KEY POINTS:
If it's viruses you want to avoid - don't get a PC. Ha ha. OK, I was being flippant, but the times they are a changin' and even Apple has begun recommending anti-viral software for the first time in years. It must be noted that the advice is
not aimed at stock Mac users, but rather at those tech-types running Mac-based networks.
In the downloadable PDF Leopard Security Config 20080530, Apple says (page 204) "Installing antivirus tools helps prevent infection of your computer by viruses, and helps prevent your computer from becoming a host used to spread viruses to other computers. These tools quickly identify suspicious content and compare them to known malicious content."
The PDF even mentions a link: "For a list of antivirus tools, see the Macintosh Products Guide at www.guide.apple.com". Look under the Networking and Security heading on the left - when I looked, 'avast! antivirus Mac edition 2.7.4' had been downloaded from the Apple site 16,744 times.
Note that Avast needs a one-year, two-year (save 25%) or three-year (save 35%) payment; one year costs USD$39.95, about $53. Apple also lists CA AntiVirus r8.1 (retail), the free ClamXav [www.markallan.co.uk/software.php] and the Norton-branded Mac offerings.
I personally installed the fast, unobtrusive iAntiVirus Mac beta to give it a whirl [www.iantivirus.com/]. It's by PC Tools - it's still free and seems to do the job, although it's found nothing in a month, but I also trialled the impressive Norton Anti Virus earlier this year, in January.
It was fast and much less intrusive than previous versions I had tried, and I actually interviewed Mike Romo from Symantec on NAV for Mac, and he said "we obviously protect against the (few) Mac viruses and Trojan horses out there, and we take care of Macro viruses as well, which can actually prove to be very annoying for Mac users". Yeah.
But Microsoft Office 2008 dropped Macros, so ...
Romo stated, interestingly, that 78% of viruses were now targeted at the web layer rather than the application layer - a worry as more and more user tasks are carried out in the web layer by Google Apps etc.
But I must admit I deleted NAV after three months if it finding narry a sausage.
For the first time in ages, Apple also recommends not opening weird email attachments - for a while the only risk in these was in forwarding them to PC users, where they could do damage. Apple says "...don't download or open content you didn't request, and never open a file sent to you by someone you don't know." It's obvious advice, but 'we're' (Mac users) only used to hearing it being offered to PC users. There's a whole section on Mail Security on page 147.
Intrusion Detection Systems are mentioned too, complete with a link for more information (Intrusion Protection Using Open Source Tools).
In Appendix A 'Security Checklist' page 112, Apple recommends various options for those running OS X server (like creating a digital signature and enabling security auditing) and concludes that users should install an antivirus tool and configure it to automatically download virus definition files.
Finally, there are actually ten recommendations for Mac users doing the rounds - they are by Graham Lee, the senior software engineer at Sophos where he is technical leader for the Mac team.
This is a result of yet another warning from a security group, this time his own (Sophos). I have read dozens of these over the last four years and still await an actual virus. Many seem to be attempts to link dire warnings - the sky is falling in! - to sales of unneeded anti-virus software for Macs, but where there's smoke ... the Lee recommendations are aimed at preventing data theft. Download the tips as a PDF you can read or a podcast you can listen to from this link.
- Mark Webster mac.nz
