it is on Mac OS X.


I'm no OS snob, I've used most of them professionally at one point or another. But apple people thinking they are safe and secure are living in a fantasy world. A fantasy world that apple propagates by not disclosing fixes they rollout.

[specsaregood]

hey specsaregood, if i did have a spam bot how would i get rid of it? any recs? thanks

Well net traffic would the best way. IIRC tcpdump comes with the os by default. You could search into how to use that. Or i'm sure there are lots of freeware utilities.

[DamianTV]

I have a Mac and it has been running slowly lately so I want find an antivirus program to put on. I would prefer one that I can download for free online. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
LBC


I wouldnt immediately blame a virus with a Mac.

I'd first, check my bandwidth by just googling "Speed Test".

Next, if you have any sort of wireless network, which I am willing to bet you probably do, make sure your network is locked down and your neighbors kid isnt stealing your bandwidth to download torrents.

Ain't no worms in my Apple...