Do You Need Antivirus Software For A ? Mac OS X That
Do You Need Antivirus Software For A ? Mac Ken Colburn
Do You Need Antivirus Software For A ? Download And Always

Do You Need Antivirus Software For A ? Mac Ken Colburn

Save 90 Local Sports Things To Do Business Travel Politics Nation World Obituaries E-Edition Subscribe Do I need antivirus software to protect my Mac Ken Colburn Special for The Republic azcentral.com View Comments Installing antivirus software provides you with an extra layer of protection as Mac-specific exploits are discovered by security firms.

On the other hand, you might notice a slight decrease in performance as the security software will have to jump into action to check things as you go about your business.

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Question: My bank is recommending that I use Trusteer Rapport along with Sophos for protection for my Mac.

Do you agree Answer: Apple has done a great job of convincing members of the computer-using public that they have nothing to worry about if they use a Mac, which is beginning to become a dangerous mind-set.

There is no question that the number of exploits that specifically target Mac users is a fraction of what Windows users are exposed to, but that doesnt mean that there are no threats if you use a Mac.

Do You Need Antivirus Software For A ? Mac OS X That

The first virus directed specifically at Apple computers dates back to 1982, with lots of other attempts to specifically attack Mac OS X that followed, especially in the past decade.

Do You Need Antivirus Software For A ? Download And Always

The most dangerous malware targeting Macs are Trojans that hide in other programs, so be very careful what you download and always be suspicious when your computer asks you to type your Admin password out of the blue.

Your operating system is just one attack vector for cybercriminals.

Your web browser, Java, Adobe Flash and other popular utilities are also constantly under attack; they provide a path to your computer as well.

Rapport is primarily a browser-based security program that focuses on financial malware and phishing scams, which has little to do with which operating system you are using.

Falling for a sophisticated socially engineered financial scam will impact you equally whether you are using Windows or Mac OS.

Rapport is designed to sniff out fake websites, phishing scams and other fairly common attempts to trick you if you arent paying attention.

Some users have complained of performance issues after installing Rapport and others have experienced compatibility issues with other security programs.

Weve seen lots of issues with Windows machines running Rapport in our shops, so its kind of hit or miss based on your specific configuration.

If you go to your banks website only via a saved bookmark that you created or use the mobile app that your bank offers, I dont think installing Rapport is necessary.

If you never click on a link in an e-mail message or open an attachment, you will substantially bypass the vast majority of the scams that are financially based.

As to the question of whether you should install antivirus software on your Mac, there is no simple answer.

In general, current versions of OS X incorporate a malware scanner called XProtect that can sniff out the known malware that is circulating the Internet, but it isnt bulletproof.

On one hand, installing antivirus software provides you with an extra layer of protection as Mac-specific exploits are discovered by security firms.

The biggest risk you face is with your browser, so make sure you keep it updated.

Apples Safari browser recently had an update that patched 27 security issues, so dont ignore those update notices that you get on your screen I prefer to use Google Chrome instead of Safari on Macs because it has unique security features built in, and it tends to be faster.

Chrome also has a huge library of free add-ons that can further improve your security when surfing.

Send him questions at AzCentralDataDoctors.com, or contact him on Twitter TheDataDoc.

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Do You Need Antivirus Software For A Mac?