Does Mac Need Antivirus Protection or Not?

Answer 1

In a first, many Apple users recently reported their Mac computers being infected with a kind of ransomware that encrypts files in their computer and demands a "ransom" in exchange of decryption. The ransomware, identified as "KeRanger," allegedly demands 1 bitcoin ($400) from the victims to free their documents from encryption.

Mac has its own way of combating malware attacks, but still it's always good to install a good antivirus for Mac (like Comodo Free Antivirus) and do regular, systematic malware scans.

Answer 2

Yes, absolutely! Macintosh computers are just as susceptible to viruses as any Windows or Linux machine, even more so because they can run Windows natively and the Mac OS kernel is based on a Linux kernel and has the same security features (and flaws) as the Linux flavor on which it is designed.

Make sure that you get a good antivirus, not one of the "free" antivirus solutions such as AVG. These, in my professional experience, are worth exactly what you pay for them: nothing! For a good set of reviews, check out http://mac-antivirus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/. One of the packages that they list should be a good choice for your needs.

Answer 3

Answer Believe it or not but this question was very controversial for quite a long time until the popularity of apple products increased to the level of today. Ten or 15 years ago most people who had a computer and were using it for casual work (browsing the web, checking email, word processing) did so on a windows machine. This is a computer that runs a version of Microsoft's Windows operating system. Very few people were using Apple computers. As a result, the vast majority of nefarious individuals wrote code that harmed windows machines. This was very convenient for Apple and its users because this meant the vast majority of malware (malicious code) could not even run on apple machines. Thus, not affecting Apple computers. Times have drastically changed. Apple products have become thequintessential symbol of today's world. Young to elderly persons around the world are using iPods, iMac, Macbooks and the list goes on. In other words, the number of people who use an Apple computer has become a significant people of the total people in the world who have a computer. Nefarious individuals have now realized that times have changed and have been writing much more malware than they once did to affect Apple computers. This is the reason I say every computer user including those who use an Apple computer should be running an Antivirus program. Many people disagree with this statement. One quality of Apple that makes their computers more secure in general than other computers is they control the entire product. The computer you bought was designed entirely by Apple. They chose all of the hardware (physical components) and software (code/programs that allow your computer to work). None of your major computer manufacturers make the same claim.

For example, if I buy an HP computer I am getting a mixture of many people's work and decisions. Each physical part of the computer could have been made by a different company. However, the differences do not stop there. The computer may say HP on it but the operating system (massively important software that allows the programs a user runs to be able to use the hardware of the machine to compute) was made by Microsoft. Furthermore, Microsoft has to make sure developers of other companies can make programs that will run on the machine and as a result must make compromises when designing the operating system. HP must also take this into account when choosing which companies physical components they will assemble into the finished product of a computer. You are most likely asking yourself how is this related to the security of your computer. Unlike other companies, if Apple feels a program undermines security they can ban it from ever being installed on any of their computers. This is the reason Flash was not on the iPad. There had been too many exploits of Flash for Apple to allow it to run on their computers. I suppose a person could make the argument that Apple computers are easily more secure than many Windows and Linux machines but Apple users should still being using an Antivirus program. Running an Antivirus program is very important but it is also a good habit avoid opening suspicious emails, visiting adult sites and trying to obtain illegally downloaded content.