Discussion
Leithen said:
Nope - just make sure System Preferences > Sharing> Firewall is on (Click "Start" if it isn't)
Don't even need to that if you're behind a router on a private subnet.
garyhun said:
For my PC I have always run anti virus and internet security software (Norton). Do Macs need the same or is it all built in?
To answer properly, apart from a firewall anti virus/malware and stuff isn't built in, it jsut isn't needed. There have been several reported vulnerabilities and some have even got to proof of concept, but there's nothing in the wild yet.
I'm sure it's only a matter of time before mac users have to start being a bit carefull but for now the only people who think it's an issue work for the PR dept at symantec.
garyhun said:
Ta! It was off but no longer!!!!
No problem - There are no real spyware or virus threats currently - doesn't mean there won't be in the future, but for now it's enough to keep an ear to the ground (for example Macsurfer) . "Software Update" (under Apple symbol, top left) checks weekly for updates - it will check immediately for updates by simply by opening it. There have been a raft of "security" updates recently, but not for anything that has grabbed headlines.
In setting up a new mac my only criticism would be that the Firewall isn't automatically "on" - I wonder how many users simply don't know its there. Another criticism made is that you are not encouraged to use a user profile that doesn't have administrator privileges - the one you've set your machine up with does. In the event of compromise, this would prevent someone gaining access to your account doing to much damage. Some bother with this, some don't.....
Leithen said:
garyhun said:
Ta! It was off but no longer!!!!
No problem - There are no real spyware or virus threats currently - doesn't mean there won't be in the future, but for now it's enough to keep an ear to the ground (for example Macsurfer) . "Software Update" (under Apple symbol, top left) checks weekly for updates - it will check immediately for updates by simply by opening it. There have been a raft of "security" updates recently, but not for anything that has grabbed headlines.
In setting up a new mac my only criticism would be that the Firewall isn't automatically "on" - I wonder how many users simply don't know its there. Another criticism made is that you are not encouraged to use a user profile that doesn't have administrator privileges - the one you've set your machine up with does. In the event of compromise, this would prevent someone gaining access to your account doing to much damage. Some bother with this, some don't.....
Good points! I assumed that as it knows I have a router and therefore Internet access it would have been automatically on.
I've been online with Macs for over 10 years now. For most of that time, I never had a firewall at all. And i've not had a single virus or trojan or any other similar nasties yet.
Antivirus software on macs can still be a good idea mind, as it helps to prevent spreading anything to pc users by accident. Although I personally cant be doing with installing it on my Macs, and to my knowledge, none of my PC using comrades have got anything bad from me yet.
I don't use the built in OS X software firewall either. As there is a firewall built into my ADSL modem already (as there are with most of them these days) which I cant turn off, even if I wanted to.
Cheers, P
Antivirus software on macs can still be a good idea mind, as it helps to prevent spreading anything to pc users by accident. Although I personally cant be doing with installing it on my Macs, and to my knowledge, none of my PC using comrades have got anything bad from me yet.
I don't use the built in OS X software firewall either. As there is a firewall built into my ADSL modem already (as there are with most of them these days) which I cant turn off, even if I wanted to.
Cheers, P
All the above is true. There is an alert of a theoretical flaw (OSX isn't totally impervious) about every month or so, although to be infected you need to visit a hacker site and put up a little flag saying "infect me please". There has only been one genuine OSX virus, and that was proof of concept only anyway.
These theoretical flaws are normally reported on by all the major Mac sites (and reported in a factual rather than alarmist way), so an RSS feed is worthwhile, just in case, and to know what to be wary of. Apple are normally reasonably quick (2 weeks) to patch it - the RSS feed is also useful for alerting you that a patch has been released, and what it fixes.
If you do want a virus checker (primarily to avoid passing them on to your PC chums), you can do a lot worse than the open source ClamXAV (Google it). It is slow to scan, but is free, and they do keep on top of their virus definitions (which you can set it to automatically update for free on launch).
Otherwise, the general advice is "OSX could be infected, but currently the odds are extemely low. However, one day it will be cracked. It is worth keeping abreast of developments, but not really worth buying a virus checker yet, provided you are reasonably sensible about setup and use."
These theoretical flaws are normally reported on by all the major Mac sites (and reported in a factual rather than alarmist way), so an RSS feed is worthwhile, just in case, and to know what to be wary of. Apple are normally reasonably quick (2 weeks) to patch it - the RSS feed is also useful for alerting you that a patch has been released, and what it fixes.
If you do want a virus checker (primarily to avoid passing them on to your PC chums), you can do a lot worse than the open source ClamXAV (Google it). It is slow to scan, but is free, and they do keep on top of their virus definitions (which you can set it to automatically update for free on launch).
Otherwise, the general advice is "OSX could be infected, but currently the odds are extemely low. However, one day it will be cracked. It is worth keeping abreast of developments, but not really worth buying a virus checker yet, provided you are reasonably sensible about setup and use."
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