Do I need an AV for a Mac Air?

[Butch 3,456]

Hi,

I would imagine the answer to be "of course it does, you fucking idiot" which is fair enough.

 

If anyone can suggest a half decent Anti virus for the rather nice Mac Air I've just been given then I'd appreciate it.

 

I'm still getting my head around all this "command" and "control" gumpf , I am not really a huge fan of Apple but the more I use this Mac air the more I like it. It's running the latest Yosemite OS update and Safari , if that helps.

 

Also any pointers / info about the product would be appreciated, as it saves me googling / reading the manual.

 

Cheers & virtual SM Lights in advance

Butch

[Fireman Sam 336]

Hi I have only been using Apple products for the last 4-5 years.

 

We have a I-Mac desktop, a Mac Book Pro laptop, and an I-pad. Never had any Anti-Virus programs installed on any of them, never had any problem with viruses at all. I do have ad-blocker installed on the I-Mac and Mac Book Pro though.

 

I'm certainly no tech guru though and some people recommend that you install an Anti-Virus program on Apple products. Really your own choice as to who you believe.

 

 

Regards

Edited November 15, 2014 by Fireman Sam

[yorta2 694]

I've used Macs since they first came out - many years now - and when I worked in a University, I had AV installed (a requirement). Now I am retired, and have been for nearly 10 years. In that time I have not installed any AV programs, although Apple have their own that would inform me if I had a virus (I believe??). I have never experienced any virus problems either.

[ttk 236]

Nostradamus , in all his wisdom, said nothing about viruses on Macs :-). Therefore, it is not needed ......

 

 

I used Symantec on my Mac. Seems to do well enough. however, when I did my last system upgrade (10.9.5) the definition updates stopped working so now I have nothing until I bother to fix it

[js007 795]

Just for the heck of it, I have Avast anti-virus installed on my MacBook Air and on my I-Mac. I can't say that it has ever found a virus, but then again, it doesn't seem to slow things down. And it's free.

[Nightrider 340]

There is pretty good AV software built in to apple products that upgrades automatic , but these hackers are getting smarter all the time and i would imagine it won't be long before they are spending your money that they just liberated from your bank account , as with anything really , don't open any file you don't trust to be legit without a quarantine and scan first..........

[Butch 3,456]

thanks for the replies fellas. I decided to install Avast free for Macs. It doesn't see to affect the running of the machine and it's like putting on a second condom, as my web mail has an inbuilt AV (Yahoo account) but it never hurts to have some extra protection.

 

Cheers for the help.