Anti-Virus Program Questions

Sirtovin

Sirtovin

Senior Switcher Tech Guru
I have Norton System Works 2.0... (Which is worthless on Mac OS-X.) Due to it's consist problems it has in following directions etc... (even with the patch that makes Norton Utilitles work...) the program tends to still be highly unstable... and Defrag does not work like it should in OS-X.

but here are my questions...

I still need an Anti-Virus Program... Should I go ahead and reinstall System Works 2.0 and just use the AV application?

or?

Should I go ahead and buy Virus Barrier?

Any comments on the matters are welcomed. Any comments on NSW 2.0 are welcomed... Especially if anyone has it successfully running on OS 10.2.3 only... (I do not use OS 9...) Sorry guys etc.
 
I just keep System Works installed and only occacionally run NAV. I haven't had a need to use it really tho.
 
AntiVirus apps on the Mac are a waste of space and CPU time. Trash it and sell it on eBay. You won't need it. There are NO OS X viruses out and the OS has been out for about two years now.

You may want to have the "better safe than sorry" attitude but it's up to you. I've been using a Mac for 4 years and have no antivirus apps. I've never had an issue.
 
I've personnally run my Performa 5400/160 for 7 years, then my iMac for 1 year. One case of virus (a Microsoft Word file with a worm).
 
Originally posted by jaredbkt
AntiVirus apps on the Mac are a waste of space and CPU time. Trash it and sell it on eBay. You won't need it. There are NO OS X viruses out and the OS has been out for about two years now.

You may want to have the "better safe than sorry" attitude but it's up to you. I've been using a Mac for 4 years and have no antivirus apps. I've never had an issue.
Click to expand...

I agree. I've been a 100% Mac user for over ten years and never once have any of my computers contracted a virus (I do lots of downloading too). Occasionally I might download a trial/beta version of a virus scanner just for kicks, but they never find anything.

As for a defragging utility I have the feeling that things have changed since OS 9, OS X's file organisation is vastly different to that of 9's. I may be wrong, but I wouldn't bother with defragging a hard drive with X installed on it.
 
ok ok ok finally replies... :) I've been reading a book about Unix... and they recommended a virus protection program... Didn't say which one of course... but this is why I asked you guys for input... :)
 
Hmm, there *are* lots of UNIX based virii out there and since OS X is based on UNIX it may be ignorant of us to think we're all immune just because we use Macs. I guess only time will tell whether we have anything to worry about or not. I'm certainly no expert on this, but my advice would be that if you use your Mac for mission critical applications and are security conscious then it may be wise to invest in some sort of protection. Other than that, I'd say don't bother.
 
I use Virex by McAfee and it works just fine. Scans my computer everytime I start it, although it's never found a virus ;) I assume it's doing it's job.
 
g3joel:

It is possible to defrag an OS X volume. OS X uses HFS + (file system), the same one used by earlier Mac OS's.

Doug
 
Originally posted by dktrickey
g3joel:

It is possible to defrag an OS X volume. OS X uses HFS + (file system), the same one used by earlier Mac OS's.

Doug
Click to expand...

Yes I know, but the question is "is it worth it?" since OS X manages its files in a completely different manner to OS 9. I used to notice a performance difference after defragging my HD back when I was using OS 9 but now with X it's barely, if at all, noticeable.
 
Sorry. Misunderstood your post.

You're right. It's hard to tell if the perceived speed increase is real.

Doug
 
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