Macbook virus malware etc

bluebell321

I was under the impression that macbooks didn't need extra protection like windows laptops.

Perhaps I'm wrong. If so what protection would you recommend? Anything decent that's free?

20aday

Somewhat of a common misconception. Mac OS X can get viruses etc. They just can't run Windows based ones (unless you dual boot Windows/OS X.)

Personally I use Bit Defender on my Mac Mini. It was free on the built in App Store and works aOK.

AJXX

I always avoid installing AV on a Mac as it's generally just a resource hog.

Set-up gatekeeper to Mac App Store only and you'll be fine - this prevents software downloaded from the internet installing on the machine, unless you specifically go in and allow it.

Also be careful which Safari/Chrome extensions you install a lot of the so called "viruses" I come across on a Mac are simply rogue Safari/Chrome extensions

bluebell321

Ok, well I've had my mac for about three years. And I have downloaded stuff from the internet.
Most recent purchase was Moneydance.

My wifi keeps dropping and I have to reboot very frequently which made me wonder if I've got lots of nasties over the years. So should I perhaps run a free AV and then delete it again and follow advice in post 3 thereafer?

AJXX

bluebell321 wrote: »

Ok, well I've had my mac for about three years. And I have downloaded stuff from the internet.
Most recent purchase was Moneydance.

My wifi keeps dropping and I have to reboot very frequently which made me wonder if I've got lots of nasties over the years. So should I perhaps run a free AV and then delete it again and follow advice in post 3 thereafer?

I doubt Wi-Fi dropping is related to any nasties - that could be more of a software/hardware issue (potentially hardware if the mac is nearing 3 years old).

What I'd personally do (although not for everybody) is backup your stuff to a USB stick/hard drive (use timemachine if possible) then erase the hard disk and install a fresh copy of the OS.

How easy this is depends exactly on what type of mac you have and the age/current OS.

However most Macs from the last few years have a built in internet recovery which makes this job simple, see https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201314

This is my personal preference (erase and re-install) as you can spend hours fannying about with anti-virus scans/uninstalling certian things etc... and never find the cause of the problem... yet a nice fresh clean install will bring the machine back to as new performance.

gjchester

bluebell321 wrote: »

I was under the impression that macbooks didn't need extra protection like windows laptops.

Perhaps I'm wrong. If so what protection would you recommend? Anything decent that's free?

As 20aday has said its a common fallacy, Macs are just as prone to virus attack as Windows, but as Windows is more prevalent so the malware writes go for the bigger target. If Macs ever overtook Windows as the prominent OS then Macs would be attacked and Windows malware drop off in volume.

Remember that the first virus was written for a Apple device...

Anyway Sophos do a home version of their VirusScan for free - https://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition.aspx.

20aday

Which version of OS X are you running?

I've used Lion, Mountain Lion and Yosemite and it's only Yosemite that has seemingly combatted the Wi-Fi dropping issue that was present in the previous versions.

wba31

I use iAntivirus on my macs as a just in case measure. They have never found anything though. Not sure if thats because of the rarity of mac virus or because it's a load of crap. I tent to think it's the first one...

bluebell321

Yosemite. Toooooooo short an answer

20aday

Hmmm, if it's Yosemite and the latest build you shouldn't be having an issue with your Wi-Fi dropping out.

Which Mac have you got?

bluebell321

Macbook pro ( Mid 2012)
I've downloaded Sophos and no threats were found.
Ironically, no wifi issues at all today whereas yesterday was silly. Fingers crossed.