Old habits die hard. I have always used a PC and the first thing I install on a new system is an anti-virus program of some kind. My friend had an iMac and was having some problems a while back. I suggested he put an anti-virus program on his iMac and run a scan. We went to CNET Downloads and installed iAntiVirus Free Edition for Mac. The scan by iAntiVirus showed that he had a Trojan on his system. The removal process was easy. When strange things happen on a PC malware is a prime suspect. As a PC user I was used to malware on a system. As a Mac user my friend was surprised he found something like this. I was surprised also because I had been told that a Mac just isn't vulnerable to malware like a PC. This "invulnerability" is a key selling point whenever I have talked to a Mac fan or someone selling a Mac in a retail setting. I had my first experience with Mac malware and it was in the back of my mind when I went to the Apple store to buy my first MacBook Pro.
When I got my MacBook Pro home iAntiVirus was one of the first programs I installed. Even though I had had a Mac malware experience I felt kind of sheepish putting an anti-virus program on it. Was I being a little paranoid? Running iAntiVirus was quick since it only scans for Mac malware and not all the PC malware out there. Was it a little too fast? Was it detecting anything? Well, it was free and it didn't seem to hurt anything. Those short scans though got to my paranoid PC brain and I ended up uninstalling iAntiVirus and installing VirusBarrier X6 by a company called Intego. I read some good reviews about it and didn't have any really good feelings about the other anti-virus programs that had versions for Mac. I help repair computers for students at school and did not have good experiences with Norton AntiVirus on their computers or on my own. I didn't have good experiences with McAfee at home on my PC either. In addition I had read a few poor reviews about Sophos Anti-Virus for the PC. So, many of the major brand names that offered Mac versions of their software were off my list. Again, my past PC experiences drove my current behavior with my Mac and I worried that I might be going in the wrong direction. I "took a chance" with a brand that seemed good in reviews but I had no experience with. Running a scan with VirusBarrier X6 took forever it seemed. I kind of missed iAntiVirus and wondered if I had made a mistake. The one thing that I discovered by using this software was their Mac Security Blog.
The Mac Security Blog was written in plain English and only featured a few articles a week. I was looking for a security website that wouldn't overwhelm me with technical jargon or tons of content that I couldn't possibly keep up with. This seemed pretty good and it might be a nice learning experience for me. One of the first articles I read was about a malware program called MACDefender that poses as a fake anti-virus program for the Mac. The real defence against this threat is pretty simple. As long as you don't let it trick you into installing it you are fine and it can be pretty simple to remove even if you do install it. This would not be a really big deal in the PC world. These sort of fake anti-virus programs have been out there for a long time and people either know not to fall for it or they have a real anti-virus program to protect them against these sort of things. You can't know everything and it is good to have a program created and maintained by professionals that can make up for all the gaps in our knowledge.
Well, it seems that this is a new experience for many Mac users who don't normally run anti-virus software or even worry about malware. A new article by Ed Bott for ZDNet that is being quoted in many articles and blogs (like this one) explains how AppleCare call centers are swamped with customers who are confused and in need of help getting rid of this thing. To quickly paraphrase the article the official Apple policy is to tell people that Apple does not remove malware but the unofficial actions of AppleCare reps is that they are helping people through this and giving them links to Norton, McAfee, and Sophos to install anti-virus software. Well, good for the reps even though I don't feel comfortable with these software solutions. I am new to the Apple world so maybe these choices are just as valid or better than mine and the reps know better. I feel more comfortable with VirusBarrier X6 and if I wanted a light and free solution I wouldn't hesitate to use iAntivirus instead of these other programs.
I think people can assume that there will be lots of reviews of Mac anti-virus software in the future to help in deciding which anti-virus program to buy.
The one thing I am happy with is in discovering the Mac Security Blog by Intego. Yes, they are an anti-virus company trying to promote their product but so far I like the articles and it seems like a good and free resource. It also seems that running any legitimate anti-virus program right now is a good thing for Mac users. I am kind of disappointed though in a way. I was kind of hoping to leave the PC world of malware behind. I wish I was just thinking in my old PC way on my new MacBook Pro and all I had to do was let go of the old fears. This one Mac malware program is a small threat compared to the malware threats to the PC. Hopefully this is not the beginning of a huge wave of threats to the Mac in the immediate future. I still feel safer on my Mac but I will still be cautious. I am not a security expert and I will need to rely on a well made anti-virus program to help protect me. Keeping up with the few threats out there with a blog like Intego's Mac Security Blog can't hurt. I am not a Mac Invulnerable Pro or a Mac Security Pro but I am not going to panic and become an Mac Insecurity Pro. The old debate about whether you are a Mac or a PC just became old. The Mac Utopia was nice when it was on that secluded island. The Mac has a bigger presence in the world and now it is starting to become a bigger target like the PC. All is not lost since lessons learned from the PC can help the Mac world. Are you a Mac, a PC, a Google Chrome, a Linux, a Unix, an Android, or an iOS? As long as you take the precautions to be safe then that is all that matters.
