IT Professional Help

[Bud Kennedy]

As a dedicated user of Mac products I still have a major question.  Recently during a service event with Apple we were cleaning out my system and the tech (on line) commented about my Norton Internet security application.  This is not the first time I have had an Apple tech claim that I should get rid of this program and just go without.  They of course continue to claim that the Mac operating systems takes care of these things and additional applications are not required and can be a culprit for slowing down the performance of the overall system.

So here is my question to those that know thru their experience.  Just what is the true answer to this.  My Norton is set to expire so I am asking should I renew or just let it fade away.  All I can say is i have never run a system without some level of protection and as a result have not had any major issues.  This  makes me a bit nervous if I had no Internet protection.  What Say You ?

[SFL BassHunter]

I don't run anti virus on my MacBook air.

Though Apple IOS is a much safer operating system than Windows because most bad stuff is coded for Windows, it does not mean your MAC can't get infected by something. It is just more difficult for them to make bad stuff to take over your MAC. IOS does not actively run scans on your computer to protect it from anything.
You are at the mercy of the IOS hardening.

Can antivirus slow down your computer? Absolutely. It's the price you pay for the extra protection.

I have Windows Essentials on my PC, along with Malwarebytes for malware. Windows gets hit hard when it comes to virus, malware, spyware,ransomware and all the wares. lol.

Play it safe, keep your anti virus. Want to risk it? Then take it off.

[j102]

Like Rick said, MACs are "safer" than Windows machines.
I don't run any antivirus on my Macbook, but if I were to use one, it would be McAfee.
During the last viruses attacks, McAfee have responded faster (with a patch solution) that any other company.

[bigjim5589]

Bud my oldest son works in the IT security division of the online streaming company, Twitch. I asked him about your question & he said that if your Mac is fairly new, then you shouldn't need the Norton. He said Apple has designed their systems that they'll only run approved software that they have tested. He said it's not impossible for someone to come up with malware or virus programs that can affect a Mac, but the chance yours would ever get such an issue is very minimal. He said most of the folks he works with, several hundred people, use Mac computers and 99% of them don't run anything extra on them for antivirus or security.

He also said, Norton was not something he would run anyway. 

[cortman]

I don't use any antivirus on my Macbook Pro. I think you're probably ok without so long as you are sensible online and don't visit porn sites in particular.

[DURASPANK]

Been running mac at home for over 10 years now. No protection and no problems. That's with 2 kids downloading music from who knows where.
My wife's work runs all macs (printing) nothing on any of them.

[Princeton_Man]

Today's Macs have better malware/virus defenses but they aren't completely immune. If you're only concerned about your computer and your files, antivirus software isn't critical.

The downside is your Mac can still be a "Typhoid Mary". A file that contains a destructive or malicious PC virus is benign on your Mac but when you share that file with your buddy who's using a Windows PC, well, he may not be real happy.

I use my Macs to support both OSX and Windows users and I can't take the risk. My work subscribes to Symantec Endpoint and while it does tax the system a little, it does work. For my own machines I currently use Bitdefender total security. I can also recommend Avira and AVG.

[cortman]

The downside is your Mac can still be a "Typhoid Mary". A file that contains a destructive or malicious PC virus is benign on your Mac but when you share that file with your buddy who's using a Windows PC, well, he may not be real happy.

Lol, I ran into that a lot when I used GNU/Linux 100%. A lot of viruses would be clearly visible in a file manager or ls in the terminal, however, so I was able to curb that a bit anyway.

[Bud Kennedy]

Today's Macs have better malware/virus defenses but they aren't completely immune. If you're only concerned about your computer and your files, antivirus software isn't critical.

The downside is your Mac can still be a "Typhoid Mary". A file that contains a destructive or malicious PC virus is benign on your Mac but when you share that file with your buddy who's using a Windows PC, well, he may not be real happy.

I use my Macs to support both OSX and Windows users and I can't take the risk. My work subscribes to Symantec Endpoint and while it does tax the system a little, it does work. For my own machines I currently use Bitdefender total security. I can also recommend Avira and AVG.

Jim, I think you hit the nail on the head.  I am more concerned about passing along something to other users.  My wife also uses the mac from time to time and she does send stuff here from her windows pc so the potential for issues may exist.  I think I will renew my Symantec stuff just as an insurance policy of sorts.  I have been using their products for many many many years and have no real complaints and their service process seems to meet my needs.

[mygreenihc]

The information in the previous responses are pretty much spot on.  You are probably safe without the Antivirus,  but your protection without it is only secure until someone targets the MAC OS.  The security of the Apple OS is largely due to the fact that Windows malware and virus code writers use Mac, Linux, etc. to write and test their malicious code for Windows.  At some point someone will write malware to attack Apple products and they will be hit hard because of this sense of security that is uncertain.


The only disagreement that I have with what is stated above,  is my choice of AV protection.  In my opinion,  Eset's NOD32 is the best AV software available.  It is also has the least overhead resource consumption of anything that I have found.


Brad

[Drake691]

Everything listed above is correct. As someone who use to work for Apple in the tech support theres no need for Norton. There is a downside to Norton too. If you have it on and your doing a back up to a Airport Time Capsule you have a high chance of the back up getting corrupted.