On 25/01/2013, at 9:51 AM, Ken Jackson <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thanks Ronni, > > have successfully removed Applejack. > Is there another program that will do what Applejack does that runs in ML? > > Is there a consensus by everyone as to the best malware protection for the > Mac? > > Thanks & regards, > > Ken > > > > Ken Jackson > > Time to bring out the soapbox again... I doubt if you'll truly get a consensus on the best malware protection SOFTWARE for the Mac, since I personally don't think that such an animal exists (so any "consensus" certainly wouldn't include me!) but as far as the best malware PROTECTION is concerned (to answer your question literally), that's easy: it's your own behaviour. At this point in time, there are no true viruses on the Mac platform. There is a handful of examples of other exploitative software out there, but these all come under the classification of Trojan Horses, meaning that they require the permission of the user before they can affect your computer. They also invariably get to your Mac through third party software such as Java, Adobe Reader, Flash and a few others. The best advice is to keep your Mac OS up to date, and avoid using (or disabling completely) Java, Adobe Reader (Safari copes natively with 99% of the PDFs you're likely to come across) and Flash (install Click2Flash to reduce Flash problems t o an absolute minimum). Apart from this, all the usual personal behaviour rules apply: don't open attachments from unknown senders, don't download software from peer-to-peer sites, keep your OS up to date, don't reply to unsolicited emails, don't click on URLs in unsolicited emails. No software can protect you against any of this behaviour (even on Windows). Unlike Windows, there are still no reported cases of MacOS being infected by a virus (ie, software that arrives uninvited, without any interaction from the user, and is passed on to other computers ); and unlike OS X, even Windows 7 has been reported to have been infected in under 10 minutes on an unprotected computer. In my experience, the only thing at which most malware protection software for the Mac is successful is the slowing down of your computer with little to show for it, but if you truly feel that you need to install something, go for something unobtrusive like ClamAV (free) or ESET Cybersecurity (http://www.eset.com/ch-en/home/products/cybersecurity/ - not free but has a good reputation). Getting back down from the soapbox now... Peter Hinchliffe Apwin Computer Services FileMaker Pro Solutions Developer Perth, Western Australia Phone (618) 9332 6482 Mob 0403 046 948 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Mac because I prefer it -- Windows because I have to. -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Settings & Unsubscribe - <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug>
